Let the Shop Hopping begin!

(Click poster to enlarge it)

It's on!  Shop Hop starts today and continues through Sunday, October 7.  Our extended hours during Shop Hop will be:

Sat. 9/29 10AM - 7PM
Sun. 9/30 11AM - 6PM
Mon. 10/1 11AM - 6PM
Tues. 10/2 11AM - 9PM
Wed. 10/3 11AM - 6PM
Thur. 10/4 11AM - 6PM
Fri. 10/5 11AM - 6 PM
Sat. 10/6 10AM - 7PM
Sun. 10/7 11AM - 6PM

Happy Shop Hopping, everyone!  We're looking forward to seeing lots of familiar friends and making plenty of new ones as well.

Shop Hop prizes, part two

Shop Hop starts tomorrow!  Are you excited?  We sure are!

Here's a sneak peek at another one of the prize packs we'll be giving away.  This basket of goodies focuses on spinning.  If you've been thinking about giving this craft a whirl (haha), this just might be the perfect opportunity!  The spinning prize pack includes:

• Top whirl spindle by Louet
• High Whirling: A Spinner's Guide To An Old World Skill book by Priscilla Gibson-Roberts
• 3.5 oz hank of hand-dyed extrafine Merino fiber from Manos del Uruguary
• 4 oz. hank of hand-dyed Targhee fiber from Mountain Colors

The retail value of this prize package is over $80.

Remember, you don't have to visit all nine participating Shop Hop shops to win a prize.  Even if you only get your passport stamped at one shop, you'll still be entered into the drawing for lots of great prizes like this one.  But if you do get all nine stamps on your passport, you'll be eligible for the  Grand Prize--$100 in store credit to each participating shop.  That's $900 to spend on yarn, books, needles, patterns, whatever!

If you haven't picked up your passport yet, you can still get yours during the Shop Hop for only a buck.  We're looking forward to seeing lots of you during the Hop!

Wednesday's Child

Today we hosted a crew from Fox 5 News as they shot a segment for their weekly Wednesday's Child feature.  Each week, Wednesday's Child spotlights a child living in foster care who is looking for a permanent adoptive family. 

The segments are shot in various locations around town, depending on the featured child's interests. Fifteen-year-old Ashley loves to crochet and knit, so Fox 5 contacted us about doing her feature here at Sheepish.  We were excited to be able to be a part of this program!

Ashley is already quite an accomplished knitter, but she wanted help with her bind-off skills, so Carrie gave her a quick lesson.

Fox 5 anchor Amanda Davis interviewed Ashley about her hobbies and her hopes for the future.  After high school, Ashley wants to go to college to study architecture.

We had a great time with Ashley, Amanda, and the Fox 5 crew.  The segment will air sometime in October.  We'll keep you posted so you can tune in!

Bear Creek yarn

Here's another great new yarn from Kraemer, the folks who brought you Perfection Worsted.  Bear Creek is a very loosely spun wool, almost like a pencil roving.  But unlike some loosely spun yarns that pull apart when you work with them, Bear Creek is wrapped with a fine nylon thread that holds the strand together and gives it a wonderful texture.

We have ten fabulous colors in stock:

Top Row, L-R: Berry Blast, Peach Cobbler, Blueberry Pie, Peppermint Stick, Grapevine.  Bottom Row, L-R: Orchid, Snickerdoodle, Black Licorice, Kiwi Ice, Pepper Pot.

This yarn is an ideal choice for those times when you need to whip up a project in a hurry.  It calls for a size 17 needle, with a gauge of 2 stitches per inch, so a little goes a long way.  Each skein has 130 yards and retails at $19.00/skein.  Stacy knit this Super Bulky Button Hat (free Ravelry download) in just a few hours, and used less than half a skein!

Bear Creek Button Hat in Peppermint Stick

By the way, this hat pattern is perfect for showcasing our wonderful handmade buttons from Gail Hughes.

Resin button created by Kentucky artist Gail Hughes

The hat was knit on a size 13 needle, creating a wonderfully cozy, squishy fabric.  Stacy reports, "I really enjoyed knitting with Bear Creek, and I don't normally knit with anything this thick.  But this was a pleasure!"

Fall shipment from Brown Sheep

The day we receive our fall shipment from Brown Sheep is always one of the most exciting days of the year.  Yesterday was that day:

Brown Sheep goodness!

We would have posted a picture of this yesterday, but we were too busy being up to our necks in FIVE HUGE BOXES of yarn.  There was much rearranging, inventorying, price stickering, and re-rearranging to be done.  But now we're stocked to the ceiling with fall/winter favorites Lamb's Pride Bulky, Burly Spun, and Nature Spun Worsted--yippee!

Shop Hop prizes, part one

Shop Hop 2012 is right around the corner!  The fun starts Saturday, Sept. 29, and runs through Sunday, Oct. 7.  Have you picked up your passport yet?  They're only $1.00 and could end up winning you hundreds of dollars in prizes!  Each shop gives away three prizes, not to mention the grand prize: one lucky Shop Hopper will win $100 store credit to EACH of the nine participating shops!  

Here's one of the prize packs we'll be giving away.  This basket of sock-related goodies includes:

• Sock Club book by sock guru Charlene Schurch
• The Eclectic Sole book by Janel Laidman
• Laurel Burch zippered pouch with three sets of HiyaHiya double-pointed needles (sizes US 1, 2, and 3)
• Skein of Fame Trend yarn (this also makes a fantastic Wingspan--just sayin')
• Skein of Frolicking Feet yarn

The retail value of this prize package is over $120.  

If you've never participated in Shop Hop before and aren't sure how it works, read more here.  Stay tuned for photos of more prizes....

Ty-Dy Superkid

Now in stock: Ty-Dy Superkid, one of the newest yarns from Knit One Crochet Too.  This is for all you mohair lovers out there who've been looking for a multi-colored mohair option.

Colors L-R: Berry Patch, Magenta Moss, Berries, Oceana

Ty-Dy Superkid is listed as a laceweight, and it's 35% kid mohair/21% wool/44% nylon. The yardage is generous (246/ball) and the price is very reasonable ($9.00/ball).  This yarn has fairly long color repeats that create a striping effect.

With its fine gauge, Ty-Dy Superkid is obviously great for lace projects, but you can also hold it together with another yarn to create some really interesting textures.  The Burlesque scarf is a new pattern for fall that calls for one ball of Ty-Dy Superkid and two balls of Wrapunzel.  (This pattern and the Wrapunzel are also in stock.)

Burlesque Scarf by Helene Rush

Get creative--we know you'll come up with lots of fun ways to use Ty-Dy Superkid!

Fall yarns from Manos del Uruguay

This is our favorite time of year at Sheepish--new yarns are arriving faster than we can tell you about them!  Here are two more recent arrivals for fall, both from Manos del Uruguay.

This beautiful stuff is Wool Clasica, a handspun, kettle-dyed, 100% wool yarn.  If you've never knit with handspun yarn before, you're in for a treat.  This yarn gives wonderful texture to your stitches, and knits up at about 3.5-4.5 sts/in. on a US 8-10 needle.  Wool Clasica retails at $17.50/skein for the solid colors and $18.50/skein for the multi colors.  The solids and multis both have the same yardage, 138 yds/skein.

Wool Clasica yarn from Manos del Uruguay

And here we have Maxima, a luxuriously soft kettle-dyed merino.  This yarn is so wonderfully bouncy and squishy!  It's a worsted weight, knitting at 4.5-5 sts/in. on a US 7-8 needle.  Maxima retails at $14.00 per 218-yd. skein, so it's a great value, too.  (The solids and multis are priced the same.)

Maxima yarn from Manos del Uruguay

Stacy knit up a quick sample of the Maxima, using the free Malabrigo Neck Thingie pattern from Ravelry (yes, Maxima is an ideal choice for any pattern that suggests Malabrigo Worsted!).  This is the Arctic Shadow colorway.

Maxima Neck Thingie

If you're not familiar with Manos del Uruguay and their yarns, you can read more about this certified Fair Trade company here. We're proud to carry these products, and can't wait to see what you all will make with them!

Dream Club: September

We're very excited to announce that Sheepish is now a member of Dream in Color's Dream Club.  Each month, Dream in Color will send us 10 skeins of a new, exclusive colorway--a different base yarn every month.  When you purchase a skein of this special yarn, we'll email you a PDF of that month's Dream Club pattern. Each pattern will be designed specifically to showcase that month's yarn.  Each month the base yarn, colorway, and pattern will be a surprise for everyone--including us!

September 2012 Dream Club yarn

Our first installment of the Dream Club is available now.  The yarn is Baby, a wonderfully soft superwash merino laceweight, dyed in a lovely periwinkle blue with streaks of gray.  It's a 700-yard skein for $24.00.  The photo really doesn't do justice to this colorway. 

Twilight Accessories Set, exclusive pattern with purchase of September 2012 Dream Club yarn

With the purchase of the Dream Club yarn, you get the PDF of the pattern for the Twilight Accessories Set.  This set includes a hat, cowl, and fingerless mitts, designed by Andrea Jurgrau of Bad Cat Designs, and you can make all three out of one skein of the Dream Club yarn.

Remember, we only have 10 skeins of this yarn available (correction, nine skeins--someone's already bought one!) and you must buy the yarn to get the pattern.  We expect these to sell out pretty fast, so be sure to get yours before they're gone!