Millicent’s News

July 2006

 

Millicent’s Yarns & More

27 N. Centre Street, Cumberland, MD 21502

Shop Hours:  Tues – Sat, 10 –5,
Wed open late until 7

OUR PROGESSIVE SALE CONTINUES

In order to make room for the glorious yarns coming in this fall, certain wools, baby yarns, and novelty yarns throughout the shop are marked on sale (find the yellow arrows). The sooner you come to look and buy, the greater the chance that you will find the selection and quantity you’d like!

Starting June 13, these yarns will be reduced by 40%. 

Starting June 20, the yarns will be reduced by 50%. 

 

 

Millicent’s First Annual

FIBER ARTS FESTIVAL

We are pleased to announce our first annual summer Fiber Arts Festival at Millicent’s Yarns & More.

There is something for everyone!  This is a great time to try out something new and a fun way to start a summer project. 

From July 8 to July 29, we will be holding classes in

needlefelting

needlepoint

punchneedle embroidery

crocheting and knitting

 tatting

embroidery

spinning and weaving

Times and  Fees:  Adult classes are offered at 10:30 - 12 AM and 5:00 – 6:30 PM on Tuesday, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays, and at various times on Saturdays.  All adult classes are $10 per hour. Classes for children take place on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons at 3:30 – 4:30.  All kids classes are $5.00 per hour.  Many classes meet for a single time, some are two week classes and some, like our introduction to knitting, are four week classes.  Please register in advance for all classes.  Class space is limited.

 

Dana Alt will be teaching NEEDLEFELTING for kids and adults on Tuesdays.  Needlefelting is a way of sculpturing wool into three dimensional forms or of creating two dimensional pictorial shapes that can adhere to any woolen item such as a felted bag.  It is done using wool roving as a raw material and “needling” it into a hard felted shape.  We will be making geods, gnomes, and more.   Material fees for both adults and children are $11.00.

 

Our little NEEDLEPOINT kits are terrific summer projects – lightweight, small, easy to carry to camp or to the beach.  We have zippered coin purses that also work great as cell phone cases, scissor cases, and great little pictorial pieces with summer themes that are nice for framing.  These are all in kits with canvas and floss, so that all you need are scissors!  We also have fun kits for children.  Needlepoint classes are at an introductory level and will be held on Tuesday mornings, July 11, 18, and 25 and Fridays afternoons, July 14 and 28.  Kits will be 10% off for this class.

 

Our PUNCHNEEDLE classes start Wednesday morning, July 12, with a class for kids on Tuesday, July 25.  Punchneedle embroidery is another of those ancient art forms which is again gaining in popularity.  I am just beginning to experiment with the form.  It’s a lot of fun.  In fact, it’s a lot like rug hooking, but in miniature!  You will need a small embroidery hoop for this class.  You can purchase embroidery floss, a punch needle, and a hoop at Millicent’s at a 10% discount for this class.

 

A guest instructor, Marilyn McCain, will be teaching a special KNITTING WORKSHOP on Wednesdays, July 12 and 19.  We will have a follow up on her workshop on July 26.  A wonderful new knitting concept was made popular several years ago.  It is known as “magical” by some knitters, but others call is Moebius knitting.  If you’ve ever played with Moebius circles in school, you’ll remember that they are circles with only one continuous edge.  If you run your finger along the flat plane of a Moebius circle that’s been formed by a strip of paper, you’ll find that the edge moves from the inside all around the outside and into the inside again without you ever having to shift or lift your finger.  Well, a knitting genius called Cat Bordi (who also came upon how to knit socks on two circular needles), has written several books about this method and come up with all sorts of patterns that incorporate a Moebius circle.  The nicest of these is a neck scarf or snug shoulder shawl.  The trick is in the cast-on and then you watch your knitting grow from the inside out!  Yarn and needles needed are to be purchases at your friendly local yarn shop.  Yarn needed for this class will be 10% off.

 

Carolyn Groves will be teaching TATTING during our Fiber Arts Festival.   Tatting is a form of lace making that is simplified to using a long needle and cotton floss.  It is made up of chains and picots that can form the most complex patterns – or the simplest if you desire.  You can explore an introduction to tatting on Wednesdays, July 12, make tatted earrings on July 19, and create a tatted boa on July 26.  Feel free to register for these later classes if you already know the basics of tatting.

Carolyn will provide materials and written instructions that will be in addition to the $10 per hour class fee.

 

Thursday mornings we will be exploring CONTINUOUS THREAD WEAVING on a triangular loom.  If you’ve been in the shop recently you will have seen a number of triangular shawls and scarves on and off our looms, all of which were a result of a terrific two-day workshop with Carol Leigh Brack-Kaiser from Hillcrest Fiber Studio in Missouri.  These looms have opened our eyes anew to using all sorts of yarns, colors and textures together.  Plus they are easy to use and a lot of fun.  Judith Robinson, bless her heart, is weaving shawls for all 20+ female members of her family!  Our Thursday morning explorations will give you a chance to try your hand out on a small 2-foot loom.  Yarns will be 10% off regular costs.  Looms are available for class use.  If you’d like to take a loom home for practice, you can do so for a weekly $20 fee.  Feel free come to one class or all three.  You will learn new skills with every class.  We will also have a continuous thread weaving class on Saturday morning, July 29.

 

On Thursdays, July 13, 20, and 27, we will have a three week evening class on KNITTING SUMMER PURSES that you can use right into the fall.  I have several great free patterns for your use, plus so many other wonderful patterns in our selection for you to choose from.  Come into the shop to see many examples.  Our knitting summer bags class in May was a great hit.  Don’t let this one pass you by.  Patterns will be provided at no cost.  Materials will be 10% off.

 

You can try your hand at CROCHETING as well.  Kids can crochet a fashion belt from 3:30 to 4:30 on Thursdays, July 13 and 20.  The fashion belt is on display in the front window.  Adults will crochet a linen market bag with Carolyn Groves on Thursdays evenings.  The bag is great for taking to a farmers’ market, or to the pool or beach, or to give to your friendly college student.  The neatest thing about this little bag is that it folds up into its own pocket, so you can stow it away in your purse and bring it out as needed!

 

We will be KNITTING SUMMER TOPS on Fridays, July 14 and 28.  We have several on display already – one in the window which is made of a soft cotton/rayon blend call Touche (thanks to Debbie Williamson for knitting our model).  We also have a fun tank knit of a Deco Ribbon, and there are endless possibilities.  So, you finish your tank at the end of July, and have all of August and September to wear it to keep you cool, and then you can cover it elegantly with a shawl or sportily with a jacket as the cooler temperatures approach.

 

Our on-going EMBROIDERY WORKSHOP continues from 10am to 3pm on Friday, July 21.  Karen Philips-Shwallon, a master of award-winning needlework from Pennsylvania, will be leading all interested students through a long-term project called “You Have My Heart.”  Students will learn new stitches each month, embroider them on their sampler between workshops, and then return to share their work and learn more!  Newcomers are welcome every month.  The workshops take place one Friday of each month, from 10 am to 3 pm with a lunch break.  Fees are $30 per session.  The full schedule of dates are June 23, July 21, August 25, September 22, October 27, November 17 and December 15, just in time for a finished product for the holidays!  Newcomers are always welcome.

 

We begin our traditional WEAVING ON A HEDDLE LOOM workshops on Saturdays, July 8 and 15, when the basics of weaving, changing colors and creating patterns will be explored.  Our tabletop looms are perfect for a beginner weaver, and Shirley Carnahan, our instructor for this workshop, is patient and clear in her teaching.  The fee for the Introduction to Weaving class is $80 with yarn included.  Shirley will follow up the introductory workshop with a special project class on Saturday, July 22.  Fees for this project class are $40.  You will be asked to purchase your own yarns for the special project, but Millicent’s will offer you a 10% discount. 

 

SPINNING classes begin Saturdays, July 15 and continue July 22 and 29, from 3pm to 5pm.  Maureen Pritchard, the “Barefoot Spinner” from Romney, WV, will visit us for these three weeks to teach the basics of spinning or advance a spinner from their current skill level.  Maureen sells her hand-dyed fleeces and yarns at the Maryland Sheep and Wool show each year.  She has been teaching spinning at Millicent’s now for 3 years, and we know her as a patient and encouraging teacher.  Bring your own spinning wheel or borrow a shop wheel for the class.  Come to one class or to all three!

 

And finally, for those of you who want to get on the knitting bandwagon, we will offer our four-week INTRODUCTION TO KNITTING on Saturdays, July 8, 15, 22, and 29, from 12noon to 1:30 (although please note that our first class is a two-hour class).  The fee for the introduction to knitting class is $80, which includes all instruction, all materials and accessories, plus an unlimited amount of time for you to revisit your last class with Mel during shop hours.  Our introductory/refresher class in knitting helps you to become sure of your knitting basics and then takes you beyond those to reading a pattern and creating 10 different stitch patterns as you knit a sampler scarf.  This class offers you a sound foundation in knitting.

 

Mark your calendars.

There is something for everyone at Millicent’s First Annual

Fiber Arts Festival.

 

Summer Baby Sweater Challenge:  Fair Isle in Fingering Weight

We are challenging all comers to knit a Fair Isle (stranded color work) sweater for an infants using Baby Ull from Dale of Norway and one of their intricate patterns.  We’ll meet weekly on Wednesdays during Knitters Night Out (5 – 7pm) starting June 7.  P.S.  Sweater Search:  My little red-blue-yellow sweater I’m knitting for new our grandson Luke is missing.  I fear someone might have packed it up by mistake and taken it home. If you were in the shop June 6, 7, or 8, please check your red bags for a stow-away.

 

Afghan Challenge – starting in September

Our Afghan Challenge on first Wednesday evening of every month, starting Sept. 6, and first Saturday morning of every month (but the first Saturday in September is Labor Day Weekend, so we’ll change that one month to the second, Saturday, Sept 9).  The beauty of this challenge is its economical approach to buying yarn. The yarn of choice is Manos del Uruguay and it is moderately expensive.  Purchasing enough to knit an entire afghan is out of many folks’ budgets.  But, buying one skein per month is very manageable (between $12.75 and $14.75 per skein), and that is what we will be doing!  Sign up for this challenge with Mel over the summer.  This will help us to be sure to have enough yarn choices on hand.

 

Just a reminder …Triangular Loom Workshop in June

Triangular looms have been around for a long time – certainly since the middle ages.  Our introductory workshop takes place on Saturday, June 17 from 1:00 to 3:00.  We will be working on 2 and 3 foot looms.  You will learn to weave, change colors, and fringe. See our July schedule for other opportunities to learn to weave.

 

 

Join Our Knitting Community! 

Kids Knit takes place at Millicent’s on Tuesdays and Thursdays during the summer.  We have knitters ranging in age from 6 to 16.  This is instructional time – fees are $5.00 per hour.  Many Moms are learning to knit with us at the same time.

Knit-ins for adults are every Wednesday are from 12 noon to 2:00 and every Friday from 1:00 to 3:00.  Fee: $2.00

Hook-Ups with a crochet focus are on Wednesdays, from 3:30 to 5:30.  Fee: $2.00

Knitter’s Night Out (otherwise known as Knitter’s Therapy Night) 5:00 to 7:00 on Wednesday evenings. $2.00

 

And on a personal note . . . .

My mother is doing much better now.  Thank you to all who have asked after her well being.   Dick and I were able to get away on Memorial Day Weekend to fly to Boston for our daughter’s wedding.  Becky and Scott got married in their back yard in a fun wedding that was purely their own style.  We were able to see family members from far away and to meet new family.  It was a joy.

 
        Happy Knitting and Crocheting

and Tatting and Weaving and Spinning

and Embroidery

from

Millicent’s Yarns & More!

 

 

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Millicent's Knits and Yarns • 49 North Centre Street • Cumberland, Maryland 21502
phone 301-722-8100 • mel@millicentsyarns.com