On the Third Day of Sock Yarn, Simply Sock Yarn gave to meeeeeee.....
EIGHT skeins of Less Traveled Yarn's Tweed Me DK! Yes - Over $200 in yarn! I told you we're going big this year!
To have a chance at these limited edition skeins, plenty for a sweater, a small blanket or several smaller projects like hats and mittens, please answer the following question in the comments below:
Do you typically send out holiday cards and if so, are you sending them out this year? Please do tell me about your favorite holiday card you've sent or received, or a special one you'd like to tell us about.
I send out Christmas cards every year. I think I've missed one or two years in the past (usually when I had babies) but I really like sending them and the ones I receive are displayed above my mantle or on ribbons in my dining room- I even save some year after year because I love seeing how my friends' families grow up. Sending out cards gives me an excuse to get a family picture taken, sometimes just from a neighbor in front of our fireplace, but at least it gets done. This year our picture was taken by the timer on my phone, as we aren't having people in our house or going to get photos taken. This year's card pokes a bit of fun at our current home situation and I hope it brings levity to this time of year, when we would usually be attending classroom parties, work events, and various festive celebrations and cannot. The back of the card has a little update on our family. The cards still haven't arrived yet, b/c, you know.... the current shipping situation is quite slow and all. It's been 2 weeks of waiting and I'm doing my best to be patient.
So let's talk about this yarn. Today's prize is 8 skeins of a batch of Canyonland Caravan in Tweed Me DK, which is the our club color from October. This isn't the exact version that we went with, as it's slightly more orange and has less of the other speckles we ended up going with. But it's so gorgeous, isn't it? If you want details of our upcoming sock yarn club, sign up for our newsletter at the bottom of our homepage. It will go live in January and this round had the most enrollment BY FAR and we received so many happy e-mails about the yarn and goodies and National Park theme.
Tweed Me Sock in Frida (I knit socks out of this a couple months ago)
Less Traveled Yarn is a small dye studio run by Sarah and Matt in Arizona. They typically sell at fairs and festivals, but they have made a lot of changes this year to keep going in the pandemic situation and keep on growing. I know you love their Tweed Me Sock and Tweed Me DK that we just got more of in stock as of yesterday, so do take a look at everything we have to offer. Tweed Me Sock sold out within a couple week when we first had it in the shop this fall, and it's back with even more colors.
Want to learn a bit more about Sarah and her crew? I recently took some time to chat virtually with her to get to know her better and here's what she has to say.
Allison @ SSYC: Well, hello Sarah! Thank you for taking a minute out of your busy time to chat! We've carried your stuff in the shop for a couple years now, since before this was your family's full time gig. How long have you and Matt been doing this?
Sarah @ YLT: We both did this on the side for about a year starting in early 2017, then Matt quit his job and I worked full time for almost another year while he ran the day-to-day until I could go full-time. I was basically working two more-than-full-time jobs, dyeing on nights and weekends and using my vacation time for shows, etc. In November of 2018, we both made this our full-time gig!
Allison: I remeber those times, 14 years ago, when I was still working for local government and running the shop on the side. I think that working those crazy long hours has prepared me for pandemic times like this with a small business. Working so much with less return. How has the pandemic changed what you do and how you do it?
Sarah: In January, we went to Vogue Knitting Live in NYC and then in February we were at Stitches West. Stitches was our last event and it was a lot of fun, but then we basically came straight home and haven’t left our house since. We did get to celebrate a nice Anniversary dinner in San Francisco while we were there, so at least we had one really great restaurant experience this year!
As for our how our day-to-day has changed, well... It’s been pretty drastic. We had a whole year full of shows and travel lined up and that all went out the window in February. We’ve focused a lot more on regular monthly shop updates and partnerships with designers we love! We also still have shops we love to work with, like Simply Socks! Overall, it really afforded me the opportunity to focus on our long term goals and plans and prepare for a time when we are able to see people again.
Allison: I see that your preparation included expanding to hire your first staff outside your household. How has that worked out, hiring during such an odd time, and training people virtually?
Sarah: Right now, we have two part-time team members, Allison and Patricia. Patricia has helped us at shows in the past and has learned so much about the business side of things. She is going to be stepping into more of a Stockist relations role, helping to facilitate wholesale orders, communications and invoicing. (Exciting, I know! LOL) Allison, is a long-time knitting friend and supporter. She helps with everything from customer relations to advertising opportunities, and is helping us with special projects. They are both completely remote right now, but they are learning a ton. I can’t wait for a day when they can jump in and help in-person, but they’ve made things so much easier for us already!
Matt and I are still handling everything else, and I still do all of the dyeing. We work basically 24/7, as most small business owners do. I am really looking forward to the day when we can hand off a few of our main tasks so we can enjoy a little bit of personal time, but I am also extremely grateful to be busy during these times, so I can’t complain.
Tweed Me DK in Siren
Allison: When you do have a moment to yourself in the evening, what do you do to relax? Pre-pandemic my man and I played sand volleyball and enjoy a good dirty martini and food with friends. Now.... we play games with the kids, watch Netflix (just finished The Crown) and cook A LOT.
Sarah: Well, I love a good glass of wine, especially Arizona wine or beer while watching TV or listening to a book and knitting. My favorite wines are things that grow well in our region like Tannat, Grenache, Syrah and other Rhone varietals... Studying wine and traveling to tasting rooms in AZ’s various wine-growing regions is a non-pandemic hobby of ours. We’re currently re-watching, “Community” and I love a good true-crime documentary or podcast!
Allison: What's on your needles tonight as you enjoy your wine?
Sarah: Haha... this is a bit of a running joke in my house. Everything is on my needles, and I either need to finish some things or buy new needles. (Probably the former.) The projects that seem to be holding the most interest for me right now are my Pine Top Socks by Rachael Raimo (@MavenCrafted), the Sunday Sweater - Mohair Edition by Mette Wendelboe Okkels (@PetiteKnit) in my S’Mohair base... and the SlipStravaganza by Stephen West.
Allison: I'm the same way. I get 95% done on a project and then have to get new needles to start a new project. Then I finish all my projects at once. Though I seem to be finishing a lot of hats lately. They are so quick and satisfying! I'm knitting a Wurm Hat in your Tweed Me DK right now in the Lake Powell color (above)! What's next on the horizon for Less Traveled Yarn? Are you in triage mode, just trying to make it through the hurdles of the pandemic? Or are you planning another bit step like the hiring of your first staff?
Sarah: Well, I can say that I don’t tend to think small... I have a ton of future plans and I am super excited about all of them! I can share that we are going to be expanding our line with a few new custom bases over the next year and I hope I can show them soon! I also really love and have a personal tendency toward natural wool, so we will be adding our first line of custom-spun natural wool in Q1!
I personally get the most joy out of working with others in the community such as designers, dyers, shops(!) and other makers and fostering these relationships. Some of my most rewarding projects have been with others. I love what I do and I am looking forward to our little yarn brand being a part of this community for many years to come!
Allison: Yes, I can say that after 15 years of doing this, forming solid and honest relationships with your customers and the industry is paramount. Ours is a close knit (pun intended!) community that thrives on connection, inclusion, and building on what has come before. Thanks for taking a moment out of your day to chat. I've greatly enjoyed working with you on projects and I know that today's winner will appreciate this awesome prize.
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Want to join us in all of our 12 Days of Sock Yarn? Just stop here on the blog every day Dec 13-24 and answer that day's question in the comments. I'll randomly choose one winner each day (announced here and e-mailed to winners in January). It's just our own little yarny holiday here at SSYC that we've now been celebrating here for more than a decade. It's great fun to get to know others, and I think it's going to be especially nice to connect with others this way considering we can't get together in person. Do join us!
