Goodbye to yarn

Have you ever noticed that the really important conversations are the ones we most often put off having?

This is one of those conversations, but here goes: as of the end of this month (September 30, to be exact) Sheepspot will no longer be dyeing and selling yarn online. Instead, we’ll be focusing 100% of our energies on providing our spinning customers with beautiful fibers and the information and support they need to make beautiful yarns with them.

I know this decision may be disappointing to those of you who don’t spin, and who have enjoyed knitting with Sheepspot yarns, so I want to be transparent with you about how I got here. 

When I first started Sheepspot in 2014, I really thought I was creating a yarn company. I wanted to give knitters who didn’t spin access to some of the wonderful wools I had discovered as a handspinner. And I was genuinely excited about sourcing wool and working with mills to realize my yarn-making ambitions at a bigger scale. 

I wasn’t prepared, though, for how travel-intensive and physically exhausting sourcing wool would be. Or how long it would take to see that wool turned into yarn. Or how unpredictable the results could be. (Remember the Ile de France Aran? Argh. It was so lumpy and unevenly twisted I couldn't sell it.) Or what all of the above would mean for Sheepspot’s cash flow. 

And along the way, something else happened. I started dyeing fiber. And I discovered how much I loved it. Because I am, at my core, a spinner. And, in my heart of hearts, I want to serve other spinners. 

Maybe that’s why I’ve always sold much more fiber than yarn. At any rate, I’m following my biz coach Tara Swiger’s advice: do more of what works. 

And crucially, not just what works in a what’s-best-financially way, but what works in a follow-my-heart way. 

Enough about me. Here’s what this means for you:

• If you’re a knitter, September 30 will be the last day you can buy Sheepspot yarns online. Until then, and while supplies last, all yarns will be deeply discounted. Any unsold yarns will be available for purchase (again, at discounted prices) in person at festivals only. 
• If you’re a spinner, stick with me, kid! Going forward, I’ve got even more delicious wools for us to sample and enjoy together. More preparations (including batts and more dyed locks). More videos. More learning. More spinning. 

I’m so excited about Sheepspot’s future. Here’s to growing forward. 

Sasha

PS: Starting this fall, I’ll be opening the Sheepspot Studio for live, in-person spinning events and classes. If you live anywhere near London, Ontario, head over to www.sheepspotstudio.com to learn more about what I have planned!