Oh my, We Have Sponsors

Yesterday afternoon, I had the joy of meeting Matt (the COO) and Sam (Account Manager) from Unicorn Books. Now, you may not know who Unicorn Books is, but I'm willing to bet you have some thing from them. Do you happen to have (or have heard of) the Not Just Socks books? Yep, that's Unicorn. Do you own Meilenweit Sock Yarn? Yep, Unicorn is the sole distributor of Lana Grossa in the US. And to top it off, Sam and Matt are truly great guys -- even if they don't knit themselves (Yes, I asked).
Anyway, they have kindly agreed to put stuff in each on of your goody bags. While I'm not at liberty to tell you exactly what (you are going to have to trust me that it is good and something I'm thrilled about), I will assure you that Unicorn's support is a major positive push for our cruise. They could not be more supportive of this cruise; they could not be more excited for this cruise; and I'm hoping that with a little encouragement we could get these guys to come join us. Afterall, wouldn't you want the ear of a yarn company AND book distributor for 5 days?
Oh, and one thing I will tell you -- just in case someone has started to pack yet -- the fine guys at Unicorn are GIVING us some ball winders and shifts so that we can knit Mama E's Yarn on the ship without cussing about having to wind by hand. No, there will not be one for everyone in your goodie bag -- but I think it is worth a huge thank you!!
In case you wanted to know more about Unicorn, here's their marketing blurb:

Unicorn Books & Crafts has been family owned and operated since 1978 in
Petaluma, California. Specializing in needlework and textile books, they stock
over 3,000 titles from all publishers, as well as self published titles you can
not find anywhere else.
You may also be interested to know that Unicorn Books & Crafts is the exclusive US importer for Lana Grossa yarn. Most well known in this country for their self patterning Meilenweit sock yarn, they also stock a wide range of Lana Grossa luxury hand knitting yarns. From basics to fashionable novelties they offer something for everyone, including stylish pattern support.
Additionally Unicorn Books & Crafts is your largest source for the best in textile winding equipment. They carry a variety of shifts and winders as well as recently adding a line of bamboo needles and notions. Their goal is to be a complete one-stop shopping source for the best in all textile related products.

Now, the next amazing piece of news is that Beehive Wool Shop is showing the love too. I am thrilled to announce that anyone going on EITHER of the Victoria shore excursions will get a Beehive Wool Shop Goody Bag. (Hello, can we have too many goody bags of knitting fun??) I'm not even sure myself what will be in it, but I can tell you that Canadian Sock knitter Katherine Foster will also be at the shop for a short talk and everyone will be helping you find those great Canadian yarns -- read Fleece Artist.

And finally, the list would be incomplete without sharing two more companies who are supporting us. When we nail down exactly how, trust me I will share. However, I have firm committments from both Crystal Palace Yarns and Marin Fiber Arts to be a part of this cruise adventure.

Just a final sidenote everyone, I just want to let everyone know that this whole sock knitting cruise idea started because I love to knit socks and I happen to be a cruise planner. My heart is truly warmed by talking to each of you thus far. I know that over the upcoming months will only make my love for you grow. However, (I almost said "never in my wildest dreams" which isn't true -- my dreams are fairly wild, but let's leave it as...) I'm thrilled with the outpouring of support from both you the knitter and the yarn companies, yarn shops, and writers/teachers/designers. Without exception, when I have talked to anyone about this cruise, I've been met with nothing but awesome support and even better ideas. I say all of this as a way of thanks, but also to kindly suggest supporting our sponsors. I've added links to them all on the left, please click, shop, and learn.

As always, I'm here if you need me for anything -- might I suggest a small cruise as a warm up ;)