Millicent's • Great Yarns • Personal Service • Mountain Air

Millicent’s News

September 2010

Millicent’s Yarns & More

27 N. Centre Street Cumberland, MD 21502

301-722-8100      millicentsyarns.com

Shop Hours: T - Sat, 10 - 5, Sun 12 - 5

Wed, open late until 7

(closed on the last Sunday of each month)

SHOP HOURS EXTENDED After Labor Day Weekend, we will be expanding our shop hours until 6 pm (starting Tues, Sept. 7) We were open until 6pm in the early years of the shop and many knitters who are in offices until 5 really appreciated that later hour. We slipped into a 5 pm closing when I was caring for my mother. But now it is time to return to a later closing. We will continue to be open until 7 pm on Wednesdays and from 12 – 5 on Sundays ( except the last Sunday). Our new hours in summary are listed above in our heading..

THE YEAR OF THE COWL Remember when the long long long long scarf was in vogue and everyone had these enormous scarf tails trailing behind them? Times are a changing … This year, the cowl neck warmer will be the thing. Some people also called it a snood, although that term makes my skin crawl. Guess there are other folk who feel the same way, and they are calling snoods “infinity loops.” Anyhow, the Wall Street Journal, no less, tells us that this trend for a garment that is half-scarf and half-hood will be going strong this fall and winter.

A cowl can be of any length. It can sit snuggly around your neck like a turtleneck collar. Or it can be a long loop that can be wrapped several times around your neck or be brought up over your head. A cowl can be worn over a sweater or a jacket, even with a tailored look. Bloomindales is urging its customers to “be seen in this lavish new accessory.” It is, in short, predicted to be among the top ten things to be fancied for fall.

This is a great thing for us knitters. Cowls can be knit flat and sewn into a loop or they can be knit in the round. They can be knit as twisted circles or as a moebius. They are significantly shorter than the long scarf, so they will make quick gifts. Any color, any stitch pattern, any texture, any lace pattern can be incorporated into a cowl. Millicent’s will be bringing in Super-bulky yarn just for quick knit cowls for those of us who want something NOW. And for the rest of you, we have some of the softest, most beautiful yarn to try your hand with. SO, look forward to classes on cowls several times this fall and winter.

WORKING ON A NEW WEBSITE . . . OR WHY IS JOANNA STUCK IN THE BACK AND WHY DOES MEL LOOK SO EXHAUSTED?

While we are still many weeks away from a launch, we are working in earnest on designing a new website and inputting data into it. On the new website you will be able to see all colors of all our yarn and all the patterns that currently fill our notebooks of patterns here at the shop. It will be like having a bit of Millicent’s Yarns & More at your fingertips. Imagine being able to browse through our pattern selection any time you wish!

Will we have sales? The answer is yes, but with a difference. We decided quite deliberately not to have a “shopping cart” on our website. Why? Well, for the same reason that Millicent’s Yarns & More is not just a retail shop. We define ourselves not only by the products we sell, but by the service we provide, the discussions we have about what you want and need, and by our deep knowledge base about our products and our craft. So, rather than having an anonymous transaction with a “shopping cart,” we will invite our internet customers to calls us over an 800 telephone number or to write us at an email address designated just for shopping purposes so that we can begin a discussion with you to ensure that the package we send you will have exactly what you need.

Joanna and my husband Dick are taking photographs of the yarns and editing them for the website. Joanna has become a pro at editing colors, although it is hard work to do it day in and day out. We appreciate the intelligence she puts into the task.   Dick is working on a database for the yarns as well. I am finding pictures of all of our patterns on the internet, putting them in designated files, and creating a database for the patterns. So, whenever the website does finally launch, you will be able to find a pattern, see a photo of it, and have all the pertinent information such as gauge and weight of yarn, yardage, recommended needle sizes, size, and some important information about knitting skills you’ll need or about the make-up of the design.

As is her usual way, Mel has become obsessive about the website, and sometimes doesn’t go to be until 4 am, or if she goes to bed at a normal hour, is up at 4 or 5 in the morning to work on her task. (There are now nearly 1000 patterns in the database and we’re about half way through).  We are storming through this work as quickly as we can and are very excited about the potential for this new website. We'll let you know when we are ready to launch.

FALL YARNS The new fall yarns have begun to arrive and will continue doing so into October. We have brought in Claudia Hand Painted Yarns in fingering weight in color pairs to be used in our cross stitch scarf pattern and in a new, really cool spiral pattern that we’ll be teaching this fall.



We are also introducing a new Dk weight yarn from Debbie Bliss called Andes. It is a blend of baby alpaca and mulberry silk and has a softness you won’t believe together with a sheen like only silk can offer.

We’ve brought in Liwen and Chaiten (anyone know how to pronounce these names?): the first is a dramatic thick and thin hand painted yarn, and the second is a DK weight yarn of raw silk. Also in this since the last newsletter is Liberty Wool from Classic Elite with which you can make the most fun ruffled scarf (yes, ruffles are still in!). Arriving tomorrow will be 4 enormous boxes of Cascade yarns, including Cascade 128 Superwash, a long awaited bulky weight yarn that can be machined washed.   Thank you Cascade! We’ve also restocked some of our regular yarn friends (look at Kureyon and Silk Garden for example).   Yes, we’re getting all ready to go for our cold weather knitting. Hurrah!

SEPTEMBER CLASSES We are finishing our “review” of last year’s Sunday Social Classes for you to catch up if you wish. Many people are looking forward to our re-run of the Tudora neck wrap and the Mystery Scarf. Please note that you have A LOT of knitting to do in preparation for the Mystery Scarf, so start knitting now!

August 24 or 25: Cross Stitch Scarf

August 31 or September 4: “Tudora,” a buttoned neck warmer September 7 or 8: “Calorimetry,” a knitted head cover using short rows

September 14 or 15: The Mystery Scarf

September 21 or 22: Fake Isle Hat

Please see details about time and materials in our class listings (ALSO PICTURES). Each single-session class lasts 2 hours and is only $10 per class. You will need to pre-register for classes. We will provide you with a free pattern, but we ask that you purchase your materials (yarn, needles, etc) at Millicent’s.

We are also including Beginner/Refresher Classes and Sock Classes in September. Please see our Class Listings for details.

HAT OF THE MONTH CLUB   Our Hat of the Month Club is based on the book Hats On! 31 Warm and Winsome Caps for Knitters by Charlene Schurch and is geared toward adventurous knitters.

Our September Hat of the Month Club meeting will be on Wednesday Sept. 1 at 2 and at 5 and Sunday, Sept. 12 at 1 (skipping the Labor Day Weekend). We will be knitting the Danish Earflap Hat (see p. 22 for a photo and pp. 72-73 for instructions.) You will need two colors of light worsted weight yarn. We have a model, size medium, in the shop for you to see.



The Hat of the Month Club is a free activity at Millicent’s. If you have not yet joined us for the Hat of the Month Club, please feel free to join in at any month. We ask only that you purchase your book, yarn, and needles at our shop.

SUNDAY SOCIAL, Sept 19, 1 – 4pm (Please note: This Sunday Social meets on the third Sunday of because of Labor Day Weekend) In September we will be knitting an Easy Drop Stitch Scarf . . . not quite as easy as all that! Your drop stitches will change in size to created a wave-like pattern. Knit in a DK or worsted wt yarn, the scarf looks best in a variegated yarn. Any of the following yarns that are in our sport/DK section of the shop would work well: Ruca, Mountain Colors Wool Quarters, Cherry Tree Hill Organic DK, Hacho, Claudia Hand Painted Yarns sport weight, or Susan by Schaefer Yarn. You will need a US 7 – 9 knitting needle (or a needle two sizes larger than what is called for on the yarn label. Straight needles would be easiest because of the yarn overs, which tend to stretch over a cable needle and make the stitches hard to move forward.



Sunday Socials at Millicent’s Yarns & More are available for beginner through advanced knitters. Our goal is to teach a new skill and explore a new yarn every month while introducing a small project that can be completed in a few days. And we have a lot of fun. Patterns and lessons are free. We ask that you purchase all supplies at Millicent’s.

INOX NEEDLES are still 50% OFF All our Inox circular needles are on sale. These are great needles for beginners (I used them happily for the first three years I knitted) and at this discount, are just right for beginner budgets too. Get two needles for the price of one!

HAPPY KNITTING!

from Mel and Dick, Judith, Joanna, Jola and Geni

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