Heavenly Socks Yarns logo Heavenly Socks Yarns Newsletter
The Fruits of Our Labor June 2010
In This Issue
New Yarns
Discounted Yarns
Knitty's Citron Shawlette Pattern
Belfast Friday Art Walks Begin June 4
ECo-Motion Returns to the Streets June 4
Aarhus Gallery Celebrates Its Third Anniversary
Coastal Islands Show at High Street Studio and Gallery
Belfast Co-op June Schedule
Quick Links
Bon jour!

Upon returning from France (where I traded room and board for manual labor), I have shared with friends the many cultural differences I noticed between the USA and France. One that I would like to share with you is that French people seem to value their local shops. They walk around their towns carrying their baskets, stopping at their local bread, butcher and flower shops. It brings a sense of community to the town and good feeling as the neighborhood shop owners eagerly greet their customers with a friendly "Bon jour!"

Helen trimming grapevines in a French vineyard
Helen trimming grapevines in a French vineyard

As Belfast seems typically quiet this spring, and eager for our summer friends and visitors to arrive, please encourage your friends and neighbors to shop locally when possible. (Don't forget the Farmer's Market every Friday morning and the Art Walks every Friday evening.) I know many of you already support local and small businesses. Please know that your support is appreciated.
 
Helen
Regia Hand-dye Effect skeins
Regia Hand-dye Effect skeins
New Yarns

There are many new yarns arriving, but because the shop was on limited hours the past two weeks, they will be arriving this week. So stop by and see what's new.
 
This week, three new sock yarn lines are en route to Belfast!
 
Regia Hand-dye Effect is one of the new sock yarns, and it truly looks hand-dyed. Consider using this yarn for non-sock projects, such as a shawl. $13.95 for approximately 450 yards.
 
Misti Alpaca Tonos Pima Silk is 83% Peruvian pima cotton/17% silk, hand-painted tone-on-tone yarn in rich saturated colors, $15.95 for 327 yards.
Discounted Yarns

Regia silk sock yarn: Jacquard and solid colors, $5.00 per skein. If you haven't felt this yarn between your fingers (let alone on your feet), it is a treat.
Knitty's Citron shawlette pattern, knit up and modeled by our Liz
Knitty's Citron shawlette pattern, knit up and modeled by our Liz
Knitty's Citron Shawlette Pattern
 
Knitty's Citron shawlette pattern is one of our new models at the shop, knitted in Dream in Color Baby, a machine-washable, hand-dyed, fingering-weight yarn. A good value at $22.00 for 700 yards.
 
Liz explains, "While the ruching looks complicated, it was actually an easy pattern to knit, because there are no complicated stitches or needle changes. It's a good pattern for beginners, but at the same time it can hold the interest of more experienced knitters. You start by casting on a small number of stitches, and just gradually increase."
Belfast Friday Art Walks Begin June 4

Friday, June 4 marks the beginning of the Belfast Art Walk season! Be sure to stop in downtown Belfast from 5-8 pm for food, refreshment and a look at the wonderfully unique and diverse art the town has to offer.
 
This year's nineteen participating galleries and studios will be open: Waterfall Arts, High Street Studio and Gallery, Daniel Anselmi at 75 Main Street Studio, Brambles, Art Alliance Gallery, Off the Beaten Path Gallery, Roots and Tendrils, Aarhus Gallery, Beyond the Sea, Belfast Co-op Cafe Gallery, Image Box Photos, First Light Gallery, Parent Gallery, Ben Hall at 960 Studio, Galerie Dufour, Betts Gallery at the Belfast Framer, Dina Petrillo at The Post Office Studio Workshop, Susan Cooney Fine Art Studio and Maine Farmland Trust. Many of these locations will be having openings and receptions on June 4.
 
There will be live performances on the streets and around town during the Belfast Art Walk. Performers for June 4 are dancer Helena Melone, the band Big Blue and saxophone player Lincoln Blake.
Helena Melone, international performer and teacher, has studied flamenco and Roman dance with Roma "gypsies" in Spain and Turkey. She will be dancing fusion styles for the Belfast Art Walk. Interviewed for her knowledge for the novel "Flamenco Academy," as well as for Oprah magazine, she is a juried arts educator for the Maine Arts Commission, dance instructor at Phillips Exeter Academy, and teaches at studios throughout midcoast Maine where Nature is her most instructive teacher, and water her muse!
 
A band from Brunswick, Maine, Big Blue travels down south to Florida and on over to Louisiana, Mississippi and Arkansas to blues festivals and juke joints to listen and play every year. Much of their music is influenced by their travels. They play everything from country to jazz to blues and rock.
 
Lincoln Blake has worked as a professional musician in the midcoast area for over fifteen years. Blake has been playing various instruments since the age of ten. In addition to playing professionally in front of crowds throughout the state, he also shares his talents by teaching private music lessons. During the Art Walk Blake will be playing the saxophone around the downtown area.
 
The 2010 Art Walk Map can be found in many locations around town or by visiting BelfastArts. Belfast Art Walks are on the first Friday of the month from June to December and every Friday night in July and August.
 
The Belfast Art Walks are made possible by the generous support of Bangor Savings Bank and Bluestreak.
Patrick and Victor Plourde's ECo-Motion piece, made of bicycle parts, will soon be installed in downtown Belfast
Patrick and Victor Plourde's ECo-Motion piece, made of bicycle parts, will soon be installed in downtown Belfast
ECo-Motion Returns to the Streets June 4

Belfast's downtown will soon be graced with this year's edition of ECo-Motion interactive street sculptures. The new sculptures will be unveiled with a downtown street-side public reception on Friday, June 4 from 5 to 7 pm.
 
ECo-Motion grew from earlier projects placed in the downtown area. Interactive sculptures made by local artists on the sidewalks engaged pedestrians young and old, and added to the enjoyment of visiting Belfast. Waterfall Arts now oversees the project with support from the City of Belfast, Belfast Area Chamber of Commerce, Our Town Belfast and business sponsor Eastern Tire and Auto Service in Rockland. This year's sculptures are made from recycled bicycles (or their parts), to encourage physical activity and inter-activity, as well as to promote exciting art and design.
 
In a juried process, artists and designers submitted proposals earlier this year and were selected by a committee in terms of creativity, originality and family-friendly public viewing. New installations include work by Christine Dentremont, Cy Klausmeyer, Paul and Owen Cartwright, Mike Hurley and Patrick and Vincent Plourde. Maps of the street sculpture locations will be available at the reception and throughout the summer.
 
For more information, call Waterfall Arts at 207-338-2222.
Works by the eight Aarhus Gallery partners
Works by the eight Aarhus Gallery partners
Aarhus Gallery Celebrates Its Third Anniversary

Triptychs, trilogies and hat tricks! Aarhus Gallery is celebrating its threeness and all are invited to share in the merrymaking and triplicity with an opening reception for their third anniversary show. With many thanks and warm regards to the community, friends, supporters and visitors, the eight Aarhus partners humbly request the public to join them, Friday evening June 4 from 5-8 pm, to meet the two new partners Ingrid and Abbie, see new work, have refreshments, crackers and cheese, and try Mark Kelly's famous hummus. Meet and converse with local artists, writers, actors, musicians, poets, art appreciators and a whole bunch of normal people too! All are welcome, in triplicate.
 
The show runs from June 2-27 and features artwork by Aarhus partners: Ingrid
Ellison, Annadeene K. Fowler, Kevin Johnson, Mark Kelly, Richard Mann, Abbie Read, Wesley Reddick and Willy Reddick.
 
Aarhus Gallery, 50 Main St., Belfast, will resume summer hours with this show starting June 2, and will be open daily 10 am-6 pm. For more information, call 2007-338-0001.
Stack Island, oil painting, 20 x 20 inches, by Sheep Jones
Stack Island, oil painting, 20 x 20 inches, by Sheep Jones
Coastal Islands Show at High Street Studio and Gallery

High Street Studio and Gallery opens the season with new work by Susan Tobey White, Sheep Jones and Julie Cyr.
 
Susan, Sheep and Julie have all created work centering around the theme of Coastal Islands.
 
Opening reception Friday, June 4, from 5-8 pm. June hours: Monday-Friday 10 am-5 pm, Saturday 10 am-4 pm, Sunday by chance or appointment.
Violin Compositions by Martha Briana
Violin Compositions by Martha Briana
Belfast Co-op June Schedule

June 1, Member Super Sale Day
Belfast Co-op members, mark your calendar and save 10% on Tuesday, June 1! To thank our valued members the Belfast Co-op will now be holding Member Super Sale Day four times a year. Members receive a storewide 10% discount the first of March, June, September and December. (Periodicals, alcohol and cigarettes are not discount-eligible.)
 
Wine Tasting and Art Opening
Friday, June 4, 7-9 pm in the Belfast Co-op Cafe: Our free monthly Wine Tastings consist of a sampling of highlighted wines for the season along with our gourmet cheeses and crackers. A local wine distributor and the Co-op's wine manager, Ron Porier, will be available to answer your questions. You must be 21 or older to attend.
 
Violin Compositions by Martha Briana
"The process I use to make the woodcuts is a reductive method," says artist Martha Briana, "meaning I carve the wood multiple times to achieve different colors. Thus I am left with a limited edition, because the block has been progressively altered. I print them all by hand, without a press, and usually make small editions of eight, a few more, if I'm not bored with my image yet." Violin Compositions will be shown at the Co-op June 1-29.
 
Third Thursday Donation Day
On June 17, 1% of sales at the Belfast Co-op will be donated to Tanglewood 4-H Camp and Learning Center.
 
Herbal Medicine Making Workshop
Thursday, June 17, 6-7:30 pm, at the Belfast Co-op: Join herbalists Gretchen Heilman Piper, MS, CHHC of Alive and Awake Healing Arts, and Lauren Buyofsky, MS, of the Newforest Institute for a fun, hands-on approach to putting medicinal herbs to good use!
 
Gretchen earned her Master's of Science in herbal medicine from the Tai Sophia Institute for the Healing Arts in Laurel, Maryland, the first and only Master's level program of its kind in the United States. The program combines traditional knowledge, scientific understanding of modern phytopharmacy, clinical experience in formulation and being a healing presence. She studied with leading herbalists such as Aviva Romm, Isla Burgess and Jim Duke, and loves connecting people with plants and sharing the wisdom of nutrition, herbal medicine and healthy lifestyle.
 
An herbalist and Reiki practitioner, Lauren is also a permaculture gardener and designer with Conscious Elements Permaculture and the Newforest Institute in Brooks. Through her gardening and creation of integrated, ecological designs, Lauren works toward reweaving the ancient interconnection of humans and plants. She holds herbal classes and plant walks throughout the year, and will offer herbal teas and products through the Conscious Elements Permaculture CSA and Delmont's Farm Stand in Brooks.
 
Culinary and Medicinal Herb Walk
Wednesday, June 23, 6:30-8 pm: View beautiful and useful herb gardens with local herbalist Bindy Pendleton at her home in East Belfast. Bindy, owner of East Side Herbs, will give us a tour of her extensive gardens, which include over sixty different herbs, from medicinal herbs that are traditionally wild harvested to those cultivated for use in the kitchen. The herb plants are intermingled with cottage perennials. As we tour the gardens she will point out favorites and comment on use as well as cultivation. After touring the gardens we'll gather on the porch overlooking the harbor and enjoy some refreshing herbal tea and discussion. Be sure to dress for outdoor evening weather and prepare for bugs. Carpooling from the Belfast Co-op to East Belfast is available. Please pre-register for the walk at the Co-op. Space is limited.
 
For information about events call Fran Clemetson at 207-338-2532 or email her at [email protected].