1.23.2009

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!

55 comments:

Unknown said...

Ooh, pretty. The most enticing way I have seen yarn displayed was in big kitchenware (mixing bowls, stock pots, or out on big platters), with wooden spoons, whisks, spatulas, etc. tucked in with knitting needles. Very cute!

Rav name: lelsesq

PhatLady said...

I think you should fill a baby with it and sell tickets to wallow around in it ;)

rav id: phatfiberlady

Debbie said...

I haven't been fortunate to get to go to any shows, I live in Alaska. but what I think would be neat is to have a scarf or something shown in front and the yarn it's made with behind it, maybe on a necklace stand....that way people get a feel for what it looks like knit up. Thanks for the contest, your yarn looks gorgeous! Debbie

Lisa said...

So excited about you moving to Cincy. Then I can get my Sock Yarn Cinema quicker. Good luck with the move.

As far as Stiches... I like seeing the yarn by weight because I usually look for a project type. That way I can see all of what the booth has and of course I am tempted by other beauties. It is good to see it hanging.

Unknown said...

I like seeing yarn of like colors but different weights mixed together. Having other things mixed in, like Notreally said, helps. But things other than wood, like a stuffed animal, or drop spindles, etc. Really enhance the presentation.

canyongirl said...

As soon as I read this, I thought of your January colorway and how attractive to the eye that would be. Chocolate brown and all those yummy candy colors for your tablecloths, backdrops, etc. and your signage. Obvious giveaways for visiting the booth would be chocolate & other goodies. You could even have a drawing at your booth for several "mini"-skeins of that color - little sample-sizes of your yarn, enough to knit a tiny sock. Happy booth designing to you!

Renate said...

Congratulations on your move and going to Stitches! I like to see sock yarn displayed hanging up by weight. Also a swatch knitted up to show what the yarn looks like knitted. Chocolate sounds good too!
rav name: nanaswoolies
Renate

Gayle said...

Welcome to Ohio!! Baskets--we love baskets in this part of the country and since your shop will now be in Ohio, dye up some OSU yarn--the Buckeyes love anything scarlet and gray.

Gayle, who loves your yarn

Aunt Kathy said...

I like the basket idea too, and I also like a small swatch to see what it might look like knitted, but I also like the surprise of a new colorway too.

I am gimpykatk on Ravelry

Oh and by the way RUDY is one of my favorite all time movies. I cry every time I watch it.

Leslie said...

Yes, you need to display your yarn and it probably should be by weight with a few samples. But you need something to get people inside your booth to look - or at least to make them stop.

My suggestion? Go to the local college and employ two male and two female student athletes. Conditions of employment are they they know how to knit or are willing to learn (also to help set up and take down the booth). Students dress in t-shirts tastefully displaying buff attractive bodies and big smiles while sitting in various parts of booth (two at front at all times) knitting!! with big smiles :D.

Young people attract young people and grandparents. Attractive people will attract. Happy smiling people will attract.

Good luck to us both!

marchdi said...

I'm very happy for you and your husband! Good luck to you both. I was thinking that the environment is on alot of people's minds these days so how about a "green" theme? Use pale and dark greens as well or beige and brown background colors.Maybe a bit of a garden theme with flower pots for the yarn and other garden props for wool dislay like small buckets maybe even a small wheelbarrow. Soft music and soy candles that smell good. Use display props like baskets and bamboo. A free pattern for a knitted grocery sack or soap in a sweater. Eco friendly wool wash and your lavendar as props. Info about your "eco friendly dyes". Hope all goes well!-Rav ID--marchdi

Teri said...

I like it by color and kinda messy. I am always intimidated by the perfect displays, like I shouldn't touch and creating for me is a messy process.

I also like when it is displayed like you'd use it, a basket with yarn spilling out and some needles- like you are working a projecct.

ravname- zuwkeeper

Kate said...

Love these comments, keep 'em coming!

Wendy said...

Personally I'm drawn by color. But when I go a yarn hunting I'm more comfortable first knowing that the section that I'm looking in is all the same weight first, color second, especially if I'm project hunting. Most boths in shows and festivals that I've been to rely on either the wooden crate bookshelf look or the yarn hanging from pegs on a pegboard look. I think if you want to attract people, for the most part your yarn will do the job for you. But by adding a 'different' look to your display would really help too. I'm also always on the lookout for interesting non-yarn knitting objects to collect at these things.

idyll hands said...

My No. 1 favorite way to see yarn displayed is with vintage/old suitcases of various sizes (that is what I do). 2nd favorite is with old milkcrates (the wooden ones) stacked on top of each other like small shelves. Having the yarn piled in those looks really good. I don't care too much for baskets as I've snagged good yarn on bad baskets - so I steer away from that myself... but I certainly will buy a yarn I like if it's in a basket.

MaryAnne said...

Love this color - go Irish!

I like to see yarns displayed by weight - it makes it easier for me to find what I need. I think sample projects are a great idea, both simple and more complicated.

And I like what Teri said about having the display be a bit messy...I am also intimated by too much neatness. Spilling out of baskets, crates, just about anything - as long as it is easy to look through and customers won't "mess up" the presentation.

Good luck with the move!

Courtney said...

That is very pretty yarn! Myself living in Cali, that reminds me of the Chargers :-)...ok, now to the contest, I think a good way to display yarn is cubbies (Shelves) surrounding you on all three sides with it wide open in the middle would be REALLY nice, that way you can see all the yarn and there is plenty of room in the center for everyone to walk around. Just a suggestion, I think it would be the best way to use a small space and get the most yarn in it. I think tables take too much room and customers dont have room to walk.

You could then separate by color, weight, and any other way you might have in mind :-)

Etsy username: knitnpurlgurl
Ravelry name: knitnpurlgurl

Andrea said...

ooh, love the colors! BTW, I came to your blog from the Phat Fiber blog.

teabird said...

My favorite way to see yarn displayed: by weight, then by colour. Otherwise, I want to just scoop up random armloads... oh, wait - that's what you want, right?

hmmm.

teabird / ravelry

Kenyetta said...

Very pretty! I like to see yarn separated by weight, then color. I also like an occasional swatch.
Kenyetta on Ravelry

purple-power said...

I love seeing yarn by weight. Although I am flexible, I often want to see what is available for a specific project. Having to wade through lovely yarn, of the wrong weight is mostly a frustration for me. And do hang them up so you can easily see the full skein coloring.

I'm purple on ravelry

Unknown said...

The yarn is really pretty and even though I've no interest in football.

I like to look at yarn by weight, and hanging on pegs or something like that at eye level.

e-mail jerseyjessie AT gmail

Turtle said...

a pretty colorway representing a good irish college! I used to have a kiosk in hawaii for scrapbooking items. Hubby and i took a set of those squares you assemble into box crates/bookshelves and assembled them into a large letter C on it's side. With simple S-hooks you can easily hang the yarn and make it as full or skimpy as you like...a wall of yarn! All this can easily be done on a 6 foot table (with 2 sets of the crates) or 1/2 a table of walled yarn and half for sales, or anything extra you have! Easy to set up, take down, store etc!

cksknitter said...

I like a sample of what's available on a table with yarn displayed at different heights by stacking boxes under a tablecloth and then placing the yarn in bowls, baskets, etc. would be nice. Then have the actual for sale yarn hanging and labeled so that it is easy to find. I also like to see test knits on display that show how your yarn looks knit up. My ravelry user name is cksknitter.

wenat said...

I'll nth the recommendation for swatches. Yarn often gets so much softer when it's knit up, which is a huge selling factor.

Also, for hand-dyed yarns, it totally helps me visualize how the yarn will knit up.

rav: wenat

Martha said...

I love seeing yarn by weight, then color, but having a few skeins of, say, blue together in their own container jump right out at me as well.

I also love seeing swatches done in the yarns, especially variegated yarns.

Sharon Rose said...

By weight is most practical, but by color is more eyecatching and will bring more people into your shop. :) Having knit swatches is very useful!
Sharon / Needlegrrl on Ravelry

Kristen said...

When looking at a variety of yarns I find it easiest to absorb if they are sorted by weight. Beyond that I like to see them in baskets or in cubes by fiber and with similar color groupings.

globalite on ravelry

Elaine said...

I'll just summarize my preferences:

1) By weight
2) If it is hand dyed or hand painted, I definitely prefer to see a full skein hanging - that's the easiest way for me to process it.
3) I love a swatch so that I can see how it works up.

My hotmail acct is elweyu

Unknown said...

I feel so me-too :-)

Like most people, I like to see them by weight. I am usually looking for something specific (unless there is an impulse buy moment) I also like to see it hanging - I hate routing around in baskets - I feel like I'm messing things up, the skeins get to looking shopworn (or as a friend calls it stashburn) and I feel like a criminal if I touch everything and don't buy whereas if they are hanging, I can see whether or not I love anything. Swatches are a definite plus and get me into a booth when there are many to choose from

EJ AKA bloglessinnj AT gmail DOt com

Melissa said...

Oooh, nice colors!
When I go to wool markets, I am most attracted to those vendors with yarn in cubbie holes (arranged by weight, then color). It seems to be good use of space by using up all 3 walls. Your cash register (money box, bags, etc) could be on a small island in the center. This way you see everything and are able to talk to customers and answer questions (it's good marketing to connect with people, they then associate your yarn with you!) without stumbling over baskets or peering around hanging displays.
The other places (with hanging displays or baskets) got too messy - it was hard to see all the yarn, it felt cramped (especially with a few people in there) and I was getting caught on almost every hanging display there!
I like the idea of mini-skein samples, or maybe you could have a drawing for a set of mini-skein samples every hour. That would make it more exciting - people like to win things!

helenlam said...

Those are my colors! I prefer it organized by weight and displayed on hooks/pegs. I don't like it when there are multiple colorways on one peg because inevitablely I always want the one in the back. I also dislike cubbies because of yarn avalanche potential.

Have fun at Stitches!

|chee-uh| said...

I like seeing it hung by weight and then by colour. This way I had have to sort through piles (and you don't get a mess). Easier to take stock too.

Unknown said...

I think if it's hung up it will be easy to feel but not get messed up. Feeling a yarn is a necessity for me. Also putting same weights together helps as well.
HUgs Patt
rav id: PattM

anne watson said...

Rudy sock yarn! I am an HUGE HUGE ND fan. Please Pick me? :)

I think you should set up your booth using wire stackable crates by yarn weight -- leave them about half empty so that people can pull yarn out and squeeze it and so it looks like you've already sold a ton. Oh and take cheap bamboo needles, hot glue buttons or trinkets on the top and put them in vases around the display. You can get a bunch on ebay from Japan for cheap! Maybe raffle off the needles at the end of the show!

Rav name: Irish99

ikkinlala said...

I prefer that yarn be displayed by weight rather than colour, because that makes it easier to find what I want. I like baskets or shelves (or dishes etc.) better than I like pegs, because with pegs I've found that sometimes previous customers have skewered the skeins oddly on them.

ikkinlala AT yahoo DOT ca

Unknown said...

I like it arranged by weight and hung so that I can look at the whole hank easily and feel easily.

The problem with baskets or crates is what someone else mentioned, often they become tangled and messy by the time I get there.

I can be reached at tomknit at gmail

katerina said...

I like to see the yarn hanging by color (so iguess pegs)- that way it catches your eye so you walk over, and then it's easy to fondle and see what weight it is. The other thing I love to see is a few samples to show how it knits up - that's a real clincher for me! Have fun - you've got Beatiful yarn and thanks for the cute contest!

tripletsmom said...

Very pretty yarn!

I have never been lucky enough to attend a Stitches event. I would agree with others to hang hand painted and keep like weights together. However, I think antique baskets, or just interesting baskets, attractive drop spindles and such would add to the ambience. My Rav id is TripletMom

Katherine said...

I love Canyongirl's idea of chocolate at your booth, mostly because I'm planning on going to StitchesMW this year and would love some chocolate while shopping!

My first thought was putting the yarn in big glass jars or vases or urns -- a really big container that clearly showed its contents. But people (myself included) love to touch the yarn. Maybe one or two big glass jar thingies and the rest of your lovely yarn on trays.

Good luck!

Tally Knits said...

Hanging, separated in stylish ways that still make sense. My favorite way I've seen was on lattice with pegs/hooks and on drying racks, hanging over. Simple, easy to touch and feel, easy to see everything for comparisons, etc.

Bea said...

I haven't been to any shows yet :( but I love seeing the yarn displayed in colors types at the LYS. Baskets are great so that you can see it really well (as opposed to shelves) but I guess that might not help much with a booth. I also love seeing those pictures with all the yarn hanging from peg walls. I just want to go stand there and reach out and pick up pretty yarns for my very own.

(I'm Yarnpig on ravelry.)

Deeners said...

I don't like baskets or shelves. I worry that people would be rooting around in them all day and mix up the yarn or worse, damage/tangle it. If the yarn is in hanks, i've seen pegboards with metal rods sticking out of them and they hang the hanks on them. Or the big spinning racks with places to hang the yarn.

definitely sort the yarn by weight and have prices on the yarn. There is nothing more akward than needing to repeatedly ask how much things are. And I feel even more embarrassed when I realize that everything in my hands is over my budget and need to put things back. A lot of times, I just won't even ask and find a booth that has prices.

Swatches, samples and free patterns are great ways to get people in to the booth.

Rav Name: KnittingKnadine

crochetgurl said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
crochetgurl said...

I haven't been to a fiber festival, but the thing that draws me most when I'm looking at yarn pictures is when the yarn is displayed in bowls and baskets. When the bowls are in a natural, wood color, it tends to bring out the vibrancy of the colors for me. :-)

My Ravelry ID is crochetgurl.

Darcys Knotty Knitter said...

I love to see it hanging that catches my eyes immediately and a swatch is important to:)Hugs Darcy
Ravelry Id knottyknitter40

Unknown said...

I think Yarn looks beautiful done by color. With some knitted swatches so I can see just what it'll look like if I were to buy and use it.

Suzy Girl said...

Oooh!! That Rudy is very pretty!! (Is pretty an appropriate description for a sports-themed yarn??)
Personally I love to see yarn displayed by color. And though I love baskets and other containers, like old boxes and such, I appreciate yarn at shows hanging on pegs. From a distance, approaching the booth and seeing all those pretty colors gets my heart pitter pattering!
Good Luck.

Robin said...

OH...I have to comment on this one! I MUST win Rudy Yarn...My new puppy is named "Rudy" for our favorite movie!!

As for displaying yarn...I just love to see great colorways...doesn't matter how they are displayed!

MamaMay said...

OH so pretty!

My fav way to see yarn displayed is by color. I also like it when a yarn that has multiple colorways has a colorway chart thing next to the color yarn on display (does this make any sense?).

I also really like it when yarn stores have little cards tied to the racks that say how much each yarn is vs having little stickers on them.

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...

I love to see coordinating colors grouped together rather than separate. If you can have items knit up so people can see how the specific yarn looks, that would be great (or at least a swatch).

rav id: mjlegg

knitmomma said...

I like by weight best, and I like baskets...however, at a show I think that might make a ton of extra work (I think it would get messed up more easily.)

I also love how yarn looks displayed on hooks, and I think that would stay neat more easily. Perhaps harder to set-up and take down, though!

Congrats on having a booth!
email from blog, knitmomma on ravelry

Kate said...

Thanks to everyone for the wonderful comments, they have been super helpful! I think I've figured out a way to hang full skeins of my variegated colorways against the back wall without them getting tangled on pegs and have shelves on the sides of the booth for semisolids and accessories.

I'll have to get to work on swatches since it seems like that's a big help to everyone!

I'm not sure what theme I'll be doing, but I love the idea of having one, and you can bet there will be some giveaways!

The winners of the drawing are:
cksknitter
Deneers

I'll be contacting them via Ravelry for their mailing addresses.

Happy Superbowl Sunday!

MsAmpuTeeHee said...

ooo Stitches! what fun for you!

I have been to StitchesWest a few times now, and I always find it easier to navigate a booth that has yarn sorted by weight, and the skeins hung on some sort of rods or peg board. Booths get packed with people really quickly, and the more vertical the yarn gets, the more I am drawn in from the aisleway. When the yarn is stored low or in bins, it's harder to see. Also, in my experience, the skeins in baskets and bins are often handled and tossed around into an unorganized and tangled mess after a couple of hours.

One option would be to hand a skein or two of a colorway up higher, and then have baskets of it underneath, maybe?

Anyhow, yay for you--have fun, and good luck! ~bonnie (aka amputeehee on rav)