Stars & Stripes Towels

I just posted a new weaving pattern up on the website for my new Stars & Stripes Towels (rav link):

I made them out of Cascade Venezia Sport yarn, which is 70% Merino Wool 30% Silk. This yarn is so smooth and soft it is absolutely ideal for weaving towels. I stocked up on a bunch of it at Knot Another Hat's March Madness Sale, so I can make even more towels! Love them!

I'm teaching this class at Knot Another Hat Sunday, May 17th. The class is almost full, so make sure you sign up right away! If you aren't in the area, or can't make it to the class, don't worry, if you have woven a few scarves then you can tackle this project! I have the pattern up in the shop with step by step instructions to walk you through everything you need to know to make these towels. 

If you make them, please let me know! I would love to see your finished towels!

Shetland Gradients

Shetland Gradients are coming soon!

They should be ready just in time for Knot Another Hat's Knit Night, next Wednesday, April 28th, 5pm - 8pm. Come and check them out!

My Studio

I had a lot of fun setting up my studio for the Open Studio Day. Here are a couple of photos from in the morning before people arrived. 

You can see the rest of the photos here: https://plus.google.com/photos/107989652351991641796/albums/6140295248914218881?authkey=CK2TzN_FtoQr

If you missed out on the day, don't worry you can come and visit me any time! Simply email me at lavendersheep (at) gmail (dot) com when you'll be in the area and I'll be happy to open up my studio.

Photo Friday: Open Studio!

Don't forget! Open Studio Day is tomorrow 10am - 4pm! I'll be ready with lots of yarn and treats!

Faux Log Cabin Woven Placemats

A couple of weeks ago I taught a class on Color & Weave. For it we did a simple pattern to learn the basics. While I was developing the class I put together a step by step pattern that walks through making the placemats. So, I thought it would be fun to make the pattern available on the website!

The reason it is called "faux" is because it isn't quite a true log cabin pattern. A true one has an extra thread every repeat. For simplicity in teaching warping on the warping board for the first time, I omitted the extra thread. However, I did include a true log cabin draft in the back of the pattern, if you would like the extra challenge. 

This pattern is written for a Rigid Heddle Loom, but I include directions suitable for shafted looms, because those are what I was trained on first. My patterns are meant to teach someone how to use any loom whether it is a Rigid Heddle or a more traditional loom.

I just love the simplicity of these placemats. I can't wait to put them to use on my table. The yarn used is 2 colors of Zooey (a cotton/linen blend). Though any sport weight yarn or yarn around 18-20 wraps per inch (WPI) would work wonderfully too! Find the pattern on the website here: http://www.lavendersheep.com/shop/products/patterns/weaving/faux-log-cabin.html

Photo Friday: Strawberry Blossoms

Mini Skein Rainbow

I have wanted to put together a full spectrum of my yarn for sometime. Thanks to a rather large order from Knot Another Hat, I can do it in Mini Skeins. All of these and many many more will be delivered to Knot Another Hat this afternoon!

More About Ravelry In Store Sales

Hi Everyone, I just wanted to clarify some things.

Mary-Heather posted the following on my previous post:

Mary-Heather (rainydaygoods) said...

Just to clarify a quick thing (because we're getting excited emails about this!): this opt-in feature for shops with appointment only hours or dyers with studio hours isn't actually for In-Store Sales at shows, festivals, etc - the service can't be used at events. Our terms haven't changed and that still isn't permitted - we know people would like to sell at shows but In-store Sales are all that are allowed with this service, and nothing has changed there. I hope this helps to clarify!

So, I sent the following message to Ravelry:

​​Dear Ravelry, 

I am sorry I posted that Ravelry In-Store Pattern Sales were open to vendors at shows. Here is my confusion: 

1. When I setup my appointment only brick & mortar shop, I had to go through extra steps for designers to allow my shop to sell patterns. Steps outlined here: http://lavendersheep.blogspot.com/2015/04/ravelry-in-store-pattern-sales.html. While going through that process I saw that I could allow shops to sell my designs, which were described as “Vans which go from event to event”. I thought those sounded exactly the same as vendors at shows. I drive a van to various events and then setup a booth. What is the difference?

2. I would also like to clarify your policy. Are you saying that I can sell as many patterns as I like as long as I am in my home studio? However, when I travel to an event, where I take exactly the same yarn and samples, I can’t sell patterns there? How is this different? I sell patterns using my phone/tablet at either location. I handle every sale myself in person. I can’t print easily at a show, but other than that the transaction would be exactly the same. I would still pay designers through Ravelry either way. I also know from experience that I can sell a lot of patterns at shows. I have been selling hard copy patterns at shows for almost the last 10 years. I know I could sell even more if I had the flexibility of Ravelry Sales.

3. This seems to be a service that is wanted by both Indie Dyers and Indie Designers. From your service agreement you describe yourself as simply an intermediary between designers and shop owners. Wouldn’t you be doing exactly that to offer this service? If designers opt into it and Indie Dyers sign up for it, then what is the problem?

Perhaps now is the time to open your policies up to new possibilities that benefit everyone. I hope you will take these thoughts into consideration. I await your reply.

Your’s Sincerely, 

Yvonne Ellsworth​
--
LavenderSheep:
http://www.lavendersheep.com

I await their reply. I honestly don't think it will come to anything. I'm just sorry I gave out the wrong information. Though, in my defense I reread their service policies and they definitely are far from clear. They were written back in 2011 and I believe that they are in desperate need of an update. I'm not sure what I am going to do with pattern sales at the moment either, since majority of my pattern sales happen at events. I definitely will keep you posted here on the blog. Thanks!

Response is here: https://twitter.com/lavendersheep/status/585481291237347329

Looks like Event Sales are in the works! Woohoo!

Keurig

Wow! A big thank you to everyone who visited my last post about Ravelry In-Store Sales! I'm so excited to look through all these patterns I now have available to knit up in my yarn! I hope that this gets out to as many Indie Designers and Dyers as possible, so that we all have the opportunity to use this great service.

On a completely different topic, we purchased a Keurig, just in time for the Open Studio Day! Now we can serve coffee, tea, and hot chocolate!

Do you have a favorite K-Cup? We are still trying things out to see which is best and would love recommendations!

Ravelry In Store Pattern Sales

Dear Fellow Indie Dyers & Designers,

I have good news! Ravelry is now allowing those of us who primarily do shows or have just a studio sometimes open to the public or sell only online the opportunity to be a part of Ravelry In-Store Pattern Sales! Yay! However, there is a catch. In order to sell a particular designers patterns you have to ask them individually to do the following steps:

1. Go to your Ravelry Pro Account. Under Pattern Sales, click on Configure Store.

2. Scroll down to In-Store Sales and click on the button marked "View Retailers"

3. Scroll down to my shop LavenderSheep (it should be near the top) and click on the drop down list where it says "blocked" and change it to "permitted"

That will add my shop to allow me to sell your designs.

So here is what you can do:

-If you are an Indie Dyer, sign up! It took almost 2 months to get my account, so be patient. Then get the word out that you want to sell designer's patterns. Think of how many samples you have in your booth. You are already sending people to Ravelry, why not sell them patterns right there on the spot with your tablet or phone?! Pass on this post, so that other dyers know about it!

-If you are an Indie Designer and you would like Indie Dyers to use your patterns, do the steps above and add everyone you feel comfortable adding. Check back often to make sure you aren't missing any newly added shops. Pass on this posts to other Indie Designers to get the word out. When you add a shop, let them know that you have added them. Like, if you add mine, I would love to know it, so I can plan out gorgeous samples with my yarn!

Most of all, thanks for reading this and getting the word out!

Yvonne Ellsworth
LavenderSheep

Photo Friday: Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival

 

Yarn Crawl

For the Rose City Yarn Crawl, I was able to go on Friday to For Yarn Sake and hang out there all day with my trunk show. It was wonderful! The not so wonderful part was that my husband texted me that my daughter had a temperature. So, by Sunday, when I had planned to go do the shopping part of the yarn crawl, my family were all very sick. Mama to the rescue! So to make up for it, my husband said I could find a free Sunday and go that day instead. The best one was this last Sunday.

I went with my wonderful friend Janeann, and we visited 4 yarn shops: Twisted, Dublin Bay, Knitting Bee, and For Yarn's Sake. I got 2 skeins of Blue Moon Heavy Weight (in the back) to make socks for my husband. The red is Madelinetosh Vintage Worsted to make my son a sweater. The front is a couple of balls of Sirdar Baby Bamboo to go with some yarn I have for a skirt for my daughter. I think that covers everyone! I also scored some pretty nice yarn from Knot Another Hat's March Madness sale. It has been a busy yarn filled month! The pattern and the pen on the side were swag from a couple of the shops that felt that we needed a little something extra since we are yarn crawling. =) It was a wonderful trip and something I would definitely like to do again!