Hello!
It's been pretty quiet around here this past month or so, hasn't it? Sorry about that, but I had to take a break from blogging (and most social media) over the holidays because I had a TON of work on the back side of YumiYarns.com to get done as well as a bunch of spinning for Club Yumi's last instalment of the Handspun Holidays Trio of kits. (More on that in a future post, promise!)
Today I'd like to announce the opening of the Club Yumi VIP Lounge! Woot woot!!
This has been in the making for months and months so I'm thrilled that I get to invite all the current members to stop in and check it out. Members should receive an invitation shortly via e-mail that includes the password that you will need to access the member forums, but if you don't see it in your inbox by 1/12/18 just send me an e-mail & I'll resend it. If you aren't a Club Yumi Member, you can easily join by purchasing a Club Yumi Subscription package. You'll get access to the club forums within 24 hours of subscribing & will have access until the last month of your subscription.
So, why is this so exciting and why would you want to have access to this exclusive VIP section of the site?
Early access to YumiYarns.com content. Everything for the Club Yumi kits will be posted there the first week of each month and detailed out completely. Eventually all this stuff will make it to the blog and to newsletter subscribers, but Club Members get first dibs on tutorials, patterns, interviews and anything else that will appear elsewhere on YumiYarns.com
It's interactive. Not only do you get to read all the articles first, you get to help tailor the content! If there's a specific tutorial that you would really like me to make because you're struggling with a part in a pattern, just let me know and I'll upload one to the forums for you. You will also have access to other Club Yumi members so you can springboard ideas off of each other & recommend favorite shops/tools/etc.
Meet other members. The Club Yumi VIP Lounge is an online forum (like Ravelry) so you can post photos or videos of your projects to share with other members, ask questions and get to know others who are working on the same projects as you (or enjoying the same yarn/gifts)! I know who all our members are, but I thought that it would be fun for you all to have a place that you could meet and hang-out together.
Live Q&A's with Yarn Producers and Gift Makers. This is something that I'm super jazzed about, I've talked with some of the people who make the yarn and gifts for the Club Yumi kits & most of them have agreed to pop into the forums for live Q&A sessions with Club Members! This is your chance to ask the indie dyers what their color inspiration is or how a creator got into natural soap making. If you can't make the live session, you'll have a chance to post questions ahead of time for them to answer as well. After the live session has ended, I'll compile everything into an interview format & will post it to the blog at a later date for non-Club Members to read.
Exclusive Sneak Peeks. I've set up a whole section just for previews of upcoming kits & projects. You'll get first access to which yarns will be included in the kits, fiber blends, colorways, gifts & pattern previews. Don't want the surprise to be ruined? Don't worry, any preview posts are tagged for spoilers so you won't inadvertently stumble upon something that you didn't want to see yet.
Sounds fun, right?
I'm super stoked about all this. Up until now I've had a really hard time trying to find a balance between what Club Yumi members will need to knit their kits and quality posts for the blog. I've also been torn on whether to post any spoilers for the kits (and where to post if I do). This set-up will provide a clean way for me to get members everything they need right away, the rest of you get to benefit by getting a regular stream of quality knitting content and I don't have to feel torn about timing decisions anymore. Winning for everyone! Hooray!!
I'll be back soon with more announcements & awesome stuff for you all,
Happy Knitting!
Shaina ^_^
Grab your ticket to the Club Yumi VIP Lounge,
Kits mail out the first week of February 2018, but your VIP status starts now.