MILLICENT’S NEWS
MAY 2005
NEWSLETTER ARCHIVES -- JUST A CLICK AWAY!
If you're reading this, you have already discovered the newest element of our website: newsletter archiving. By clicking on a month, you will be able to bring up that newsletter, whether it is six months old or this month's. Pretty cool, yes?
SPECIAL EVENTS
You’ll also notice that our Special Events section is much larger: there are so many great things happening at Millicent’s this summer that keeping the ongoing schedule and specifics available made the most sense.
Artful Bags and Such: the opening on Saturday, April 16, was a great success!! Many, many viewers came to enjoy the bags and accessories created by many artists in many media (yes, even we knitters are artists!). As organizers, we (Meg Romero, Mary Hull, Shirley Carnahan, Shirley Giarritta, and myself) were particularly pleased with the number of responses and creativity in the bags submitted for the show. We were even more pleased that, as many artists viewed the show, they called for a repeat because the pieces were so much fun and because their imaginations were already cooking for the next show! Kudos to all the knitters who submitted work – from tiny beaded bags to a seasonal series of felted bags, all were complimented for their exacting work. I think many folk in the art scene are seeing knitting as a legitimate art form now. The show will be up through June 15.
The Maryland Sheep and Wool Show: Don’t miss this on Saturday May 7 and Sunday May 8 at the Howard County Fair Grounds. There’s everything from sheep and sheepdogs, to hand-dyed yarns and designer yarns. It is truly an eyeful. If this will be your first visit, the main exhibition areas for yarns are in the buildings way down at the end of the fairgrounds. You’ll want to make sure you reserve enough energy to see those: so visit them first, or at least second. And be prepared for overload – this is considered the biggest Sheep and Wool Show in the United States.
SPINNING AND DYING EVENTS
Maureen Pritchard is getting out of school in June (hurrah!) and is scheduling lots of time to spend with friends from Millicent’s Knits & Yarns. Specifics are all on our Special Events Page, but here is an overview:
Spinning Workshops at Millicent’s: there will be four: one a month from May to August. Maureen will give newer spinners instruction on how to improve their skills.
Dying Workshop at The Barefoot Spinner’s Studio Maureen invites a group to her farm and studio to experience a “sheep to scarf” phenomenon. This is significantly different from the workshop Maureen gave for us 15 months ago that former participants will want to come again!
Spinning Designer Yarns This workshop is for spinners who want to learn the trick of combining yarns to achieve that extraordinary effect in designer yarns we all have come to admire. Have you ever come into Millicent’s, picked up a yarn and said to yourself, “It’s all here – the eyelash, the warmth, the sheen, the texture!” That is the kind of designer yarn we will be creating with Maureen in this workshop.
BEADING AT MILLICENT’S
Beading is the fastest growing new area of interest for knitters and crocheters.
You’ve already seen that Carolyn Groves has begun to offer beading classes for knitters (bags and scarves) in the past several months. In May, Carolyn is offering a free informational workshop on types of beads, how to name them and what to expect from them. See Special Events for details of time etc.
Mel is attending an all-day beading workshop with Lily Chin in June and is looking forward to bringing back lots of information and ideas. Lily Chin is the knitting and crocheting designer that got the recent beading craze started. She is also the knitter who took up Dave Letterman’s challenge to knit him a sweater from start to finish during the course of his program (fastest knitter in the Western World?)
We are also looking into ways that we can bring beads to Millicent’s. So watch for further news . . .
ONGOING EVENTS AT MILLICENT’S – see specifics on our Special Events page
Kids Knit on Tuesday afternoons after school
Mornings at Millicent’s (reinstated) – on Wednesdays for Moms, Grandmas, and infants
Knit-Ins -- every Wednesday and Friday
Hook-ups at Millicent’s – Wednesday afternoons for crocheters with Carolyn Groves
Spin-ins (reinstated during the warm weather months) – Fridays
MAY TRUNK SHOW
In mid-May, Manos del Uruguay is sending us a trunk show that highlights its Cotton Stria yarns. These soft yarns are hand-dyed and striated (that is, the color intensity varies) just as the Manos wool is – and come in many luscious colors. The trunk show will give us ideas on what the patterns selection looks like. Try this yarn out – you’ll love it! Our in-house model of a little girl’s summer dress is darling – created from a Minnowknits pattern.
EXPLORE CREATIVE STRANDS! A FIBER-ARTS CONFERENCE
UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH AT JOHNSTOWN
JULY 6 – 10, 2005
Here is a opportunity to learn from some of the best knitting, weaving, and beading teachers right in our own backyard! Only an hour away, you can attend workshops on knitting lace, color theory, beading, basketry, weaving tapestries, and on and on and on. There are over 100 class choices in this highly praised fiber arts conference. Flyers are available at Millicent’s. I’ll be going – maybe we can get a carpool arranged.
SUMMER KNITTING
I know – it’s hard to think knitting when spring is here and the gardens are calling. But, spring and summer are great times to knit! Here’s why:
1) learn to knit this summer and get a jump start on knitting in the fall
2) start your holiday knitting NOW and you’ll breeze into December
3) finish some of those projects you started last year, or the year before, or the year before that!
4) start a short-sleeved tee or sleeveless shell now and you’ll be able to wear it through September
5) think about knitting summer hats – twenties-style cloches are all the rage, as are crocheted and knitted caps. Brimmed cotton hats for little ones are also a great project
6) learn to knit small projects that are easy to carry along as you take your children or grandchildren from one summer even to another: socks, hats, bags
7) increase your skills: try out some new techniques on a small scale that you might be able to incorporate into your holiday knitting and get that WOW effect!
8) create small gifts for the friends and family you will be visiting this summer – even a knitted snowflake or lacy bookmark!
9) make your favorite child a cotton sweater or after-swimming warm-up jacket from our terry-cotton yarn
10) take a class at Millicent’s or come to one of our on-going events and meet some of the nicest folk ever!
Our summer classes can help you achieve all the above. See our list of classes in our website for May’s offerings.
REMINDER: Millcent's will have reduced hours ( 10 AM to 3 PM) from Tuesday, April 26 to Friday, April 29. We may have reduced hours also on Saturday, April 30.
If you have a chance to see the Carmina Burana performance at Frostburg University, do trust me that you will be blown away by the music, the percussion, and even the dance. We have many performances on the weekend of April 30 (two Saturday performances: 3 pm and an evening performance -- I think at 7:00) and May 1 (a 3:00 Sunday afternoon performance). Anyhow, that's where I will be throughout the week of April 25 to May 1, rehearsing and getting that final touch on what will be a fantastic event.
Happy Knitting from Mel and Dick
At
Millicent’s Knits & Yarns
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Millicent's Knits and Yarns • 49 North Centre Street • Cumberland, Maryland 21502
phone 301-722-8100 • mel@millicentsyarns.com