February 21, 2008

Duet Shrug kits have arrived!

Remember this beauty? It’s the Duet Shrug, the inaugural design in the collaboration between Mountain Colors and Lorna’s Laces. Our kits have finally arrived, and they’re even up on the website. Donna’s already started on the shop model.

Remember that this is a limited edition item; it’s run ends in April, when a new kit comes out, using different yarn from our two favorite hand dye companies.

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February 18, 2008

Pagewood Farm sock yarn

Three big boxes of sock yarn from Pagewood Farm arrived today. Robin comes up with the most amazing colors! In the box were Denali, a merino/nylon blend, St. Elias, a non superwash BFL (my all time favorite wool), Glacier Bay 3 Ply superwash merino and Yukon, a blend of merino, nylon and bamboo. I know they look pretty in the picture, but they’re even better in person. Come see!

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February 15, 2008

Big News Times Two

Exciting things are in the works at Yarn Expressions. I talked to Lynne Vogel earlier this week, and she graciously agreed to offer her Color Spinning workshop here in April. Details can be found here or by clicking on the Spinning tab at the top of this page. You may sign up for the class online or by calling the store to register. Class is limited to 15 people, so hurry!

As if that weren’t exciting enough… I’ve also been in conversation with Franklin Habit, who wants to come to Yarn Expressions to shoot photos for his 1,000 Knitters project. We don’t have an absolute date set yet, but we’re looking at the end of September right now, most likely the 21st. I’ll post updates here whenever they’re available.

Happy weekend everyone!

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February 14, 2008

Happy Valentine’s Day

I hope that whatever you do to celebrate St. Valentine’s Day makes you smile and feel loved. So that we can spend time with our sweethearts, we’re closing Yarn Expressions at 4:00 today. No Knit Night tonight.

Come back Friday for big news times two.

Rowan at Yarn Expressions

We’re unpacking the Rowan order today. Not only do we have refills and new colors of Calmer and Nashua Ecologie Cotton, we have their newest organic cotton, Purelife. It’s a lovely, soft little ball of yarn, naturally dyed with interesting things like logwood, brazilwood and madder. We also have a sport weight bamboo blend from Schachenmayr called Micro Bamboo Spray. The colors are cheerful and heathery, as the dye literally has been sprayed onto the yarn.

The new Rowan book, number 43, is here in limited supply, along with Nashua’s Natural Focus and Blossom Baby books (which feature their summer yarns) and The Organic Cotton Collection from Rowan, written exclusively for Purelife Organic Cotton.

Liz and I spent much of the weekend getting the new shades of Koigu up on the website. The learning curve on new technology is always steep for me, but I think I have the hang of managing this system now, which means I’ll be able to get more products up on a regular basis.

This week we’re anticipating our shipment of sock yarn from Pagewood Farms, and what an array that will be! Robin’s colors are unique (I think) in the hand dye world, and I’m pleased to be able to offer them to you. She said she was shipping today, so they should arrive by the end of the week, I would think.

Also due in this week is the shipment of shrug kits from Mountain Colors. If you want one of these, I’d recommend getting one as soon as they arrive. I only ordered a small number, and they’re only in production until April. Then the collaborative efforts of Mountain Colors and Lorna’s Laces will be focused on another kit, and the shrug will become a collector’s item.

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February 6, 2008

I love my job!

Yesterday was sort of a … meh day. The weather was crummy, I felt crummy, no one wanted to go out in the crummy weather, so business was crummy too. Last night a line of fierce storms came through the Valley, waking us all at 3 AM. I was exhausted before I even got out of bed this morning. And then I came to work.

This box was waiting for me, from our good friends at Koigu. Good and silly friends. (The Hamburgerlur thing is in reference to a black and white striped shirt I like to wear, which my son thinks makes me look like the Hamburglar of fast food fame. I guess Rhichard thought that was pretty funny.)

Then there were the e-mails from concerned suppliers, worried we’d been affected by last night’s bad weather. And the pot of blackberry jam from a customer as thanks for helping her out of a different kind of jam yesterday. And the new shop owner who commented on Ravelry that she wants to be just like me when she grows up. And the sun is shining.

This is what was in the box.

Thirty new shades of Koigu. Some old favorites, some we’ve never seen before. All of them gorgeous. I’m going to go take pictures now. Hope your day is as good as mine has been.

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Filed Under: What's New?, General

February 5, 2008

Bearfoot on board

Look at that pretty box of yarn! It’s Mountain Colors Bearfoot — 40 skeins. And so begins the parade of boxes coming to Yarn Expressions this week. Yesterday we also received a box of patterns from Gardiner Yarn Works, many of them sock patterns. This exciting new company is the dream child of designer Chrissy Gardiner. You’ve seen her designs in Interweave Knits and other publications. Now they’re here in single pattern format, just waiting to go home with you.

A note in the Mountain Colors box says that we can expect delivery of the Mixed Media lace shrug kits very soon. They’re aiming to have them out the door by the end of this week. Remember, this is a limited edition, so get yours early.

Also expected in the next week or so are our shipments from Koigu, Neighborhood Fibers and a small shipment of Kureyon Sock. The empty spots on the shelves are getting smaller and smaller!

new and improved website

Notice anything new? The new website is finally up, complete with shopping cart. We’re slowly adding merchandise to the online store, emphasis on the slowly. There are sure to be glitches in the next few days as we all become accustomed to the way this thing operates. Be sure to let me know by e-mail or comment here if you find bugs in the system.

Remember, although the website and shopping cart are automated, they’re still run by just one person — me. No fulfillment houses, no third party credit card processors. The personal attention you’ve come to expect at Yarn Expressions is still here, it’s just wearing a new ~~suit~~ sweater.