The Pattern that started it all....

If you have not recieved your October shipment, you may want to wait before reading this post....

In early 2007, I sat down to sketch out a sock design for a yarn company that was accepting submissions. I never sent those sketches. Because when I was done with my ideas, I did not want to give up copyrights to them. Instead of the intended recipient, I emailed The Unique Sheep and proposed a line of socks based on "The Lord of the Rings" series.

This month's shipment was the reason this sock club got started. My personal favorite, and the one I could not give up copyright to:

Lorien

This design was inspired by the Elven realm of Lorien in JRR Tolkien’s "Lord of the Rings" Trilogy. Lorien was the home of the Lady of the Galadhrim, Lady Galadriel. In this sock, the Mallorn trees are represented by the long cables. The delicate star-shaped Elanor flowers are depicted in lace between the golden Mallorns. The gold of the sock is representative of the golden leaves of the trees.

When I was trying to sketch out a sock design, I was thinking of popular patterns of the time. Rivendell kept coming to mind; and I wondered why there wasn't a pattern for Lothlorien. This pattern was waiting, I think. It just materialized in my mind and my knitting so fast! I have never made up a unique stitch pattern so quickly before or since. The flowers turned out so exactly the way I envisioned them, it was amazing.

I really wanted to call the pattern "Lothlorien", but did some research on trademarks and copyrights, and decided that was probably not a good idea.
So here is Lorien. I hope you like it too.

Constest Winner!

Thank you so much to everyone who entered our latest contest! I have added so many books to my To-Read List; they will be perfect for listening to while I knit this fall.

According to the random number generator, #18 is our winner:

annawake:

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. Quick read for over 500 pages. Set in Nazi Germany and told from Death's perspective. Death narrates this girls life in moments. Interesting narrative character, loved the central figure (the girl, the book thief).A great book,I believe in the dramatic fiction. This is a book many middle school's (7th & 8th grade) are reading.

Congratulations Anna! I'll be emailing you about your prize.

A New Contest!

One of my favorite things to do in the fall, other than knitting of course, is to curl up with a good novel. I've even gotten into the habit of listening to audiobooks so that I can knit at the same time! The book that I most recently finished was The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, a Swedish murder mystery. The story kept me entertained as I dyed yarn and it was really interesting to listen to a contemporary novel that was originally written in a language other than English, for a non-English speaking audience. I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good mystery.

Now for our contest. All you have to do is leave a comment on this blog post (please include your name or email address so we know who you are!) telling us about a book that you recently read and would recommend to others. Let us know what genre it falls into (romance, murder mystery, sci-fi, fantasy, etc) and at least one reason you enjoyed it. Make sure to get your entry in by Sept 22nd and on the 23rd we will randomly select a winner!

SPOILER!!!

If you haven't received your April shipment yet you might not want to look below. Its just a small spoiler about one of the extras.

The leaf pendants in your kits this month were made by a young woman named Emily. I discovered her at a small local fiber festival where she was selling her slab-work pottery at a booth with her family. I was so impressed with Emily's creativity, knowledge (both about her pottery and her other interests) and maturity. And as soon as I saw the leaf charms I knew they would be perfect for this club. I can see them used as necklaces or turned into a keychain or ornament. I hope you enjoy them!

Here is Emily's bio:

Emily Walls Ivy Meadow Farm

I am 16yrs. old, and I enjoy forming slab-work pottery. I hope you all enjoy your leaf pendants. Currently I am trying my hand at making clay beads and turning pottery on a wheel.

When not in school or making pottery, I can often be found outside with my animals. I raise German angora rabbits for their wool, which I handspin on my Ashford Traveller spinning wheel, and crochet into scarves. The mohair I spin comes from our three delightful angora goats. Ivy, my Saanen dairy goat, provides me with milk for soap and cheesemaking. My other interests include weaving rugs on a floor loom, baking, providing spinning demonstrations at local reenactments, and playing the piano. Some of my products are on display at www.artfire.com/users/ThistleDewFarms.

You can contact me at ivymeadowfarm@gmail.com

Congratulations to our Winner!

By random selection, our winner of the first contest is Elemmaciltur!!! Congratulations! I'll ship your prize later this week!

p.s. you are Vee, right?

ETA: it just dawned on me as I was trying to make sure that Elemmacilture = Vee. an asian guy named Vee who lives in Germany and knits. there can't be that many of you. You are the Vee from Knitters Uncensored aren't you? Why no more podcasts? I miss you guys!

A Contest!

Now that nearly all of the packages have been received and many socks are already on the needles, I thought it would be fun to have a little contest to keep us entertained until the excitement of the April shipment.

We will start with an easy contest so that no one should have any excuse not to enter. All you have to do is leave a comment on this post with your best Hobbit name or Elf name. These have to be names of your own creation, not ones taken from the books.

You have until March 9th to enter. On March 10th we will randomly select a winner from among the entries.

The winner will win a free skein of yarn in one of our non-club Lord of the Rings inspired colorways!

The Designer's Perspective

Our designer, LoBug, has posted some information about how she came up with the first pattern on her blog here. There are pictures and spoilers, of course, so only click if you have received your package or don't mind ruining the surprise. 

A Word about Spoilers

The first packages are beginning to arrive. Please remember that it will take a few weeks before everyone has received their packages, especially the international members. Therefore, please don't post any pictures or descriptions of what you received without first posting a Spoiler Warning or making sure that you are posting in a "Spoiler Thread". This goes for personal blogs, comments on this blog and comments in the Ravelry group. Also, please do not add your stash or project images to the Ravelry group until everyone has received their packages. Thank you!

If you would like to use this Spoiler graphic to warn people that you are going to be posting images/information about the package, please feel free to use it. 

New "Teaser" Pattern: Tom Bombadil Socks!

I know it feels like February will never arrive, so here is one more pattern to keep you occupied until the first club kits ship out. Though he played a small part in the books, and wasn't even included in the movies, Tom Bombadil is one of my favorite of Tolkein's characters. We don't know a lot about him, but that mystery is part of what makes him special. To celebrate his merry personality, Lobug designed this colorful sock.

February Shipment Bills

If you have signed up for the pay-as-you-go option, you should have received a bill by now for your first package (shipping out in February). If you have NOT received a bill, please let us know ASAP by emailing us at laura@theuniquesheep.com. Since this is the first billing, its important that we make sure that we have all of your email addresses down correctly. We ask that you pay your bill by January 15th. If you are going to have a problem paying by then, please let us know. We can work something out. 

Your payment will always be do on the 15th of the month before each package ships. If you know that you will be out of town for the first couple of weeks of a month and won't be checking email, please let us know in advance. If we don't receive your payment we will be very worried about you (plus you won't get any yarn). 

ETA: the first shipment will go out at the beginning of February (and after that the beginning of April, June, August, October, and December). We'll post here or on the Ravelry group when we send them out so you can be on the lookout!