The hanks are starting to appear!
over 4 years ago – Fri, Aug 30, 2019 at 12:40:25 AM

Hey everybody,

First off, I owe some of ya'll an apology as I've been slacking a bit on my knitting and updates lately in our ravelry group! I had to wait for some more needles to get sent to Mongolia, then was right in the middle of traveling, moving, and a new teaching job, so was hard for me to get back into a routine. Sometimes when everything piles up, it gets a bit dark and I tend to tuck my head in for a bit, which generally takes me out of the public eye. Getting through my first week at the new job and finished the move this last weekend, so everything is definitely starting to settle down a bit. I should be able to keep my head in the open and be a bit more active all around.

As far as the project update goes, we're just waiting for the full batch of navy wool to get finished dyeing, then that will start with the carding. Everything else is in some process of spinning if not completely spun. Here are some pics of some sample hanks I got today!

So everything is definitely going well. The next step is to get everything measured exactly so I can get the labels made. The labels are going to be the last thing we're waiting for, as it might take a few weeks to get them produced and shipped. Still perfectly on schedule with everything!  In other news, I did make it out to the Yak Festival two weekends ago. It was a bit of a mess getting out there, but ended up making it and I'm glad I did. I've been posting pictures every few days on  my instagram and  Facebook, so follow along there if you'd like a more consistent feed of Mongolian animals. Here are a few from the trip!

I saw a lot of yaks, and I took a ton of pictures. I went chasing after a lot herds out there like I always do, so a lot of pictures of goats and sheep as well. Also visited the ancient capital (Har Horin, from the Chingis Khan days) on the way back for an afternoon and night. There's a pretty epic monastery there that I'm happy I was able to see.

I can't think of anything else right now to really update on. I'm thinking as the final bills come due around the middle of September I'll have to lock orders and charge the credit cards on backerkit, but I'll send update about that when the time is closer. I'm thinking 9/15 is a good date for it. There will still be a chance to add on once again before final delivery through my website once I have all of the inventory figured out. I'll also try to have pictures of all the different yarns and colors so everybody can make decisions about exactly what they want and any last minute changes.

I can't think of anything else right now to really update on. I'm thinking as the final bills come due around the middle of September I'll have to lock orders and charge the credit cards on backerkit, but I'll send update about that when the time is closer. I'm thinking 9/15 is a good date for it. There will still be a chance to add on once again before final delivery through my website once I have all of the inventory figured out. I'll also try to have pictures of all the different yarns and colors so everybody can make decisions about exactly what they want and any last minute changes.

Ok, that's about it for me. As always, holler with any questions!

Thank you,

Jon

Spinning Underway!
over 4 years ago – Tue, Aug 13, 2019 at 02:01:24 AM

Hey everybody,

Just wanted to update with a few pics. The first steps of carding and the spinning process are underway with the yak wool and the camel wool, which don't have any colors being dyed so are first up! I took some photos and videos, but apologies again for the difficult lighting in the factory, especially on the vids!

This shows the start of the carding process with our yak wool. Starts off pretty rough, but ends up in the long tubes like you see in the pictures above. It's a bit loud, so careful if the volume's up!

Last step before it goes into the long spools. Still loud!

The real reason I went to the factory today was to make a final decision on how melange to make the white sheep wool. We originally tried a 90/10 mix with the white/brown, but it really just looked a bit too brown and kinda dirty. Ended up going down to a 98/2 mix, so it's still pretty light, but the brown just gives it a little unevenness and beautiful depth. The wool is wonderfully soft, I think it might actually be the fiber I use for my sweater when it all comes out. 

So, that's about the update I have for now! Everything is definitely still on schedule, and I'll post more once I see the colors and the final yarn starts popping out. This Thursday I'll be taking a trip to the countryside for the yak festival, so get ready for some YAK pictures in the next updates! It's been a really rainy summer here, so I'm hoping the weather cooperates. So far, the forecast looks OK, so fingers crossed!

Thank you everybody! Holler with any questions, as always!

-Jon

We've got all the fiber!
almost 5 years ago – Sat, Jul 27, 2019 at 03:34:27 AM

Hey everybody!

A little bit sooner than expected, and we have all of our fiber! Everything is as good or better than expected, and it's always a huge relief for me to get the fiber. This year, yak wool has been really popular in international markets, so apparently there's really none left in country, so it's good we got our order in right when the new fiber is coming out.

The florescent lighting in the factory isn't the greatest for pics, but here are some shots of the haul!

This picture isn't the best for showing the real color of the sheep. In the first picture with the dark brown yak, I think the brown sheep wool next to it looks a bit more honest. It's really soft and has a great natural melange to it like I was hoping.

The white sheep wool is a bit more, well, white, than I was hoping! So we're going to mix 5 or 10% of the brown with the white to give it some more character and melange-ness. The sheep wool is really stunning in quality, just like I was hoping from the start! The spinning facility was so impressed they are going to be getting some from our co-op as well, so I can't wait to get it out to everybody.   

Here's a quick vid of what taking delivery of fiber looks like! It all gets weighed out on the huge scale there. This is our chocolate brown yak on the scale.  

Now we're just waiting for dyeing and spinning! The carding machine here is going through some quick maintenance before we start spinning. They say everything should be ready by August 5th, but in reality and from experience, I'm expecting another week or two after that.    

At this point, I'm hoping/planning for spinning to be underway and close to being finished around the end of August. After spinning, I'll precisely measure 100g to get measurements for the different weights, make the labels, ship them here, and then it's just time for shipping and distribution. We're definitely still on-track, and even a bit early, but there can always be surprises.    

So, getting close! Backerkit is still open for changes or add-ons if you need to switch things. Still with the kickstarter proceeds and my savings, I should be OK to get everything dyed and spun, but will definitely need to charge cards on Backerkit before shipping starts. That being said, I'm expecting to charge cards around the end of August or beginning of September, depending exactly on the exact final bill for spinning and dyeing.  

Not too much to report in other news. Personally, I'm in the process of switching schools where I teach English, so that's made things a little more hectic than usual, but still excited about the change. I'm also planning to attend the "Yak Festival" here in the middle of August, so should have some awesome pictures of yaks to show from that! Definitely due for another trip to the countryside.   

As always, holler if you have any questions! And of course, obligatory animals (although I'm losing track as to which pics I've posted already!)

Thank you!

-Jon

Progress Update, Fiber Update, and Socks!
almost 5 years ago – Sat, Jul 06, 2019 at 03:01:31 AM

Hey Everybody,

A bit in the quiet part of the project while we wait for fiber, but I did send in the order, it was received, and everything is in the process of being prepared. Next week is the Naadam celebration in Mongolia, so not much is going to happen then. I'm hoping I'll be able to take possession of the fiber the week of the 15th or 22nd, and then to start spinning in August. That's still looking perfectly on schedule to meet delivery in November!

Fiber

I've gotten some feedback about the sheep wool we'll be getting this year. I'm posting a picture of a analysis last year, and the coop is telling me everything will the the same this season. The micron from last year was 19.76 microns, which is exceptional. The average wool here is in the 32 micron range, so we're definitely getting really good fiber. This is the range I was hoping for the entire project, but didn't want to over promise before I got more concrete confirmation.

Here's the analysis. #5 shows the micron. Sorry for the poor quality, it was marked up and informally sent, and I had to cut some personal info from the sheet.

As this is last year, things might still change a bit when we get our own fiber, but I'm pretty confident that the sheep wool will be in the 19-20 micron range. Yak wool is in the low 18 micron range, and our first grade cashmere is more specific in the 16.3 micron range, as the grades are on an international standard. I still don't have exact info about the baby camel wool, but it should also come out very similar to the yak.

Backerkit Progress

Backerkit has been going really great! I've talked to a few people that weren't able to find surveys or had some hiccups getting through everything, but I think everything has gone smoothly for the most part. In spirit of full disclosure, currently 92% of people have completed the survey, and 51% of respondents have added on items, which so far as raised an additional $25,831. I don't *think* I'll need to charge cards on Backerkit until spinning is completed, but depending on exactly what our dyeing, spinning, and fiber bills come to, cards may be charged mid-August before production. I'll keep you guys posted with plenty of notice one way or the other.

I know the extra funds puts us well ahead of the $60k goal we had for lace weight in all items, but I was betting on a lot of that in Backerkit during the campaign to comfortably make the lace that we are. The lace options weren't very popular in the end, and it was generally only 4 or 5kg sold in each lace type, so it's a bit difficult to add more options while still fulfilling batches. 

With the amount of inventory we'll have from this campaign, I think it makes more sense for future projects to have fewer, unique options (e.g. baby yak wool, baby goat wool, unique colors) and replenish inventory as needed. I think it will make managing production easy for me and choosing options a bit easier for you guys!

New Items on Backerkit - Socks and Old Stash!

What had actually started the sheep wool idea originally were some wool socks I sent out with our blanket project. They are great quality and wanted to use them as a gauge to see if there would be more interest for the yarn. A backer mentioned they were interested in buying more, so I've worked it out with my factory to make some more in august. They are $14. Here are some pics!

I've also added a little bit more of the inventory I still had from last season in a few fiber/color combos, so if you're interested in picking up some heavily discounted yarn from last year or socks, feel free to go back into the Backerkit survey and select them. You can get back to your survey with the link originally emailed to you, or by following this link:  https://ulaandliayarn2.backerkit.com/ 

Alright, that's it for this one guys! Feel free to holler with any questions as always!

Thank you!

-Jon

A quick note if you haven't received a survey yet!
almost 5 years ago – Tue, Jun 25, 2019 at 02:14:48 AM

Hey everybody,

Everything seems to be going smoothly with Backerkit, so thank you to everybody that's gone through to choose their options, and choose their add-ons as well! I'm still planning on putting in the fiber order around this time next week, so the higher the response rate, the better it is for making the order and predicting inventory.

If you haven't received a link to Backerkit for the survey, please check your spam and junk folders. I had a lot of people tell me that it didn't make it to their primary email folder. If you still can't find it, please send me a message with the email you used on Backerkit, and I'll send you a link directly for your survey.

Also worth mentioning, there was an option turned on in Backerkit for them to help me with support tickets, so if you had sent a question to Backerkit over the weekend about something, it may have taken a couple days to get back to you. For those backers, you should be getting responses shortly if you haven't already. Going forward, I've turned off that option so the questions will come directly to me, which should help with response time.

Thanks everybody! As always, send messages anyway you can to get a hold of me with questions, so comments, Kickstarter messages, facebook, or email! ([email protected])

-Jon