The Sheep Wagon

Susan says:

Yeah, all the men were over at the Mountain Meadow Wool booth checking out the miniature sheep wagon. I joked that I wanted to work their booth. The sheep wagon is so interesting because there is a definite style and everything is designed to contain what a person needs. The rolling pen hangs here, the wash tub goes there. Storage is at a premium and very organized.

We talk about the sheep wagon, which was the home for a shepherd while taking care of the sheep in the mountains during the summer. During the winter they are on the ranch. Because the sheep are taken into remote areas for the warm months, someone goes with them. Now, much of that work is done by dogs, and men check in on the sheep regularly, but don't necessarily stay up in the mountains with them. All of this, to ensure that we knitters have the very best wool to knit with!

Sheep Wagon at TNNA

Jill Says:

But Karen and Valerie talked to every man at TNNA who went near their booth because they all stopped to look at the sheep wagon! I took some pics, but my interior shots aren't very good. But at the time it was funny to stick my iPod inside the wagon.

Sheep Wagon

Jill Says:

But Karen and Valerie talked to every man at TNNA when they stopped to look at the sheep wagon! I took some pics, but my interior shots aren't very good--but it was funny to stick my iPod into the wagon.

More on TNNA

Susan says:
Many people came up to us and asked to see the new yarn! Even after we said that it's a secret for now, they still thought they should get to see it. "Well, you can show me." Not.

The picture in Jill's post is of the sheep migrating to/from the mountains. It's a very engaging picture and the men particularly seemed to like it. I told Jill that every man likes to imagine he's the Marlboro man in some way, connecting to the earth in a rugged, yet fashionable way.

TNNA

Jill says:

My return was probably the least fraught as I was only going up the coast to SF while everyone else was either following or getting a head start on a big storm.

While at TNNA we always complain about the weather--it is too hot in Columbus and too cold in Long Beach and that was certainly true this time. Usually I try to wear spring/summer clothes because we are promoting that season, but this time I wore our new sweaters, which were warm enough to keep me comfortable--even inside the always freezing convention center (it doesn't matter where the convention center is, they are always cold).

This convention is always about other vendors and having time to connect with shops. We saw lots of old friends and generally took it a little easier than usual and Susan and I had a blast and even got a bit of sleep. It was fun to have people come up and try to get us to show them the new yarn. Trust me we wanted to! It is hard to keep such a great secret.

So we sold what we had to sell, and talked obliquely about our new products and how excited we are. Not surprisingly, everyone who heard about a new yarn was pretty intrigued.

Back from TNNA

Whew! We are back from sunny California and arrived at the airport last week to 10 degrees below zero! Wyoming in January!! Thankfully the Big Chill broke for us this week and we now are actually having rain....weather is always surprizing here.

It was a great show for us and even though we heard murmurs of dismay from others about the low numbers, we ended the show with many new friends and great contacts. Lots of interest in the "yarn is born"....everyone loves the anticipation of something new coming! What will it look like, feel like, knit like? When will we see it, what will the designs look like? Just like the knitter, we also are anxiously looking forward to the final finished package.....Isn't this FUN?!

I have to share one of our memorable stories from last week...after a wonderful meal Jill, Susan, Valerie and I were in need of a taxi. Suddenly a whistle to out shine all whistles rattles the evening air. It was Valerie and the cab driver was in awe, he was told she was from Wyoming "Ah," he says, "they are different there".

Just like our fun little sheep we are getting ready for production ( not lambs but yarn) so stay tuned...........