Update: The Bunny has spoken

After reading all of your comments and emails (they were very helpful and insightful -- thank you!), and after intensive consultation with Charcoal, I've made up my mind. I am going to do a trial run of a BBF Sock Yarn Club and a BBF Fiber Club. Here's how they'll work:

I will limit it to ten members in each club for now, for a period of four consecutive months, beginning with January 2008. I don't want to overcommit myself and this should leave me with enough wiggle room to keep up with the Etsy shop and other things.



For the sock club, it will be yarn only (there will probably be extras of some sort, but I won't promise "swag"), enough in each skein to make a pair of socks. I'll vary fibers, and gauges will go from 6 to 8 sts per inch, depending on the yarn. For the fiber club, members will receive 8 ounces of fiber each month, same deal with the extras. At least one of those months, each club will get a new yarn or fiber that hasn't been up on the Etsy site yet or that I can only get in limited amounts.



I will have each member pay me a down payment of $50 to join. Essentially, that will be the first and last month's payment. For the second and third months, I'll send a Paypal invoice when the batch is ready, and as soon as I receive payment, will ship. That way I can tweak the payments to make sure that each one reflects the different cost of the yarn or fiber (which can vary depending on what it is), although nothing will be more than a few dollars more or less expensive than the others. I will charge the same prices I charge on Etsy (or would charge, if it's a limited edition yarn; in other words, no mark-up).



At the halfway point, and again, a few weeks after the last shipment, I will ask the members to send in JPEGs of their projects with the club yarn or fiber. I'll post a batch of finalists on my blog and let the readers vote for Best Selection of Pattern for the Yarn or Most Outstanding Spinning or something like that. Winners will receive a prize of some sort.



Members can specify some favorite colors which I will try to use, and one hated color which I will not use (or at least, won't use much). Otherwise, dyeing is within my discretion. I will try to mix up styles, maybe one month a yarn that is a wild multi, another month a nearly-solid, and so on.



If you're interested, and agree to these guidelines, then send an email to blackbunnyfibers*at*att*dot*net (remove the asterisks when you type that in; I get enough spam from my esteemed friends in Nigeria) AND make sure you put in the Re: line EITHER "Sock Yarn Club" or "Fiber Club." For now, since membership is limited, you have to pick one or other. If I get more interested people than there are openings, I'll randomly pick ten for each. Send your email by Monday, November 19th at 10 a.m.

P.S. If Rabbitch copies me, I'll kick her Canadian arse.

Other BBF News

My pal Joey started a Ravelry group for Black Bunny Fibers lovers, called Amish Machine Knitters With A Sex Addiction Black Bunny Fiber Lovers, which you can find here. Thanks, Joe!

I'm going to be making a concerted effort to try to keep the Etsy shop better stocked. I know it's frustrating when you want to try out a yarn, but can't seem to find it in stock. For me, keeping this a one-woman operation allows me to retain what I hope makes my yarns special, doing each skein or small batch individually by hand, and not doing cookie-cutter colorways. Unfortunately, that means that sometimes things sell out quickly simply because they take a bit more time to create. But I'm working on it...

If you are frustrated because you can't seem to get to the updates, you might want to join my Yahoo group. I send out an email 24 hours before an update, and another one as soon as I'm done updating the Etsy shop. If you switch your settings for this group to individual emails, rather than digest, you'll get them fairly quick, and I rarely send out emails other than the ones telling of updates, so you won't be inundated with yak.

I'm working on a website, too, and hope to have it up and running (at least in some form) by the end of the year. (Stop snickering, Liz and Mindy.)

Take a look

I had the pleasure of meeting fellow dyestress Mama E at Stitches East. She's started an on-line site called Mobtown Review, devoted to handpainted yarns and fibers. Each Wednesday, she'll feature handdyed artists and their wares (along with specials for the readers of the Mobtown Review) and if you leave a comment, you'll be entered into a drawing for prizes by the featured artists.

So....you might want to mosey over there and take a look. Maybe the Black Bunny will make an appearance one of these days....