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! |
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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.
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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. |
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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. |
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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.
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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. |
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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. |
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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. |
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My Blog
You can follow
my adventures in the shop and in the rest of my life at www.fullserviceyarnshop.com. |
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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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Got
yarn on the brain?
Sign up for our free e-mail
newsletter,
From the Minds Eye.
Three times a year, we'll send you:
- tips on knitting and spinning
- news about our knitting, spinning, and
dyeing workshops,
- updates on new merchandise
- notification about sheep and wool fairs
and other fiber events.
Just e-mail
us and put newsletter in the subject line
to start getting the newsletter.
We promise we will NOT share your address
with any other company or organization.
Currently getting our newsletter
in the post?
Follow the instructions above to get it via e-mail instead. |
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to us!
Put this button on your
site. Here’s
how.
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Be
sure to visit the Boston
Area Spinners & Dyers web site!
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Shop Hours:
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.
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Groups:
Knitting Group: Wednesday
7:00 – 9:00 p.m.
Spinning Group: Thursday
7:00 – 9:00 p.m.
All Abilities Welcome! |
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22 White Street Cambridge,
MA 02140
(617) 354-7253
lucy@mindseyeyarns.com
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| Site
designed by Martha Spizziri |
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