Lansing Comfort Bears
 We're excited to be a part of the Lansing Comfort Bear Project. Our goal is to collect 200 bears by the June 12th pickup.
44 Bears Collected!
We've also collected over 50 store bought bears & given out over 100 bear making kits.
Way to Go!
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Hours
Open 7 days a week
Monday 11-5
Tuesday 11-5
Wednesday 11-5
Thursday 11-8
Friday 11-6
Saturday 11-5
Sunday 11-3
517.336.YARN
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Twitter And Facebook
Find us on Twitter
Following us on twitter is the best way to get stock updates and find out about the latest in classes.
Simply click here to see our Twitter page.
We've also started a Facebook Fan page. We're also to post more detailed information here than on Twitter & also will post photos, links, and other bits of news. We'd love to hear from you or see a few reviews added~
Click here to see our Facebook Page
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Lace Knitters
The Lace Knitters Club meets here the first Monday of each month from 6:30-8:00.
The next meeting is Monday April 5
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MMKG
Knitting Guild
The Mid-Michigan Knitting Guild meets the 3rd Tuesday of each month (Sept-May) at 7pm.
Directions Here.
In the summer and other Tuesdays they also meet to knit at various members homes.
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Greetings!
Today is Earth Day, which I think is one of those holidays that tends to get overlooked. This year I've been excited to see lots of Earth Day information through my email & on twitter. Especially exciting is Interweave Presses new book, Knitting Green: Conversations and Planet-Friendly Projects. It hasn't quite made it to the shop yet, but we're expecting it soon. In the mean time you can share a "green tip" over at Ann Bud's blog and be entered to win a copy.
Keep reading for some great Earth Day Specials we're running all weekend and also for a feature of some of our environmentally friendly yarns!
I hope you can all get out and enjoy Mother Earth this weekend. I'm headed out for a little spring camping trip. I'll look forward to seeing everyone next week. In the mean time I'm leaving the shop in the capable hands of Melinda and Emily for the weekend.
Help Protect Rae's Health:
Please avoid wearing perfumes
or scented lotions into the shop.
Thank You
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Earth Day Specials
We're running 2 great specials this weekend in honor of Earth Day. The first is a "no-plastic-bags" coupon below. Simply bring in a reusuable bag (or purchase one of our RYB reuseable shopping bags) this weekend and receive 15% off your entire purchase.
Second, for every purchase made Thursday through Sunday we're planning a tree through American Forests.
American Forests is a world leader in planting trees for environmental
restoration, a pioneer in the science and practice of
urban forestry, and a primary communicator of the benefits of trees and
forests.
American Forests (americanforests.org) is the
nation's oldest
nonprofit citizens' conservation organization. Citizens concerned about
the waste and abuse of the nation's
forests founded American Forests in 1875. The organization is proud of
its historic roots in the development
of America's conservation movement and proud of the new approaches the
organization has developed to help people
improve the environment in the 21st Century. American Forests'
Ecosystem Restoration and Maintenance Agenda
presents our core values and seeks to build support for our policy
goals. These goals focus on assisting
communities in planning and implementing tree and forest actions to
restore and maintain healthy ecosystems and
communities. We also work with community-based forestry partners in
both urban and rural areas to help them
participate in national forest policy discussions.
Even coming in and buying one point protector will get a tree planted this weekend! Come in and help us make a difference for Americas natural areas.
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Save 15%
On your entire purchase*
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Save Paper, Don't Print Me Out!
Just mention the code "Earth Day" when you're checking out & be sure to bring in your own bag... we're not handing out any new plastic bags with this sale.
This discount applies to almost everything in the store including classes!
*Discount is only on in stock merchandise. Special Orders, Gift Certificates, Sock Club Memberships, Spinning & Weaving Equipment are not included in this discount.
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Offer Expires: Valid April 22-25 2010
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Organic & Earth Friendly Yarns
O-Wool Balance - A wonderful blend of organic wool & cotton. It's also our yarn of the month for April. Great hand and fantastic yardage in a dk weight.
Samp'a - 100% naturally dyed Organic Cotton. Cotton is one the products that's highly recommended to purchase organic when available because there are more pesticides and insecticides used to grow cotton than for
any other crop. Each year cotton growers use around 10% of the world's
pesticides, and 25% of all insecticides in production. That's a major impact on the environment! Organic cotton is grown without chemical fertilizers and without pesticides and insecticides which really gives the Earth a break.
Sublime Organic Cotton dk- another great option for 100% organic cotton, a bit tighter twist than the Samp'a. I love combining both of these to great a wonderful color palette.
Craft - 65% Organic Cotton & 35% Milk Fiber. Made from milk
casein, instead of fresh milk, Milk fiber has little environmental impact. According the Euroflax, a leading importer of the fiber: Milk fiber adopts continues
graft copolymerization
techniques. The producing
process has no effect on
environment and formaldehyde in
the products is zero. So milk
fiber can be considered as
'green product'.
Abundant Naturally Dyed Sock Yarn- although not organic, we consider these naturally dyed yarns earth friendly. The folks down at Abundant Yarn & Dyeworks have done a wonderful job with things such as onions and indigo to give us a beautiful palette of colors on this yarn.
Pure Michigan Sock Yarn- Dyed right here at Rae's Yarn Boutique! This yarn is all about locally sourced materials. The sheep are raised in Michigan, the yarn is milled in Michigan, then we use natural indigo dyes to give it that wonderful state of Michigan blue.
Ecolana - Ecolana is a great heavy worsted blend of Alpaca and Wool that uses all naturally occurring colors, no dyes. This gives us great whites, greys, browns, fawns, and blacks plus lovely tweeds. A great yarn to work with.
That's a great start! I'm sure there's a few I missed and of course we have lots of those "new" fibers like bamboo and soy that I just didn't have room to list.
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I can't tell you how many requests I get each month for us to start a sock club. I finally have figured out that I should just listen to all of you and am so glad I did.
Over the last month I've been working with wonderful designers and both big and little yarn companies to get the sock club up and running!
Some of the sock yarns will be the nicest and newest offerings from our favorite yarn companies. Some will be special limited edition colors dyed exclusively for our club.
All the patterns will be exclusive to the club, plus they are designed specifically for the yarn and color of the sock yarn in that kit.
Each kit also includes a variety of bonus goodies!
Kits will be released every other month beginning this May.
We've ordered supplies and capped off membership for the May kit. There are only about 12 spots left, so sign-up soon to make sure you get the inaugural kit.
Kits can be picked up at Rae's Yarn Boutique or shipped directly to you.
RYB Sock Club Membership
Single Kit $35
3 Kits (6 months) $94.50
6 Kits (1 year) $168
Add $5 per kit for shipping
Full details and the sign-up page can be found on our website, or come into the shop for more details.
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Lucy Neatby
Lucy Neatby is coming to Rae's Yarn Boutique this October!
We have chosen the classes for Lucy's trip:
Ambidextrous Knitting
Hello Cinderella
Pheonix from the Ashes
Double Knitting for Socks
Thank You all for voting!
Registration will be opening up shortly.
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Spring 2010 Class Schedule
You can download a pdf of our new class list and see photos and material lists. Our new website also allows you to register for classes online!
Here's a few classes coming up soon~
Fix and
Finesse Your Knitting
Lynn H $30
April 22 & 29 Thursday
6:00-8:00
Learn to fix a variety of common knitting problems
as well as a collection of knitting tricks and tips to help you make friends
with your knitting. We'll cover picking
up dropped stitches, tinking, changing colors, weaving in ends, and much more.
First Time
Toe Up Socks
Lynn H $45
April 25 May 2 & 16 Sundays 12:00-2:00
This is the perfect first sock. Choose any yarn
and any foot size, no swatching necessary! Easy going knitting with a fit as you go design makes learning socks
simple as pie!
Classic Baby
Hats
Lynn H $15
April 27 Tuesday 6:00-8:00
Choose between two simple but
stylish baby hats in this great primer for knitting in the round. For those who
are looking for a good first hat project we'll help you with a basic single
color baby hat. If you're ready for the next step or are feeling a bit
adventurous take the next step and knit an always loved fruit hat!
Slinky Socks
Rae $30
April 29 & May 13 Thursdays 6:00-8:00
Slinky Socks are just plain fun!
Knit without the use of a single purl stitch you'll learn the cool but simple
secret to making these fun socks. Knit top down, with an afterthought heel,
these socks are sure to become a favorite. I recommend knitting the adorable
baby version in class, but if you're a speedy knitter you're welcome to knit
the adult version instead.
Sea Lettuce Scarf
Rae $20
May 2 Sunday 12:00-3:00
A relation of the popular "potato
chip" scarf Lucy Neatby's Sea Lettuce Scarf has really taken the short row
scarf to it's best! Knit in a fun hand-dyed or striping yarn this scarf is utterly
addictive. Learn the ins and outs of the cable cast-on, crochet provisional
cast-on, short rows, as well as all those little tricks that can only come from
Lucy Neatby.
Heels and Toes
Lynn H $30
May 4 & 11 Tuesday
6:00-8:00
Could your socks use a little
variety? Do you find that your usually heel and toe doesn't fit your foot quite
right? Lynn will be leading you on a full day of different heels you can use in
your socks & a full day of toes. They all have different fits and shapes,
some are best for top down or toe up (some work both ways!), so come find out
what you're feet have been missing.
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Yarn of the Month
April Yarn of the Month:
O-Wool Balance
O~Wool Balance is a blend of 50% merino wool and 50% cotton with an
earthy look and a soft hand. With the flexibility of wool and the
coolness of cotton, this yarn is perfect for light sweaters,
cool-weather wraps and clothing for children. Dyeing the blended fibers
gives the yarn a subtle tweed-like effect, allowing knitters to make
beautiful garments while supporting a sustainable environment.
50 / 50% certified organic merino / certified organic
cotton
weight: approx. 1.75 ounces /50 grams
length: approx. 130 yards / 120 meters
needles: 5-7 US / 3.75 - 4.5 mm
suggested gauge: 19 - 21 sts = 4" / 10 cm
Hand wash, cool water, roll in towel
to remove excess water, do not twist or wring, dry flat
This month try O-Wool Balance as our featured yarn:
15% off
April 1-30, 2010
 Plus when you purchase 3 skeins of Balance you'll receive a pattern for a lovely leaf edged shoulder scarf.
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New Arrivals
Just want to mention a great product arriving in April, Addi Click sets with Lace Tips! You can read all about them & pre-order here.
Recently Arrived
Berroco - Ultra Alpaca Light, Weekend, and Pure Pima have arrived. We got in almost every color they make, so please stop by the enjoy the selection.
Interlacements - Baby Bison (big bouncy wool), Lotus (gorgeous silk lace weight), Spiderweb (wool lace weight), and lots of colors in Toasty Toes!
Lantern Moon- Ebony cable needles
Skacel - Regular Addi Clicks (the Lace should be arriving soon), Zauberball & the new Zauberball Lace!
Arriving Soon
Lantern Moon- An order of Single Point, Double Point, and their wonderful Destiny circular needles will be arriving in the next couple of weeks, along with silk needle pouches, some baskets, and those wonderful tiered baskets.
Kauni - this hot yarn from Europe is currently making it's way here from Estonia. We ordered all 28 colors of the Effect Yarn. Perfect for Lucy Neatby's patterns or to make your own Kauni Cardigan.
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Remember we have lots of seating now and our open knitting group meets on Thursday nights (6-8). We also are getting a growing group meeting on Sunday from 12-3!
Sincerely,
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Rae Blackledge
Rae's Yarn Boutique
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