I'm working on transferring the Tipsy Sheep Blog from Blogger to Wordpress, which allows for more customization and direct integration into the website, but it's kind of complicated. If you have http://tipsysheepyarn.blogspot.com bookmarked, please change it to http://tipsysheepyarn.com/blog - that's where we live now :) 

It will probably take a few days for me to get this place looking right, so please bear with me. In Internet years, I'm really old.

This blog is going to remain open for a while, but all updates will happen over at the new one on the main site. And if you notice weirdness with older posts that have been transferred to WordPress, please let me know, as not everything transfers correctly.

First tutorial is up!

Well, it's more of an introduction than a true tutorial, but you need to understand these basics and safety guidelines if you want to make pretty yarn.

Check it out at the website!

I'm sorry it's not a video tutorial. This kind of information is much easier to deliver in written form (plus I looked REALLY WEIRD when I tried to film it).

Pretty Rickey Previews!

I'm still only halfway done winding the second kilo (curse you, fragile wrist!) but I just couldn't wait any longer to show off Pretty Rickey. This is one of my favorite colorways so far, and not just because I'm obsessed with the color peach and managed to mix very nearly my favorite shade for this yarn.

Seriously, I have several nail polishes, lipsticks, scarves, blouses, and dresses all in this color, and it was the main color for all the flowers of my wedding earlier this year. I <3 peach!

Click ahead to see previews!

Holy crap!

Knit and Tonic just did a post about Tipsy Sheep! I had contacted Wendy, the awesome person who runs it, several weeks ago and sent her a ball of Mint Julep and yay, she liked it! I can't imagine a better cross-promotion than TSY and Knit and Tonic... it's just such a good match.  If you haven't checked out her blog, please do - her work is absolutely gorgeous and she tells the best stories.

State of Sheep: my wrist hurts :(

I went to the doctor last Friday (thank you to my wonderful neighbor for driving me, because it snowed that morning and I was woefully unequipped to drive on icy roads) and he's got some ideas of what's wrong but nothing definitive.  My original surgeon hadn't sent him my records yet, but based on a physical exam, he thinks the tendon is just angry.  I do indeed have a bone cyst, but without my original x-rays it's hard to determine if it's new and the source of my pain, or if it's been there a while and the pain is from something else.There's also a chance that the internal sutures from the first surgery (which you can actually see and feel) might be part of the problem, but he is understandably hesitant to go back in and mess with them.  He's recommended steroid treatment, first through iontophoresis and then through straight injection if that doesn't help. I go in this afternoon for my second round of iontophoresis and to get a new splint to wear while resting.

I was really hoping for a Terminator-style bionic replacement, but the steroid patch has blinking lights so I guess that's close enough.

Pretty Rickey is all dyed and half of it is wound into skeins. Winding is SUPER painful, even with my bitchin' new ball winder (post on that coming soon) so I can only do a little bit at a time. Tequila Sunrise will go forward as planned, but there may be a slight delay in starting TSP3: RotS after Part Deux is finished. I'm hoping to get the power base for the ball winder and replace my manual swift with an automatic one, which will reduce the amount of work my poor wrist has to do, but they're very expensive so it will have to wait... unless you guys want to Kickstarter a Tipsy Sheep Expansion or something.

Vote for colors for TSP3:RotS

(I just love that acronym.)

This is the official announcement: Tipsy Sheep Part 3: Return of the Sheep IS ON LIKE DONKEY KONG!

It seems like most of you want this round of yarns to be worsted weight, so that's what we're going for. I've found a yarn that's just awesome - a superwash 100% merino that's about 218 yards per 100 grams. It's soft and springy and I just want to rub my face on it, so hopefully you will too.

Prices and schedule will follow shortly, but for now, I need your help picking out which cocktails will serve as the inspiration for these yarns. I've found, oh, about a million that look like they could work, so please help me narrow them down!

Ditchhiker - medium blue, light and lime greens, and a smidge of orange and peach.
2xT - deep twilight blue, reddish purple, cactus green, and a splash of burgundy
Night Black - a smooth gradient of blue-black, twillight blue, apple green, and burgundy
Blueberry Alias - shades of purple from deep indigo to lavender, with a pop of lime green
Fruit Tingle - a smooth gradient from deep blue to reddish purple
Grasshopper - deep mint green, a softer bluish creme-de-menth green, white, and a hint of chocolate
Badminton - juniper berry blue, twilight blue, melon green, and a splash of lemon yellow
Japanese Slipper - lemon yellow, melon green, bright orange, and a pop of bright cherry red
Purple Blossom - juniper berry blue, shades of soft purple,  and a hint of lime

I know that's a lot of choices, but I wanted to give a bit of variety here. Some of these colorways would be much darker than the ones I've made so far (particularly 2xT, Night Black, and Fruit Tingle), so bear that in mind. You may also notice that there is virtually no pink in any of these - it was recently pointed out to me how many colorways in parts 1 and 2 had pink them, and I don't want anybody out there to drown in pink!

You can select as many options as you like from the list below, but I'd prefer if you picked just your top 4...

survey tool

This poll will remain open for a few weeks, so please pass this post around!

And the Yarnie goes to...

Congratulations to Sarah Lynn Ross, the winner of the random design-your-own-socktails giveaway!  I've sent you a message on Facebook so you can put me to work :)

Pull up a chair. Got some stuff to talk about.

First things first: you guys are all AWESOME. The website is doing so well, getting a lot of traffic and even a few orders, which makes me the happiest of pandas. The Facebook page is doing well, too, with lots and lots of likes and views, contributing to the warm fuzzies currently welling in my heart.

Second, I'm kicking around the idea of doing a third round of subscriptions. Tipsy Sheep Part 3: Return of the Sheep.  I've been wanting to branch out into worsted weight yarn, since it's by far the most versatile and often-used weight of yarn, so I'd like to know what you all would think about TSP3:RotS being a worsted weight yarn as opposed to the fingering weight yarn used so far.

survey solutions

If there's interest, voting for the next cocktail inspirations will start in a week or so.

Third, and finally, I'm having a bit of a problem. See, about 5 years ago, I tore a ligament in my right wrist (I'm right-handed) which required surgery to repair.  Since then, whenever I do too much work (which is pretty often), I'll get a fair bit of pain in that wrist.  It's been getting worse over the last month or so, and finally I went to my doctor and she had me get some x-rays. The original surgery had required the doc to file down part of my ulna, and now I have a bone cyst right where that happened and IT HURTS.  There might also be a build-up of scar tissue around the surgery site, which can get inflamed and cause problems when I over-use the wrist. I have an appointment to see a hand/wrist specialist this week.  (Strangely, this doctor's father was the one to repair my fingertip when it was severed when I was 7, and his brother was one of the doctors who initially evaluated the torn ligament... and I'm now living in a different city and state than the father and brother's practices and I STILL find a doc from the same family to help me out. The world is a shockingly tiny place.)

I should know soon what course of treatment will be necessary to get my wrist working properly again (personally, I'm hoping for a full-on Terminator-style bionic replacement) but there's a chance I'm going to need some help in the next few months to keep making yarn.  If anyone in the Portland OR area would like to "volunteer" - and be paid in yarn and baked goods - please leave a comment.

Info for January: Pretty Rickey!

Now that Alaskan Ice Tea has begun its migration to freaking everywhere, it's time to look toward the new colorway mailing out January 1: Pretty Rickey!

The yarn is a soft blend of lush peach tones, from blush to light apricot, with pops of rich cherry red and bright lime green. Overall the colorway is very delicate and feminine, with the lime green providing a strong contrast that keeps the yarn from becoming too "girly" (think of the Pink Nightmare from A Christmas Story). The cocktail itself is a blend of tequila, elderflower liquer, lime juice, and muddled maraschino cherries, with a little bit of club soda to make it sparkle and fizz.

Within each shipment you will find:

• 100g (approximately 463 yards) of soft, durable, and machine-washable fingering weight yarn in a blend of 75% superwash merino and 25% nylon.
• A peek into the process with dyers notes about how the cocktail's ingredients translated into the colors used, and funny anecdotes ... and, yes, me drinking the inspiration.
• Learn an interesting new technique (such as fun cast-ons and edge finishes).
• Learn to make the signature cocktail yourself - the recipe is right inside the yarn label!
• I am addicted to candy, and you should be, too. Allow me to enable you.

You can choose to receive just the current month, or sign up for 2 months and get one ball of new yarn each month until February!

If you go for the 2 month option, you will receive:

January: Pretty Rickey - pale peaches and pinks, rich cherry red, and flecks of lime
February: Tequila Sunrise - a smooth gradient of sunny yellow to orange to pinkish red

Each month is $25 for US customers, with the 2-month option being $50 - it includes everything listed above plus shipping costs. International customers, please select the international option from the drop down menu. All yarn goes out on the first of each month! Sign up soon, as only a limited number of skeins are available!

January (Pretty Rickey) Only $25.00 USD 2 months! $50.00 USD INTERNATIONAL January (Pretty Rickey) Only $35.00 USD INTERNATIONAL 2 months! $70.00 USD

Slots remaining for January: 10

As mentioned, shipping is included in the cost of the subscription. Should you choose to purchase other items from the Tipsy Sheep Shop, additional shipping for those items will be added as they ship separately from the subscription mailings.

Alaskan Ice Tea: Migrating everywhere for the winter

I walked into the Post Office like a bag lady, dragging 3 enormous shopping bags full of shipping boxes. I walked out of the Post Office like a goddamn ribbon dancer, trailing a receipt of tracking numbers well over a yard long.

Alaskan Ice Tea made for the best month yet, outselling even White Russian in its first month! Woohoo! White Russian does remain a favorite, though, as the best-selling yarn in stock. I guess you guys like cocktails reminiscent of cold places..?

US Customers should expect their yarn by Thursday or Friday; international customers should have theirs midway through next week.

Stay tuned for info on the January mailing of Pretty Rickey!