As you know, every month we choose an awesome crafter to be our knitter/crocheter/spinner of the month.  Between the yarn club and shows, I'm late for February, but that's no reason to skip it!  So, without further ado, February's contestants are:

Tonya Willett

Tonya is a very accomplished knitter who has been a fan of UPP from way back.  She always visits us for shows in North Carolina.

Jeniffer Cox

Sherry Roberts

Jackie Murton

Java at Sunset in Superwash Merino Sport and Carnival Bulky in Sunset

Anyone who follows this blog is no stranger to Jackie's work, since she's been incredibly prolific in making patterns out of UPP yarns!  This one is a new freebie which will help you reduce the amount of waste in your life - with a reusable coffee mug and sleeve instead of a throwaway!  Jackie is also helping design patterns for the Fairy Tales Yarn Club - her first release will come in March!

So, who do you think should become Fiber Artist of the Month?

Interested in becoming Knitter or Crocheter or Spinner of the month?  Upload your pictures onto our website, or email me photos!   It's easy to do - just find the color of your yarn and upload it onto that page.  You may win a prize!

Cat is a regular and familiar face at yarn shops and knitting get-togethers in Roanoke and Blacksburg, VA.  She's always a friendly face who can teach anyone how to knit.  She's a frequent Unplanned Peacock Knitter!

A Hat for All Seasons, knit from Dragon Twisty Aran

When Cat Leonard was seven years old, her mama taught her to knit and purl.   Then she proceeded to NOT do it for the next 45 years.  She grew up, married her high school sweetheart, raised a bunch of young'uns, and one day found herself with an empty nest, no marketable job skills, and nothing to do but housework.   Yikes!   She had to find something and find it fast to avoid doing all that housework.  Quilting?  Naw.....too fiddley.   Painting?   Hmmm, don't you need talent for that?  Martial arts?   Not with worn out old knees!   She wondered if she remembered how to knit and purl.  A quick trip to Walmart, one skein of Ugly Plasticky Red Heart Yarn (but, of course, she didn't know any better), and a cheap set of Bates Highly Annoying Aluminum Needles (remember she didn't know any better) later and  Cat was in business.   YES! She remembered how to knit.   And YES!  She remembered how to purl.  And YES!  She could continue to avoid housework while diligently justifying a sedentary lifestyle as long as those needles were clickin'.   Happily, her skills improved, she learned how to read patterns, and her taste in yarn and needles reached Rolls Royce levels.  Today, her stash is impressive and her collection of UFO's (unfinished objects) is legendary.  Her favorite item to knit is socks(because that is the only project she ever really finishes), and her favorite yarn with which to knit them is Anything Unplanned Peacock. 

My name is Cat Leonard and I approved this message. :)

Would you like to be Knitter, Crocheter, Spinner, Weaver or Felter of the month?  Simply send me your photos of your completed projects!  We have a contest every month and you could win free yarn!

    Victoria Socks designed and knitted by Laura Goodman out of Victoria Peacock Sock from our 2012 yarn club

Every year, Unplanned Peacock has a yarn club for people who love surprises, gorgeous yarns, and neat patterns.  We come up with a different theme each year.  This year was Victorian Vintage.  I'd love for you all to vote on next year's yarn club!  

If we pick either the classic literature or the Shakespeare's plays, we could have a knit and read along :)  I can't wait to see which one wins!

We had lots of great submissions in November - all of these knitters are very talented and friends of UPP!  Check out their projects and then vote for your favorites at the bottom!  The winner will get a guest spot on the blog and a free skein of yarn!

Erika Mosley

Doll hat out of Superwash Merino DK in Hummingbird

At the Maryland Alpaca Breeders show, we met a lovely young lady whose mom owned a yarn shop - Jolene at Cloverhill Yarn Shop.  Even though she is in grade school, Erika is already an accomplished knitter.  She looked long and hard and finally found just the perfect skein of yarn to make a hat for her American Girl Doll, and just a few days later, sent me this pic.  Erika, I am sure great things are in your future!

Jean Hogle

Travelling Woman out of Chicory Diva Sock

June Bunnies Shawl out of Chives Diva Sock

Jean has been a long time friend of UPP and is a prolific knitter.  She is currently taking her Master Knitter Certification from the TKGA.  Jean is frequently found at the local Roanoke yarn shops including Yarn Explosion.  Thanks for your constant support, Jean!

Cat Leonard

A Hat for All Seasons (coincidentally by Jackie Murton, our next entrant) in Dragon Twisty Aran

If you knit in the Roanoke/Blacksburg area, you undoubtably know Cat's friendly face.  She is an accomplished knitter and all-around nice person.  Cat has been supportive of Unplanned Peacock since the beginning.   Cat is the most creative wordsmith I've ever met and is behind the funniest product reviews on our site.

Jackie Murton

At Autumn's End Set in Sunset Superwash Merino Sport

Wallflower Legwarmers in Snakeroot DK

Jackie officially gets the longest running streak of being nominated for knitter of the month - because she's just taken off with her designs!   This month she has designed the cutest set for the youngster in your life.  Both of these patterns were designed with her niece in mind, who is taking dance lessons and braving the Pennsylvania winters.  Jackie's patterns can be found on Ravelry.

Joanna Roye

Espiritismo out of Seance Twisty Sock (available in 2013)

Joanna is a knitting pattern designer, who is also a librarian.  She is at the website Made with Sticks.  She has been one of the designers for the 2012 Victorian Vintage Yarn Club, plus she has many other unique patterns on Ravelry.  This design is one of our club designs, it will be available for purchase in 2013.

Pick out your favorites!  Show these wonderful knitters that you appreciate their hard work by voting for them!

If you are interested in entering Unplanned Peacock's Knitter of the Month (or spinner, or crocheter, or weaver) contest, just email sheep  AT unplannedpeacock.com a picture with permission to put it on our website, and the pattern and yarn name.  You may win a free skein of yarn!

 It's election day!  (no, not that election, we don't talk about such ugly things near the yarn!  BUT I HOPE YOU ALL VOTED!)

It's time to elect our November Knitter of the Month!  Our nominees are:

Jennifer Crow

Sheri Leigh Houghton

Laura Goodman

Jackie Murton

Christy Straight

Check out the fantastic projects submitted by our knitting and crocheting friends for the month of October!  

The competition is stiff.  
We are so lucky to have such talented and creative people designing and making gorgeous things with our yarn!

Orla Carey

Handschmeichler (Hand-Charmer)  made with Sun Conure Superwash Merino Fingering

Twirl made from Starling Alpaca Sport

Marywarmers made from Frog Superwash Merino Fingering

Laura Goodman

Tapestry Socks made from Tapestry Peacock Sock 

(only available to our yarn club members).  

Laura designed this sock pattern, and it will be for sale in 2013.

Rohn Strong

Jo-Dee crocheted from Pomegranate Superwash Merino DK. 

Laura Bell crocheted out of our Magenta Superwash Merino DK

Vestal crocheted out of our Slate Peacock Precious

Ella Mae crocheted out of our Sparrow Superwash Merino DK

Wynonna crocheted out of our Wheat Superwash Merino DK

Rohn Strong has designed this whole series of patterns with our yarns.  

You can buy them all on Ravelry as a book, Southern Crochet.

Vote for your favorite fiber artist!  They will win free yarn and a guest spot on our blog.  
Support all of our artists by purchasing their patterns.  All of these people are working very hard to bring you awesome things to knit and crochet.

Voting will close on Friday, Oct 5, midnight!  
We have this contest every month, so be sure to send in your entries for November!  Email to sheep@unplannedpeacock.com.

(and other guilt free fiber snacks)

A few weeks ago I took a survey about what people wanted from the new website, and Unplanned Peacock in general.  There was one thing that really stood out:

MINI SKEINS!

Your wish is my command.  You can now get all the types of Unplanned Peacock yarn in 10 g skeins which range from about 12 yards for the bulkies to about 85 yards for the laceweight.  You can also get 1 oz samples of our spinning fiber, everything from our raw Icelandic fleece to our silk top.   This way you can try any type of our yarn or fiber without fear of a huge financial outlay for yarn you don't like.  

Since I can't take 10% off of the length of dozens and dozens of different color skeins, I will pick the colors of the mini skeins.  (However, if you REALLY need something specific, it doesn't hurt to ask. I aim to please.)

These mini-skeins will only be available on the website, not at shows.

What can you do with 10 grams of yarn?  Quite a lot.  

Here are a list of patterns.

Unplanned Peacock Tiny Socks 

Owl Puffs by Retro Lemon Studio

Stjarna by Karolina Eckerdal

Bunny Nuggets by Rebecca Danger

Chubby Chirps by Rebecca Danger

Deck the Balls Christmas Ornaments by Sonia Ruyts

Huggy Bunnies Egg Cozy by Sandra Paul

We're All That Awesome Cup Cozy by Allyson Dykhuizen

Leaf me Alone, I'm Reading! Bookmark by Leigh Myers

Pioneer Cuff by Laura Nelkin

These are all quickly knit, great for little stocking stuffers and pick me ups for friends!  Enjoy!

Looking for more of a challenge/marathon/insanity-maker involving dozens and dozens of mini-skeins?

The Beekeeper's Quilt by Tiny Owl Knits

The Apiary Puff (crocheted Beekeeper Hexipuffs) by Valerie Lawson

Sock Yarn Blanket by Shelly Kang

I'm looking forward to seeing all your mini-skein creations!

Hi all!  I'd love to welcome everyone to my fancified new website!  I am hoping it will be a better user experience for my customers and myself.  One thing that is going to be a lot of fun is this blog section where I can keep you up to date in a more complete and personal manner on what is happening at the farm, with the yarn, and with our wonderful customers.  Notice also that I will now be using Twitter to update all my friends on timely basis, and this will show up on the front page of the website.  (I've resisted Twitter in favor of Facebook and Ravelry up until now.)  For any new found friends who might be meeting Unplanned Peacock Studio (UPP for short) for the first time, let me tell you about our little dyeing and farming operation.

I'm Natasha Laity Snyder, and I started UPP in 2008.  I have a degree in costuming, and dyeing and painting costumes was my favorite part of the job.   After I learned to knit, it was a natural transition for me to start dyeing yarn.  I have been lucky to find many supportive friends and yarn shops that have helped me build my business.  I started attending fiber shows in 2009, and more and more people have gotten to knit with Unplanned Peacock Yarn as the years have passed.  We are still a tiny business though.  I do all of the dyeing, my husband, Mark, helps me skein the yarn, and friends like Jolaine Kooger, Courtney Vengrin, and Joanna Roye help me at fiber shows.  

Unplanned Peacock has been fortunate to partner with many yarn shops in the area (there's a current list here), and we are thankful to them for supporting our business, and to their customers for purchasing our yarn.  If you live in an area where UPP yarns aren't sold, we are always happy to work with local shops, so please refer us (we even give a free skein to you if your LYS starts carrying our yarn!)  

In addition to all the dyeing, we take care of our flock of gorgeous Icelandic sheep.  Icelandic sheep are an artist's dream sheep (along with Shetlands) because they come in all the colors of the fiber rainbow - black, grey, white, brown, and cream.  They are also extremely intelligent animals (for sheep, anyway).  I think my sheep merit their own blog post, so I'm going to stop talking about them now.  (Trying to get a shepherd to stop talking about their sheep is like trying to get a parrot to stop chattering.) Our sheep's fleeces are for sale, and I'm happy to sell it to you raw, washed, or washed and carded.  I don't dye the Icelandic wool, because it's lovely enough in it's natural state. 

Any questions?  I'm happy to answer them.  Comments?  Let me know how you like my new site.   Please, send me pictures of what you make with my yarn!