Reskeining question

Someone wrote a broken link to an old post I wrote when I first started having Wool2Dye4's exclusive yarns milled. I will post it below, but just ignore the talk about one pound cones, as we only do kilo quantites these days.

The Golden Rule of Measurement: Don't try to split small skeins into smaller measurements. We are at the gray goods end of the market where measurements and weights are approximate.
My suggestion: sell sock yarns by yardage. Most sock knitters examine labels to see if there are close to 400 yards in a ball of commercial sock yarn. That seems to be the benchmark to knit up a pair of socks, so be a little generous and make your skeins into 425 or even 450 yards. This measurement may increase your sales because you will be giving the customer what they want...the number of yards needed to knit a pair of socks. Giving the customer what they really want is how we do business.

Next Re-Stocking ... end of the week?

Have just received the packing list for the incoming re-stocking. We will not be holding any aside of these yarns, and there will be enough stock to serve all customers from the website.

This shipment is expected to arrive on Tuesday, March 8, 2011.
Angel Lace -- Angel Select -- Bamboo TwoStep -- Butterfly Lace -- Cash Sock MCN -- Crazy Eight -- Platinum Sock -- Sheila's Sock -- Sheila's Sparkle -- Silk Sock 50/50 -- Sparkle Select Laceweight (new) -- Tweed Sock -- W2D4 Merino Worsted-SW
The next shipment will be in early April. Sheila's Gold will return at that time.

Poor Man's Silk

Frequently I mention, either here on the Blog or on my Ravelry.com group (Friends of Wool2Dye4) my surprise at the huge appetite of sock knitters for luxurious fibers like cashmere and silk. I blame the clothing industry to the glut of cashmere on the market, and now we are in a true supply v demand mindset and, still, the appetite for these fibers continues. We'll see how long this wave will roll.

The rise in silk and cashmere fibers affected Wool2Dye4's recent price increase. Nylon, too, rose in price with the more luxurious fibers. We don't usually think of nylon as a luxury, but at these prices, our opinion may just change. Of course many of our custoemrs either personally prefer a sock yarn with nylon in it, or their customers will demand it from them. We hear reports that some knitters turn away from a sock yarn if there is no nylon in it. And, then we have the purists who are 100% wool knitters. I won't mention acrylic here.

In the past month, here in the studio, we have all noticed an increasing interest in Tencel/Merino which is often called The Poor Man's Silk. Those not yet in the know about tencel yarn may be in for a shocking surprise at how very soft and pliable this fiber is. It possesses the very attributes which describe the more expensive fibers, those that are more desired ... strength, innate shine which shows through the dye process ... these are the things we say about silk!

And, Bamboo TwoStep is also starting to become a bit more popular as well. It is actually closer to silk in my opinion, but this particular blend which we carry is an 80/20 blend, so the merino is the main fiber in the yarn. The bamboo is so silky feeling and so smoothe, though, that it makes the perfect fiber partner in that blending and combing and then in the final and lovely yarn itself. I am hoping that both of these yarns will attract interest as people may begin to look at a wider choice of our yarns.