PSYCH!

The other day completely out of the blue I decided to dye up some yarn based on the TV show Psych. I don't know how popular the collection will be but I personally LOVE LOVE LOVE PSYCH! I usually ask for ideas before I come up with a new collection but this time I was all like, "I love Psych so I'm gonna dye up some Psych yarn and if it doesn't sell then it's more yarn for me." So be on the lookout for the Psych collection and then right after Christmas something fun will be going on in the etsy shop!

Here's a taste for all my fellow Psych fans!

Order #2 for The Loopy Ewe!

This is what 270 skeins of sock yarn looks like:



Today the second order I made up for The Loopy Ewe was picked and is on it's way to Colorado! My first order for The Loopy Ewe was for some of my Corriedale spinning fiber (still my most popular fiber). I sent 8 braids each of 16 different colorways and so far there are 8 colorways left for sale. The order that I sent out today is for 15 skeins of 18 different colorways. This one is for sock yarn which everyone knows is what The Loopy Ewe is so famous for! I told one of my best customers about how I was going to start selling to The Loopy Ewe she said, "I always look there first when I'm shopping for sock yarn."

For the last three years I have been doing all my work for the shop using a swift that can handle only one skein at a time. When I got word from Sheri that The Loopy Ewe wanted to start doing business with me I knew I had to increase my winding capacity. So I told my husband that I needed him to design a swift for me that could handle more than one skein at a time to which he replied, "okay." My husband Jake can do almost anything, plumbing, electrical, dry wall, automobile repair, etc. Whenever I have something I need fixed I tell my husband, "Hey, I need you to do blah blah blah," and he says, "ok." And then finds a way to get it done. He does my invoices for me, helps me with my website, I just have to tell him what I need and he figures it out. He very handy to have around. So here's what he came up with for me:



It can wind up to 4 skeins at once and is motorized which means it goes super fast and cuts my work time down by more than 75%! Luckily a couple years my father in law made me a huge two sided dye table which means I can handle several skeins at once. For the longest time working on both sides was overkill so I usually used only half at a time. Once I started dying up stuff for The Loopy Ewe I was SO thankful to have a dye table that is so big! I wouldn't have been able to get this order done without it! I'm still so excited that I get to work with The Loopy Ewe. So, be on the lookout for my sock yarn on The Loopy Ewe's website! And there will be more yarn and fiber to come!

The Loopy Ewe!

Anyone who's an avid knitter knows that The Loopy Ewe is one of the best online yarn shops with an amazing selection. Well a few weeks ago I got an email from Sheri the owner of The Loopy Ewe asking if I would be interested in doing wholesale with her. Normally I turn down wholesale accounts because it's more work for less money but this was THE LOOPY EWE!!!!! The same shop that sells Wollmeise, can't say no to that. So much to my excitement I got an order from Sheri for some of my Corriedale roving (which I personally think is my best fiber) got it dyed up, and she now has it for sale under her roving section. Next there will be sock yarn, my husband is working on a new swift for me so that I can better handle the capacity of the order. So be on the lookout for even more Woolen Mill St. Yarns products at The Loopy Ewe!

Stargate SG-1

Tomorrow I will be unveiling my latest collection inspired by the series Stargate SG-1. I have an endless amount of ideas because there is so much to the series. The idea for a collection inspired by Stargate came from one of my customers. I was getting tired of dyeing the same colorways over and over again and needed something new to challenge myself with. So I asked on Ravelry.com for ideas and my favorite was Stargate SG-1. Thanks to Netflix I was able to watch the shows and get ideas. Tomorrow is the big reveal so Stargate fans be watching for the new collection. This is just the beginning of what colorways I will come up with inspired by the show so more is to come. Also, one last thing. Something BIG is coming, something that will change everything. Be watching!

Finally Fall!

There are 3 ways that I know it's officially the start of Fall every year, 1. there's a chill in the air in the morning, 2. I find myself in the mood to go buy my yearly bushel of Jonathan apples, and 3. sales start to pick up. Number 3 is always my favorite. Fall and fiber just goes together so well. It's time to get started on all the seasonal knitting and how nice is it to sit down in front of the TV in your knitting chair and snuggle up under your latest project. I like to spend summer time getting spinning projects done in preparation for my fall and winter knitting. I have my knitting chair set up with my Ott light right behind it and a place for my latest projects next to it. My husband hates my knitting chair and is constantly trying to get me to get rid of it. It's old, it's broken, the fabric is worn in several places but it's comfortable and it fits the space between the wall and the couch so perfectly. It's the worst piece of furniture we own but it's my favorite place to sit. I think he worries about what the neighbors think of it but I don't care, if someone decides they hate it then they can buy me a new one. I started getting ready for fall when I was in the dye room on Monday. I have a bunch of Halloween and Fall colorways ready to list so be watching!

Soon I will need to make my yearly trip to the little farm we like to go to to get my bushel of apples. I get an entire bushel every year and then spend the next few weeks cooking all kinds of yummy things. Pies, apple sauce, apple bread, sausage stuffed apples, everything you can imagine. My favorite apple pie to make is called a french topped apple pie. Instead of putting another crust on top you mix up a blend of butter, brown sugar and flour and then sprinkle it on top. It is the best kind of apple pie! I made two of them and brought them to one of my husband's thanksgiving's and Grandma Mildred asked me with a tone of incredulousness if I had made the pies. My husband's family is from the country and I guess grandma thought that a girl from the suburbs couldn't possibly know how to cook. But one thing I definitely know how to do is cook! I often joke that the secret to mine and my husband's marriage is the fact that I love to cook and he loves to eat. He always looks forward to coming home for dinner and it's not unusual for me to call him around 8:30-9:00 in the morning and ask what he would like for dinner. He usually is like, "Uh, it's 8:30 in the morning I haven't event though about lunch yet." He looks forward to dinner the most when it's something I've never made before.

So Fall is here and I LOVE Fall! Nothing is better than knitting season so Happy Knitting and Happy Spinning everyone!

Pictures of the Tardis Cake

As promised in my last post here is a photo of the Tardis cake I made. The party we had was so much fun! We barely had enough room to fit everyone in the family room to watch the show. A couple of our friends came dressed as the Doctor and Amy Pond. The cake turned out about as good as I could have hoped for considering my limited cake decorating skills! Happy Dr. Who watching!

Dr Who!

Finally tomorrow is the day that the new Season (well, 2nd half of the season) starts! Jake and I are having a Dr. Who season premiere party to celebrate and today I've been working on a Tardis cake. I hope it turns out and if I think it looks good enough when I am done I will post some pictures. We're having Dr Who themed food and drinks, I found a recipe online for Sonic Screwdrivers out of the original Dr Who cookbook. All of our friends who are Dr. Who fans have said the same thing. "What is up with them splitting the season in half?" I'm sure there is some reason for it that I am not aware of but regardless, tomorrow, FINALLY! I have been working on some new Dr. Who colorways and there will be some based on the second half of this season. I usually sit with a pen and paper and write down ideas as I'm watching the show. Happy Dr. Who Day tomorrow everyone and be looking for some new colorways!

2000 Sales!

As of right now I am 6 sales away from 2000 in my etsy shop. Once I hit 2000 I am going to run a 3 day 20% off sale. I opened my shop 3 years ago and I can't believe I am on the precipice of 2000 sales! I remember when I first got it started I would look at other indie dyers shops and see their sales in the 1000's and think it seemed like an unreachable goal. So to be on the verge of 2000 is so amazing. The best thing about the etsy shop by far has been my customers. I have some of the most super awesome customers! The notes and photos I get from them always make me very happy. Just today I got a message from one of my customers who just opened an etsy shop of handspun yarn (her shop is AuntPeggy'sCloset and it opened yesterday go by and check it out) showing me what she had made from the spinning fiber she purchased from me. One of the braids was from Sophia's line "Sophie's Choice" called "Sophia's Favorite Colors." Sophia was bouncing with excitement when I showed her what someone had made from her fiber and she immediately said, "I want to spin right now." I've been teaching Sophia how to spin and even bought her her own wheel. She has a Kromski Mazurka which is the perfect size for her. She's planning to start offering her handspun yarn in the shop once she gets a good handle on the whole spinning process. Basically I feel very lucky to have built this little etsy shop into something I enjoy and make enough money from to allow me to stay home with my babies. Thank you everyone who has ever purchased from me and esp. to my regular customers! Here's to at least 2000 more sales!

Back to the Land of the Living

That is exactly how I feel! I wasn't sure I was going to survive the last week in April but I did and I'm here to tell about it. Allow me to explain. Way back in October Novemberish 2 things happened, my daughter got a part in her districts high school play and I went on a women's retreat at a church I had never been to before. I was very happy she got a part, I did high school theatre and loved it so I knew how much work it would be but knew it would be worth it for her. The retreat was something I was invited to by a friend. I'm technically Catholic and it was at a Catholic church so I was looking forward to a couple days of that Catholic experience. I had also just been put through the emotional wringer and was not a happy camper and I needed a couple days escape from reality. The retreat was supercalifragilistic wonderfully awesome, it's amazing how a couple days away helps you put things in perspective. So I was really excited to help with out with the next retreat. When I went to the first meeting one of the women mentioned that she had to go because her son was in a play that night so she left early. I then thought to myself, "Uh oh, Sophia is going to be in a play in April I hope the retreat doesn't end up being the same weekend, surely it won't be the same weekend." So a few days later I get an email entitled something like "Date for women's retreat." And as you probably guessed, yes, it was the same weekend as the play. By this time I'm not just helping with the retreat I'm one of the 2 directors, fantastic, how am I going to pull this off? Two important things the same weekend and I can't miss either one, at least not really. So I go through all the retreat planning meetings once a week and play practices once a week that turn into twice a week as the play gets closer. Then comes crunch time, the last week before the retreat and the play. About 2 weeks before the "last week." My husband calls to tell me, "Just to let you know the "last week" I'm going to be flying to Panama City Panama on Monday and coming home on Thursday night." "Please tell me you are joking." But no he wasn't joking, that week I had to take my daughter to play practice Monday night, dress rehearsal Tues. night and at the same time as dress rehearsal I had to be a retreat planning meeting, play practice wed. night, Thursday night the first performance, Friday night performance AND set up for the retreat that started on Sat. morning retreat directing all day Sat. and then a Sat. night performance and all day Sunday retreat directing. And I got to do it all with Jake out of town for most of the week and I should also mention that I had a 3 year old in tow the entire time. But, I made it through the week and was able to meet all my obligations which is a miracle unto itself. The play was wonderful the retreat was again amazing! Hosting the retreat was so much better than attending. So it was all worth the stress, but, I am very much enjoying not having anything to do but work and take care of the girls. (be on the lookout for more frequent listings now that I have more time to work) Yesterday I spent an hour playing a Tinker Bell game on my daughter's Nintendo DS and it was fabulous!

Sci FI Yarn Queen, Yarn Crack Dealer, Pusher (Wo)man

Some of the things my customers have called me over the years. My reputation as the go to girl for all fibery goodness Sci Fi and other TV show related has gotten around over the past three years since I opened my etsy shop. I get contacted all the time for yarn dyed up based on characters that much of the time I have never even heard of. My husband is always telling me about Sci Fi shows I should watch so that I can come up with a line of yarn based on the characters. He has been pushing me to watch Farscape which I vaguely remember hearing of before he mentioned it. One movie trilogy that I have never done a collection for is Star Wars. I'm not sure why but I just haven't and I should. I loved those movie's when I was a kid. When return of the Jedi came out me and my friends used to fight over who would marry Mark Hamill when we grew up. We also used to pretend we were Princess Leia in the slave girl costume. I always wanted to dress up as her for Halloween but never thought I was thin enough. I have a friend whose having a baby and her husband is trying to convince her to decorate the new babies room Star Wars. I have to admit I think that is just AWESOME! But we'll see who wins that argument, she wants to decorate with a monkey theme. So I'm thinking that I need to do a collection based on Star Wars mostly because I love all the movie's. But that will have to wait until after the new season of Dr. Who starts, the day before my birthday, talk about an awesome birthday gift!

Firefly Reruns and Organic Merino

On March 6th the Science channel is going to start showing the old episodes of Firefly with some info about the science behind the series. I have been loving the Science channel lately because of that show "An Idiot Abroad." I feel a little mean because I think it's so funny but, it really is funny! When I found out that Firefly was returning to network TV it put me in the mood to dye up a bunch of Firefly fibery goodness! So I have a bunch of Firefly in the shop right now and I'm trying out a new yarn base that's organic superfine merino worsted. If it does well I'll add it to my list of bases that I always carry. I also want to thank everyone that has purchased some yarn and spinning fiber from Sophia's line "Sophie's Choice." Sophia is so excited whenever she makes a sale and she is ALWAYS asking when we are going to go work in the dye room again. Happy knitting happy spinning!

New Collection Sophie's Choice

We have been getting a lot of snow here lately which means snow days for my oldest one. The other day while she was home I was packaging up some shipments like a do everyday when Sophia said to the little one "Baby, look Mommy has sold a bunch of yarn to a store!" I replied, "Well honey Mommy kind of IS the store I don't sell my yarn to stores." She said, "Someday I want to have my own store too." That got me thinking that even though she is too young to sign up for an etsy store she's not to young to come up with things for me to sell for her in my etsy store. So I asked if she would like to design her own collection of yarn and spinning fiber to which I received a very enthusiastic "YES!" So during her snow days last week she spent her time coming up with the names of all her designs based on her favorite things and telling me what colors to use. Then we spent the afternoon working together in the dye room. I didn't let her work with any of the dyes, she mostly just ran around the basement while I asked her what to dye up next, what yarn of fiber to use and then what colors we needed. She had such a good time though she kept telling me how much she loved working with Mommy. After we were finished we came upstairs and I overheard her tell her sister, "Baby guess what?! I am going to have my own store and sells things on my own internet!" When everything was dry she helped me reskein all the yarn, and then set up everything to photograph. The entire time we were working she kept saying things like, "I just love this day! Don't you just love working together with me Mommy? We are having so much fun, you are the best Mommy in the whole world! This is the best day ever!" She's very animated. I just listed her collection a little bit ago and I can't wait to see the look on her face when I tell her that she sold something for the first time. She will be helping me package up all the things she sells too! Please stop by my etsy store and take a look!

All of the profits made from her collection will go to her college fund that we set up in her name. I will let her spend a little sometimes but this will be a good way to teach her responsibility and instill a sense of pride and accomplishment.