The Great Susonnni Will Reveal All...

It seems like I just did an FAQ but Erin and I are getting many emails asking the same questions over and over again,which means that lots of you are unclear on the same things and this seems like the best place to bring everybody up to speed.

1. Where's my yarn/roving/fleece? I bought a Fall Share...why didn't I get my yarn in the fall?

If you have a Fall 2008 share what you own is a share of the fall 2008 Shearing. The "fall 2008" is referring to the shearing date, not the delivery date of the yarn.

We did the Fall 2008 shearing on October 25th. After the fleece is sheared we deliver it to the mill to be processed. At that point, the control I have over when we will get our washed fleece/roving/yarn back ends. That's really, really hard for a control freak like me. So I spend a lot of time choosing a mill to process each shearing and turn-around time is a HUGE factor in which mill I choose. The mill we are using now had an estimated turnaround of 12 weeks when we dropped our fiber off. 

That does not mean that the mill went right to work on our fiber. There were people in line ahead of us, and the truth is that no matter where you take your fiber, the majority of the time at the mill the fleeces are sitting patiently awaiting their turn. When last I spoke with the mill, they had gotten behind during the holidays and said they would give me a new ETA sometime next week. Personally, I want them to do the job well, rather than quickly. Once the fleece is processed there is no turning back, you know?

As soon as I know more about when to expect the yarn I will post it here. Promise. Cross my heart and hope to die. We know your anxious- we're anxious too! Just believe that we want you to have your yarn as much as you want you to have your yarn, okay?

2. What did you decide to name the church/yarn shop?

Unfortunately, we have had to put the yarn church project on hold due to the fact that we can't get anyone to install heat until the spring. We purchased three wood stove waaaaay back in September and spent more than three months trying to first get on the an installer's schedule, then waiting for one to show up for an appointment. One guy stood us up five times. Five flippin' times. The next company we engaged gave us an estimate 200% higher than Mr. No Show and couldn't do the work until February anyway. At which point I gave up, curled into a ball under the covers and started hitting the bourbon. 

The thing is, with everything else we have going on right now- the book, the new website, the Hudson Valley CSA, the new ewes-  it felt a bit like we were trying to force the yarn shop too quickly and against too long of odds. We will revisit the idea in the late summer for opening next fall. In the meantime we have turned our heated, glassed-in porch into a smallish shop and you are more than welcome to by and fondle the yarn when you're in town.

As for the name, there are one or two I am trying to decide between. But I haven't decided just yet.

3. Will you be moving back to Martha's Vineyard?

Of course! We have a our spring shearing schedule for April 18th and we are lonesome for the Island. We still have a lease on Tisbury Meadows, our Vineyard Haven farm, but are looking for more grazing land. If we can't manage to work out all the details, we will be moving a smaller number of animals back, but I don't think it will come to that.

4. When are the Spring Shearings?

The Martha's Vineyard Shearing will be held in conjunction with the Martha's Vineyard Fiber Fest like last year on April 18th. The Hudson Valley Shearing Day Celebration will be held on May 9th. Anyone can come to either or both. Yes you can bring your family, your friends, your knitting group, a blind date, small children, large children, you guru, your hypnotherapist and your facialist. Only dogs and rodeo clowns are unwelcome. Don't get me started on rodeo clowns...

5. When is the new website going to be up? Where's our lambcam? 

So glad you asked. The new website is schedule to be up on January 15th with a new online shop, your favorite blog and a reader's photo gallery. And that's it. 

Just kidding! The lambcam (or "lambcamb" as Rebecca Blood's husband brilliantly named it) will be up and running too. If this stupid storm that is beating the crap out of the Northeast lets up, that is. We were supposed to be setting the cameras up today (and worming the nanny goats, and picking up hay, and getting the oil changed, and, and, and...) but the falling snow made that impossible. Hopefully we will be able to get it all set up before I leave on Tuesday.

We are also going to be doing some spectacular giveaways to celebrate the new site launch so be sure and visit everyday and comment for your chance to win.

Very FAQs

Okay, some of these AQs are not so very F, but some are very, very so I figured it might be helpful to answer them here. 

1. Where my yarn at?

We get many, many emails every day from anxious shareholders who can't wait to get their hands on their dividends. Believe me when I say we hear you! I know it seems like forever ago that you bought your share and how long does it take to grow and process some yarn anyway? And isn't this a Fall Share so shouldn't I have gotten my yarn in the fall?

Here's how the CSA works. You buy a share in a shearing- let's use Fall 08 as the example here. That means you have a share in the fiber that comes off the animals at the Fall '08 shearing. This year, due to icky weather, we were forced to shear a whole month later than I like to, but it couldn't be helped.

So all the angora goats were sheared on October 25th. Shortly afterwards we took bags and bags (and bags) of mohair fleeces to the mill for processing. The mill estimated a turnaround time of 10-12 weeks, but that was just an estimate, and they do not guarantee delivery dates. Many, many mills are on a 6 month turnaround right now so 10 to 12 weeks is great really.

As soon as the yarn and roving are ready, we pick it up from the mill and we begin the hellish process of shipping. (Several of you lovelies who live nearby have offered to help with the shipping and I hope you know I will be taking you up on it!) It will take at least a week, maybe two to get all the boxes shipped out. 

Then you get your box in the mail, exclaim with delight and spend the next week boring everyone you know to death  showing them the yarn from your sheep. 

Knit and repeat.

I will communicate with you here about the status of your goodies. With the last clip I was on the phone with the mill at least once a week and posted here when the fiber is being washed, being carded, being spun, etc.

I hope that clears it up and I apologize if the process was unclear to any of you. It's my job to make this an enjoyable experience for you and I hate that anybody may have been worried or put out.

2. How much yarn will I get in a share?

We don't know. We really, really don't know. It depends on the amount of fiber the animals shear (varies with the weather, animal health), the number of animals in the heard (number of lambs born, animals lost to illness, etc.) 

You should know that we want you to get as much yarn as possible. An unbelievable number of our shareholders re-up with every offering- something that I am more proud of than just about anything I've ever done.  

3. When will we see the lambcam? 

Soon. Very soon.  We are waiting for the new website to launch and as soon as it's up it will be 24/7 cuteness for your viewing pleasure.

4. What can a non-knitter do to support the farm?

I can't tell you how many emails I get everyday from people who want to be part of what we are doing but have no interest in receiving yarn. It is an amazingly flattering thing to hear but I didn't really have an answer for them until I gave my speech at M.I.T. (see, now that it's over , it was a Speech. And did I mention that it was at M.I.T.?)

After the Speech (at M.I.T.) a share holder named Maria and her husband came over to talk to me and Mr. Maria- sorry, I don't remember his name- suggested that non-knitters would like to support the farm as well. "Maybe they could sponsor a bale of hay and become members of the farm?" At the time I thought Mr. Maria was over-estimating the extent to which people like us, but then I started getting more and more emails asking how they can get involved.

Turns out, Mr. Maria is a genius. Seriously. They should ask him to give a Speech at M.I.T.

We are now offering memberships in the farm for anyone who would like to help out with the (crippling) cost of hay over the winter. Members will be invited to all shareholder events and be welcome to visit the farm on weekends in the winter and anytime in the Spring, Summer and Fall.  Anyone who sponsors 10 or more bales will also receive a Martha's Vineyard Fiber Farm 2009 calendar. (Which we wouldn't be able to do if we didn't have so many extra calendars, Patrick.)

I will do a separate post on how to sponsor a bale later today.

5. Can shareholders in the Martha's Vineyard farm visit the Hudson Valley farm and vice versa?

Absolutely. Visit the farm you are closest to or come to both. We'd be hurt if you didn't drop by.

Simmering Chaos

"Simmering Chaos" is how I described my life to someone today, and I think that's usually just about right, but we may be at a rolling boil this week.

Yesterday, Dave Altavilla and Marco Chiappetta from hothardware.com came to the farm to give us the Tech Makeover we won from intel. The two of them where absolutely lovely and we had a great afternoon finding out what we'd won and how to use it.

So I know you're wondering what we got. Before I tell you though, I sincerely want to thank Dave and Marco, Maggie from mightygirl.com and all the other judges but especially intel. This makeover was generous beyond our wildest dreams and will make such an enormous difference in our business. The whole flock hearts intel, big time!

Now, to the loot. We got a brand-spankin' new MacBook Pro 15-inch LED-backlit widescreen notebook. It's so pretty I want to take it to the prom. The entire case is made from one piece of aluminum. According to Marco this is the top-of-the-line laptop Apple makes right now and I'm sure it will do everything I could every need done and do it lightning fast, but so far I have only admired it and stroked it's case while wearing white gloves. 

Next we got an iomega UltraMax Hard Drive big enough to hold Jupiter and it's moons. I'm talking about all 63 of Jupiter's moons, not just the Galileans. This may be the least sexy of our new toys but it's Hugh Jackman-handsome to me because 1.) I have thousands (and thousands) of photographs on my current MacBook making it as slow as Christmas and 2.) I've heard that it might be a good idea to occasionally back up my computer. Which I will.  Religiously. As soon as I figure out how.

We also got a new fancy-pants router to go with our brand-new wireless LambCam! I was so relieved when I saw the tech team pull out this box because we had no idea if we were getting it or not. And I did not want ya'll gathering outside of the intel offices with pitchforks and torches.  Although they did set the camera up for a trial run yesterday (it works!) ya'll will have to wait just a scooch longer to see it because we need the new website to be up first. I saw the rough draft version of the site last week and sent a few changes to Leslie, so, finger crossed that it will be up and running very shortly.

But wait- there's more. A brand-new HP All-in-One printer now occupies a large piece of real estate on my desk in the kitchen, and it's wireless so you don't have to be in the kitchen to use it. Thanks the Lord for that because having a whole passel of family members in the kitchen when I am putting away groceries is like going to the mall on the day after Thanksgiving for me. Simmering chaos...

So all in all, I'd say our makeover was amazingly generous, wouldn't you? Which is why the HP Pavillion Notebook Computer (with a Centrino 2 processor, thank you very much) was such a surprise. Yes, you heard me. intel gave us a second laptop on top of everything else. 

And an extra set printer ink cartridges. PRINTER INK , PEOPLE! Have you priced printer ink cartridges lately? I could by a Range Rover for what I've spent of printer ink in the last two years. (Not to mention the fact that going into a big box store to buy them makes me feel like I've racked up some seriously bad karma. The crowds and the noise and the terrible lighting. Gives me shivers just thinking about it...)

Dave and Marco made a video of me looking like a total dork while they set up our new brain center and showed me how it all works. I'll post a link as soon as it's up. Because when I look like to total dork I want the world to know it.

After the Tech Fairies left I got busy working on a good-sized shop update. All the new winter colors are posted but tomorrow I will be adding a gift basket option for people buying yarn to give for the holidays. I should have had them up today but I ran out of daylight while taking photographs. 

All I want for Christmas is more hours in the day. And a pony.