Shop Talk

 

To see pictures of the interior of the shop building, go to Shop Photos.

 

 

August, 2008

 

The shop looks a little different these days because we moved things around a bit in order to expand the weaving component of the business. We now have four looms on the floor and plan to offer intermediate weaving classes this Fall, along with the introductory classes.

The sale rack has received a lot of attention lately. We decided to phase out our inventory of Jamieson and Smith jumper weight Shetland Wool, so we put it all on sale, for $2.00 a skein. We had several skeins each of at least 150 colors, so there is quite a lot to offer those interested in Aran knitting projects.

 

May, 2008

 Sock Knitters - We are one of the "Sox Hot Spots" for the Knitter's Magazine contest "Think Outside the Sox." So come on it for information on the contest that has a $6,000 first prize. We have details and entry forms at the store.

April, 2008

Spring is finally here! The newsletter was mailed on April 19, so by now most of you have the descriptions of the new classes. When you see something you want (need?) to know how to do, come in (or call) and sign up for the class - as always, class sizes are limited.

When we moved out to the farm we thought we would never fill the shop building, because it was so much larger than the one we rented in Morgantown. But of course, now we spend a great deal of time looking for places to display some wonderful new item.

One way to find space is to move some items to the sale rack. So to encourage customers to inspect that rack, we have decided to price everything on it at $1.00. We will be adding more items as we get additional interesting yarns in. The new price will probably be good for the next few months, but not forever, so get them while you can.

Some of the things we are making space for include

 

 

Hand-painted and -dyed sock yarns, such as those from Interlacements.

 

 

 

 

Handspun yarn from one of our sheep - Abigal. The gauge is worsted weight.

 

 

 

 

 

Shetland fleeces (from our sheep. This one is from Tortellini).

 

 

Sheep Street yarn, from our sheep (commercially spun). At present, we have a natural and a rag wool- natural colors. The gauge is worsted weight.

  

We had a visitor from New Mexico recently. A Navajo weaver from Shiprock, NM named TahNibaa Naataanii (the accent is on the "Tah" in her first name and on the "taa" in her last name) has been at the Eiteljorg Museum in Indianapolis (the second week in April). A friend who works there brought her down to the shop to see a sheep operation in a humid climate. She is also a spinner, who usually works with Churro fleeces, so she was interested in the soft feel of our Shetland fleeces.

 

 

She was also interested in the different spinning wheels we have in the shop.

 

 

 We finished shearing on April 7. We have about 100 fleeces for sale to anyone who wants the pleasure of working with soft Shetland wool. Go to the Fleeces and Fibers link at the left to see photos of locks from some of them.

 

 

January, 2008

Welcome to another New Year. We are starting the new year off with a variety of things. For example, we have another new batch of our own Sheep Street Yarn, in both a solid (champagne) color and a brown and cream "ragg wool."

Other new yarns are Classic Elite's "One Fifty," a DK-weight ultra soft merino in lots of colors, and their "Alpaca Sox," a blend of alpaca, merino and nylon, and a real treat for your feet.

Plymouth has also contributed to the new yarns. "Boku," a variegated wool and silk mixture with very gradual color changes, "Royal Llama Silk," a super soft blended yarn from Argentina, and "Buckingham, a fine-weight blend of baby suri alpaca and silk.

Also, the merino lace weight yarn we have carried for quite a while is now available in variegated shades. And we also have several different weights of the gorgeous Araucania yarns from Chile.

 

For spinners we have a large supply of fleeces, and we expect the new wheel from Schacht (the Ladybug) to arrive in a few weeks. For Weavers, Ashford now has a 20" version of their folding "Knitter's Loom." We also have a new small (13") 2-harness floor loom made by a local Brown County artisan. It is a great loom for anything like scarves, placemats, table runners, or even narrow fabrics. From the same craftsman, we also have a gorgeous, adjustable, and very comfortable weaver's bench. Check the Indiana Products page for photos of the loom and the bench.

  

November, 2007

We are carrying Lopi yarn once more. We have about 15 colors in stock and will be adding new ones soon.

We are carrying a new loom in the shop - ideal for beginners, or for those who want a loom that does not take up much space. See the Indiana Products page for details.

The yarn from our sheep is back from the mill. We have an off-white and the very popular rag wool yarn. Both are worsted weight and are in 150 yard skeins.

We are also carrying Indiana-grown Shetland wool from the Under the Son farm operation. See the Indiana Products page for pictures of this yarn and ours.

Another new yarn is "Classic One Fifty" from Classic Elite. It is 100% Merino, in 150 yard skeins that are sport weight. We have 16 colors of the yarn.

 

September, 2007

We had 16 lambs this Spring, and they are thriving. Now we are ready for the arrival of Fall yarns. We will have more of our own yarns from our own sheep soon. The wool is at the mill being spun.

We also have a couple of trunk shows in house now. We have several models of (and the patterns for) baby garments from Kimber Baldwin Designs. The animal motifs have to be seen to believed.

The other show is from Crystal Palace Yarns, that highlights their Taos, Fjord, and Kaya lines of yarns. Soft, smooth wools in variegated tones. Their designs are unique and exciting.

 

We have had lots of interest in weaving lately, and we are working to make as many classes as possible available. For those who are intimidated by floor looms (because of their size and price), we suggest exploring weaving on a rigid heddle loom. they come in many sizes and they all can be either hung on a wall or tucked under a bed for storage. Several of them fold up and can be carried in a bag or over your shoulder. You can make everything from scarves and bags to pillows, skirts, and even small rugs on these versatile looms. Check out the class listings to see when the class meets.

 

April, 2007

We have a new member of the Sheep Street family - a shop cat. He showed up one day, and unlike most strays, he was friendly, so we took him in.

He eats and sleeps in the room we call the dye studio, but from time to time he patrols the entire building. And when he does come out he gets lots of attention, which he likes very much.

He has only one eye (a vet thinks that he was born that way), so we named him "pirate."

 

 

 Our supply of Sheep Street Yarn is nearly gone. We will be sending more roving out to be spun soon, so those of you interested in locally-grown, natural fibers in natural colors will be able to get some more.

The new newsletter is being written. It should arrive in your mailboxes by the middle of the month.

 

 January, 2007

We have several new items in the store, including our own commercially-spun Sheep Street Yarn, in natural colors, and a small supply of handspun also from our sheep. Other new yarns include Baby Camel in natural colors (incredibly soft!), a 50/50 blend of wool and bamboo, "Princess" and "Countess" from Classic Elite (merino, cashmere, and angora), and expanded colors of old favorites.

For weavers, we now carry Maysville carpet warp and some lovely mill end yarns.

For spinners, we have a large supply of roving on hand, some very soft Shetland lamb fleeces, and a sign-up sheet ready for those of you who wish to reserve a fleece "on the hoof." We also have some new wheels in from Louet, including their new portable wheel, Victoria. At 6.5 pounds, it's hard to believe how smoothly it spins - the perfect travel companion.

Finally, another new line includes delightful "sheep-themed" cards from Ireland, Mitchell's wool fat soap, and true tartan-colored blankets woven in Scotland.

And Don't forget the Superbowl Weekend Sale!

February 3rd & 4th

10% off everything in stock in the store!
Specially marked items will be marked down 30%.
The only exceptions are classes and special orders.

 

September, 2006

Fall is here! Time to think about hats, gloves, scarves, sweaters, shawls, felted accessories...and there is still time to make handcrafted, truly personalized items for those on your holiday giving list.

We also have a limited supply of commercially spun llama in sport weight. This yarn comes from llamas raised in Indiana by a young lady in 4-H who shears the animals herself. You have to feel it to believe it. We also have some American-grown bulky Alpaca.

Another new product bridges the gap between knitting and weaving - the Ashford "Knitter's Loom" has been designed for all of us who have small amounts of yarn left over from knitting projects and hate to let some gorgeous expensive yarn just sit in a box. This product addresses this problem by providing a small, portable (it folds up and fits in a shoulder bag) loom on which neat scarves, placements, ponchos, purses, etc. can be made quickly and easily from what would otherwise be useless scraps.  

 

April, 2006

In addition to the yarns and the fleeces from our Shetland sheep, we also have some very nice Romney and Merino fleeces.

We have expanded our color selection of Cascade 220 yarns. We now carry around 60 colors. We are also carrying a couple of new magazines for knitters and spinners. Vogue's KnitSimple seems to have very "doable" patterns. And Wild Fibers magazine is a real find for spinners. Each issue features a different type of fiber and articles about the animals it comes from: Alpaca, Quivit, Maine Island Sheep, etc.

 

October, 2005

Dye Studio: We recently renovated a room in the shop building so we can offer dye classes. We have already used it once, for a painted warp class. In November we will offer classes on natural Dyeing (see the class schedule).

 

  

New Yarns: We are now carrying Nashua, from Westminster Yarns. We have two of their products in stock at present.

 

Cretive Focus is a wool-alpaca mixture that knits up at 5 st/in on a #7 needle. Each skein is 216 yds long. We have 21 colors in stock at present.

 

 

Julia is a mixture of wool, Mohair, and Alpaca. each skein is 97 yds long and it knits up at 5 st/in on a #7 needle.

 

 

Rovings: This Spring we sent about three dozen fleeces to a mill to be processed into roving. We now have about 150 lbs in the shop. Most of it is from our Shetland sheep, but some is from some Romney fleeces we purchased from another breeder.

Fleeces: We also have some Shetland, Romney, and Merino fleeces in the shop for those who wish to work up their own fibers.

 Small Samples: We have small (2 oz) samples of a number of fibers. These are samples of fleeces for those who wish to how fleeces from the different breeds of sheep handle. We have several of each of those shown below. At $5.00 each, these samples are provide spinners with an affordable way to examine the properties of different breeds of sheep.

 

 

 

Wenslydale

 

 

Romney

 

 

Cotswold

 

 

Icelandic

 

 

Border Leicester

  

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