In the Shop

More Shelves! More Yarn!

Those of you who’ve been in the shop in the last week or two will have noticed the new shelves in the front room. In my never-ending quest to get more yarn into my little shop, I’ve invested in two shelving units that are now safely bolted to the wall.

New Yarns

Latest update: A few more things have showed up in the shop recently:

• I have six more colors of Noro Kureyon sock yarn.
• I’m now stocked up to size 8 in the 40” Addi Turbo needles.
• There are new colors in the Silky Wool and in the Baby Alpaca Chunky.
• For spinners, I’m stocked up on Merino/Tussah Silk top and I’ve just gotten a shipment of the Skacel multicolored roving.
• I’m ordering another Schacht Ladybug wheel in case anyone would like to try it out. I had one in the shop very briefly before it was bought. I have to say, I’m very charmed by this wheel.

From Louisa Harding, I have Grace Silk & Wool and Kashmir DK.

• Grace is just what it sounds like: a gorgeous silk-and-merino blend that has great shine and softness. It has 100m/50g per skein and knits at around 5-1⁄2 sts/inch.
• Kashmir DK is a super-luxurious baby yarn. It has merino, microfiber and cashmere, 105m/50g, knits at 5-1⁄2 sts/inch and is machine washable. I also have a great book of baby patterns to go with it.

Another new line I’ve brought in is JoJoLand. These yarns change colors in much the same way that the Trekking yarns do. They do this by changing the color of one ply at a time, so that they shade beautifully from one color to the next. I have

• Rhythm, which is their worsted-weight yarn at 100m/50g,
• Melody, their fingering-weight superwash, 200m/50g, and
• Harmony, their lace-weight which has an astounding 800m/50g. All these yarns are really beautiful and different.

From Arucania, I’ve added Nature Wool. This is the worsted-weight version of the Ranco sock yarn that is so popular, and comes in a lot of the same colorways.

I have another new yarn by Gjestal named Bris. This is a beautiful wool-and-soy-silk blend that has great softness and shine and comes in both solid and variegated colors.

For the sock yarn lovers out there (you know who you are), I have four new sock yarns!

• The first is Step by Austermann. This yarn has aloe and jojoba and is supposed to soften skin and be antibacterial as well. I can’t wait to try it!
• From Trekking, I have Hand Art. It is the same Trekking yarn, but hand-dyed in dramatic colors.
• Also new is Online’s Supersocke Silk. This is a super-soft yarn for the most sensitive of feet. People are always looking for solids, so I have this yarn in black, brown, olive, navy and white. It is a great option for those who just aren’t into stripy socks.
• Finally, I have Noro Silk Garden Sock Yarn. This yarn is interesting because it is a sport weight (300m/100g) rather than a sock weight. I haven’t made socks with it yet, but I’ve just finished a wonderful ribby scarf with it. The colors are everything you’d expect from Noro, and the yarn is very soft.

I have also been restocking all your favorite yarns, including Trekking XXL, Henry’s Attic Alpaca, all the Cascade yarns, and much more.

One note: Steadfast Fibers Wonderful Wool is not available any more. The woman who dyes it is looking to move on and has been trying to sell the business. I have not heard anything more, so for now what I have in the shop is all there is.

For Spinners

The fleeces I bought at the New Hampshire Sheep & Wool Festival are back! I have many bags of fabulous roving in white, light grey, medium grey and dark grey. The white and medium grey I’m fairly sure are Romney (they weren’t marked when I bought them), the dark grey is Mystery Fleece (a little rougher than Romney but not quite a long wool) and the light grey I’m almost certain is Corriedale. If you’ve never spun roving, especially Zeilinger roving, I recommend you try some. It’s like buttah!

Now Open Seven Days

Mind’s Eye Yarns is now open all week long! Our new hours are:

Sunday: 12:00 p.m.–5:00 p.m.
Monday – Friday: 12:00 p.m.–7:00 p.m.
Saturday: 10:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m.

Workshops

Space in all the workshops is limited to six people, so sign up early.

• Beginning Crochet
  Saturday, October 25, 1:00 p.m.–4:00 p.m.
• Basic Moebius Scarf
  Sunday, October 26, 1:00 p.m.–4:00 p.m.
• Double Knitting 1
  Saturday, November 1, 1:00 p.m.–4:00 p.m.
• Crochet for Knitters
  Saturday, November 8, 1:00 p.m.–4:00 p.m.
• Reading Your Knitting
  Saturday, November 15, 1:00̵;3:00 pm
• Knitting for Speed
  Saturday, November 16, 1:00 p.m.–4:00 p.m.
• Finishing Your Sweater
  Sunday, November 23, 1:00 p.m.–4:00 p.m.

Get details on workshops and registration.

Rhinebeck Trip

Sunday, October 19

Cost: $55 (includes transportation, admission and driver gratuity)

This is a great opportunity to go to the New York Sheep and Wool Festival without having to drive! We’ve reserved a nice big bus with plenty of room in the luggage area for lots and lots of loot! The bus will be doing pickups, with stops set for Alewife and Riversidewith a possibility of a pick up south of the city (depends on how many people want to be picked up there). Pickup times will be scheduled to get us to the festival by noon. The bus will head back when gates close at 5:00 p.m. It will be a long day, but definitely worth it! Friend of the shop Kimberly O’Keeffe will lead the expedition. She has lots of experience hosting this kind of trip and always makes it a great time!

Pick up times will be set and everyone will be contacted sometime in early October. If you have any questions or want to reserve a space, give me a call at the shop (617) 354-7253. Space is limited, so sign up as soon as you can.

Sock Club

It’s time to join the Sock Club for the coming year.
Deadline is Oct. 31.

Here’s how the club works: Six times a year, about every other month, I will dye a batch of yarn just for the sock club. Any Sock Club colorway will not to be reused in the regular sock yarn for at least a year. Frankly, the colorways are so complicated, they may never get reused and Sock Club remains the only way to get a skein of my self-patterning sock yarn.

The colorways will be determined by the time of year, the weather that day and the mood I’m in (don’t worry, I’m usually in a good mood!). I’ve found that I tend to use 4, 5 or even 6 distinct colors in each batch. This compares to 2-3 colors in my regular sock yarn. It will essentially be a Zen moment captured in yarn. This year’s Sock Club yarns were much different from last year’s, and I can feel myself heading in new directions for the coming year. I hope you can join the fun!

The cost of subscribing will be $148 for the year. I will send out an email when the yarn is dyed, and you can pick it up from the shop or have it shipped. Shipping costs $5 per skein or $30 for the year.

New Fiber Guild: Common Cod

The Common Cod Fiber Guild is the brainchild of Guido Stein. It will fill the niche of a knitting/crochet guild that meets in the evening. The guild will meet at 7:00 p.m. on the second Friday of every other month, starting in September 2008. We will have a speaker, a social hour, and beginner lessons for those who want them. Everyone is invited to join! The cost is $25 per year, or $5 per meeting if you only wish to go to select meetings.

Eventually, the guild will be hosting other fiber events, such as the Knit Out & Crochet, a fiber camp and any other special event we can, including the Yarn Harlot’s visit in October. Franklin Habit of Panopticon fame will be the speaker for our first meeting.

Upcoming Events

Stephanie Pearl-McPhee, aka The Yarn Harlot
Wednesday, Oct. 15, 7:00 p.m.
St. James’s Episcopal Church

Stephanie Pearl-McPhee is the author of many knitting books and the blog Yarn Harlot. She inspires knitters to be proud of their projects and yarn obsession. She is on a mission to get fiber activities taken seriously by the mainstream. Her writing is a mix of humor and experience that many in the fiber community can relate to.

The event will be held at St. James’s Episcopal Church, which is located at 1991 Massachusetts Ave. in Cambridge, a few minutes’ walk from the Porter Square T station, which is on the Red Line and the commuter rail.

New York Sheep & Wool Festival
Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 18 and 19
Rhinebeck, N.Y.

This is another excellent festival and a real favorite with bloggers and Ravelers. You never know who you could run into! We are organizing a day trip to the festival. See above for more details.

For more information about the festival itself, go to www.sheepandwool.com.

Purl for a Purpose: The Pine Street Inn Knit-a-thon
Sunday, Nov. 9, 2008
116 Huntington Avenue, Boston

Whether you are a novice knitter or an accomplished textile artist, you can use your needles and yarn to make a difference in the lives of formerly homeless men and women. Join other knitters for a day of knitting and socializing with an important goal: to raise funds to support Pine Street’s supportive housing program for formerly homeless individuals by knitting blankets for the tenants of the Pine Street Inn residences. Invite friends and family to make pledges to support your efforts—and the Inn’s critical programs and services. Get details or sign up to participate.

Etsy Store

Our hand-dyed yarns are available online!
As seen on the Yarn Harlot’s blog.

Due to popular demand, we offer a selection of gorgeous hand-dyed yarns at mindseyeyarns.etsy.com.

The selection of fibers and colors changes often as we dye new yarns and other dye lots are sold. To give you an idea of our offerings.

Free Patterns!

Latest Pattern

Skinny Ribby Scarf in Mistake-Rib Stitch
This is a long, narrow scarf made from Noro Silk Garden sock yarn. The mistake-rib stitch pattern gives it a corrugated texture and makes a nice, springy fabric.

Also: See our tips for getting rid of moths with minimal chemical smell.

10% Discount for Bookstore Knitting Group

Porter Square Books, located right across the street from our shop, in the Porter Square Shopping Center, has a knitting/craft group that meets one Sunday a month. We offer group attendees 10% off anything they buy on days the group meets.

Calling All Ravelers!

There is now a Mind’s Eye Yarns Ravelry group. Search for Minds Eye Yarns on Ravelry’s groups page. (Notice there’s no apostrophe in the group name.) I’ll be using the group to let people know about dye days and shop events and to answer people’s questions. You can use it to ask me questions, make colorway suggestions (I always love suggestions!) or just to talk amongst yourselves.

My Blog

You can follow my adventures in the shop and in the rest of my life at www.fullserviceyarnshop.com.

The Doctor Is Always In…

…the Knitting and Spinning Doctor, That Is!
I am always available during store hours to help out with any problems you are having with your projects.

Quick help is always free. If your problem is likely to take more than 10 minutes or so to fix, please call ahead and schedule a lesson. A 45-minute lesson costs $12. Lessons where we are designing a pattern from scratch or significantly altering an existing pattern are $20 for 45 minutes. (Please note that prices are subject to change without notice.)

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