Millicent’s News

April and May 2008

 

Millicent’s Yarns & More

27 N. Centre Street, Cumberland, MD 21502

 Shop Hours: Tues - Sat 10 - 5, Wed 10 - 8 and
Sunday 1 - 4 (closed last Sunday of every month)

301-722-8100 or www.millicentsyarns.com

 

  

April and May: Crocheters will play!

While Mel is away in April and May, Carolyn and Judith will be teaching crochet classes, including introduction to crochet, crochet for knitters, plus any number of project classes.  Check out our class schedule for details.

 

Greening of Millicent’s  -- thanks for your continuing help.

Many of you have already been responsive to our wanting to save the planet from excess plastic bags.   Just after our last appeal, Barbara came in telling us about a red plastic bag sailing down I-68.  “Couldn’t have come from any place but Millicent’s!”  ARGH!! While we will always have bags for your needs, we appreciate it if you could put purchases into your knitting bag when possible. Thanks.

 

Dye Your Own Sock Yarn Workshop – and now there are two!

We’ve had an overwhelming response to the Dyeing Sock Yarn Workshop, so much so that we’ve opened up a second date.  Maureen Pritchard, our instructor, will hold the workshops at her studio just outside of Romney where she has the dyes, equipment, and drying space for the event.  You can choose from a workshop on Sunday, June 12 or Sunday, July 13, from 10 – 4.  The $60 fee will include snacks and soft beverages, two skeins of sock yarn to dye, plus instruction.  Maureen will also make roving (for spinners) available in lieu of the sock yarns.

 

You are asked to bring a sandwich or salad for your lunch.  Believe me, Maureen is glorious hostess, so you won’t need to bring more than a basic sandwich --- she’ll supply the chips, veggies, etc etc.

 

Maureen Pritchard has hosted several very successful dying and spinning workshops for Millicent’s customers in the past.  A skilled fiber artist.  She and her husband live on a sheep farm outside of Romney where they also raise and train sheep dogs.  Maureen dyes and spins her own yarns, and is a popular vendor at the Maryland Sheep and Wool Show and other fiber shows under the name of The Barefoot Spinner.  She has proven herself to be a gracious hostess and a very good teacher.  Please call to put your name on the list of interested participants ASAP.

 

 

Sock of the Month Club Meeting Schedule

April:  Wednesday, Apr 2 and/or Sunday, Apr 6 – Lace Sock Month

May:  No Sock of the Month Club in May – I’ll still be in Australia

Knitter’s Anonymous Meetings (aka Knit-Ins) every Wednesday and Friday, 12 -2.

Knitting for Kids and Teens  Kids Knit meets Tues after school, Teens on Thursdays                                                                                                                        

Hook-Up for Crocheters  every Wednesday 3:30 – 5:00

 

Knitting in the News

From The Christian Science Monitor, Dec. 5, 2007 “Knitting Speaks Louder Than Words”  ‘Today, young women have discovered the edginess of knitting as well as the soothing feel of stitches sliding from one needle to the next.  Speakers and lecturers, preachers and teachers tell of spotting people of all ages listening and knitting in time to the words’ rhythm.  My son, a heavy-metal musician, describes girls at the concerts, heads bobbing and bodies gyrating while knitting, knitting, knitting to the bash-and-groan beat. . . .  Knitting begins with needles and yarn, but with each stitch, something else seems to grow – determination, confidence, solace, even a community.  Maybe we can knit and purl a peaceful world.”

 

From US  World and News Report, Feb. 11, 2008  in an article about Susan Wolcott, owner of Y2Knit in Funkstown, MD.  The article is called “Stitching Together a New Life’ Here’s a Yarn: A former nurse finds focus in a knitting business”  Susan had been a nurse and risen into managerial positions at managed-care companies and software firms specializing in healthcare.  Disillusionment struck by the time she had reached her 50s, and she returned to knitting, then teaching knitting, then designing knitwear, then opening a small shop all within a matter of years.  Good-bye high paying salary!  Hello to “calmness and centeredness.”  ‘The entrepreneurial venture has reconnected  Wolcott with the altruistic values that led her to nursing.  “I have a ministry,” she says.  “Not in a religious way, but it’s about ministering to people and meeting their needs.” Her days are filled by connecting people with resources.  Women stop by to talk about kids, spouses, recipes, job interviews, movies, dreams, and frustrations’ – Hey, this could be talking about Millicent’s!

 

From Country Woman Magazine, Feb/Mar 2008  “Needles ‘Click’ with Knitters” Cathryn Bothe of Kenosha, Wisconsin, utilized the skills in her 57-year-old family machine shop to create Hand polished aluminum needles in jewel-toned blue, red, yellow, and green.  “One night about 2 years ago, I was knitting and grumbling out loud about the dull points on my needles.  My husband, Kent, suggested, ‘You should take them to the shop.’ That was an ‘aha’ moment!  Our machinists made me a set of needles I liked so much, I started thinking about selling them.  I got my knitting friends together for input on their preferences in needles.  Soon, we were turning out prototypes.  Today, the signature line includes needles in ten different sizes, with a choice of three lengths, decorative cap styles, and points. . . . With so many options, knitters can go to our Web site and design their own needles to fit their projects and style.”  (To find out more, go to www.countrywomanmagazine.com/links.  The needles, which retail between $24 and $28 per set, are not available through retail shops.)

 

 

Can You Imagine . . .  In 2006, there were 913,000 knitters and 504,000 crocheters in the US.  By 2006, those knitters altogether were spending $748 million dollars, 51% at local independent yarn shops.  Crocheters altogether spent $354 million dollars in 2006, only 17% at local independent yarn shops.   Individual knitters spent $819 on the average.  Individual crocheters spent $702 on the average.  And here’s a curious bit of info:  Knitters estimated that they would spend 31% more in 2007, and crocheters 38% more in 2007.  Wonder what the numbers would be now?

 

And a final word from Elizabeth Zimmerman: 

“Knit on, with confidence and hope, through all crises.”

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