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.

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.

I have been struck down.

Sorry for the lack of updates last week. I had planned to spend most of last week dyeing Blue - and maybe even being proactive and dyeing Alaskan Ice Tea as well - but I was struck down by a cold.  I haven't been able to do much the last few days but lie on the couch, marathon Supernatural, and whine. I haven't even had the energy to knit, which is really depressing.

Luckily my husband has been taking very good care of me, and Panda has taken it upon herself to be my fuzzy nurse.

I'm feeling a little better today, and hopefully the Dayquil will kick in enough that I can maybe at least get the big dyepots mixed so I can start dyeing when I stop dying.

Unexpected absence

Hey everyone. I've had some unexpected family stuff come up and won't be updating with posts this week.

Don't worry - this will NOT effect the October 1st mailing if Kir de Reddit.

Integrating Twitter!

TL;DR: Guess I've got a twitter feed now.

During the looooooooooooong drive back from SF to Portland this weekend, Dear Hubby and I started talking about Twitter and how I truly don't understand the point of it. I've never been one to follow celebrity gossip, let alone celebrities themselves. I joined Twitter about a year ago to make one and only one tweet: to Neil Gaiman, inviting him to our wedding. He never responded. (We'd had dinner with him early in our relationship, thanks to some of hubby's parents' ties to the Arts and Lectures board at UCSB, and he signed a bunch of books to BOTH of us, thereby ensuring that we would be together forever.)

I told Hubby that a bunch of people had recommended I create a twitter feed for Tipsy Sheep, and that I couldn't imagine what I would tweet about. "Dyeing yarn." "Still dyeing yarn." "Hey guess what, the yarn's dyed." How boring would that be!?

And then Hubby - who has always been in front of me on the curve of technology - said that it was possible to integrate Blogger and Twitter so that when I write something here, a tweet is generated that automatically links to the new post.  That way people can get updates right in their twitter feed and don't have to check the blog every day to see if there's something new.

It kind of blew my mind.

So, awesome readers, if you have a Twitter account, you can now follow me @tipsysheepyarn (there's a button in the column to the right) and the miracle of technology will tell you when this most fabulous of blogs is updated.

Thank you. Really, thank you!

I just wanted to say thank you, everyone.  I posted a picture of the White Russian colorway on /r/TwoXChromosomes, and not only did I receive a ton of upvotes and positive comments... but I also got a bunch of new people signing up to buy yarn!  The blog got over 1,300 1500 hits that day, which is absolutely unbelievable.

And, for the first time, I sold enough yarn this month to break even.

That's ... it's just such a wonderful feeling.  Thank you. Thank you so much. You're all awesome.

Cocktail inspirations

So.... thinking about continuing the yarn club and/or expanding the Tipsy Sheep line, and I've been browsing for cocktail inspirations for several days. Here's the list of cool things I've found so far:

Alaskan Ice Tea - aqua blue with highlights of pale yellow, lime green, and bright orange, and a bit of darker blue thrown in for fun.
The Smurf - like the AIT, but with a bright strawberryberry pink as the main color
Brain Squash - orange, lemon yellow, bright grapefruit-y pink, and a warm cherry red
Tequila Sunrise - A smooth gradient of rich yellow to orange to pinkish red
Passion Killer - melon pink, lime green, and white. Probably closer to a self-striping than a true handpaint.
Blue - deep purplish blue, berry, lemon and orange
Pretty Rickey - pale peaches and pinks, cherry red, and flecks of lime

So, which of the above do you most want to see?

survey tools

I'm still looking for pretty drinks in the purple spectrum, and I'm thinking of asking a couple local bars for the recipes for their signature cocktails - like the Ms. PacMan from Ground Kontrol and the Fast Talking Clara from the TARDIS Room.

Please leave any suggestions in the comments - I'd love to hear what other drinks you might be interested in seeing adapted to yarn form.

Thinking about the future of Tipsy Sheep.

Pull up a chair, dear reader. I want to talk to you.

We're halfway through the original 4-month plan of Tipsy Sheep, and I'm starting to think about where to go from here.  I have a lot of yarn left from each of the first two dye runs, enough to start an Etsy shop or even approach a LYS to try and get on the shelf (anyone in Portland work for a yarn store??).

I'm also toying with the idea of starting another subscription yarn club for 4-6 months to help build up the line and get the name out there.  Perhaps even branch out into other weights of yarn. Thing is... well, as I mentioned, there's a lot of yarn left.  Like, more than half.  Like, I haven't sold enough to break even and have been consistently losing money on this venture.  I didn't really start this project intending to become a millionaire, but I'd hoped to at least get back the costs of the yarn and dye for each run, which hasn't happened.  As much as I love dyeing yarn, I don't know how I can continue doing it if I can't sell enough to cover costs.

So I'm asking for help.  Please. Spread the word. Post links on Facebook and Craftster and Twitter and Pinterest and whatever other social media you can think of. If you have a blog, maybe give a shout-out - I could even send you a mini-skein of yarn to do a review on. If you sell yarn or other crafts, please teach me your secrets.

I hate to sound like I'm begging, but I kind of am.  Hubby and I want to move back to San Francisco in a few years, and it's one of the most expensive areas of the city. We're relying solely on his income and whatever I make through making and selling art, including yarn.  If this doesn't work, I'm going to have to get a 9-5 job. Oh glob, please, don't make me work in an office and wear pantyhose and sensible shoes.

Well crap.

So, you guys know how I was in SF the last 10 days or so visiting my family? We took hubby's car down there and left mine in the garage, and someone (totally not me) left my car door ever so slightly opened and sucked all the sweet life out of the battery.  I have jumper cables, but they're too short to reach from inside the garage to a car outside, and now I have to get a tow truck to help me.  They're ridiculously expensive if you don't have roadside assistance through your insurance. Did you know that? I didn't know that.  But they are.  And I freaking just changed insurance, new policy (including roadside assistance) effective midnight tonight... so no tow truck until tomorrow morning.  Which means I can't get to the post office to mail Mint Julep on time. Sad face.  My deepest apologies to all of you who ordered MJ, but it won't be going out until tomorrow.

Taking this show on the road...

Hubby and I spent about 12 hours yesterday driving from Portland down to San Francisco.  He needs to spend some time at his company's SF and SoCal offices, which means I get to spend some time visiting my family who I haven't seen in months.

The Mint Julep yarn came along for the ride, though, as did my ball winder, yardage counter, scale, and swift.  This is definitely a working vacation for me.  Tonight, after spending the day hanging out and doing some shopping with my mom, I got the first kilo of MJ all divvied up into its 100g skeins and wrapped them in their cute labels.  Tomorrow, after running errands and donating my hair, it will be time to get started on the second kilo.

I may not be updating as much this week, as I'll be pretty busy and don't have regular access to a computer - I'm writing this post on my mom's laptop in the kitchen. Comments come straight to my email on my phone though, so I'll be sure to respond to them.

Spinning resources?

Next week I'm going to be down in San Francisco visiting my family, which will be awesome, and I'll finally be able to bring my spinning wheel back up with me, which will also be awesome.  I had to leave it in the custody of my parents when we moved up to PDX because there was simply no room for something so delicate in the Uhaul by the time we were done.  It was either leave the spinning wheel or carry it on my lap for 12 hours and, well, comfort won out.

It's an older spinning wheel that I inherited from my grandmother when she passed away.  Based on its design and some of the books I found with it, it's an Ashford from the '50s or so.

It's not in the best shape - the drive band is missing and most of the metal parts are pretty rusted.  I cleaned it up with some wood restorer so it's not as dry now, but I need to spend some quality time removing rust and maybe even replacing some of the pieces before it's really usable.  (And, obviously, gotta get a drive band.)

So, dear readers, I'm asking for some advice.  Does anyone out there have experience restoring vintage spinning wheels, or perhaps you could point me in the right direction? I'm terrified I'm going to break it or something.

Cosmo has shipped. I repeat, Cosmo has shipped!

I have just left the beautiful air-conditioned oasis of the Post Office and am pleased to announce that all orders of Cosmo have shipped successfully!

I just barely restrained myself from saying this in the post office. Barely.

Due to the US Holiday on Thursday, the earliest US subscribers can expect their packages is Friday July 5.  Because 'Murica.  International customers will probably get theirs Friday as well, but there's a chance it may take as long as 8 days to reach you (so Tuesday 9 July). Sorry. :(

Everyone should be getting emails shortly with their shipping info.  If it hasn't gotten to you by the end of the day, leave a comment here with your mailing CITY, and I'll send it to you again.

It's hot as hell here on the West Coast right now so I'm gonna go get some lemonade and water the lawn, then come back with details about the August Mint Julep mailing!

Update: Total oops! I just realize I forgot to include packing slips with the Cosmo mailings.  If you need yours (for, like, taxes or something? I don't know what you might need them for) let me know in the comments and I'll send it out to you ASAP.

YOU HAVE SPOKEN AND I HEAR.

So the poll has been up for 5 days now and the results are 5 to 2 in favor of posting a preview.  Well, okay, one of those "yes" votes was me, so it was really 4 to 2, but the fact remains that there are slightly more people who want to see Cosmo pics than do not.  However, I am a kind and benevolent blogger, so I'll place the preview pics behind a jump so that those of you who want to maintain the surprise can do so. And if you're reading the blog but haven't signed up to receive yarn, maybe these pics will encourage you, so I'll put the PayPal button after the jump as well.

Also, can I just say how awesome it is to marathon Sailor Moon while winding yarn for hours on end?  I don't really have to look at what I'm doing unless something gets tangled, so I'm free to read the subtitles and wallow in nostalgia.

These little babies will be going in the mail in less than a week! Are you excited yet????? 

Click to see previews...

All skeined up and nowhere to go...

I finished skeining and labeling the first kilo of Cosmopolitan yesterday... and I'm torn as to whether to post a preview or not.  I'm one of those people who always shakes her Christmas presents and begs for hints, but I know I'd be pretty bummed if I actually knew what I was getting.  Everyone who signed up for subscriptions has done so totally blind - which is a stunning show of faith in me, by the way, and I thank you profusely for it. So I have to ask: do you want the colorway to remain a surprise until you open it in the mail, or do you want to see pictures right now?

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We now have a Ravelry group!

If you haven't heard of it already, Ravelry is an absolutely amazing resource for knitters, crocheters, and fiber lovers in general. They have a plethora of patterns (most free, some for a small cost) for all skill levels, and you can share your projects, progress, and questions with other users.

And now Tipsy Sheep has its own group! And I have absolutely no idea what to do with it!

http://www.ravelry.com/groups/tipsy-sheep-yarn

Maybe we could share patterns and photos of what you all wind up making with the yarn?  And if you, oh I dunno, feel like promoting/sharing this with your friends........