**As of January 3rd, Merino Twist is backordered! We expect to get more mid-January, and they should ship out first week of February at the latest.**

The Outfitter Tour 

Welcome to our new Outfitter Tour! We're outfitting you with kits that thoughtfully combine colorways with suggested patterns. Whether you want to knit or crochet, we have you covered! We're creating new colorways and re-envisioning patterns as we explore and share more wild places with you. There's so much to discover and love. We're not sure exactly where we're headed throughout the year- let's see where this takes us! We're leaving the Monterey Series behind and are headed into the Giant Sequoias...

Stop 1
Sequoia Grove

John Muir probably explains it best- sequoia groves are “not like places, they are like haunts.” If you've ever been amongst these giants, you'll probably agree. With trunks 30 feet wide and heights soaring above 250 feet, your senses of scale, time, and significance are easily diminished in their presence.  There's hardly anything like it.

Giant sequoias are snow trees, adapted to love long harsh winters in the Sierras. These trees are the largest and oldest on Earth, with lifespans over 3000 years old. As a species, they've been around since the Jurassic Period alongside dinosaurs. At one point they were even abundant across the Northern Hemisphere. Now they're only found in groves on the Western Sierra Nevadas.

They've survived the millennia thanks in part to their thick and tannin rich bark, which protects them against insects and fires. In more modern times, the giants escaped the logging industry by virtue of their wood not being valuable as lumber. When felled, their brittle wood would shatter as its massive weight collided with the ground. Thankfully these trees are now valued as national treasures and researched.

A striking story in National Geographic highlights a team of researchers that have been scaling these living legends and measuring them inch-by-inch. Their research revealed a surprising discovery. The long-held premise in forestry was that trees grew less wood with age, but in fact these ancient sequoias actually steadily grow more wood as they age! 

Unsurprisingly researchers are also working hard on climate adaptation strategies to ensure these trees endure and thrive in coming years. Sequoias need both fire and lots of water! Fires release its seeds, prepares soil, and removes plants competing for light. The trees also need water from the heavy Sierra snowpack to fuel their fast growth- each giant sequoia grows the equivalent of one 50 foot tall tree that's 1 foot in diameter every single year. 

We hope you love these trees as much as we do, and learn more here!

Preorder 
Sequoia Grove Sock & Shawl Kits

For this preorder, choose either a sock or a shawl kit, and a discount code for one of the featured patterns! Two new coordinating colorways will be created based on these ancient Sequoia Groves at Sequoia National Park. 

**The inspiration photo reflects what the kit colorways will be, NOT the featured projects. Only one discount code is included per kit. Patterns are NOT included in kits.**

Kit options:

Choose your kit in the yarn base of your choice.

• Sock kit (2$ off retail price) includes 1 full skein and 1 coordinating miniskein. 
• Shawl kit (4$ off retail price) includes 2 coordinating full skeins. 

Featured patterns:

Choose one pattern discount for use on Ravelry through January 31st! We worked with our featured pattern designers to offer discount codes just for you! The discount varies by pattern. You'll receive your coupon code by email within 2 days after your purchase.

Knit Socks: Coffee Talk Socks (25% off code)
Crochet Socks: Segue Socks (25% off code)

Knit Shawl: The Drifter (20% off code)
Crochet Shawl: Trailing Wake (50% off code)

Inspiration image photo credit: Josh Carter

How it Works

Our inspiration photo guides us in creating new colorways and pairing with patterns. Preorders are open until the 15th. Preorder pricing is discounted from our standard retail prices. If kits are popular, we might stock them at regular retail price after the preorder.

We dye the yarn, then post the colorways before your preorders ship. If you don't love it, exchange your preorder for store credit before it even ships out!  More happiness- zero waste!

Here's the preorder schedule:

• Preorder available until the 15th.
• Colorway created, and its photo posted around the 22nd of month.
• Pattern discount codes sent by email within 2 business days from purchase.
• Preordered yarn orders ship by end of month.

Please know the colorway will be an interpretation of the photo, and not color-matched!