We stock generic fabric labels for the inside of garments, such as "Made with Love by Your Favorite Aunt." However, people often ask us where to get customized fabric labels. We're passing along the Web site we know of, Namemaker.

We have been told by customers that the Berroco Web site has some great videos on techniques, such as sewing seams. We haven't checked them out fully yet, but here's a convenient link to Berroco's how-to video collection. For example, many customers have asked us about putting zippers in knitted garments, so have a look at Installing a Zipper.

Knitting lace is not difficult, but it does require close attention. As such, it is a perfect vehicle to explore knitting as meditation. Suggested donation for this workshop is $30.00. Beginners with basic skills are welcome.

  

Julie Rose will be teaching this workshop at the Treetop Zen Center in Oakland, Maine on Saturday, April 23 from 1-4 pm. Please visit their blog for more information about the workshop and the Center, or call Julie at 207-505-5839.

When the warm weather gets here and you want to take a drive, consider stopping at Good Karma Farm (just featured in Knitter's Review!), 1.5 miles out of downtown Belfast, where owners Amy and Jim Grant are very welcoming! They'll happily show off their alpacas, and they have great homemade soaps and wonderful yarns.

On Saturday, April 23 and Sunday, April 24, Earth Day activities will include spinning demonstrations, a felting display, a shearing display, information on how to make your own compost tea, free compost guided tours, a new membership reward card, the gift store and cria name idea submissions (the farm is expecting six babies soon, help name them). This Earth Day event will be combined with their Pre-Shearing Viewing event. This is one of the last opportunities you will have to visit with the alpacas before they are shorn. Come view their garden of fiber before harvest. Weather permitting, there will be booths from Maine Alpaca Association and Alpaca Center of New England.
 
Free Guided Tours
Enjoy an educational and enjoyable tour of Northern Solstice Alpaca Farm. Handicapped- and wheelchair-accessible. Remember to bring your camera! 
 
Compost and Compost Tea
Bring a bucket or heavy-duty (contractor's) trash bag and they will fill it with some alpaca compost. There will be a demonstration showing you how to turn your compost into compost tea. Compost tea is a nutrient-filled liquid fertilizer for your plants. Compost tea is great for use on indoor house plants.
 
Spinning Demonstrations
Spinning wheels will be set up in the gift store (or outside if weather permits). Sign-up sheets for the Friends and Fiber group will be available. Join them monthly for a fun evening of spinning, knitting and other fiber arts.
 
Cria Name Ideas
Six cria (babies) are expected between May 4 and September 30. With that many cria due, your help is needed to name them. A box will be available where you can submit your name ideas.
 
Shearing   
Many  people wish to visit the farm on shearing day, May 14. With the safety of their animals and visitors in mind, they have decided to close the farm for that date. Your safety and that of the alpacas is of utmost importance to them. The farm prides itself on being an educational learning center for those interested in alpacas, and would never turn down an opportunity to educate others, especially about one of the most important days of their year, shearing day. Old and new shearing tools will be displayed in the barn, video and pictures from past shearing days will be shown, and farm staff will be available to answer your questions. This is one of your last opportunities to view the alpacas before they are shorn.
 
Felting Display
There will be a display of felted items set up. Felting is one of the many different techniques used to turn alpaca fiber into beautiful end products. This is a simple technique that you can learn to do yourself at home. Felting can be used to make toys, bags, scarves, hats, mittens and more.
 
New Customer Reward Card
The new business cards will be ready in time for the Earth Day event. On the back of the new cards is a customer reward program. Get your card and begin saving now.

Gift Store 
The gift store will be open, and they will be debuting their new paperless credit card machine. This new machine offers a lot of flexibility. The farm is no longer limited to accepting only Visa or MasterCard. Now your receipt can be sent to your e-mail or your phone. (Paper receipts are still available upon request.)

Contact information: Visit Northern Solstice Alpaca Farm, e-mail [email protected], phone 207-948-3828.

Since time immemorial man has struggled with life's great questions: Why am I here? What is my purpose? Chocolate or vanilla? Although they can't help with the first two, the third is right up their alley.

  

Drop by and try their local Stone Fox Farm Creamery ice cream with over fourteen flavors, as well as special concoctions from the classic banana split to their cappuccino sundae to their Maine sundae with real maple syrup! Great ice cream, fresh Green Mountain coffee, art and good music, what's not to like?

  

The Cool Spot is located at 35 Main St. in Belfast (formerly Scoops).

Please join Aarhus Gallery on Friday, April 1 from 5 to 8 pm for the opening reception of Stuck: Collage, Montage, Decoupage, Assemblage, which will run through May 1. They're sure you'll be stuck on it. Aarhus Gallery fixes to mount a riveting and fasten-ating collection of creations from a gaggle of Maine artists who happen to adhere to working with ... glue, or any other clever way of attaching, layering, "stratumizing" or plain old fitting things together.

  

Featured artists will include Vincent Abaldo, Daniel Anselmi, Dan Beckman, Michael Buckley, Nancy Buckley, Peter Chamberlain, Constance Cossette, Maryjean Crowe, Dan Dowd, Ingrid Ellison, Stew Henderson, Mark Kelly, Karen MacDonald, Peter Madden, Richard Mann, Harvey Peterson, Ben Potter, Abbie Read, Wesley Reddick, Willy Reddick, Ieva Tatarsky, Norman Tinker, Frank Turek and Walter Ungerer.

A new exhibit, Design for the Stage: The Scenic Art of John E. Bielenberg, will open at Waterfall Art's Clifford Gallery on Friday, April 1, with a public reception from 5 to 7 pm. The exhibit will continue through Friday, April 29.

  

John Bielenberg has degrees from Carroll College, Northwestern University and Ohio State University (Ph.D.), all in theater. He taught at Eastern Illinois University before beginning his long association with the State University of New York at Binghamton, now Binghamton University. He was chairman of the theater department there from 1976 to 1992, during which time he founded the Cider Mill Playhouse in Endicott, New York, and served as its producing director for sixteen years. The Playhouse is still flourishing more than thirty years later. Though principally a scenic designer, with more than two hundred productions to his credit, he has also enjoyed numerous acting and directing opportunities, including an eighteen-season run as Ebenezer Scrooge in the Cider Mill's annual presentation of his adaptation of A Christmas Carol. He is a professor emeritus at Binghamton University and lives in Belfast.

  

Bielenberg writes that "A scene design exhibit is, first and foremost, an opportunity to view some 'lost art,' for stage settings are nearly as ephemeral as the performances they enhance. With the notable exception of sets created for long-run, commercial 'hits,' most scenery is destroyed within a few weeks after completion. Though this is an accepted reality for designers working in theater, considering the amount of creative energy, time and money expended, it is, nevertheless, an unfortunate reality. Production photos, while not the form in which the original designs were meant to be experienced, do provide us with the means to recapture a bit of the original 'stage magic.'"

  

In conjunction with the exhibit, Bielenberg will give a talk on designing for the stage and show examples of his work on Tuesday, April 29, beginning at 7 pm. The talk is free, but donations to Waterfall Arts are always welcome.

  

Clifford Gallery hours are 10 am to 5 pm Tuesday through Friday and by appointment; to arrange, call 207-338-2222. Waterfall Arts is located at 256 High St. in Belfast. For more information, visit Waterfall Arts.

April 1, 6:30 pm: Community Dance with Chrissy Fowler and The All-Comers Band (If you play an instrument, bring it and play along!) 8 pm: Contra dance. Caller: Chrissy Fowler. Location: American Legion Post #43, 143 Church St., Belfast.

  

Perpetual e-Motion
Ed Howe of Whitefield, Maine, on fiddle; John Cote of Lewiston, Maine, on guitar, didgeridoo, foot percussion. Captivating, passionate, propulsive and progressive are what best define the music of this power duo, perched at the convergence of traditional and electronic dance music. Perpetual e-Motion integrates technical and sonic innovations with old-school traditions to create an enormous sound, full momentum and groove. Lauded as a two-man orchestra, this duo continues to innovate the art of traditional dance music through their use of sound sculpting and multitasking, captivating listeners and dancers with their infectious and unique sound.
 
The Kitchen Hounds                      
Saturday, April 2: Contra-Grooving for Earth Improving: Chrissy Fowler calling with music by The Kitchen Hounds. Contra and community dance will be held at the Wave Cafe at the Camden Hills Regional High School, Route 90, in Rockport. 6:30 pm: Community dance with the All-Comers band (bring your instrument and join in the band!) ($2.00/1.00 children). 7:45-10 pm: Contras ($6.00). The dance is a fundraising event for the school's Earth Vision group. Everyone is welcome! Families are encouraged to attend. Refreshments will be available. For more information, call 207-322-6273 or e-mail [email protected].

  

Wild Asparagus 
Wild Asparagus is doing a special contra dance at the Belfast American Legion Hall on Saturday, April 9. There will be an introductory session at 7:30 pm and dancing at 8 pm. Admission is $10.00, $8.00 for students and seniors. George Marshall is calling and playing concertina and bodhran; Becky Tracy on fiddle; David Cantieni on winds; Ann Percival on guitar, uke and piano; and Mark Murphy on bass.

Featured Artist for April
LocalrootZ: Luke (better known as "Lukaduke") Fuller's paintings are tied to the land in which he lives; from the garden to the kitchen to the studio, there's a connection with the natural world. Visit Lukaduke's Web site and his local eating blog.

  

Rebel Hill Farm Native Plant Sale
Through the Belfast Co-op: Native plant catalogs available at the Co-op (print and online at Belfast Co-op Store). The plants we choose to grow matter a lot to wildlife and the surrounding natural areas. Julie and Peter Beckford of Rebel Hill Farm in Clifton, Maine, have raised MOFGA-certified organic, field-grown native perennials for over twenty years. Pre-ordered (by May 1), pre-paid plants will be delivered May 14 to the Belfast Co-op.

  

Common Ground Radio: April 1
10-11 am (first Friday of month): Live and call-in radio program with MOFGA on WERU at 89.9 FM.
 
Living Downstream documentary film screening: April 4
Monday, 7 pm, Colonial Theatre, 163 High St. in downtown Belfast, a special one-time screening of Living Downstream, an eloquent feature-length documentary that charts the life and work of biologist, author, cancer survivor and cancer-prevention advocate Sandra Steingraber, Ph.D. There is a $5.00 suggested donation.

  

Grow Your Own Organic Garden: April 5
Tuesday, 6 pm, Belfast Free Library: A free workshop with C.J. Walke of MOFGA will cover the basics of soil science and ways to enrich your soil to produce healthy, high-yielding plants. He'll also cover the basics of making and using compost, the principles of crop rotation, and how to incorporate green manures and manage nutrients in the garden. Other topics include how to tell the difference between cultivated plants and weeds, basic weed-control strategies, common insect pests and methods of natural insect control. Co-sponsored by the Belfast Co-op, the Belfast Free Library and MOFGA.
 
The Town That Food Saved, author Ben Hewitt: April 7
Thursday, 7 pm, Colonial Theatre: Free and open to the public, admission first come first served. Bill McKibben, author of Deep Economy, said of Hewitt's book, "This is a smart and lovely book about a smart and lovely experiment. If there is any town in America that points the way towards a workable future, it's Hardwick, Vermont. But don't move there -- read the book so you can make it happen in your place too." The Belfast Co-op is one of many co-sponsors. For more info, visit Belfast by Design.

  

26th Annual Family Wellness Fair: April 9
Saturday, 10 am-1 pm, Troy Howard Middle School: The Belfast Co-op will once again be sharing free food samples and healthy lifestyle information at this free health fair, sponsored by Waldo County General Hospital.

  

Community Book Read, The Town That Food Saved, Discussion: April 14
Thursday, 6:30 pm, Belfast Free Library: Free and open to the public. The Town That Food Saved, published by Rodale in 2010, tells the story of a rural, working-class Vermont community that is attempting to revitalize itself by creating a localized food system. The library has ten copies available for one-week loan. Copies may be purchased through the Belfast Mr. Paperback at Reny's Plaza, or ordered online at Mr. Paperback.

  

Maine Beer Tasting: April 15
Friday, 7-9 pm: Featuring Maine microbreweries, local cheeses from Sonnental Dairy, breads and homemade bratwurst. Scott Oliver of Pine State Beverage and the Co-op's beer and wine manager, Ron Poirier, will be available to answer your questions. You must be 21 or older to attend.

  

Farm Tours: April 16
Saturday, 9:30 am-2 pm, transportation provided from the Belfast Co-op, $10.00 pre-registration, limited seating. Pre-register at any register at the Co-op. Bring your own lunch or buy one from the Deli. Visits to Roots 'n' Shoots Farm in Montville and Village Farm in Freedom, the Co-op's two seedling suppliers. Seedlings available for sale as well as greens and eggs at Village Farm. Both growers are MOFGA-certified organic.

  

Vanishing of the Bees film screening: April 19
Tuesday, 6:30 pm, Belfast Free Library: Free and open to all. Filmed across the US, and in Europe, Australia and Asia, this documentary examines the alarming disappearance of honeybees and the greater meaning it holds about the relationship between mankind and Mother Earth. For more information, visit Vanishing of the Bees. Co-sponsored by the Belfast Co-op and the Belfast Free Library.

  

3rd Thursday Donation Day: April 21
1% of sales donated to Coastal Mountains Land Trust, permanently conserving land to benefit the natural and human communities of western Penobscot Bay. For more information, visit Coastal Mountains Land Trust.

  

Easter Sunday: April 21
Belfast Co-op is closed.

  

Belfast Free Range Music Festival: April 30
Saturday: The Belfast Co-op is a contributing sponsor to the Belfast Free Range Music Festival.

Looking for more things to do? The Maine Coast Welcome Center features a 2011 calendar of Belfast events.