Hello!
Spring has sprung and with it the trees are starting to leaf
and the early flowers blossom. Great time of year especially on
the bright sunny days. In the last two weeks we have been able
put the hand painted skeins on the deck to dry.
Marie has just completed the final version of the new variegated
colorway in our hand painted line of Tencel, Rayon Chenille and
Hand Painted Tencel warps. Be sure to see What’s New for
all the details on Santa Fe and other new items we’ve added
.
Our May/June special features click for detail.
Don and Marie
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From the Distillery |
May 26-27—The District is part of “Doors Open Toronto”.
May 30 to June 3—Art of Jazz ( artofjazz.org )
June 1 to June 10—Luminato—The District joins the
city wide Festival of Arts and Creativity.
Complete details are available on the Distillery District website
- thedistillerydistrict.com.
When you visit the Distillery District be sure to drop into
Studio 105, Case Goods Building, 55 Mill Street, Toronto. Wednesday—Sunday
noon to 5 p.m.
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What's New &
Coming!
New Hand Painted Variegated Colorway in Rayon Chenille,
Tencel and Hand Painted Warps
Marie finalized one of the new colorways she was working
up and Linda has painted lots in both Rayon Chenille and Tencel.
It took a little longer than usual but after the third batch of
skeins Marie hit it right. Santa Fe is a vibrant mix of rust,
chino and two shades of turquoise, medium and dark.
We now have a full inventory of the returning colorway we announced
in the last issue. Welcome back “Wine Country” that
lusious combo of burgundy, red and blue that was one of our most
popular variegated colorways. Both Tencel and Rayon Chenille skeins
are on hand. Marie will paint Wine Country Warps to firm orders.
New Tencel Scarf Warp—Rosebud
Another new product is an exciting, just for spring,
hand painted Tencel scarf warp called “Rosebud”. Combining
two pinks with spring green and white this warp will create a
scarf that is just dazzling.
OHS Conference “Limited Edition”
Tencel Scarf Warp
Our final new item for this issue is the ‘Limited Edition”
Tencel Scarf Warp that Marie has created for
the Ontario Handweavers and Spinners Conference taking place May
9 to 13. The warps based on the conference graphic, feature two
greens on the yellow side with highlights of gold and purple.
( Marie tells how the creative process worked, see page 1). This
special “Limited Edition” warp will not be repeated.
Reservations are now being taken for June delivery.
All 2 oz. Rayon Chenille skeins are $17.00 all 3 oz. Tencel skeins
are $20.00. And the hand painted warps are $69.00.
Back in Stock
Tencel 2/10 Natural and Black are back in stock. The
natural is on 500 gram cones we call a pound so you get a bit
of a bonus. The black is on various sized cones of 1 lb. plus.
Discontinued Colorways
As a result of creating new variegated colors we have
discontinued the Daffodil and Melon colorways in Tencel and Rayon
Chenille skeins and Tencel Scarf Warps.
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New 2/5 Tencel Hand-Dyed Skeins
| Marie has begun hand-dyeing
our 2/5 tencel with lace knitting in mind, but, of course,
it can be used for whatever fabulous project you might be
planning, either knitting or weaving. We have started with
the colour combinations most suitable for spring and summer,
Mountain Mist, English Garden, Twilight and Seascape, but
any of our usual colour combinations can be ordered in this
heavier weight tencel. |
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It is ideal for more than a lace knit. Any project that you want
made in a lighter weight would be perfect for this yarn. You can
also knit it in with another contrasting yarn to make an interesting
colour effect in your project. It would also add drape and sheen
to other types of yarn. Marie will have begun some lace work with
this yarn before the OHS conference, so drop by to see how it knits
up. Photos are from—The Best of Knitter’s Magazine -
Shawls and Scarves.
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OHS Conference Warps
The second edition of the Ontario Handweavers and Spinners Conference
warps is ready. Add to the collection that you began at the Kingston
conference. Marie took the colours from this years conference
postcars. She studied the proportion of greens to the gold and
red/purple of the grapes and tried to translate that into a lovely,
wearable scarf warp.
During the design process Marie
scanned the postcard and placed it in our Photoshop program
and began to play. Finally there emerged a gorgeous image
of greens and gold. Marie felt there had to be a little red/purple
to represent the grapes, particularly since we are all together
in wine country celebrating our passion for weaving.
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Each warp will weave two scarves, but the warps
are in limited supply. Come visit us early to get your conference
warp.
See you in St. Catharines. |
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Knit Tricks
We thought we would share a few of the tricks and trade secrets
that are sent to us from the KnitNet Pattern Gallery at www.knitnet.com
1. Save all of the zippered plastic bags in which sheets and comforters
are packaged. When you have a large project, place the yarn, notions
and the original pattern inside. Always add a photocopy of the
pattern in a vinyl sleeve. The smaller bags are great for sock
and mitten projects. This technique enables you to see the contents,
stack them and keep moths away. When you are ready to sit and
knit, just grab the bag. If you are taking your knitting out of
the house, everything is all together ready to go.
2. Use legal size paper when photocopying your pattern. The wide,
empty bottom margin is handy for making notes, keeping track of
rows, stitches and pattern changes.
3. When working on sleeves, put a marker at each end of the row
before the first increase on the sleeves. Then, instead of counting
the whole row over and over again, just compare the number of
stitches after that marker. Both sides should always be the same.
| We
may just have it?
When we buy mill end lots of rayon chenille we often end
up with smaller quantities of some colors. When the quantity
of a color on a shade card gets low we may drop it from
the card but still have stock. One of these colors may be
just what you need for a project. Just call, we’ll
be glad to send a reeling for you to check. |
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Shows we will
be attending in 2007….
- May 11 - 13, 2007 OHS Conference,
"Old World, New Ways" Brock University,
St. Catharines.
- September 15, 2007, Five Counties Seminar,
“Keeping Traditions Alive”
Rivergrove Community Centre, Mississauga , ON
- October 13, 2007, OHS Central Region Seminar,
"Celebrate the World in Fibre!",
Neilson Park Creative Centre, Toronto (Etobicoke), ON
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May/June Specials
Annual Dyed Rayon Chenille Sale—20 % off our regular
price on all colors, 1300/1450 and 2000 yd./lb.
Regular $28.00 a lb.. Now only $22.00 a lb.!
Now is the time to stock up on Rayon Chenille for your fall weaving
and knitting projects. Every color in every weight of mill dyed
rayon Chenille in stock, including black, is on sale!
Conveniently done up on one pound tubes we have 27 colours in
1300/1450 yd/lb and eight in 2000 yd/lb in stock ready to ship.
Don’t miss this special, order early for best
selection as the inventory of some colors is limited !
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Customer Satisfaction
Guarantee
As mail order specialists we fully understand the apprehension
to purchase yarn sight unseen. If you are planning a project and
feel our yarn may be suitable we’ll be glad to send a reeling
of any yarns you may want to order so you can be sure they are
right for you. Just call toll free 1-877-448-4544.
If you buy yarn from us and discover it is not exactly what you
wanted for your project we’ll take it back. We want you
to be happy with your Yarns Plus purchase. To make it absolutely
risk free we are happy to exchange an item or give a refund. We'll
even pay the return postage. Just call!
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A Little Pearl…..
“ Any activity becomes creative when the doer cares about
doing it right, or doing it better.”
John Updike
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