Thank you so much for the busy two weeks here at the shop! With our club subscriptions opening and closing, the weeklong shop party, and a busy free shipping week last week, you've really kept us busy and smiling. If you work in retail, you know that the past year hasn't been great for many types of shops. Sales in a lot of retail were down 20% last year, and thankfully your support has really kept us busy in what has been a hard time for many. I definitely feel a lot of appreciation for you right now!
I also feel a lot of appreciation for our dyers. For those of us in the midwest, we are expecting temps near 100 all week. Which is A LOT for mid-June when we are typically enjoying more tolerable conditions. The phrase "Heat Dome" is being used a lot, as if that makes it any better/worse. It really makes me appreciate our dyers who consistently work in hot and humid conditions, all day, every day to make us all beautiful things that bring us joy. The dyers in Texas at Dream in Color spent last week in the mid-90's dyeing us up a huge amount of our Colossal Sock. 11 huge boxes. We got 7 boxes last month, and it sold out over a weekend, so I'm really pleased that they were able to dye us more. Now they've used up all the base yarn that they keep on hand for us, so I think it might be another 2 or so months before we can get more. Good thing they dyed us 50% more this time! We do have more Smooshy and Smooshy Cashmere coming in a few weeks too.
What else is coming? Jana and her Fleece Artist team in Nova Scotia, Canada are dyeing up a special base yarn just for us to celebrate our 19th birthday - kind of like their offshoot Mineville Wool Project used to do before they stopped dyeing a few years ago. They start dyeing up 60+ colors for us this week, and we're super grateful for them spending a significant amount of their month dyeing up special skeins just for us. The price is quite special too, like Mineville Wool Project used to be- think 30% off expected retail. Details to come on when it clears customs and can be shared.
We're adding a new dye studio to the shop in about a month, and I can't wait to any longer to share - it's French studio La Bien Aimée! We have A LOT of this yarn coming from Paris - a classic sock, cashmere sock and DK. They are in the midst of dyeing our order, but at least it's only 72 degrees there, so much better for dyeing yarn in a hot studio, for sure.
And finally, Opal Yarn is celebrating 20 years of their Rainforest collection by releasing some retired colors. Yes, this means that Tiger is coming back. Also Zebra, Flamingo, Ladybug and others. I think Tiger is THE MOST requested sock yarn - seriously, I get requests and emails about this yarn all the time. But since Opal typically releases a collection once, I haven't been able to get this yarn since 2007, and 15 years later I still get requests for this yarn. We'll definitely have them available for preorder so that you can make sure you can get what you want. I have a lot on order from Germany. So much that it won't all come at once, so if you want some from the first batch, the preorder I'll offer in a few weeks (or perhaps a month) will definitely be the way to go. Then you can order more if you like from the second batch that won't arrive too far after.
I hope you stay cool this week! I am testing out a few new yarns to add to this fall if they knit and wear well. I can't imagine knitting anything larger than a sock in this kind of heat.
Ooh! So many new things and some favorites!
Posted by: J | June 17, 2024 at 10:22 AM
I’m so excited for La Bien Aimée!! I was just in Paris and the temperatures were perfect! It’s a bit warmer now in the south but I have never had a chance to find the shop in Paris! I can’t wait!
Posted by: Dana Snyder | June 17, 2024 at 03:33 PM
I have a couple of balls of the Tiger, which was actually from the second time Opal included it in a collection. People were going nuts trying to get it. The Tiger from the first collection sold out that fast. I’m pretty sure it’s the only time they included a colorway in more than collection. But this Tiger looks different than what I have (I like it more). And there are a few others that I like & missed the first time around.
Posted by: Donna | June 17, 2024 at 05:32 PM
I am so happy Opal will be releasing the old colors. My husband will now have his favorite socks that he wore to death, will be back in his drawer!
Posted by: Denise Walsh-Horowitz | June 18, 2024 at 07:15 AM
I am definitely interested in some of those Opal,Rainforest yarns! My husband’s old Tiger Jaywalkers bit the dust many years ago, “too much love” as he just said now. He loves orange, so I may have to get some of the others,too. Thank you so much for the heads-up!
Posted by: Nancy | June 18, 2024 at 02:36 PM
La Bien Aimèe! Oui oui! I’m so excited!!!💗💕
Posted by: Audrey Wright | June 20, 2024 at 05:58 PM