11/23/12 Black Friday Update and SALE!!!

Hey friends- it’s the moment you’ve been waiting for! Here is the preview of the HUGE update I’m doing tomorrow night for Black Friday weekend. It’s so big that I had to split it up into two preview collages: one for yarn and one for fiber. There are 46 skeins of yarn and 2 sock yarn minis sets going up, as well as 27 braids of fiber and 4 batts. WOW!

11-23-12 Yarn in Update

You might notice some new colorways in there… specifically, these:

Meet the new kids!

These colorways are BRAND NEW and are making their debut in the update. Top row: Spice and Favorite Gift. Bottom row: Snow on Cedars and Evergreen. There are 2 skeins of each colorway available, with more coming in future updates. I chose not to do “Christmas” colorways this year because there are SO many dyers doing absolutely beautiful ones… so I’m hoping these are more of a “winter” feel in general. My husband particularly loves Snow on Cedars and Evergreen, and told me he’d happily take a pair of socks out of each! 😉

Now, for the fiber portion of the update…

11-23-12 Fiber in Update

There are several “sets” of 2 braids that will be sold separately, but if you’re looking to do a larger project this is a good time to get both of them. I have pretty much every fiber I dye going up in this update, with the exception of Merino/Yak (I’m out of that one).

So, this update will most likely go up at midnight tomorrow night (so at the start of Black Friday- yea!). I’m going to do my best to be timely, but as I’ll still be spending time with my in-laws and I don’t know what our plans are, it might be a few minutes before or after. Regardless, I’ll tweet and Plurk when it goes live. (my Twitter and Plurk usernames are the same: @craftygirl83)

You also have a coupon code to use during the entire weekend! As soon as the update goes live, and until midnight on Cyber Monday night, enter code TURKEY12 in the coupon code box at checkout to save 10% on your entire order. Since there will be over 120 listings in the shop, you’ll have TONS to choose from. And if you’d like for me to send something to someone as a gift, just let me know! It’s hard to giftwrap fiber or yarn, but I’ll do my best to make it look nice and enclose a nice card with it with your choice of message. 🙂

Well, that does it for me, I think! I hope you guys are as excited about this awesome update as I am, and I look forward to seeing what goes home with you guys! And as always, thanks so much for your support of my shop. It really is a blessing to get to do this for my only job, and you guys make it possible!

XO (and Happy Thanksgiving!),

Dana

11/19/12 Shop Update Preview and Some Musings

Hey guys! Here is tonight’s update preview… a smaller one this time, since I’m doing the humongo one on Thursday night.

11/19/12 Shop Update

Sometimes, as much as I try to make things come out how I want, dyelots have a mind of their own. Such is the case in the four skeins of red yarn in tonight’s update. Believe it or not, they are actually “Faded Graffiti” skeins that just wanted to be red. I did nothing different than I usually do when I dye “Faded Graffiti”… but for some reason this time they just pulled red. I have no idea if I could ever duplicate these results, but I think that’s part of what I love about handdyeing sometimes… mistakes can be just as beautiful as intentional colorways. In case you’re wanting enough yarn to make a larger project, these skeins are on my Journey base, which is 80% superwash merino/20% nylon, 400yds/100g a skein, so there is 1600 yards available in this lot, and they all match pretty well. Just a thought. 😉

Anyway, I hope you see something you love, and thanks again for checking out my blog! Be sure to check back in a day or two, as I’ll have the enormous Black Friday Weekend update preview up soon!

XO-
Dana

Custom Orders Reopen Tomorrow!

Hey friends!

I just wanted to post a quick note to remind you guys that custom orders are reopened tomorrow, Monday November 19. They will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis. Please email me through Etsy to place a custom order, as it is easier for me to keep up with them if they are all requested through one avenue. If you haven’t read my policies yet, please do so, as they explain all about custom orders in the payment section.

Thanks so much, and I look forward to working with you guys to create your perfect yarn, roving, or batt!

 

XO-

Dana

11/15/12 Shop Update

Hi friends! It is a busy day here at Unwind Yarn Company headquarters… lots of little tasks needing to get done, but I didn’t want to let the update go by without posting about it!

11/15/12 Shop Update

In this update we have some favorite colorways: Sanibel Stoop, Abalone, Bougainvillea, and Peach Crumble. There is also a nonrepeatable braid of BFL in Reef, which is a one (two?) off. I believe there is another braid of Reef going up in the next few weeks in case you like it and miss it in this update, but after that it won’t be in the shop again.

In dyeing news, I am almost finished with dyeing the November installment of the 2 Crafty Girls club! Hooray! I believe I have 16 more skeins to dye, then I’ll be done and ready to ship. I’ve spent most of the morning rewinding what I already have done. I plan to ship the international packages Monday (11/19) with the domestic packages to follow on Wednesday (11/21). Be on the lookout for a spoiler in the 2 Crafty Girls group on Ravelry!

Til next time… enjoy your week, and as always, thanks for your support!

XO-

Dana

11/12/12 Shop Update, Spotlight on Sock Yarn Minis, and Some Minis Project Ideas!

Hello everyone! Once again, it’s time for the Monday night shop update preview! Here are the goodies that are going up tonight at 8pmET over in the shop…

November 12, 2012 Shop Update

 

For this entry’s product highlight, I thought I’d talk a little about Sock Yarn Mini Sets.

Sock Yarn Minis Set 51, going up in tonight’s shop update!

These sets are made up of miniskeins of 30 or so yards of fingering weight yarn- 7 miniskeins to a set for a total of approximately 210 yards. Some of these skeins are made from some of my own handdyed yarns, but most of them are from leftovers from my own stash. All of the minis that I include in a set are superwash wool, and most have nylon content. Some of the uses for these minis are the extremely popular Beekeeper’s Quilt by Tiny Owl Knits, the Mini Mania Scarf by Sarah Core, and the blanket that started it all: Sock Yarn Mini Blanket by Shelly Kang. At one point I had started the Sock Yarn Mini Blanket, but lost interest over the years… the idea of a project that takes me that long to complete just really doesn’t work for me! (I’m an impatient knitter- ask any of my knitting friends!) Lately, however, I’ve started a scarf out of some sock yarn scraps, and it’s quite exciting.

My Scrap Sock Yarn Scarf

For this scarf, I just provisionally cast on about the same number of stitches I’d use for a sock leg, and knit in the round for a while, then take out the provisional cast on out and graft the end together. Then I just knit as many rows as I feel like with a particular yarn, then cut and start a new color. My only rules are that colors that are too similar can’t be next to each other, and that the glittery yarns need to be spaced at least 3” apart. Also, since I’m working on DPNs, I don’t cut the yarns and rejoin between the same needles every time; I try to stagger that so I don’t have my jogs all in the same place. I don’t weave in my ends either… I overhand knot them together at least 3 times, then trim them to about 1″ and keep on knitting. Since the scarf is a tube, the ends will never be visible! I plan to knit this scarf til I get tired of it (or until it’s about 7′ long, whichever comes first), then kitchener graft the end together and call it done. I think it’s going to be a lot of fun, and it will function as a sort of memory quilt: whenever I look at a particular section, it reminds me of what was going on when I was knitting it, the project the original yarn was used in, or the friend that gave those scraps to me. It’s the sock yarn scarf version of a memory quilt! 🙂 If you’d like to see my project page over on Ravelry, you can check it out here.

Anyways, I think it’s an excellent use for scrap sock yarn, and would be a great use for my Sock Yarn Minis Sets that I carry in the shop!

 

I also wanted to let y’all know that I have a HUGE shop update planned for the night of Thanksgiving, right around midnight! It will be at least 40-50 listings, and will have a little bit of every single product that I carry represented in it. I’ll also be offering a special deal just for blog readers, Plurk followers, and listeners of my podcast… so be sure to stay in touch between now and then, so you can find out all about that update and the special! 🙂 I’ll be posting more about it in the coming days.

 

Stay warm, and thanks in advance for your support of my shop!

XO-

Dana

11/8/12 Shop Update, Voyage Aran spotlight, and some musings

Hey friends! Here is today’s shop update preview. It goes live at 2pmET (normal Thursday update time).

11-8-12 Shop Update

Once again, while getting this update put together, I found more of my Halloween fiber (this time on Transylvania Tramp on Polwarth!) and am listing it in the SALE section of the shop for 25% off. This will probably be the last of it until next Halloween, unless I manage to unearth another braid or skein in my SAFF stock as I continue to move it into shop stock.

Today I am starting the practice dyeing for my November installment of the 2 Crafty Girls yarn club I do with my buddy, ponkie (aka Another Crafty Girl). The theme for this round is “Kevin Bacon Movie Night”, and I have a really fantastic idea and can’t wait to see how it comes out! It is a bit out of my normal comfort zone but I’ve been trying to branch out a bit lately, and I think it’s been pretty successful so far. 🙂

While doing the practice dyeing for the club, I’m also taking the opportunity to test dye some new prospective yarns for the shop. I am evaluating a trio of DK weight yarns, and I hope to pick one to debut by the end of the month, and will hopefully be debuting a sportweight in December (have not made up my mind on which one I want of those, either). For the longest time I’ve only done fingering/sock weight yarn, but I’ve started to see a trend amongst smaller indies like myself toward having heavier weights available in our dye lines, and so far it seems to be catching on with the knitting public at large. I hope the trend continues, and that it is a success in my shop, because there’s something so much fun about dyeing large lots of heavier weight yarns for larger projects! I already plan to make a sweater for myself out of whatever DK weight I choose, and I’ve recently become addicted to knitting sportweight socks so I’m sure there are a lot of those in my future as well.

Speaking of new weights, have you seen my new Aran weight base? It is called Voyage Aran and it is just so luscious! It is a nice round 3ply yarn in a wonderful squishy 100% British bluefaced leicester wool. If you enjoy making felted soakers, this yarn is DEFINITELY one you want to take a look at. It’s also great for accessory projects, and I could definitely see knitting a sweater out of it. There are several skeins of this yarn going up in today’s update: one skein in Abalone (the last of a dyelot, I’m afraid) and 4 skeins of Sakura. Since each skein is 181yds/100g, a skein will easily make a hat (or two!), and the four skeins of Sakura would make a great vest or accessory set! Here are larger pictures of the two colorways of Voyage that are going up today. (click the picture to see more detail!)

“Sakura” Voyage Aran (4 skeins available)

“Abalone” Voyage Aran (1 skein avaiable)

I actually knit a hat with one of the skeins of Abalone from the same dyelot pictured, and it is SO much fun. All I have is my horrible cell phone picture from my Ravelry project page, so forgive the quality.

“Gehry” Hat

I used 1/2 skein of Voyage Aran and the Gehry pattern from Ravelry and size US9 & 10.5 needles. Love it!

Well I guess that’s all for me today. I hope you guys enjoy the update, and as always, thanks for reading!

XO-

Dana

11/05/12 Shop Update, merino/yak fiber spotlight and the Sanibel Stoop colorway inspiration story

Hi everybody! Here is tonight’s shop update preview. It goes live at 8pmET.

11/05/12 Shop Update Mosaic

As often as I can, I’m going to attempt to take one item out of each update, and either explain why that item is unique, or talk about how I came up with its colorway. This update, I’m going to attempt to do both! 😀

 

Merino/Yak Roving in the colorway “Sanibel Stoop”

I am absolutely crazy about this roving type, and if you haven’t tried it you really should! It is a lovely blend of 50% merino/50% yak down, and is the natural grayish-brown that you see peeking out in some spots in the picture. When I dye this roving, I am particularly careful not to cover up all of the natural beauty of the roving, and I am also exceptionally careful not to get the water too hot as it can make it sticky and unpleasant to draft. (and with it being as expensive as it is, TRUST ME, I pay special attention when dyeing this fiber!!) It is a delight to spin, and wants to spin pretty thin. I wouldn’t necessarily recommend it for beginners because it is rather short-stapled, but if you have a bit of spinning experience under your belt, it is a nice affordable luxury. In my shop, this particular fiber is $28/4oz (between 112g-117g per braid).
Now, for the colorway inspiration. As many of you know, my husband and I got married in April of this year, and for our honeymoon we went to Sanibel Island in Florida. We had actually been there on vacation several years ago and enjoyed it, so it seemed a natural choice for our first vacation as husband and wife. While there, we spent a lot of time on the beach looking for shells. If you have been to the beach before I’m sure you’ve looked for shells too, but you need to understand: at Sanibel, shelling is SRS BSNSS. People (including C and myself) get up with the sun and get down to the beach to find the most beautiful specimens. The “trash line” is where you find the real treasures, tangled up in the flotsam that washes up after a good storm or tidal change.

Sanibel trash line

There are huge drifts of seashells…

Large “shell drift”

And sometimes you get to see the most extraordinary sight: people, as far as the eye can see, doing the “Sanibel Stoop” digging through these shell drifts, looking for the rarest treasures. On the second day of our honeymoon there blew up a rather ferocious storm, and the shelling was indeed spectacular. What caught my eye the most, though, was not the shells… it was this one particular woman’s brightly flowered pants. She was a brave lady to bend over “in front of God and everybody” in those pants… I think you probably can figure out why. But seeing her digging through “shelldrifts” looking for that perfect shell, in her cheerful (read: eye-searing) flowered pants is a picture that I’ll probably keep in my mind’s eye til I depart this earth, and will always make me chuckle.

And that, my dears, is what inspired Sanibel Stoop.

Do you have a favorite colorway that you’d like to hear the story behind? Please feel free to leave me a comment, and I’ll do my best to accommodate you the next time that colorway goes up in an update! 🙂

Thanks for reading, and for supporting my shop!

XO-

Dana

Survey- Etsy checkout methods

So I am currently evaluating the new Etsy Direct Checkout Method and considering offering it in my shop, and I’d love your input. Would you guys mind taking a survey for me? Your responses are completely anonymous and confidential. Thank you!

Take the survey here.

I am hesitant to offer Direct Checkout for a few reasons… and I want to share those with you guys, so that you can better understand why I (and other Etsy sellers) did not immediately start offering Direct Checkout as soon as it was made available.

1. Etsy Direct Checkout holds a seller’s money for multiple days, which makes preorders  and deposits for custom orders very complicated. The current setup only releases the money to the seller’s account after the seller has provided shipment information, or after 3 days, whichever is longer. While I’m sure this would work out for a seller who only sells ready-to-ship items, I do a fairly large amount of custom orders and preorders in my shop. I use deposits for custom orders and preorders to pay for the stock I need to dye those orders, and if that money isn’t released til the item has been shipped, then it’s almost pointless to do deposits.

2. The fees associated with Etsy Direct Checkout are substantially higher than those associated with PayPal. This is fairly self-explanatory… it can lead to price increases over time, especially when a seller is mainly dealing in lower-cost items where the profit margin on each item is a lot smaller. Add in coupon codes, and the profit margin becomes even smaller.

3. Etsy is not very seller-friendly when it comes to disputes. I have had more than one situation where a customer was being dishonest, and Etsy would not take up for me as a seller. I understand that the customer should not have to prove that they are telling the truth when dealing with a dispute with a seller (and I have not had to deal with this but three times in my 6 years of business, because I have AWESOME customers on the whole!) but when a seller can readily prove that the customer is lying about not receiving product, or not receiving a refund, then Etsy should not take the customer’s side. And having Etsy be the end-all-be-all arbiter in a dispute makes me very, very nervous.

4. When money goes into my PayPal account, it is immediately available for my use with my PayPal debit card. I can use that money to buy stock  the very same day if I want/need to, or supplies for my business, or what have you. Having the money someone just paid for my item tied up in my Etsy shop account would hamper my ability to use the money I make as soon as I make it (and it can be really down-to-the-wire to make money and have it immediately go out the door for stock or supplies… having that money tied up would be catastrophic during really high-volume times in my shop!).

All of that being said, I am still considering adding Direct Checkout to my site for two reasons:

1. Etsy gift cards. I think it would be absolutely awesome to be able to accept gift cards on Etsy! (and use them myself too!) There are a lot of people I’d love to give an Etsy gift card to, and I’d be honored if someone could use one of the gift cards in my shop.

2. Some customers just don’t like PayPal, and I like the option of giving them an alternative payment method.

So, what are your thoughts? Do you have a strong opinion about Direct Checkout one way or the other? I’d love to hear from you! Please take the survey linked above, and feel free to leave a comment here on the blog! (of course, blog comments will be visible for all to see, and the survey responses will be completely anonymous… so keep that in mind! thanks!)

Hugs,

Dana

Hi everybody!

After not blogging for a very long time, I have decided to start a blog just for my Etsy shop! On this blog you will find notifications of shop updates and new products, sales, coupon codes, and just random musings and previews of new colorways. You might occasionally get a survey or two as well!

Thanks so much for all of your support over the last 6 years of my business, and I look forward to sharing more of my creative process with you guys!

Love,

Dana