| Shop Hours | |
Wed/Thurs 10 to 7
Saturday 10 to 4
Sunday 12 to 4
EXCEPT: Closing at 5 on Wednesdays from June 22 until after Labor Day.
Closed: Easter Memorial Day - 2 days 3rd and 4th of July Labor Day - 2 days Thanksgiving Day Christmas Day
Closing early: Thanksgiving Eve - 5 pm |
| Standing Activities & Classes | |
Fair Isle Friends
2nd Sunday of each month from October through May from 12 to 2. All are invited, $10 per visit. NOTE: this is not a time to learn to knit in the Fair Isle style. This is a time to bring questions on your FI project, discuss color, and set goals.
Social Spinning
Second Saturday from 1 to 3, September through June.
Weaving Assistance
Open weaving every Monday from 6 to 9. $20/week
On hiatus until September.
Rigid Heddle Help
First Saturday from 1 to 4. $20. No classes in July or September.
Spinning Help
Second Saturday from 10 to noon. Same fee as Knitting Help (below) - you may mix and match knitting and spinning on a Knitting Help card. Reservations requested by Thursday. Please tell us what you'd like help with when you make reservations so we can be prepared. No class in July or August.
Knitting Help
Tues. from 11 to 1
Wednesday from 7:00 to 8:30 pm
Thursday from 1 to 3
Friday from 10 to Noon.
$10 per session/$6 for $50.
NOTE: No Knitting Help on Wednesday's starting 6/22 and ending 9/15.
Sock Support With reservation at least one day in advance: 1st and 3rd Mondays from 5 to 6:30. $10 a session or 6 sessions for $50.
Crochet Help By reservation during Knitting Help times. Knit with Suzanne Thursday evening, 7 to 9. $15/wk. Returns in September.
Sit & Knit
These are social knitting times - no help is provided, no fee. Wed. morn 10 to 12. Friday eve 7 to 9
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| Be a Smart Sheep: Our Customer Appreciation Program |
Here's how it works: For every $350 in fiber purchases (yarn, coned yarn, spinning fiber) you will receive a coupon good for 60 days for $25 off your next purchase. The coupon may be redeemed against ANY purchase - equipment, classes, needles, whatever. Further, each time you redeem a coupon you will be entered in an annual drawing to receive a really nice prize -- this year a set of four dish towels, handwoven by Clara and designed by Joan. The annual drawing will be held at our New Year's Day Party. Each time you make a fiber purchase your rewards status will print on your receipt. |
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Greetings! 
Hard to believe, but "our" Becca was married earlier this month. She married her best friend of the last four years, Jimmy Green. The pair have been attending college night and working by day as urban farmer's at a large garden plot in Detroit. They are joined by a menagerie of critters at their Lake Orion home -- everything from a four-eyed lemur to a miniature cow! True to her nature, Becca made her wedding dress from fabric she wove. With only a tiny bit of help from her mom and her Heritage "godmothers," she made the dress she pictured in her head come true. For the weavers: her skirt was woven in plain weave using SWTC Xie bamboo on a cotton warp. The pique bodice has a cotton warp and linen weft. In total, she wove nearly 10 yards of fabric, taking the second piece off the loom just days before the wedding! Very soon we will have the dress on display in the shop.  
You are invited! On Sunday, August 7, from 3 to 5 in the afternoon, we are having an after-the-wedding party for Becca and Jimmy at the shop. Do stop in and help us wish them well. Bring your knitting and sit and visit and enjoy some munchies and cake.  For the future good!
Summer is here with all its glory. Of course, we know here in Michigan that "summer" is just another word for "construction" season. I am pleased to report that things are moving along nicely in our downtown construction project -- we've enjoyed street traffic in front of the shop since the Fourth of July! There are still things to be done, but each day we are seeing progress. Yesterday they planted trees at the center of town and they are big and beautiful. In a few years the pain of construction will be long gone and the trees will leaf out and everthing will have settled down so that can enjoy having a "walkable" downtown. The photo at right shows that when handed lemons, we know how to make lemonade! With the tree we used to hang yarn on to dry now gone, we had to substitute. Remember, every time you make a purchase, you are entered to win one of three prizes that will be awarded when the construction is over: a pair of vintage linen towels with absolutely gorgeous (modern) lace edging or one of two $25 gift certificates. And, yes, when the construction is over, we will have our regular summer sale. Promise! The LAST construction coupon is at the end of the newsletter. |
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Knitting trip anyone? | |
 | | This is our newest Norwegian yarn. Machine washable and very soft, 100% wool. I made a cap from the pattern book pictured for my new granddaughter and it was a pleasure to knit with. The hat was a hit, too! |
Over the last few years I have gotten to know and love Arnhild, of Arnhild's Knitting Studio in Ames, Iowa. Arnhild was born in Norway and lived there until the mid-80's when she married an American. She has strong ties to Norway as her three children and many grandchildren still live there. She also imports traditional Norwegian knitting yarns acting as the US distributor for Rauma. We've carried the Rauma yarns for several years, recently adding laceweight and machine washable baby yarn (pictured above).  Arnhild and I both taught at Midwest Fiber and Folk in Illinois in June and she told me about a wonderful trip she is putting together. From June 22 to July 7, 2012, she will lead a group around Norway, starting in the north, where she is from, and ending up in the south. Travel is by ship and tour bus. While, the trip isn't only for knitters, it does include a trip to Rauma and a meet-up with Annemor Sundbø, who has written books that include one about finding a treasure trove of Setestal sweaters in a rag pile. If this all sounds interesting to you, pop over to her website and read more. Interesting tidbit: the third largest city in Norway has just 17,000 people living there! |
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New in the shop | |
Kits, kits, kits!
Here are two of the kits that will be put out for sale before the week is over. The top kit includes everything you need to knit your choice of one of three different edgings, except the needles. Edgings are a "safe" way to try your hand at lace because the repeats are small and you only have to keep track of a few stitches. These patterns, like all our lace patterns, includes both charted and written directions. The friendship bracelet kit was created by Desi and includes complete directions and enough yarn to make both bracelets pictured. A great craft for traveling. In addition to these, we will have five new scarf kits that use our handpainted Bloomfield and are perfect for Christmas giving.
Handpainted Sock Yarn
This is just one of the batches of sock yarn we created in our most recent dye room adventures. Sock yarn that makes you smile: I like that!
Knit Picks Needles and Notions
You are probably already familiar with Knit Picks products. They are good quality knitting items at fair prices. In addition to their colorful Harmony interchangeable needle sets, we just got in their yarn winders, blocking boards (interlocking, sold separately - buy 1 or a dozen), and several other notions. One of the things that came in was a "try me" set of three interchangeable needles in three different sizes and three different materials: wood, polished nickle and clear acrylic. For just $20-ish you can try each type of needle and see which you like best. |
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Class hours and a great coupon coming | |
Just want to make sure you know that we are taking a little break in the class department for the rest of the summer. Be sure to check the summer schedule AT LEFT. Speaking of classes. We are teaming with Groupon to bring you a really great coupon that should run in the next week or two. If you aren't already one of the 600,000 people in our area receiving their coupons, you'll want to pop over and register today. Click here for a direct link. |
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The world market and yarn prices | |
The word on the street and the trading room floor is that there is a worldwide shortage of sheep due to several years of drought and there are fewer sheep in Australia and New Zealand than at anytime in the last 50 years. In the US, farmers have turned to other animals and crops because sheep are expensive to raise. At the end of WWII there 64 million sheep in our country. Today? Only 6 million. Now, it has hit home. We have received price changes from almost all our suppliers. For some, the raw cost of wool has increased by almost half. I think it is important that you know WHY prices are going up. I found this article interesting: http://tinyurl.com/3m3y8kx. And, if that isn't enough, cotton prices are up as well. According to the powers that be, it will be at least two years before supply is once again able to meet demand. Here's an interesting article from the NY Times on this topic: http://tinyurl.com/2g37bq4.
Like they say on TV, an educated consumer is our best customer! I think it helps to understand WHY.
I also know that I've never seen a knit or woven garment that had the quality feel of the good yarns we enjoy in todays modern LYS. To me, it is worth a bit more to work with a yarn that has the ability to outlast me and become a family heirloom.
Here are a few ideas for dealing positively with rising fiber costs: - Make garments that are timeless.
- Try your hand at more difficult projects so that you can be really proud of it in the end (see timeless above).
- Yarn is sold by the pound. The finer the thread/yarn you select, the less expensive the finished product.
- Knit lace - it uses less yarn per square inch than cables or even stockinette and the holes actually add warmth to most pieces.
- Knit socks. Small needles, many beautiful patterns.
- Treat yourself. Just think: a sweater's worth of yarn is still less expensive than an hour with a psychiatrist!
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Classes | |
Click on the class calendar on the class page on our website and see what is starting and what is already underway or ongoing.
 Fall ScheduleMany fall classes have been listed on the website, including Knitting Bootcamp, Spinning for Fair Isle Knitting, Fiber Explorers, topical weaving classes and more. Do stroll over to the classes section of our webpage and see what catches your interest. Click here.
Our Next Learn to . . . classes start on:
Learn to Crochet: Private lessons, please call.
Learn to Knit: 10/3 or come to any of our Knitting Help times and learn NOW!
Learn to Tat: 9/22
Learn to Spin: 9/17
Learn to Weave on the Rigid Heddle (one day class): 8/13
Learn to Weave: Open Weaving on Monday evenings resumes in September OR Learn to Weave in a weekend 7/29 - 31 Details on all of these classes and more on our website.
Private Lessons: If you want to learn NOW, you can. Private lessons are offered in any topic for which we possess the skill. Our in-shop rate is $25 to $30/hour, depending on the instructor. House calls are $50/hr plus mileage. |
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Heritage on the road
My classes on the road
Do you vacation "up north"? I'll be teaching next Monday and Tuesday in Petoskey at Cynthias, Too. If you are up north and tired of golfing, come knit with us! Check her website for my classes at the end of August, too.
The sandwich generation
This summer has not been anything like I'd planned, which explains this very late newsletter.
In May, Pete's mother came to live with us. Reva is a huge Tiger fan and a knitter (and has known me since I was five years old). We've been busy getting her settled in with new doctors and getting her health care situated, no small task. I've also been teaching her how to use the iPad. Now she checks her FaceBook page, looks up the weather, checks my calendar for her doctor appointments (thanks to Mobile Me), and knows how to surf the web. I hope at 85 that I'm still learning like she is. I never expected to be providing "eldercare" -- I always figured that my siblings would provide that in our family. Just shows you how short-sighted one can be! I also must say that we are all dealing with our new household quite well.
Now to get that kid off to college . . .
Joan Sheridan
Heritage Spinning & Weaving |
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