Sock Yarn Cinema and Spinner's Cinema

Alrighty, I know you're busy decorating and shopping and baking and furiously creating last minute gifts (hey, anytime in the month of December is last minute when you're hand-making it!) but I wanted to update you on our plans for next year.

To start with, we're going to be pulling back a bit on dyeing yarns and fibers to focus on our monthly clubs. The Sock Club comes out in January, and it features Sock Yarn Cinema, so there'a good chance that demand is going to go up a bit (well at least we hope so), plus I'm starting to miss out on some of the joys of mothering, so I'm going to really streamline things for a few years. We'll still be dyeing up yarns and fibers and creating gorgeous spinning batts, but updates and crazy sales will be a bit further apart than they have been in the past.

Next, we're going to change the system for Sock Yarn Cinema. Although we've enjoyed the freedom of billing things out monthly, and the way it makes cash flow easier to control, we're going to change back to a prepaid only system, selling several months at a time. There are many reasons for this change, a big one is that it will allow us to put in our order at the mill way in advance so we can be a bit more regular in our shipping. The other is it allows us to offer our members discounts for buying multiple months at once. The third and biggest for us is that we're planning on trying for another little fiber lover this year, and my pregnancies are a bit unpredictable. Some days I feel great, but sometimes I can't get out of bed for a week. To plan around this I will probably be dyeing up 2-3 months at a time just in case I'm not feeling well each month.

Now here are the really exciting parts of the plan for all of you:

1. Because they're prepaid, they make great Christmas gifts - start begging your families and significant others now and you could end up with a year of yarn!

2. You can choose any length of subscription and pick and choose what movies you want with your membership. So if you love 6 of the movies we have planned, choose a 6 month subscription and let us know which ones you want - it doesn't have to be consecutive months. The way they are priced, you'll end up with a discount too!

3. There will be a limited number of packages available for each month, but we'll let you know in the etsy listings if any month is getting close to being sold out. We'll take reservations as lons as they're available, so if you want to wait till March to join, no biggie, you can totally do that.

4. We're doing a crazy giveaway to promote our Spinner's Cinema club - a brand new Ashford Kiwi spinning wheel. It's great for beginners and can grow with you as you get more comfortable. Each month purchased = 1 entry into the drawing. So if you're just starting to spin and you want to upgrade from your drop spindle to a real wheel - here's your chance! Or if you want to give a 3 month subscription to your fiber buddy as a gift and have a chance to win yourself a wheel - there you go! We just want to spread around the spinning love!

(It's a big thing to ship - so this giveaway has to be limited to US participants - but if an international buyer wins the drawing, we'll do our best to find a distributor in your country, if we can't find one that is reasonably priced, we'll give you a $350 gift certificate to the shop instead - you can get a whole lotta fiber for that!)

My little family would just like to send out a big thanks to all of you for supporting us in our fiber endeavors! It has been amazing to watch our little independant business grow and we look forward as we continue to Knit it Up!

Happy Holidays to everyone!

Kate

Poppytalk

First, can I just say how much I love the name of poppytalk's blog? I think because it sounds like "poppycock" which seems like such a fun word to use in casual conversation. I'm definitely going to use it sometime this week.

I do spend most of my talk-time chatting with kids under the age of 5 so it shouldn't be too hard.

Anyway - just wanted to give a little plug for Poppytalk's Handmade Market. Here are just a few of my faves that I've found in their new holiday market:

kiki and polly

white owl jewelry

beehive kitchenware

Dye Pots are Bubbling

I love it when I get an unexpected opportunity to throw some yarn in pots and get them going!

Just getting a bit more stock ready for the Black Friday madness. (Seriously, doesn't shopping for yarn in your jammies sound better than getting up at 4AM to stand in the cold and buy stuff that isn't even fibery?)

Etsy Love - Kande

Oh etsy, how I love thee! Where else can I find such a conglomeration of handmade goodness? I got this bracelet from etsy seller Kande (aka Kristina Henning), and just adore it! It is very well-made and came in the most beautiful packaging. Any item from her shop would make a lovely Christmas surprise for someone on your list, and you won't even have any wrapping to do!

I have excessively simple tastes when it comes to jewelry, so I'm always looking for pieces that are special, without being too crazy. I guess it's because I'm kind of petite, so big chunky statement pieces never look right on me. I'm very excited about this etsy seller in particular, because her jewelry is just the right mix of sophistication and fun. Here are a few others I'm coveting, (just in case Santa is reading this post).

Twitter Tuesday - Giveaway

Hey - want to win a tin of our lovely gift tags just in time for Holiday gift giving?

Follow us on twitter, and RT our latest tweet about the contest. We'll pick a winner at the end of the day, you get to choose if you want knitter, crocheter, or crafter tags and we'll send them right out.

Man, that was so easy!

Handmade or Buy It?

Obviously with two etsy shops and as a lover of all things fibery I am a big proponent of handmade. And whenever I check out Martha Stewart's blog, I'm sure to find another project that entices me. Like these textured pillows.

I find myself yearning to create them - they're so gorgeous and yet... Check out these beauties available at Target for $20. Which is very likely less than what I'd spend making the Martha ones.

Know what? I bought the pillows from Target. I'll spend my free craft time knitting furiously on the Christmas gifts I haven't even started yet. (And quite a few that have been cast on and are patiently awaiting completion!) But I'm still tucking the idea away for that mythical time when my children are all grown up, I am independently wealthy, and have my days completely free to craft to my heart's content.

Well, until then, there's always Target!

Etsy Finds - Where the Wild Things Are

The night Max wore his wolf suit, and made mischeif of one kind, and another, his mother called him...

Although I haven't seen the movie yet, Maurice Sendak's classic has been a favorite of both of my children. My baby (OK so he's almost 2) is particularly loving it right now. I love that it stokes their imagination and encourages them to deal with their fears. When some very scary looking trick-or-treaters came to our door on Saturday, he roared at them!

So here's a collection of some lovely etsy finds inspired by Wild Things...

Max Ornament from Batzie09

Belt Buckle by flightpathdesigns

Illustration by Nan Lawson

Socktoberfest Winners

I just couldn't wait till 4, I thought, what the heck I've got the names in a bowl ready to be drawn (no computerized picking here) let's get to it!

So here are our winners....

Grand Prize: MaryJo Legg
{A gorgeous Namaste Zuma Knitting Bag filled with Knit it Up accessories and a Sock Yarn Rainbow - 7 skeins of sock yarn, one for each color in the rainbow!}

1st Prize: Lisa Muehleis
{An incredibly gorgeous stone spindle from Zebsis and a Knit it Up Adventurous Spinning Batt}

2nd Prize: Monkeysink
{A custom-dyed skein of sock yarn. You pick your favorite colors, piece of artwork, movie, whatever you want it based on and I'll create a colorway just for you.}

3rd Prize: PhatFiber (yes I see the irony here!)
{Knitting Mega-Sampler (8 mini-skeins of Knit it Up yarns to try) + $10 Gift Certificate to the shop. You can substitute a spinning sampler if you like!}

4th Prize: Aberdonian
{Spinning Mega-Sampler (8 half ounce Knit it Up fiber samples to try) + $10 Gift Certificate to the shop. You can substitute a yarn sampler if you like!}

5th Prize: Rois
Knit it Up Accessory Sampler (hand balm, gift tags and wool wash).

I'll be contacting the winners individually to let them know of their good fortune and get their mailing addresses. Thanks to everyone who participated in the sale and drawing - it was so fun!

What's coming up...
Mark your calenders for our day-after-Thanksgiving blowout. This will be our last sale of the year and a great time to stock up on gift tags and even some last minute yarn and fiber buys for holiday gift giving. Or, if you're like me, for the selfish knitting kick you immerse yourself in every year on December 25th! This sale will include some free yarn giveaways so keep your eyes peeled. We'll post more details here the week of the sale, or if you'd like the information to come to you, sign up for our Newsletter to receive emails every month or so with information about new products and upcoming sales.

Socktoberfest Starts October 1st!

We're celebrating Socktoberfest here at Knit it Up with a sale and the chance to win some amazing prizes along the way.

Here are the details:

Sale Dates: October 1st - October 7th

All sock yarns 20% off!

All other yarns, spinning fiber, gift tags and accessories 15% off.

Drawing: 1 entry for every item purchased during the sale, plus you can get 1 free entry by leaving a comment right here on this post!

Prizes:

Grand Prize: A gorgeous Namaste Zuma Knitting Bag filled with Knit it Up accessories and a Sock Yarn Rainbow - 7 skeins of sock yarn, one for each color in the rainbow! (Yep, that pic at the top is the prize yarn!)

1st Prize: An incredibly gorgeous stone spindle from Zebsis and a Knit it Up Adventurous Spinning Batt

2nd Prize: A custom-dyed skein of sock yarn. You pick your favorite colors, piece of artwork, movie, whatever you want it based on and I'll create a colorway just for you.

3rd Prize: Knitting Mega-Sampler (8 mini-skeins of Knit it Up yarns to try) + $10 Gift Certificate to the shop.

4th Prize: Spinning Mega-Sampler (8 half ounce Knit it Up fiber samples to try) + $10 Gift Certificate to the shop.

5th Prize: Knit it Up Accessory Sampler (hand balm, gift tags and wool wash).

So what are you waiting for? Post a comment today to be entered to win, and shop it up the first week of October for more chances!

(Did we mention that pre-ordering the Nightmare Before Christmas series counts for 5 entries? Oh yeah!)

Phat Fiber Giveaway Drawing

Hi phatties! Thanks for tuning in as we announce the winner of the full sized Dances With Wolves Sock Yarn Cinema package.

(August's Phat Fiber Box was themed "Meet Me at the Fair" so of course, we did a Sock Yarn Cinema package of yarn and goodies based on the musical Meet Me in St. Louis. Everyone who received one of our Phat samples was entered into a "raffle" for a full sized SYC package.)

And the winners are....

Ticket #0944002
Ticket #0944030
Ticket #0944025

Contact Kate to claim your prize: (kate@knititupyarns.com)

(For those of you who didn't get a Phat Fiber package with details about Sock Yarn Cinema, check out this post for more information, pricing, our 2009-2010 lineup, etc. Want to hear what current SYC members are talking about? Check out our Ravelry Group!)

Twitter Tuesdays

Just a reminder that every Tuesday we're announcing giveaways and shop discounts on our Twitter page here: twitter.com/knititup

We've already given away super cute stitch markers:

a set of our popular gift tags:

and today's giveaway: gorgeous yarn!

Some weeks it's a giveaway, some a secret sale discount, but every week makes it totally worth it to sign up for Twitter and check in on Tuesdays!

Books for Kids who have Fiber-Loving Mommies

So lately I've been noticing a whole lotta children's books that appeal to my fiber-loving soul. I'm thinking there's a good chance our new library's Children's Librarian is a knitter. I thought it would be fun to share my discoveries here since I think there are probably a few other fiber-obsessed (yes I upgraded myself from "loving" to "obsessed") mommies out there who would love to find yet another way to impart their obsession to their little ones.

For our first installment, here's a book I thought would be about knitting: Martha Makes Socks by Cambria Evans. Alas, it's about the anti-knitter: a moth who's making socks for dinner! And yet I can't help but identify with her love of all things wooly, and the way she devours scarves, two delicious balls of yarn and other fibery goodies. I guess she's just as fiber-obsessed as the rest of us, and while I read it with my daughter I felt oddly comforted that the moths trying to get at our fibers love them just as much as we do.

But they're still not invited to my stash!

Bamboo Mingus

So I've been dyeing yarns for quite awhile, but I've avoided the sock knitting bug till now. Not sure why really, I guess I love the instant gratification of big chunky knits. Plus, I give most of my knitting away to non-knitters or sell them in my etsy shop, so the time and effort of small yarns and complicated patterns just didn't make sense. I have a feeling that's all about to change!



Here are my very first pair of real socks (I've knit socks with turned heels and everything before - just in bigger yarns for quick gifts) knit up in my new Bamboozled sock yarn. I love these socks... let me count the ways...



1. I'm totally in love with them.

2. I'm realizing how fun it is to do a small but intricate project. It finishes relatively quickly, but is a total work of art!

3. I have a crazy large stash of handpainted sock yarn that I've been knitting scarves out
of - hah! Now I find myself dyeing more sock yarn because I want an exact colorway for a sock project I'm drooling over.

4. I love these socks!

5. Knitting a complicated pattern is oddly relaxing. You can't really focus on anything else so you kind of end up meditating on the pattern instead.

6. I must knit more soon, or else these babies will wear out quickly - I can't seem to take them off!

7. Hiya Hiya 9" circulars mean I can knit them in the round, on 1 pair of circs - total bliss!

8. Did I mention I luuuurve them?

9. I rarely knit for myself and these are a just-for-me luxury I can really sink my needles into.



Oh there's more, but I'll stop there. I'm so excited to finally take the dive and become a real sock fanatic! My new compulsions are all the sock KALs on ravelry. Right now I'm planning to knit every sock in Cookie A's new book, "Sock Innovation" over the next year - at least one pair a month. And I have about 5 other great sock knitting books I've collected over the years as I was hoping to catch the sock bug. I really think it was the Hiya Hiya needles that gave me the extra push - I'm just not a huge fan of double-pointed needles and hate magic loop. Hooray!

Sock Yarn Cinema Season 2

Here are all the details you need to know to be involved this season!

1. Each package will include a skein of yarn inspired by the film, plus extra goodies, like stitch markers, chocolate, project bags, and other fun treats that go along with that month's theme. We'll be using a lot of different bases, but all will be superwash, fingering weight and enough to knit a pair of adult women's socks.

2. The price is $35 per month which includes domestic shipping. (Canadians will be charged $2 per package, everyone else will be charged $3 per package).

3. Some months will have only one colorway, some you'll be offerred a choice between a semi-solid and a variegated colorway, plus the option of buying both at a discounted price.

4. There will be two options for purchasing:

Option A: Reserve a Skein
For this option you need to email Kate: kate@knititupyarns.com with your paypal address. You'll receive an invoice each month before dye day for your package, if you want to reserve a skein, you pay the invoice, if you want to pass that month, just ignore it.

Option B: Scramble
For this option you'll want to join our SYC Junkies Newsletter by clicking here. You'll get an email each month telling you when the packages will be listed in the shop. Packages will be listed at the "secret" time, and they will be sold first-come-first-served. Once they sell out they are gone. You'll get a chance to preview the colorway while the extras will remain a surprise, but you do risk missing out so click fast if you know you want it!

You can always do both - reserve the skeins from your favorite films and then check out the colorways before buying the other ones. Just be sure to be on both lists. We'll also be notifying you of contests just for SYC groupies via the newsletter and the ravelry group.

Oh and of course you might like to know the lineup!

June: My Fair Lady
July: Dances With Wolves
Aug: Jaws
Sept: Under the Tuscan Sun
Oct: Coraline
(Plus I’ll be releasing a special Nightmare Before Christmas series this month!)
Nov: Members Choice
Dec: Christmas Story
Jan 2010: Funny Girl
Feb: Sleepless in Seattle
Mar: Pretty Woman
Apr: Singin’ in the Rain
May: Members Choice

I'll be taking suggestions for members choice months at our Ravelry Group and then we'll vote on the finalists here on the blog.

Can't wait! Invoices for My Fair Lady will start going out May 16th.

I'm BACK!

We're finally getting back to normal after our big move and here's the best part...

IT'S SALE TIME!

SHOP UPDATE

The shop is being updated today will all sorts of fibery yummies, like new colorways, new base yarns and new spinning fibers.

Here's one of my favorite new items: Knit it Up SeaSilk. A gorgeous laceweight yarn that's a blend of SeaCell and Silk. It's so soft and smooth, drapes beautifully and is perfect for summer knitting. This skein is dyed up in our Milk and Honey colorway.

I'll show you one more, our new fine merino top. It's 19.5 Micron which means it is supersoft, high quality stuff. If it wasn't listed in the shop I think I'd just rub it all over my face all day. It's dyed up in our Southwest Sunset colorway:

Oh yes I mentioned something about a sale didn't I?

To celebrate our etsyversary, we usually have a contest with crazy prizes, but I thought right now you all might appreciate some great discounts instead!

Here's the plan:

SALE: March 30th through April 4th.

Everything 15% Off + FREE Shipping Worldwide!

In addition there will be roaming Mega-Deals that change throughout the week. I'll be shipping everyone's packages on April 6th and 7th, so if you like you can check in every day for the best deals. I'll combine all your purchases together for shipping.

A NEW REFERRAL PROGRAM

In other news, our referral program has changed. Instead of having to refer enough friends to earn a skein of sock yarn, you only have to refer 1 new customer to get an immediate 15% discount at the shop. That way you get rewarded right away (and I don't have to keep track of things).

I have so much more to share after such a long break that I'll be blogging much more often. I'll be sharing about our involvement in the Phat Fiber phenomenon, our plans for the second season of Sock Yarn Cinema and other knitterly happenings.

Happy Knitting!

Rudy Sock Yarn Giveaway

Time to celebrate the superbowl season with some football inspired sockyarn!

December's Sock Yarn Cinema selection was Rudy, so I couldn't help dying up a couple of extra skeins to give away during Superbowl time.

This blue, gold and white colorway on my Silky base yarn was inspired by Notre Dame football uniforms, since Rudy is the story of a young man who dreamed of playing for the team. It's a lovely film, whether you're into football or just love a good story. Especially if you're like me and love to root for the underdog.

OK, to win a skein for yourself, I am asking a bit of advice. I'm planning on finally having a booth at Stitches MidWest this year (yay!), so I've been stressing over the best way to display my goods in a small space. If you've been to a show like Stitches, or even just to an LYS, tell me your favorite way to see yarns displayed: by color, by weight, in baskets, on shelves or pegs. etc. Leave a comment with your suggestions plus your email or ravelry username and I'll pick two entries at random to receive a lovely skein of Rudy sock yarn.

The drawing will be held on Superbowl Sunday and announced by the end of the game, so be sure to leave your comment before kickoff!