The Store has been updated with

Dream in Color Smooshy Sock yarn 

Lovesticks Self Striping 

Have a great weekend! Orders will ship on tues/wed because of the holiday!

Enjoy!

Today and yesterday have been amazing mail days.

Yesterday I received two HUGE boxes of Dream in Color sock yarn. I knew there was a really big fuss over this yarn and was about to find out why. Well, it is called smooshy….and it sure is! The colours are stunning  and the yarn is incredible. I am hoping that I will have it all up by Monday. I will send out a newsletter as soon as it is up.

Just when I thought it couldn’t get better this happened:

LoveSticks Self Striping yarn arrived! These are not all of the colours, but close. I was so excited I missed a few.

First of all, not only is the yarn beautiful, but it smells great too! These should be going up at the same time as the Dream in Color yarn. Two incredible yarns at once and the sale!

I quickly snagged 3 skeins of Dream in Color for a shawl, because I just want to wrap myself in it! Lucky for us all Lovesticks sent me my very own skein!

I have wanted to do a little thank you sale for a great first year. It passed early August and I have been working on it ever since.

This is the Back To Knitting Sale. The Kids are almost in school and it’s time to get back to the needles!

The sale will be 2 weeks long and is on NOW and ends Sept 11th! Take your time and look through the store at all of the amazing products we have on sale.

Sale items include:

Katia Bamboo

Gypsy Girl Creations Yarns

All Cherry Tree Hill yarns including Sockittome

Offhand designs Needle Clutches

Hand Painted Spindles

Fiddlesticks Patterns

Bootyfly Knitting Bags-I will probably not put these on sale again!

Let’s jump start our Fall Knitting while we can still enjoy the last days of Summer!

Whoops! Has it really been almost a week since I blogged? Ok, I have been busy knitting and getting the clubs ready for shipping…almost there!

The Fiber club is ready to go…and the final instalment of the Project Spectrum club is finished too!

I have been knitting my buns off on the Bee fields shawl and am almost done the first section. I will post photos soon of the progress.

The Rosey Posey sock is now officially a UFO…and it really isn’t my fault. I lost 2 of the DPN’s, I know..who loses two? So, I am waiting for them to turn up and meanwhile I knit this while watching the UFC this weekend.

It was a really fun knit, I have started the second glove and am so so so in love. The main reason I am in love is the yarn it’s Malabrigo in Rojo Intensio (from my stash..yes!) I love Malabrigo and really need to knit a sweater for the cold damp days of January.

The best moment of this knit was when my sister put the glove on and exclaimed how soft it was. Now, the thing you need to know about my sister is that she hates wool…not yarn, just wool because she is under the impression that all wool is itchy. I have tried to explain it to her, but nothing could do it better than the Malabrigo glove. First I asked her if she thought it was itchy and she said no, then I told her it was wool and she was very impressed!

The pattern is Fetching from knitty, and if you have not knit it, I would suggest you should. A Malabrigo pair of fingerless gloves for under $20…sounds good to me!

Other Exciting news:

Dream In Color Smooshy sock is on it’s way and Sheepaints is also on it’s way!

Look for an End of Summer Sale soon!

The Sweet Sheep has done it again.

A fantastic new club! All EXCLUSIVE Self Striping yarns!

This Monthly club will feature:
Yarntini
Sknitches
Love Sticks
Twisted and
The Sweet Sheep

Starting in OCTOBER you will receive 1 skein per month for 5 months of an exclusive colourway from one of our dyers.
This is a PRE SALE for an OCTOBER shipping.
Some skeins will be seasonal, some will not, but all will be self striping or self patterning!

Spaces are very limited, once they are gone, they’re gone!

Shipping is Included

Penelope…no, not my Penelope…this Penelope:

Award winning designer Jolene Mosley has created this stunning sock exclusively for The Sweet Sheep! Jolene is one of our featured designers in this round of the Sweet Sheep Sock Club.

The name of the sock and the shrug was a fluke, but we both loved the name so much that you will have 2 penelope projects from 2 designers! You can purchase this stunning pattern here  and the yarn here. If there is a colour you would like but it is out of stock, just email me and I will be happy to dye some for you.

Jolene is hard at work on more stunning patterns for us, so keep your eye on the exclusive pattern section of the store. We will also be releasing her patterns from the sock club in Feb.

Today we also have a new hand dyer in the shop! Lotus Yarns! Exceptionally soft yarn and vibrant colours…check them out!

Stay tuned for a big announcement on a new sock club coming to the store.

I have a secret. I have been working on a new line of sock yarns. Ok, I admit I was too excited to keep them a secret. So here is a little sneak peek of Faerie Feet:

I have not finished developing the line yet, but the yarns are superwash BFL and they will also be dyed in Merino/Cashmere. Each Colourway is named after a faerie and comes with a little info on the faerie. They are not ready to hit the shop yet, but I just couldn’t keep it to myself any longer!

Today something became very clear to me while I was taking some photos of Penelope’s progress. I set her down on the floor for a quick snap to show you all the progress.

Then this happened:

Which was immediatly followed by this:

(does it look to anyone else like he is doing laps?)

Simon often gets in my way. I am used to it. He is always under my feet and follows me around all day,  but this was getting to be a bit much. So, I started to think about it and realized that Simon is a Knittin’ Kitty. He is always around while I am knitting/spinning and NEVER batts or chases my yarn. This Cat has great respect for the yarn, he even uses it as a pillow some times.

I did finally manage a Simonless Penelope shot:

She is coming along wonderfully and I am planning on blocking her to get an accurate size for decreases. So I sat down to knit on her a bit more, but someone was making the chart difficult to read.

I think he is in love!

There are a few options for the store I have been considering since I received all of the wonderful feedback from the customer survey. It was very clear that you all would like a rewards program and I think it is a great idea too, so we have 2 options.

Option 1: Received gifts and treats based on the number of orders you place. Kind of like a rewards program 5 orders placed-gift 10 orders placed-gift 15 orders-gift cert…ect

Option 2: Points system- based on the points earned per product you can received money off your future orders.

I am really tied between the two, they both have their benefits. I would love to hear your thoughts.

I am still working on a new carrier for the shipping which will eliminate free shipping, but will be much more reliable and I am very excited about having a more reliable carrier. It is taking a bit more time to put together, but is coming soon.

Free Patterns: I will be working on patterns in the future to post for free on the site. My customers are so wonderful that I really want to give something back..other than fabulous yarn!

I would love to hear your feedback on some of the thoughts for the shop. We are fully stocked and looking forward to fall!

ETA: Last week to sign up for the Sock Club 

Oceanwind Knits is up!!

And what a beautiful order we go this time

We also did receive some beautiful and an EXCLUSIVE colourway, check it out…

CEYEBERFIBER Lace and Sock also went up over the weekend. We will have amazing new yarns from Mama E soon!

Weekend Knitting!

As you can see Penelope got most of the love this weekend

I had to rip the lace back twice but thanks to a great friend I am now working on the back portion of the shrug. I absolutely love how she is coming out so far, and the Great Big Sea Silk is incredible to work with.

I also finished the first of my Sunshine Socks

I will be working on the second on Wednesday night’s Stitch and Pitch at the Blue Jays Game. Anyone else going?

I am so excited for the weekend. And here is why:

Bee Fields Shawl

Penelope Shrug

I am really looking forward to spending some time with these lovely ladies. I have totally fallen for both of these projects and just cannot seem to pick one to work on, so I am working on both at the same time and not making a lot of progress on either.

My knitting mojo is full throtle right now, and I just can’t seem to get enough time in. Can you believe I actually look forward to making dinner so that while it is cooking I can sit down and work on a few rows in peace…me cooking?? First of all, that is strange enough…but enjoying it…hmmm.

The Penelope shrug is getting into the lace portion, the design will take the shape of diamonds as you can kind of see them forming, I am not through a full pattern repeat yet. This is the upper arm portion of the shrug and will continue across the back.

I guess you all might be wondering who the contest winner is….congratulations Michele! She will be taking home these beauties

In Store News:

Sunshine Yarns has been Updated

Oceanwind knits sock and silk lace will go up on Monday

Ceyeberfiber lace and sock yarns will also go up on Monday

Happy Knitty Weekend!

ETA: I started a Flickr group for the Bee Shawl/Stole  

A little bit of a progress report!

The Flicker Socks are done! I hope my pal likes them.

The Bee Shawl

I have Cast on the Bee Fields Shawl again, this time with the right cast on method…whoo! Thank you to everyone that left their comments for the contest. I certainly realized that my ripping the shawl wasn’t that bad compared to what some people have had to do. Thank you so much for sharing your stories.

We have the Bee Stole!

The pattern for the Stole version of Bee Fields is here.

Ann Hanson’s Photo. I have this amazing pattern in stock. The stole is next on my list!

The Penelope Shrug

I have been designing this shrug in my head for a long time and have finally started working on it.

The shrug has a wide bell sleeve with a tapered upper arm…a little seed stitch band that will lead into the lace. The yarn is Great Big Sea Silk and is really wonderful to work with. The drape will be perfect for this shrug.

The Sea Silk is up!

And My SP 11 questionaire!

1. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? What fibers do you absolutely *not* like? Hmm…I like them all except for acrylic.

2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in? Needle holders

3. How long have you been knitting & how did you learn? I have been knitting 6 years, self taught

Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced? intermediate to advanced

4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list? Nope

5. What’s your favorite scent? Hmmm…good question. Probably vanilla

6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy? RED VINES!!

7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin? I love to spin as often as possible

8. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD) I love punk, rock, alternative…not a big country fan.

9. What’s your favorite color(s)? Any colors you just can’t stand? I just love colour…favorite is probably a big surprise…PINK

10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets? I have a good/bad Cat Simon.

11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos? All but ponchos

12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit? SOCKS SOCKS SOCKS!

13. What are you knitting right now? A shawl…bzzzz

14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts? why yes i do!

15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic? I like bamboo and have no preference between straight and circ

16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift? Yes i have both

17. How old is your oldest UFO? no comment

18. What is your favorite holiday? Christmas!

19. Is there anything that you collect? Lots of yarn!

20. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have? I have subscriptions to interweave and vogue

21. Are there any new techniques you’d like to learn? Hmmm…I try to challenge myself all of the time, so there is nothing right now.

22. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements? yes I am a size 9 shoe

23. When is your birthday? May 14th

24. Are you on Ravelry? If so, what’s your ID? I love Ravelry!! my username is sweetsheep i would love to see you all there!

This is some of the SOFTEST yarn I have laid hands on. 70% Silk 30% Camel and in the shop! It is an incredible yarn from Handmaiden. I am looking for a good scarf pattern for my Mom for Christmas so we will be seeing some more of this stunning yarn in the near future!

Sea Silk is also in and will be up tomorrow.

New Pigeonroof Rovings are in with some discontinued colours, never to be dyed again.

There are lots of yarns on their way, Oceanwind knits, Fleece Artist, Funky Carolina Rovings, Lotus Knits, Love Sticks…and more.

I finished my Sockapalooza socks! Finished Photos and restarted Bee Pictures to come tomorrow!

The deed is done.

The bee had been ripped and to tell you the honest truth, I am a little bummed about it, yes, I may be taking it too hard, but the sockapaloza sock is not done either. This week my knitting mojo has melted away with the stifling heat. So, what do we do here at The Sweet Sheep to lift our spirits…Let’s have a contest!

Leave a comment with your ripping stories and I will randomly pick a winner next Friday.

The ripping winner will take home these two FANTASTIC skeins!

Yes 1 skein of Yarn Pirate Merino Tencel and one skein of Spritely Goods superwash!