Big News!

  Lots of exciting things happening around here!  (Perhaps the biggest is down there at the end of the post!)  The new dogs showed up a couple of weeks ago but I have been too busy to mention them until now.  Here is Taz giving his half-sister, Peca, an ear cleaning.  What are brothers for?  Everyone has adjusted to the new additions to our household and Fili, our original chihuahua, is happy to have someone to play with other than Cici, the cat, who out weights him but a good 8 pounds or so.

In other news, the president is coming to our lovely valley.  This means that we have had to endure multiple helicopters flying low over the town practicing their approaches and practice motorcades.  Apparently the name for the helicopter that carries the president is called "Marine One".  Go figure.  The reason this is such a big deal around here is not because we are a bastion of Bush supporters but rather a small town of about five thousand people and when a helicopter flies overhead it generally means something really bad has happened.  Some might argue that that still holds true in this case as well.  The last time a helicopter flew over our town it was two summers ago when someone was shot and they were using the helicopter to try and find the shooter.  So needless to say, when a helicopter flies over head people come out of their houses to see what is going on.   The traffic should be horrendous for the next two days when ever they have to shuttle the president around.  Fun times!

In other big news, my 27th birthday is on Sunday!  I think I am going to spend the day in the city (San Francisco) with my husband and dad.  Should be fun!  Everybody repeat after me,  "Happy Birthday, Brooke!"

And last but not least I would like to announce that I have started my own small yarn business with two other women.  Actually, we've been working on this for the past 9 months or so but we finally have a basic website up.  You can visit us at Sincere Sheep .  We all met at Deep Color and I hatched this plan while the three of us were all hunched over the wash buckets rinsing out some roving we had just dyed in a class.  The basic idea is that we buy wool directly from small, local family farms that raise their sheep sustainably.  Then we look at each fleece individually and decide what it would be best for.  We then take it to Yolo Wool Mill where Jane,the owner, processes each of the fleeces individually or in small farm batches and turns it into yarn, roving, and warp yarn as per our specifications.  We then pick it up and dye it ourselves using natural dyes from Earthues dyes.  Sound like a labor of love?  It is.  But we believe strongly in what we are doing and have a great time and have learned a lot in the process.

  Part of our motivation is the desire to support local small sheep farmers by providing them with a place to sell their wool.  We also want to help educate them in what we fiber artists are looking for so that they can improve the quality of their wool.  In addition, we thought it would be wonderful to be able to provide knitters, weavers, and spinners with products that come from a single, named sheep.  Thus being able to provide a connection back to the origins of the wool that is lost in mass produced products.

  Also, a word about the dyes.  The mordants used to affix the natural dyes we use are alum and cream of tarter.  Both are items that you can find in the supermarket and are considered food grade and non-toxic.  Michelle at Earthues travels the world to provide the highest quality dyes to us.  She has them tested for colorfastness and is in the process of having all of them certified organic by the EU.  We are very lucky to have Earhues and Michelle, in particular, as a resource.

The reason I have been a bit scarce this month is because we are gearing up to be a vendor at the CNCH conference the first weekend in May in Modesto.  I have had to do all the dyeing myself because my two partners have not been able to help me but with good reasons.  Erika is pregnant and her due date is today so she can't do any heavy lifting but we have her to thank for the fact that we even have a website.  Connie, my other partner was down in Peru for her teenage daughter's spring break and has to travel to Chicago this weekend.  All three of us have other full-time jobs and Sincere Sheep is something that we do in addition to all of our other daily responsibilities.  It's a lot of work but it has been worth it.  It has also been a wonderful experience to get to know Erika and Connie better and to work with them in this way.  It is truly a special opportunity.   

For those of you who think you might be interested in our yarn and can make it to Modesto I encourage you to do so.  There will be lots of vendors, demonstrations, and seminars.  As of right now you can't buy the yarn directly off the website but we are working on it.  We are also working on putting up a list of other places where you will be able to buy from us in person.  We are on the wait list for Black Sheep Gathering and will probably be a vendor at the California Wool and Fiber Festival. Please let me know what you think and if you might be interested in being able to buy the yarn on line.

Whew!  That was a long post.  Thanks for reading all the way through!  Have a great weekend!  If you're looking for me I'll be at the dye pot!

Comments

[caitlyn]

Early happy birthday, Brooke! And congratulations on the opening of your new business. I wish you all the best! Will you be at the Knit and Crochet Show tomorrow? I'll be taking the train down!

[Janine]

Happy birthday, Brooke!
And congratulations on the growth of Sincere Sheep!!!

[spaazlicious]

Great news! An awesome business and mission.

[Jenni]

Love the site - looks great!! Dan likes the pic of the 3 sheep on the "about us" page and so do I. Happy 27th!! I hope you guys had fun walking around SF today!

[vanessa]

those puppies are even cuter now :-) and yes, i'm interested in yarn and roving!

[jess hutch]

Congratulations on your new biz (sounds great, can't wait to see your wares!) and happy birthday!

[Julia]

Hi Brooke - I was so happy to learn about your blog on Cassie's site. I'm in Davis, and I'm a new dyer. I'm so glad to know about Deep Color as a possible place to take classes! I live just a couple of miles from Yolo Wool Mill, too! Best wishes on your business - what a great idea! If you'll be at Dixon's Lambtown, I'd love to stop by and say hi!