ULA+LIA: Mongolian Yak Down, Cashmere, and Camel Wool Yarn

24 Hours Left on 2019 Yarn Campaign!
almost 5 years ago – Wed, Jun 05, 2019 at 04:51:12 PM

Hi Everybody,

I just wanted to send out one final email to everybody in case others got stuck in spam folders or it just got pushed back on the list. I used a tool in Backerkit to send two emails about our current campaign, but I'm not sure how many actually got through. I try to avoid spamming too much, but needed to shoot out one more for our final push!

Our second campaign has been going great, and we've already eclipsed last years total. We're going to have Crimson, Heather Gray, and Cream in the cashmere colors. For yak wool, we'll have the dark and milk chocolate browns. The baby camel will be in its natural sandstone, and sheep wool will be in a navy, brown melange, and cream melange.

Like last year, we'll have DK and fingering weight in all styles, as well as some lace weight that will be voted on once the campaign finishes up and we know how much we can make. We're getting really close to $60,000, but if we barely get there, it might be hard to make lace in everything depending on exactly where we end up.

I hope you can join us for the campaign, but if not, please keep me in mind when you want some lovely yarn in the future! Inventory will be available at www.UlaAndLia.com when it's out in November. As always, you can come hang out in our Ravelry group as well!

Please holler at me directly if you have questions! Responding to this email, or sending me an email on Kickstarter or Facebook work great. Thank you for all of your support! Here are some pics of animals if you've made it this far:

-Jon

Link to current campaign!

New Campaign from ULA+LIA, and a Request for Feedback!
over 5 years ago – Sun, Jan 13, 2019 at 08:55:03 AM

Hey guys,

Hope everybody is doing well and has made some awesome warm things to get them through the winter if you’re in a cold spot! I wanted to write a message to my previous backers to spread the word about a campaign I’m running at the moment for throw blankets. It’s a smaller, quick campaign so I can fulfill everything before running my re-launch for knitting yarn in mid-april. I know these projects are very different, but if you might want a lovely Mongolian yak down, cashmere, or sheep wool blanket, check out the campaign here!

Also, before the next campaign in April, I’d love feedback from you guys about the yarn, both good and bad! Too thick, too thin? Cakes wound too tight, too loosely? What colors did you like the best, what options would you like from the next campaign? I’m all ears! Feel free to leave a comment here, or come to the ravelry group for discussion about all things ULA+LIA. I’d love to see any pictures you guys have of finished items, and I’ll be running a yarn lottery around April for some yarn giveways for people that have completed projects.

Thanks everybody for their continued support!

-Jon

P.S. A couple packages have been returned recently, maybe from getting held up in customs in Europe. Let me know if you haven’t received a package, and we can try resending in a more direct way!

EVERYTHING is out! And some closing notes!
over 5 years ago – Sat, Sep 29, 2018 at 01:24:31 AM

Hey everybody,

Everything is officially in the hands of the USPS! They said it was a bit much for them to scan at the local office, but you should have shipping information with tracking numbers either late tonight or tomorrow when it scans at the regional center. I rented a U-HAUL with my dad to bring everything over to the post office, which definitely made everything easier. I meant to take a picture of the stuffed truck for you guys, but it slipped my mind at the last minute.

Quite a journey we've had with this one! I started off planning to just buy fiber on the open markets, and with the huge support we had, we ended up getting fiber from a co-operative that sources directly from local herders. We also ended up getting some awesome baby camel wool as well, which I'm really excited to see some finished projects with. 

I haven't quite figured it out yet, but I'd love to do some competitions or something along those lines where people could vote on finished products, and I could send the winner out a few balls of yarn or something. Having that as a blog of some sort on the website could be a great way to stay in touch.

For future projects, I'm considering revisiting the project I did about a year ago, which offered wool, yak wool, and cashmere throws. I also still want to do a project out of Mongolia for felt slippers. There are a few communities there that make really nice felted products, and I think it could make a great project. I'm just trying to find the right group and right quality. I'll be back in Mongolia at the end of October and hit the ground looking for the next project.

Hopefully in another year, we will be doing ULA + LIA Knitting Yarn Part 2! Even if raw material prices stay high, I'm confident I can continue to offer these fibers at a great value from a responsible source. Most of the sources I saw for cashmere and yak had prices about 4x higher, so I'm still confident we can make a market here.

Please, definitely send me any feedback you guys have about the yarn, both good and bad. While I was stressed out and spinning some balls of yarn here, I felt a few knots and immediately bugged out, as I do, when things aren't perfect. I went crazy googling, and touched base with some knitting friends I've made through this project and asked how common it was. 

After realizing it wasn't really an issue, I'm still a little concerned you guys might find a few more knots than normal, but it really shouldn't be more than 1 or maybe 2 in 50 grams. Knots that I did find were also small, usually just 1 ply knotting together out of the 3 or 4 plys, so if you do find one, they should be easy to hide or splice. I was considering if I even wanted to say anything and draw attention to it, but I figured it would be better to make a note. Since I shipped over 3400 balls, there might be a couple that are a little worse off. If you get into a project and the ball seems a bit rough to you, just let me know and we'll figure it out. 

Also, don't be afraid to wash these fibers! With the long fiber lengths, the yarn and fiber will just open up and get softer as it ages. Use woolite or even baby shampoo, and you should be just fine.

Let me know when you guys start getting your stuff. I'm super excited to see some finished projects!

Happy Knitting!

-Jon

Shipping Progress!
over 5 years ago – Wed, Sep 26, 2018 at 02:00:09 AM

Hey everybody,

Fulfillment has been a bit more of a process than I had anticipated, but we're almost there! I started hard-headed and going solo, but had to tapout and ask for help. With the help of my mom (and also my dad, and even brother a bit!) we've been able to get 90% of orders tagged and bagged!

I'm going to start shipping out packages tomorrow. For some of the larger orders and fiber, I had to order some boxes that will be here on Thursday. I'll finish filling those orders and have everything finished and sent out on Friday. Postage is already paid and printed, just need the boxes!

In the meantime, everybody will be getting an email with tracking numbers beginning tomorrow or so, but some orders might not be dropped off until Thursday or Friday, so don't worry if there isn't any tracking info when you click on the link.

Excited to get everything out! I'll do another update when everything is officially on it's way. Holler if you have any questions!

-Jon

Update for People Buying Raw Fiber!
over 5 years ago – Fri, Sep 21, 2018 at 12:13:27 AM

Hey guys,

Sorry for neglecting those that are just picking up the fiber, I know the updates have all been focusing on the yarn lately. I had a backer nudge me last night to send some info about the fiber as well, and post any inventory I had left. It's about time you guys get some attention too!

I went through and packaged everything today in 100 or 200g packages, and was able to calculate the exact inventory I have left. I posted the products on the site if you want to add on, but I don't have much left! Here's what I've got:

Dark Brown Yak : 100g ($20)

Light Brown Yak: 600g ($20)

Baby Camel: 500g ($13)

Taupe Cashmere: 500g ($30)

Cream Cashmere: 200g ($30)

Crimson Cashmere: 300g ($30)

If you'd like to add on, use "backer15" on the website during checkout for a 15% discount and free shipping. I'll tie everything together with your backerkit order this weekend and ship it out together next week. Here are some quick pics!

 As always, holler if you've got any questions!

-Jon