Spring Yarns Are In

In the Shop

The spring yarns are in! New this year are four cotton and cotton blends.

Bebe Cotsoy is a 50% cotton, 50% soy silk yarn, 110 yards/50 grams and 5 stitches to the inch. It is very soft and excellent for making baby things.

Cascade Luna is 100% cotton, 82 yards/50 grams and 4.5 stitches to the inch. This yarn has a bit of texture but not too much. It is easy to work with and great for any summery thing you’d like to make.

Matsuri is a new yarn from Noro. It is 87% cotton and 13% wool, 145 meters/50 grams and 4-4.5 sttchess to the inch. This is a braided yarn and has all the color changing goodness you’ve come to expect from Noro, without the scratchiness!I’m making myself a little spring hat out of it right now.

Aztec Boucle cotton from Henry’s Attic is the yarn that I’m the most excited about. This yarn is organic and naturally colored, so there are no chemicals used in its production!

It comes in six colorways. The solids are off-white, cream, camel and sage green. The two other colorways are one ply of the white twisted with either the green or the camel.

This is a great yarn for anyone who is interested in eco-friendly products and maintaining biodiversity. The boucle texture just asks to be made into a baby towel or snuggly beach cover-up.

I’m stocked up on all the rest of your summer favorites, including Eden bamboo, Hempathy, Jamaica and Fixation.

Spring Workshop

We have space left in our Advanced Double Knitting workshop; all other spring workshops are full.

A double-knitted headband.
See Alasdair Post-Quinn’s web site
for more examples of double knitting.

Advanced Double Knitting
Two-day class:
Saturday, April 5, 1:00-4:00 p.m. and
Saturday, May 10, 1:00-4:00 p.m.
(note new date for second class)
Cost $80
Taught by Alasdair Post-Quinn

This class will take you beyond the basics of double knitting to make you feel like a real pro!

The project for the class is a hat that you will learn to double knit in the round. Alasdair will provide a number of motifs to choose from, or you can bring a favorite Fair Isle pattern. You will swatch and start your hat on April 5, work on the body of the hat for the next few weeks, and return on May 10 to do the crown decreasing and finish work. You need be familiar with the basics of double knitting to take this class.

Upcoming Events

Spring is here, and that means sheep and wool festivals! Click the name of each festival for more information.

Gore Place Sheepshearing Festival
Saturday, April 26, 10:00 am-4:00 p.m. Rain or Shine

The Sheepshearing Festival is great fun for everyone.  See all kinds of demonstrations from shearing to lace making to sheep dogs.  Pet a llama.  Learn to spin.  This is also the only Sheep & Wool festival that you can get to on public transportation.  Take the #70 bus from Central Square and get out at the first stop in Waltham.  I always have a booth in the Fiber Tent so stop in and say hello! (Note that the shop will be closed that day.)
 
Connecticut Sheep and Wool Festival
Saturday, April 26

 
New Hampshire Sheep and Wool Festival
Saturday & Sunday, May 10 & 11

I’ll be at the festival on May 11, so the shop will be closed.
 
Massachusetts Sheep and Wool Festival
Saturday & Sunday, May 24 & 25
 
Shop Closings

Note that the shop will be closed on:

• Saturday, April 26, for the Gore Place Festival and
• Sunday, May 11, for the New Hampshire Festival. 

Etsy Store

Our hand-dyed yarns are available online!
As seen on the Yarn Harlot’s blog.

Due to popular demand, we offer a selection of gorgeous hand-dyed yarns at mindseyeyarns.etsy.com.

The selection of fibers and colors changes often as we dye new yarns and other dye lots are sold. To give you an idea of our offerings. Recently dyed yarns include:

• Acid Washed and Denim merino/tencel blend washable sock yarns (shown at right);
• Sock yarns in the colorways Evening Sky,Ashes of Roses, and Sky Blue.
• Double-knit weight 100% merino superwash yarns Iris Sky and Pumpkin Patch.

10% Discount for Bookstore Knitting Group

Porter Square Books, located right across the street from our shop, in the Porter Square Shopping Center, has a knitting/craft group that meets one Sunday a month. We offer group attendees 10% off anything they buy on days the group meets.

The Doctor Is Always In…

…the Knitting and Spinning Doctor, That Is!
I am always available during store hours to help out with any problems you are having with your projects.

Quick help is always free. If your problem is likely to take more than 10 minutes or so to fix, please call ahead and schedule a lesson. A 45-minute lesson costs $12. Lessons where we are designing a pattern from scratch or significantly altering an existing pattern are $20 for 45 minutes. (Please note that prices are subject to change without notice.)

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