The Dividends are Coming!

As I mentioned in my post in on Tuesday, we have begun mailing the Spring 2008 shareholders their yarn. I can't tell you how exciting it is to see all those priority mail boxes stacked up and ready to go to the post office!

One of the things we learned as we got the yarn ready to ship is that there was no possible way we could put tags on each skein of yarn. Why? Because we currently handwrite all our tags and it would have taken us until 2012 to get the yarn out. We will have the CSA tags printed next time. See below to find out what's in the box.

We also learned that giving shareholders the option of choosing one kind of yarn or another doesn't work very well. It makes the calculations of who gets what incredibly complicated. We had already stopped offering this option for Spring 09 and this shipment confirmed that it was the right decision.

We are shipping the packages out in batches based on a complicated formula that Erin came up with that has something to do with what your getting and your zip code. I know that I've dropped boxes at the Post Office that were going to New York, Massachusetts and the west coat. If you haven't received your package yet, fear not! It is will be there soon. 

The Spinner's shares are going out last because they require the most labor to get them out- all the fibers have to be weighed. Next time we will do the Spinner's shares first in the interest of fairness.

So, what are you getting? I can tell you that the majority of shareholders are sample shares- meaning they are receiving some of each yarn and will be receiving 6 skeins of kid mohair/cormo blend (4 oz /200 yard) and one skein of cormo (I don't have the weight/yardage in front of me but I'll post it here when I get it.)

The all cormo shareholders are receiving 6 skeins of cormo. (weight and yardage to come)

The kid mohair/cormo blend will soften up with handling and washing. It takes dye absolutely beautifully and really softens up amazingly in the dye pot. We will be posting a dyeing tutorial on the blog next week for those you who'd like to dye your own yarn. It is wicked easy! You can dye it with kool-aid powder in a crockpot, which is the simplest way, or using the same dyes we use on the stove. I'll send out an email when I post the tutorial.

In other news, Patrick and I left the Island last night to come down to our farm in New York for the weekend. We both need to work on the book and we have Patrick's boys this weekend. So this morning, Erin was all alone when she got to the farm and found that Salina, one of the ewes had been attacked by a dog last night. She was alive, but her face and neck were covered with blood and her right eye was hugely swollen. She also seemed to be in shock.

Erin called our vet, Dr. Dave Tuminaro, and called me while she waited for him. It seemed that when she arrived at the farm, Biscotti was sitting just outside the fence while Fettucini was sitting right next to Salina licking her face. Biscotti must have chased the attacker away while Cini stayed to protect Salina from further harm.

The vet said that Salina's wounds indicate that she was laying beside the fence with her right side facing out when she was attacked. Usually when a dog attacks a sheep the sheep's face and neck are punctured and there legs are chewed up while they are trying to escape. There were no injuries to anything but her head and neck leading the vet to believe that our dogs kept the attacker from killing her.

While Erin was waiting for the vet to arrive Salina had a seizure. Dr. Tuminaro suspects it was caused by the fact that Salina is so thin and had used up all the glucose in her body during and after the attack. The reason she is so thin is that Salina has been nursing all the lambs and goat kids when their own mamas wean them. There is own kid in particular, Cardamom, that is pretty much super-glued to Salina's side night and day, nursing from her every time she stops moving for half a second.

Salina in better days.

Salina is in a pen by herself adjacent to the paddock that the rest of the flock is in. Dr. T gave her a shot of long-lasting penicillin and advised us to keep her isolated for a few days to make sure she is getting enough to eat and to give her a molasses and vitamin supplement every morning to help her recover. He think she will be okay, but these things can always go either way. I'll keep you up to date on her recovery.

Thanks to everyone for you kind emails about the photo shoot for the book cover. I absolutely loath having my picture taken! Seriously, I'd just as soon strip naked and walking through the halls of congress singing "Working for the Weekend." I hate it that much.

But our friend Randi is an amazing photographer and she really made the whole thing very casual and easy. And the pictures! My Lord! I've never had better pictures taken of me in my life. There are one or two that I would actually consider framing and putting up in my house. Pictures that I am in, mind you!

Today we had a conference call with the team working on our book (publisher, editor and marketing director) and decided to put the book on the Fall list rather than the Spring list. Practically, this only means that the book will go on sale about one month later, but it gives the production team a whole lot more time to get the cover just right. There are lots of good reasons for putting the book on the fall list but I was initially resistant to making the move, primarily because I was afraid they would change their minds about publishing it. (The team though this was hilarious, BTW.)

Anyway, it's looking like the book will be an oversized hardback with lots and lots of farm pics. We are also working on including at least one pattern, but possibly three- one beginner, one intermediate and one advanced. So be sure and get your pattern entries for the contest in by October 31st so we have plenty of time to have them test knit before the book is printed. 

Thanks for all the emails about the calendar. It is being printed now and should be done in time for the shearing next week. I'll have it up in the etsy shop as soon as I have one in my hot little hands. Promise. 

Also coming soon to the etsy shop BULKY WEIGHT YARN! I am so excited about this, mostly cause I get emails darn near every day from people who want it. And I hear you. There are times when I want yarn that knits up quick, quick, quick, especially when it comes to baby sweaters and scarves. Bulky will be available in all of our beautiful fall colors starting Monday.