Whenever the shop gets too busy, it seems like the blog gets neglected - I don't know why when we should be tellign you about all of the exciting new yarns we're adding daily, and we'll try to do better with that. Since the last entry, we've added some truly fabulous yarn to the store.

We have the Lorna's Laces limited edition color Franklin in Shepherd Sock, created by and named for Franklin of Panopticon. Every other month, Lorna's Laces will offer a one-of-a-kind color for and by celebrity bloggers, and this is the first one.

We added ShibuiKnits sock yarn to the store, which promptly sold out in most colors and will be re-stocked on Friday:

And ShibuiKnits Merino Kid:

And yes, ShibuiKnits Silk Cloud:

And yes, it is all as vibrant and gorgeous as it looks (we think even moreso, really).

The Unique Sheep sent us their brand new DK weight cotton Pima Petite in a dozen delightful colors. This is the handpainted cotton we've been looking for - soft, breathable, and so pretty!

Noelle's Noodles sent us new sock yarn, and there are still some amazing colors left.

And we re-stocked the Tulip Cardigan kits!

As for me, I am still working on the Apres Surf Hoodie and a sock in Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock (Edgewater) for when it gets to be too much. I'm at the dreaded seaming stage, soon to move on to the hood and get back to knitting - I can't wait.

Have you ever become so obsessed with a project that you do nothing but knit, casting aside pesky things like other long-term projects, sleep, meals, and family obligations? That is how I feel about my Apres Surf Hoodie.



This is one of those projects where the yarn and the pattern have come together so perfectly that I just keep thinking I'll do a "few more rows" because I am so eager to see more of it knitted up. The yarn arrived in my mailbox on Thursday evening, and I've already finished one sleeve and cast on for the second. Despite having other ongoing projects, this one has become my immediate favorite - the lace pattern is interesting but also instantly memorizable, so I don't have to constantly refer to the magazine but the knitting is not at all monotonous. It's also one of the few patterns where I have managed to get gauge and have measurements roughly approximating one of the listed sizes, so there is the added appeal of not having to do any calculus to sort out the shaping and placement of the lace pattern. And then there is the undeniably fact that I am hopelessly in love with this yarn and the colorway, Sundara Yarn's fingering silky merino in a limited edition colorway called Serengeti that makes me feel a little like I was sitting at the dyepot with Sundara telling her exactly what color I wanted because it is so perfect for me and this project. I know we don't sell it - I wish we did of course, but the lovely Sundara sells all of her own yarn - so I hate to tease everyone, but I am so into this knitting that I would be remiss not to blog about it.

Aside from sending out the orders from this weekend, I'll be taking tomorrow off to celebrate my birthday (!), but on Tuesday, we should have new Malabrigo Worsted, Silky Merino, and Lace, and our shipment of Shibui Knits is scheduled to arrived! And in case you missed it, we got some new Unique Sheep colors last week, and will be getting in a bunch of their new cotton yarn hopefully this week or next - you won't believe how soft this yarn is!

I'm taking a break from yarn-related blogging today to make a very special post for my dad. I'm reminded every day of how lucky I've been to have the parents I have. My dad is the dad that everyone else wanted to have - loving, supportive, and incredibly generous. As kids, my dad took my sister and I to spend all day at the beach, created frosting masterpieces on our toaster strudels, took me to the bookstore three times in a weekend, indulged us with an endless stream of pets we "had" to have, and a million other things. In high school, mine was the house where all of my friends hung out, mine was the dad who would spend his weekend taking us to the mall, and mine was the dad who made sure that both myself and sister were able to do anything we wanted to in life. As we transitioned to adulthood, I can not even count the number of times the two of us made mistakes both big and small, and my dad was always the one to step in and help us out however he could, financially or otherwise. It all works out in the end, of course - here is my favorite picture of my dad and I from my wedding in March 2006:



So, Dad, Happy Father's Day - I hope you are doing something fun for yourself today!

I feel like it has taken ages to get around to writing this post - you all have been keeping us quite busy catching up with orders and e-mails! (That's a good thing!) As so many people have already blogged about this weekend, the single best thing about TNNA is that everywhere you go, you are completely surrounded by people who not only understand your borderline-unhinged infatuation with yarn, but actually share your obsession. The convention floor is row after row of soft, squishy, gorgeous skeins of yarn in every color and fiber and weight, and everywhere are people petting it rather unabashedly. Most surrounding hotels are taken over by knitters, and even our hotel, which was a little off the beaten TNNA path, had enough knitters that when they asked why we were in town, "yarn convention" didn't seem to alarm them. And since blogging is a huge part of the yarn and fiber community, everywhere you see faces that look strangely familiar - then you go back to your hotel room and try to figure out who that is. At one point, I was standing at a booth right behind Amy Singer and apparently forgot that while I know her, she definitely doesn't know me, so I said "Hi!" like we are old friends and I think she wasn't sure if she should know me.

Cool moment of the weekend - we met Jess, Casey, and Mary-Heather! To echo everyone else who met them this weekend - the Ravelry folks are so nice and enthusiastic and excited to hear about everyone's Ravelry experiences, so it was really cool to get to talk to them. (and they gave us daily dose of fiber stickers, and Ravelry buttons!) I happened to be waiting for my friend outside the bathroom at precisely the right moment and got to talk to them for a few minutes and tell them how much we lovvve Ravelry and advertising on Ravelry, and they recognized our store name from our ads and said our ads are pretty, which was nice of them. (Did you know I make all of our Ravelry ads myself?)

We also got to stop buy the Malabrigo booth and meet Tobias and Antonio. They are doing quite well and are really upbeat about their situation, and it looks like we may actually be able to get a little Malabrigo to hold us over until they are up and running again. Meeting our vendors was really fun, because all of our communication has always been over the phone or e-mail. We also met Nancy from Dream In Color (and got a sneak peek of some top secret upcoming projects!) and Beth and Amanda from Lorna's Laces, where we got to see the four new colors just released!  We actually ordered these sight unseen the week before TNNA, so hopefully they will be in the shop a little sooner - we weren't at all surprised to find out that all four are gorgeous. I can't find any photos online yet, and of course no photography inside TNNA, so you'll have to see them as they arrive!

The big question most of you are probably wondering about is if we bought any new yarns - of course we did! We've got several new yarn lines from five new vendors coming in over the next couple of months, and we're bringing in some non-yarn items as well! Over the next few weeks, we'll have yarns arriving from:

• Shibui Knits - Sock, Merino Kid, and Silk Cloud
  
• Misti Alpaca - Handpainted Sock and Lace yarns in every color
  
• Pagewood Farm - Yukon Bamboo Sock, Worsted, Laceweight, and their newest Merino/Cashmere/Nylon blend Sock yarns

There are a couple of others, but we're keeping them under wraps for now since the shipping will take longer - you'll just have to be surprised!

One of our favorite things about having Eat.Sleep.Knit has been all of our lovely customers, and your enthusiasm for new products, new colors, and new games to play. So I'm not sure why, when we sent out a newsletter on Wednesday evening about new stuff, we didn't realize that we would be completely swamped with orders on Thursday! We tried our best to keep up, even adding a trip to the post office after the postman came to pick up most of your orders, and still a few of the orders that came in after noon didn't make it out, unfortunately. We did pack them up and bring them with us to Ohio, though, so if we can find a nice post office, they may be mailed out tomorrow. Just to put things in perspective, we received more orders yesterday than in the entire month of January - I think that's pretty impressive!

This morning, my husband and I rolled on out of Georgia at 6:45 (we were aiming for 6, but that was a bit ambitious) in hopes of making the drive to Columbus, OH in time to attend Sample It! at 5 PM. Nine hours and 550 miles later...

And then we got on line to get into Sample It! - this is my first time attending TNNA. Suffice it to say that this line alone is overwhelming, and then all of these fiber lovers are let loose into a small room filled with goodies to purchase.

We also got a glimpse of the main floor for tomorrow, which is the official start of the market:

Now we're back at our hotel - by the way, if you're headed to Columbus, OH, I heartily recommend the Residence Inn. For the same rate as a room at the Hyatt or the Holiday Inn or the Hampton Inn, we've got a room with a fully-outfitted kitchen, separate living room with extra bed and recliner, and a bathroom that is far swankier than our own. My favorite part though, is the free wireless. And now that we've logged in (if you have e-mailed us since yesterday, our apologies, we are SO behind now), it looks we have a first place winner of the Yarn Marathon! Congratulations to Melanie in Canada! We'll still be marathoning through 2008, and we'll start a new "race" in 2009, so keep knitting your way to the finish!

There is so much going on around Eat.Sleep.Knit these days that there is never any time to blog about it! Loads of new yarns, new colors, and new events in the store and in the works. There's hardly any time for knitting! When it comes to knitting, this time of year is always a bit of a challenge for me. The weather is getting warmer, and a Georgia summer means that we won't need sweaters, scarves, hats, or any other warm attire for at least six months - that leaves nothing but socks, it seems. Recently, though, we have found several great summer knitting projects that didn't involve socks around here, so here are some ideas if you're in the summer knitting slump:

Anne Eliott Spencer
I can't say anything good things about this great little cardigan. It's adorable, it's a really fun knit, and you can even practice your crochet for the pretty edging. While the pattern calls for a sportweight yarn, I knit mine up using a little over three skeins of Yarn Love Elizabeth Bennett, so it's a great pattern for a yarn like that which, to me, is so soft, pretty and luxurious that it deserves to be shown off more often than socks might. Cute with jeans or over a dress! (And maybe when it is daylight, I can get a better picture, but check out all of the Dream in Color in the background...)



Undulating Waves Scarf
As seen on the Yarn Harlot! While you may not be able to wear it for a while, there is something about all of those beads that fits well with summer knitting, and for that we love this lacy scarf pattern. One skein of Schaefer Heather makes a generous scarf, and if you're feeling daring (and have a lot of extra beads!), you could go for two skeins for a truly decadent version.



Spring Vines
This great "vest" from The Unique Sheep is next on my list this summer. Knit it with the called-for wool for a sophisticated vest, or try it in one our sportweight cottons for a summer tank. Either way, the lack of sleeves makes this seem more appealing for the season, and the gorgeous cable pattern keeps knitting interesting. Sportweight cottons from The Unique Sheep and Schaefer Yarn will be arriving in the next couple of weeks - I can't wait!

It's been storming in Georgia all weekend, and yesterday our power went out for the better part of an hour. An hour with no electricity shows you exactly how dependent you are on power - everything we thought of to do ended up needing electricity! And, okay, I have a confession - I am a little obsessed with my cats. Combine the two on a lazy Saturday afternoon, and this is what you get:

Why yes, that is a cashmere argyle sweater vest that I knit for my cats. It fits both of them quite well, even though the other one is about four pounds heavier! I used leftover Rowan Cashsoft DK from a sweater I knit three years ago (and yes, I'm aware that this yarn is too nice for a cat sweater...) - about a half a ball of the main color, not even 50 yards of the green, and mere scraps of the white. I know I am not the only one out there who thinks this is endlessly entertaining, nor can I be the only one who has a little free time and some old stash yarn you have no idea what to do with, so here's my pattern:

Kitty Cat Argyle Sweater Vest

It seems like every time things get a little busy, blogging is the first thing to fall by the wayside. We've also been busily restocking all of your favorite yarns and colors, so there aren't very many new yarns to share, but we do have one very special addition! Cotton Ball, from Claudia Handpainted Yarn, is our first handpainted 100% cotton yarn we've been able to offer in the store, and it's really lovely!

Cotton Ball is a DK weight plied cotton that really shows off the amazing colorways. We'll be getting more in the next month or so, but for now we do have a handful of gorgeous colors available.

Our other exciting addition is more exciting for me than for you, but I'll share anyway - we've had a new addition to our office! After six months of cranking out invoices and labels and patterns on a nine-year-old inkjet ....

Yesterday, this arrived:

A color laser printer, with duplexing! And networking! And PostScript capabilities! (I'm not sure why this is useful to us, but my husband assures me it will be.) By the way, it's huge. It weighs 50 pounds! And it prints so quickly, and the patterns look so nice with the duplexing that I spent last night just printing out dozens and dozens of them.

By the way, if you are waiting to donate to Ravelraiser '08, do it soon! Tomorrow (April 25th) is the last day to enter to win the fabulous prizes that have been generously donated by so many Ravelers.

As some of you already know, Ravelraiser '08 began this weekend - this is a push to raise funds to support this amazing free community. If you aren't on Ravelry yet, you need to be, and if you are on Ravelry, you've probably found yourself wondering what you did for patterns, yarn information, stash management, and daily knitterly online entertainment before it existed (or while we were on the seemingly endless waiting list last year!). What started out as a husband-and-wife team working on a weekend project has become a global knit and crochet community with tens of thousands of active members from all over the globe, in every age group and skill level. Ravelry has contributed so much to the knitting community, and now we want to give back. If you go to this thread and donate 10 lousy bucks, you'll be entered into drawings for fabulous yarn-and-fiber-related prizes, including the grand prizes - five (or maybe six now?) "Dream Stashes" - and the other prizes, which include yarn club memberships, yarn, roving, and gift certificates to several fine yarn establishments, including a $50 gift certificate to Eat.Sleep.Knit! You get one entry for every $10 you donate, and check out all of the amazing prizes!

I also thought I'd show you all the results of my Sunday activities. I am constantly surrounded by truly amazing hand-dyed yarn, and while I'd love to believe I could do the same thing, I'm really not creative and color-minded enough to do it - not to mention patient! About a year ago, I bought some Jacquard dyes and ten skeins of KnitPicks Bare in varying weights to play with, and after reading every free tutorial I could find, I set out about making a blue-and-brown variegated yarn (I'm a sucker for any brown-and-pastel-color-of-your-choice combination, if that's not really obvious). To put it nicely, the yarn came out looking really great after I knitted it up into a pair of Felted Clogs and felted it!

However, this weekend I saw that Sharon of Yarn Love and Three Irish Girls had a Guide to Gorgeous Hand-Dyed Yarns for sale on her website, and better yet it was downloadable. If you have ever had the pleasure of seeing a skein of Yarn Love yarn, then you know these ladies know what they are doing, so I decided to go for it. (By the way, the guide is awesome - it included directions for three different kinds of hand-dyeing and answered all of the questions the free tutorials had left me with.)

First I dyed two skeins with the Kettle-Dyed Solids method, wetting one skein prior to dyeing and leaving the other dry because I wanted to see how different they would look.

It turns out, not that different, but the dry one had a very subtle variegation to it that I think I prefer:

Next, I decided to try the Kettle-Dyed Variegated, which sounded to me like it could not possibly work, but I decided to trust the experts.

It turns out that it actually works pretty well - I love the end result!

Now if I could get some of my other projects completed, I could knit myself some socks with my very own hand-dyed yarn!

Did you think I forgot about you? Of course not! Things have been a wee bit hectic around Eat.Sleep.Knit lately, with yarn arriving daily and so many of you hitting your first mile in the Yarn Marathon and winning fun prizes in our Yarn Lotto! We'd like to congratulate Agusta of StashDiva, who has just become our first member of the 10K club in the Yarn Marathon! Karen in CA is close behind her, and Cathy in VA, Thao in Irvine, CA, and Thao in San Jose, CA have all already passed up the 5K mark and earned their first $20 reward. We've had several winners of $5 store credit coupons, and Jessica in MN and Mary in KY each won free skeins of Smooshy with the lucky tickets in their orders!

We don't have any new yarn lines this week, but we do have new colors of J. Knits Charming - this lambswool/cashmere blend is a scrumptious yarn to knit with.

I've actually been getting a small bit of knitting done, believe it or not. The Anne Elliot Spencer shrug is shaping up, with only a few inches to go before I separate it out for the sleeves. I love the way the yarn is knitting up - really perfect for what I had in mind!

I've also been working on a Leaf Lace Scarf out of Malabrigo Lace in Lettuce a little bit at a time, but I can't seem to take a single decent picture of it. Believe me when I say that the pattern is lovely, and the yarn is incredibly soft.