There were a shocking number of requests from those of you not attending VKLive for our new and exclusive Maven Gift Sets. We are thrilled with your passionate responses to our product launches. We decided to hold a few back, so you (try to hold back the excitement) can buy them from soakwash.com without having been at VKLive.

Each skein of Solemate yarn is signed and numbered. The Heel included is our famous and wildly popular Cucumber scent. We’ve included a Lacey (what else?) minisoaks as well. No excuses now. Get one and get knitting. I’m aspiring to have a skein on needles by the time I head off to TNNA Thursday. We shall see!

While you are shopping with us, support The Heart Truth® by ordering our StitchRed gift set. Five percent of gross profits from sales from this Flora gift set will benefit the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health (FNIH) in support of The Heart Truth®. This great program was created by our friends at JimmyBeansWool.com. There are several other products available, from all your favorite knitting industry companies.

You may have not heard, but Flora as been put on the side lines, giving space to new fragrances, so this is the only way to purchase Flora Soak at this time.

We’re off to catch up and prepare for TNNA. We can’t wait to see what you knit with Maven (and how happy your hands and feet are with matching Heel). Don’t forget to send pictures! Enjoy!

With great success we launched our Lorna’s Laces + Heel gift sets, just in time for holiday. With VKLive right around the corner we thought we’d up the ante with an exclusive Soak colorway and gift set. We also thought you might want to know how custom colorways come to exist. So, here it is.

We’ve got 60 custom, numbered and signed skeins of Maven (our new colorway), with matching custom heel labels, in cute little gift boxes arriving just in time for VKLive. Be there, or be square. Once they are gone, they’ll be history (or socks, scarves, mittens etc.).

So, where to begin. We sent this photo to Beth and Amanda over at Lorna’s Laces. These are our top scents to carry us forward (you should be very familiar with them by now!). We love our colors, we always have. Then, they went to work. Really, just like that! Before we knew it, we started receiving pictures back. It was super exciting. This is what newly dyed yarn looks like when it’s drying. Cool isn’t it?

Then, we received this photo. It helped us decide exactly which shades worked, and which order the colors should be in. We thought and thought, discussed and discussed, and finally agreed on tones, intensities, colors and stripes. It was quite the challenge. We even consulted a couple of industry experts. 

Where to next? Well, all 60 skeins were dyed up and Beth (yup, really), signed and numbered each one. (isn’t she the best?)

This is the final skein (lovely, if I do say so myself). And here is the Heel label. It’s cucumber. Your favorite.

60 and counting. See you in New York (Jan 13-15, Friday 5:00 p.m.–8:00 p.m. Saturday 9:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m. & Sunday 9:00 a.m.–4:30 p.m., if they last that long!)

“Roko loves playing ball. I had just finished blocking something and had clean water in Phil to wash him (we assume the sweater, not Roko) out. My sister was throwing the ball and it landed in Phil. The dogs thought it was great. Melo (who has the soccer ball) isn’t so much into playing ball but loved getting the ball out of the water.” says Julie.

We love great uses for our Carrie and Phil basins. What have you done with yours lately?

Send us a photo of your basin in use, and you could win a bottle of our new Lacey!

Email photos to jacqueline@soakwash.com  by January 31st, 2012. Plenty of time to get through holiday! Winners will be selected and our favorite pics will be posted here.

If you are near Ancaster, stop in at The Needle Emporium. It’s a lovely local shop carrying the full selection of Soak products. May summer come soon, so we can all get back outside and play!

When mail comes to the office, it is often bills, inventory or office supplies. Sometimes, especially around the holidays, our Fedex, Purolator and Canada Post delivery trucks come more often, with lovely little treats. This is what I got this week.

It’s a pincushion ring, in pumpkin vanilla. It came in a lovely box, with a sweet card and some holiday gift cards. The pins were even Soakworthy colors. I just love it. It’s made by Liz Smith, who has a company called Made in Lowell.

It even had the perfect hangtag and ribbon. I love the little details. I can’t wait to wear it over the holiday when I work on my sewing and quilting projects.

It’s the little things in life that are the most rewarding. I hope you’ll find some time to treat yourself over the holiday. Share your Soakworthy craft finds with us, we love to see them!

Yup, I’m already wearing it at the office.

We are offering free shipping on all orders placed by December 14th at soakwash.com

No promo code needed so share the love, tell your friends and don’t forget to treat yourself as well.
Thank you for your continued support. We really appreciate it. Really, we do. We appreciate every order, every tweet, every kind word of support for our growing business. We love the passionate support you show for what we do. -Jacqueline.

After months of knitting, Chris finally finished this lovely blanket made of Gems, from Louet. This rich chocolate brown pile of warmth (as evidenced by Jacqueline cozying up at the office) will soon go to a new baby due any moment!

Let December begin. The month of meetings, parties, events and holidays. When every day seems too short and the to-do lists pile up and up. Soak sales are also on the rise, as lingerie loving fashionistas and crafty knitters alike choose Soak for their loved ones and themselves this holiday season.

Rather than chronicling the 12 days of Christmas, or a countdown to Hanukah, or worrying about all the other obligations of December, today I’m outlining my 12 tasks for the holiday season. I’m limiting myself to 12 specific deliverables, in an effort to actually get through (some of) them, and to avoid wasting days and hours of pondering what I’ll do for the week between Christmas and 2012. We work hard throughout the year, to we cherish a few extra days off while the office is quiet.  This year I’m making the most of them.

I’m balancing tasks between the Soak office, much needed love at home and my craft projects. While I wish I could devote the holiday week entirely to craft projects (in my newly sewn pajamas), reality says otherwise. Reality, plus two tradeshows in January.  So here’s my list. I’m already on it, so as to finish by the end of the month. I’ll keep you posted as each event progresses. Some may seem more inspiring than others, either way, they must be done!

1. Determine scale and fabric plan for Farmer’s Wife Quilt Along. I’m thinking about enlarging the original pattern to 8” or 9” squares, in order to make a king size quilt with slightly larger pieces.
2. Finish (mostly) 4 ongoing quilt projects so I can start my Farmer’s Wife Quilt guilt-free.
3. Rearrange my office; it has been 4 years now, and I’m ready for some change. Plus, it’d be nice to have a work surface for new product development that doesn’t have to be cleaned up by lunch.
4. Reorganize files on the server. Growing from working alone to having a team of four means messy file folders.
5. Organize recipe binder. I love to cook; I don’t love to put stuff away after.
6. Update mail server and all related details (clean out emails, organize mailing list subscriptions). I receive a lot of newsletters and industry information.  It needs some organization.
7. Pre-launch testing on new website, complete with wholesale ordering online! Yup, it’s really happening. We’re moving into a new age of online shopping.
8. Make a carrying case for my sewing machine table. It’s one of those large objects that are always in the way, when not in use.
9. Update warehouse layout for new products (an excuse to play with the forklift).
10. Edit more how-to videos for YouTube and our media friends.
11. Frame this year’s ‘thank-you cards’ for the office. And frame last year’s, which are still in the bag with the frame.
12. Plan a crafty menu for my annual New Year’s Day brunch.

Here is a sneak peak of my Liberty stash. I’m going to work very hard to accomplish and share all of the above tasks, instead of locking myself up with my Liberty fabric, like I’d like to do.

Thank you for such bold opinions on apple pie vs. pumpkin pie. The field is pretty split on which one reigns supreme. At the office, it’s certainly a draw. We have people on both sides. In Jacqueline’s ideal world, she has both.  

I hope your knitting choices aren’t as challenging this holiday season, as you knit up your Solemate Socks!

Congratulations to Christina H. and Diane E. our winners on this end. Visit Lorna’s Laces Blog to see the winners there.

We will email you both and send to each of you a Lorna’s Laces Solemate + Heel holiday kit!

If you didn’t win, you can still get your hands on our kits before holiday. Ask for them by name at your LYS. Heck, print out this post, bring the photo to your LYS and make sure the kits are in stock!

Kits are available online here as well. Happy Turkey.