| Shop Hours | |
Wed/Thurs 10 to 7
Saturday 10 to 4
Sunday 12 to 4
EXCEPT: Closing at 5 on Wednesdays from mid- June until after Labor Day.
Closed: Easter Sunday Memorial Day - 2 days July 1 through 4 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, includes loom rental.
Rigid Heddle Help
First Saturday from 1 to 4. $20. Resumes in October.
Spinning Help
Second Saturday from 10 to noon, $15. Reservations requested by Thursday. Please tell us what you'd like help with when you make reservations so we can be prepared.
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.
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.
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. The coupon may only be used once. 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! Things will be getting back to normal around here after this holiday weekend. The shop will be open on Wednesdays til 7:00, Jae will be hosting Knitting Help on Wednesday evenings, Spinning Help and the Heritage Spinning group resume on the 2nd Saturday of September and, lo and behold, the construction is coming to an end. The village has scheduled a celebration on September 15 to officially signal the conclusion of our beautification project. I must admit, we've all been very patient. Yesterday they paved the final layers in front of the store, last week we got a tree and the final bricks in front of the store. Once everything settles in and doesn't look quite so NEW, I know it will be quite beautiful and worth the trouble! SALE, SALE, SALE I promised you a sale when the construction was complete. Mark Saturday, October 1st on your calendar -- everything will be on sale and some special items will be available at good prices so that the new yarns have a place to live! The LAST construction coupon (truly!) is at the end of the newsletter. |
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The rest of the story | |
We have some relatively new products in the shop about which I think you'll enjoy hearing "the rest of the story." Several years ago, before the recession (or whatever you want to call it) you may remember Gina Sheehan working at Heritage. When things started going south (as they say), Gina's husband took a job out of state and they packed up their family and moved (close) to Beverly. The San Diego area actually. We keep up with Gina via her visits here and Facebook, but miss her capable and cheerful presence on Wednesdays.
Gina comes from a very close knit family (no pun intended!). Her mom is a knitter, as is her aunt. Her dad, Jack, is not a knitter. He's a woodworker. First spoons and cutting boards, now shawl pins and -- exclusively at Heritage -- belt shuttles. When he first brought the shawl pins to me to see, we had a good talk and I couldn't help but buying some of his gorgeous pins. When I was in high school, I took wood shop and builder's trades classes and loved them both. I learned about woods and what make a good finish and what doesn't. Let me tell you, Jack is one of the best finish woodworkers I have ever seen. His pieces are silky smooth, even sensuous to the touch.
I have had a couple projects for a hobby woodworker stuck in my head for a while (my dad can only do so much wood working for me!). The first being belt shuttles and the second being spindles. Turns out, Jack is not a wood turner, so the spindles aren't a project for him, but belt shuttles, yes, he could do that!
Talking to Jack is a bit like talking to my dad. Jack retired from the automotive engineering world and my dad retired from teaching kids about fixing engines. At Easter, my dad and I worked out the design for a loom dedicated to card weaving. We both had such a great time thinking it through together. I'm doing the same kind of brainstorming with Jack. The other day Jack called me and asked,"What about these niddy noddies?" So, we discussed how they work, what features are critical, and how he could make them without turning wood. A day later he sent me a photo of his prototype. Fast, too!
While, we don't know yet if niddy noddies are economically viable, we do have Jack's belt shuttles (and a few stick shuttles) in stock as well as plenty of beautiful shawl pins. Come touch and see. Become part of the story.
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Almost | |
The yarn pictured above is an early sample of Shepherd's Wool dk. It is everything I dreamed of. Here's what you need to know:
- it is perfect for cables because it is very round
- because it has so much twist, the tendency to pill is greatly reduced
- it will be available in the 20 colors
- even though it has high twist, it feels "soft" and it is definitely heavenly to knit with
- even with it has many plies, this yarn is not "splitty"
- it's in production and not in stock yet ... but soon!
As a reminder, it is not superwash, so it must be hand-laundered (we recommend SOAK or Eucalan). Also, because there is so much labor going into spinning the five plies, it costs a bit more per ounce than their worsted weight yarn (which only has three plies) but it is priced comparable to yarns of similar construction.
This yarn has been several years in the making and I'm pleased to say we've been part of the process lending assistance to color selection for the dk weight (and recommending new colors, too) and test knitting. We will also be the first shop anywhere to get the yarn. As soon as it hits the shop, I'll let you know. |
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New in the shop | |
Kauni
This may look like dredlocks gone crazy, but it isn't. It is the sample set (washed) that accompanies the new Kauni yarn. I like it because it is a perfect mate to our Jamieson shetland yarn. Kauni comes to us from Denmark. Pop over to their website (click on the British flag to see the site in English) and check out the fabulous FREE patterns.
Blue Ridge Yarns
We started stocking their beautiful hand-dyed sock yarn last winter. The other day we got in our recent order of Footprints (300 yards of variegated handpainted yarn and 100 yards of a solid matching yarn) and Cotton Candy, a lovely painted cotton. The photo is of Footprints. Here's a link to their website.And here's the page with their free patterns.
Knit Picks Needles and Notions
Our first order of Knit Picks sold out so quickly, we've already reordered. This time I added their acrylic interchangeable needles as many of you had requested them. Their price point is certainly attractive and the needles feel good in your hands. |
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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.
Knitting Boot Camp
Is it time to give your knitting skills a boost? Knitting Boot Camp is designed to do just that. We have had many knitters take this class -- including folks who recently learned to knit, knitters of 40 years, knitting shop owners, and most of the Heritage staff. There's something in it for everybody and, I promise, you will not have to do any push ups (but you will knit a lot of swatches to cement what you learn in class). The class that was slated to begin 9/22 has being pushed back to a start date of 10/6 to allow more people can register.
Fall Schedule Stroll over to the classes section of our webpage and see what catches your eye. We've got some very interesting classes coming up. Click here. Also, take a peak at the recurring classes in the sidebar at left.
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): 10/9
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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Off to college
 We deposited Mariah at college on Wednesday last week. Yesterday was her first day of classes. While she doesn't think it is quite so much like summer camp as "Lakerpaloosa" week was, she is still loving it. Over the weekend she announced that it was getting cold at night (yes, it does that in Sault Ste. Marie!) and she needed winter woollies. She wants a knitted and felted hat that is "sorta like a flapper cap" so I have worked my swatch, made my calculations and written a pattern for it. Hopefully my math and intuition are on-target and I'll only have to knit it once! She also wants a pair of mittens with a Swedish rose motif on them. After swatching for them, I think I'm going to be on 0 or 00 needles. Oi vey. Did I mention that she wants a really purply purple. Shepherd's Wool Fingering weight to the dyepot today! What we do for our kids!
Joan Sheridan
Heritage Spinning & Weaving |
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