Save the Dates: Shop Hop 2013

Hard to believe, but it's time to start thinking about the 7th (!) annual Shop Hop. This year's Shop Hop starts Saturday, Sept. 28, and runs through Sunday, Oct. 6.

For those who don't know about Shop Hop, or who need a refresher on how it works, here's the lowdown: Shop Hoppers buy a passport for $1.00 from any of the nine participating yarn shops in the greater Atlanta area. During the nine days of Shop Hop, at each participating shop where you spend $10, you get a stamp on your passport.

At the last shop you visit, you turn in your passport. Make sure you fill in your contact info, because when Shop Hop is over, there's a drawing for prizes! Each shop gives away three prizes, and the grand prize is a $100 gift certificate to EACH shop--yes, that's $900 in yarn shop gift certificates! Only Shop Hoppers who have earned all nine of their stamps are eligible to win the grand prize, but even if you only have one stamp, you're still eligible to win the smaller prizes.

Each shop also gives away an exclusive free pattern to Shop Hoppers. Here's a sneak peek at what Carrie's working on for our pattern giveaway.

Hmm, wondering what it could be? Stay tuned!

Shop Hop is a great chance for you yarn lovers to explore new shops you might not normally visit and to see what makes each one unique. We encourage you to carpool with friends, have lunch at a local eatery--make an adventure of it!

Passports go on sale at the nine participating shops on Friday, Aug. 2. If you're attending the Atlanta Knitting Guild meeting on Thursday, Aug. 1, you can get yours early there!

New foster kittens

Well, that didn't take long--shortly after we posted about Dan Merino being lonely as our last remaining foster kitten, someone came in and fell instantly in love with him. Congratulations, little buddy!

Mr. Merino and his new mom, Joanna.

With an adoption record of 3-for-3, we eagerly agreed to let Dekalb County Animal Services bring us a new batch of fosters. The newbies arrived yesterday afternoon.

These latest sweetie pies are estimated to be about eight weeks old. They've been in foster care in a private home for several weeks, and now that they're almost ready to get spayed/neutered, they've moved in with us so they can reach a bigger audience and find their forever homes faster. (Click photos to enlarge the cuteness.)

This little beauty is Ruby. She's a classic tabby who enjoys chilling in her hammock and watching the action all around her. She's a little more shy than the other two. She likes playing, but is equally happy to snuggle. Her previous foster mom told us Ruby liked to sit on her shoulder, and sure enough, she nestled right up to Stacy. Awww.

Stone is Ruby's brother. How cute is that pink nose?! Stone loves to investigate everything and rough-house with his sisters. Our only problem with him is that he's too photogenic--it was hard to pick which photos of him to use! Someone has already applied to adopt this handsome devil, so we don't expect him to be with us for long.

Sapphire isn't a littermate to the other two, but she's been in foster care with them long enough that they consider her part of their family. So far, her hobbies include chasing her tail, chasing her siblings' tails, and attacking a piece of ribbon--while purring. Sapphire has lovely flecked gray fur that reminds us of a bunny.

Ruby and Sapphire, sacked out after moving into their new digs here at Sheepish.

This shot gives you a better look at Stone's beautiful marbled markings. Miss Ruby is a petite little thing next to her big brother.

These babies would love to meet you, so please stop by the shop and give them some love! If you'd like to adopt one (or more), you can pick up the application here or get in touch with us at carrie@sheepish.biz and we'll email the paperwork to you. The adoption fee is $75.00, which includes spay/neuter, all vaccines needed up to the time of adoption, and microchipping.

Please spread the word about these cuties, and help us maintain our perfect adoption record. :)

Foster kitten update

Here's the latest news on the litter of adorable foster kittens we've been hosting for Dekalb County Animal Services.

DK (now Maggie): ADOPTED on July 9!

Pima (now Junebug): ADOPTED on July 19!

That just leaves "Dan The Man" Merino. We can't believe no one has claimed this little guy yet!  He's such a charmer--frisky, affectionate, and rarely stops purring. He did have an adoption pending, but that person had to back out. Several other folks have expressed interest in Dan, but nobody has made it official.

He has a bit of a cold right now, so we're giving him antibiotics. He'll be done with those on Friday, July 26. Won't you consider making Mr. Merino part of your family? He's about three months old, neutered, microchipped, and up-to-date on shots. For only $75 this handsome dude can be your forever friend!

On The Needles: Garter stitch scarf in Frolicking Feet

Sometimes a yarn is so beautiful, you want to let it do all the talking. No fussy stitch patterns, no fancy shapes, just 100% hand-dyed gorgeousness.

This garter stitch scarf Rocio's making is a perfect example.

Stunning, right?

Rocio fell in love with this skein of Frolicking Feet in colorway 13, Southwest Gem. This sock yarn isn't just for socks, obviously! Rocio wanted to make a scarf, but not one that had to be saved for special occasions. With 29 stitches cast onto a size US 8 needle, Frolicking Feet makes a wonderfully drapey fabric for a scarf that will go with many kinds of outfits when the weather gets cool. Knitting every stitch lets the yarn be the star.

Lesson FAQs

Since we joined forces with Dekalb County Animal Services, a lot of new people have discovered Sheepish, which is great! Folks who'd never heard of the shop are finding us, and many have told us they've always wanted to learn to knit but just haven't gotten around to it, or maybe they used to knit years ago but could use a refresher. So to inform these newcomers (and maybe some regulars, too), we've put together a handy FAQ list about our lessons.

Do you teach classes?
Yes, we do! Our instruction style is more of a "lesson" system than a "class" system. We prefer to teach students one-on-one rather than in a group class setting. That way, we can work at the individual student's pace and focus on exactly what YOU want to learn.

When are your lessons?
Our teaching schedule is very flexible. There is no set calendar of classes, so we can schedule your lesson when it's convenient for you--weekdays or weekends. During the summer, we're closed on Mondays. Other than that, we can schedule your lesson any time during our business hours (except during Tuesday Knit Night). Just give us a call at 404-377-6875 and we'll get you on our calendar!

How much does a lesson cost?
$25 for a one-hour lesson; $40 for a two-hour lesson.

What topics do you cover?
We tailor our lessons to cover whatever you want to learn. If you're a total beginner, we'll start with the basics. Maybe you want us to teach you a specific skill, like lace knitting or fair isle--we can do that. Perhaps a particular project is giving you trouble and you need help figuring out what to do. Basically, that hour (or two hour block) is yours, and we can use it however you would like.

Do you teach kids?
Yes! Of course, all kids have different attention spans and motor skills, but generally speaking, around age nine is a great time to start knitting or crocheting. Depending on the student, we usually recommend breaking a child's lesson into two half-hour sessions on different days.

If you have any other questions that we didn't answer here, please let us know. Summer is a great time to book lessons with us--things are less hectic around the shop, and you can get a head start on some projects for fall and winter!

On The Needles: Vertical Eyelet socks in St. Elias

Socks are such a great summer project, aren't they? They're portable, so they're perfect for taking on vacation. They're small, so you can work on them without being smothered under a big project in the summer heat. And when the weather finally cools off, BOOM, you've already got yourself a nice cozy new pair of socks to wear.

Carole is working on this pair, using the Vertical Eyelet stitch pattern from More Sensational Knitted Socks (one of our sock bibles--currently in stock).  The yarn is Pagewood Farm's St. Elias (80 % wool, 20% nylon) in the Bird of Paradise colorway.

Carole had originally chosen a different stitch pattern, but she found it too annoying because each needle started with a purl stitch and it was leaving ladders. We know a lot of people who have a hard time starting a needle with a purl stitch--how about you? Sometimes you can rearrange the needles to avoid that, but sometimes it's easier to do what Carole did and just pick a new stitch pattern!

Notice Carole is knitting both socks at the same time, using two parallel circular needles. For those of you who suffer from Second Sock Syndrome, this technique is a great way to beat that problem--when you're done, you're done. Don't know how to knit on two parallel circs? We can teach you! Give us a call at 404-377-6875 to book a lesson (one hour for $25) that fits your needs and schedule.

Sheepish exclusive: Decatur Dye Studio yarns

Some of you who are regulars at the shop might know Michele Ritan (or maybe you've bought some of her seemingly bottomless stash at one of our Stash Sales). She's a local knitter, spinner, and dyer, and a great friend of Sheepish. Occasionally she'll fire up her dye pot and then drop off some hand-dyed yarns for us to sell under the Decatur Dye Studio label. Here are some new goodies she brought us this week.

Hand-dyed sock yarn from Decatur Dye Studio

First up, we have this sock/fingering weight yarn, which is 80% superwash merino wool, 20% nylon. It knits at about 6.75 - 8 sts per inch on a US 1 - 3 needle. There are approximately 410 yards per 3.5 oz. skein, and it retails for $20.00. The base yarn is one we can order wholesale from Kraemer Yarns, so if these sell well, we might be able to talk Michele into dyeing a lot more of them for us. So far, so good-- someone already bought one skein before we even had a chance to put it on the shelf!

Hand-dyed lace yarn from Decatur Dye Studio

Now this is truly a limited edition, because the base yarn is no longer available. So if you like this, grab it while you can! It's a nice soft lace weight that's 50% virgin wool, 50% acrylic. It comes in a 1375 yd. skein for only $15.00. You could make a big, beautiful shawl out of just one skein of this.

 

Stop by and check out these unique lovelies for yourself. You won't find Decatur Dye Studio yarns anywhere else!