Millicent’s News

July/August 2007

 

Millicent’s Yarns & More

27 N. Centre Street, Cumberland, MD 21502

Summer Shop Hours:  Tues – Sat, 10 –5 Wed 10 – 8
Sundays 1-4 (Except for the last Sunday in the month)

Please note that we are open on Sundays again from 1:00 to 4:00 (my other hours of 1;30 to 4:30 were kind of dumb – who’s open from one half-hour to another half-hour.  Duh!)

 

CHRISTMAS IN JULY (and August too)

Have we got a deal for you!  Come into Millicent’s and purchase $20 or more, and enjoy choosing a FREE 2-pack of yarn – did I say FREE?!!  There are many color and texture choices.  We hope you accept our challenge of creating some accessory that incorporates the yarn you select – be it mittens, a hat, a bag, a clutch, a belt, a scarf, a tie, whatever.  As you finish your item, we will be pleased to display it in the shop for all to enjoy your inventiveness.  Let’s see what we can come up with by the end of Augusts.  It’s all just for fun!

 

SUMMER WEAVING CLASSES

Summer is a great time to try out something new.  It’s a time to be creative with what is familiar, to give pleasure to ourselves as we experiment with the unknown.  Just for you, we are offering a four week weaving class in August on a rigid heddle loom taught by Mary Mumper of Frostburg University.  Mary will show you how you can create beautiful woven items with the yarns you know and love from Millicent’s.  The class will be held Wednesday evenings, August 1,6,15, and 29.  Try it, try it, you may like it!  Details on our Classes page)

 

And don’t forget, we are also offering a class in Continuous Thread Weaving on a Triangular Loom July 21 and 28.  Please see Mel for more details.

 

SUMMER KID’S CRAFT CLASS

Our August craft class for kids ages 6 and up is WEAVING (see a theme here?)  Children will learn to make a simple cardboard loom and discuss color theory before weaving a potholder.  This class is limited to four children and will be held Thursdays from 2 – 3:30 August 2, 9 and 16.  Our regular Kid’s Knit will resume Tuesday, Sept. 11 from 3:30 to 4:30.  Accompanying parents are invited – no, encouraged – to learn to knit as well.

 

SAD NEWS

We learned of the passing of Kathy Clifton, who died unexpectedly of a brain tumor on July 3 at the age of 34.  Kathy was a frequent visitor at Millicent’s, a regular participant at Knit Ins for several years until she began her Degree in Education at Frostburg (when she snuck in knitting during the “slow” lectures).  She loved to display her knitting at the Allegany County Fair and especially enjoyed knitting for her 11-year-old daughter Rebecca.  We will miss her.

 

WINTER YARNS WILL BEGIN ARRIVING SOON

You’ll love what we ordered for this winter – cashmere blends, cashmere-silk blends for babies (yum), many hand-dyed yarns from Cherry Tree Hill, Mountain Colors, Cascade Yarns, and Claudia Handpaints (more on how to use handpainted yarns in next month’s newletter), and sock yarns in three weights!  Yarn begins to arrive August 1.

 

 

AFGHAN CHALLNGE – Block of the Month Club

Our last knitting meetings will take place Wednesday, August 1 from 5-whenever, and/or Sunday, August 5 at 2:00 to closing at 4:30.  Our September meetings (Sept 5 and 9) will be our final “putting it all together” time when we learn to assemble our afghans. 

 

NEW IN OCTOBER – SOCK OF THE MONTH CLUB    

Many seem to have agreed that a Sock of the Month Club is what we need for the knitting season 2007-2008.  We will gather as before on the first Wednesday and the first Sunday of every month (some changed could be made periodically for holidays, etc).  Our goal is to have at least six pairs of handmade socks by the end of the year. 

 

Why bother knitting socks when 1) you can get them cheaply at any department store, 2) they cost so much more than store-bought socks and 3) they are fussy little things?!

 

Here are the answers:  Socks are great portable knitting projects (think doctor’s waiting room, airplane travel, long drives in the car).  They can be made in a variety of ways (top-down, toe-up, side-to-side, in ribbing, lace, stitch pattern, color pattern) and so they stretch your skills as a knitter without your having to tackle something a big as a sweater.  Hand-knit  socks will fit you in a way the store-bought socks never could.  They are knitted to the size of your foot and in weights appropriate for dress socks, clog socks or boot socks.  They have a structured heel that cups around the back of your foot and will not sneak down into your shoe.  And they can be knitted in a variety of yarns – wools, wool blends, cotton blends, even alpaca and cashmere.  Sure, they cost more than store-bought socks, but hand-knit socks are to die for. 

 

Don’t like the idea of having to knit TWO socks? – if only we could be a one-footed race, right?  Well, a book is coming out this fall that explains how to knit two socks AT THE SAME TIME on two circular needles!  Now isn’t that a gas?  We could have twelve pairs of socks by the end of the year, rather that a measly six!

 

Our Sock of the Month Club will tackle various sock patterns (we have many to choose from and some terrific new books on socks that have just come out in print in the last year).  I encourage everyone to challenge and stretch themselves as knitters by trying out different kinds of sock structure and patterns.  Some people asked if I would be doing this as a class – not really, although I welcome anyone who would like to join in on the sock pattern that I have chosen to work along with me and get tips etc.

 

NOW – to launch our Sock of the Month Club, we will have a Sock Trunk Show from Cherry Tree Hill arriving mid-September.  It will be a guaranteed inspiration for us all!

 

Join Our Knitting Community 

Knit-ins for adults: every Wed. 12 noon to 2:00, Wed. eve. 5 – 7 pm, and every Friday from 1:00 to 3:00. 

Summer Teens Knit: Tuesday, June 19, 3:30 to 5:00.  Fee:  $5.00

Hook-Ups:  with a crochet focus are on Wednesdays, from 3:30 to 5:00.  Fee: $2.00

Moms and Babies: Thursdays mornings, 10:30 to 12:00

Kids Crafts:Thursdays, 3:30 to 4:30 in July and August.

Knitting with Balls, for men, meets the third and fourth Wed of each month at 5pm. .

 
 
        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