Hello!

Ah! the joy of spring which seems to be a just reward considering the winter most of us faced this year. Can see the Daffodils and Perriwinkle in full bloom as I type. Spring also brings the first shows of the year. Two weeks ago was Knitter’s Frolic and this week is Knitter’s Jamboree.

The new Weavebird loom has seen quite a workout since our winter break as Marie prepares inventory for her fall scarf selling season. Marie is also working up designs for a new line of table runners. Preliminary results look fantastic

When not weaving Marie is knitting with the new 3/5 Hand Painted Tencel. She has quite a few pairs of socks for which this yarn seems to be ideal. Also being prepared are swatches of each size of the Hand Painted Tencel weights to determine the guage and correct needle size for each size.

When the swatches are completed we will post the information with on the Hand Painted Yarn section of the website.

Don and Marie

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The Big Book of Weaving

This is, in fact, a new old weaving book. It was initially written by Laila Lundell and has now been revised and modernized somewhat by Elisabeth Windesjo. The subtitle is “Handweaving in the Swedish Tradition: Techniques, Patterns, Designs and Materials”. This book is a great one for beginners with very clear illustrations and instructions. All the basics are covered and many of the projects are at a beginner level and have the feel of the clean, crisp design associated with Scandinavian weaving.

Some very interesting projects with a twist from the traditional are there also. A wide range of weaving techniques and structures are presented; plain weave, a variety of twills, rag weaving, a weft cord project, rep weave, hand manipulated techniques and many more.

Paper Yarn

There are even a couple of ideas for using paper yarn which caught my eye, an attractive, very open weave fabric used for a room divider screen and a more decorative version to which beads have been added that was meant more as a hanging alone, but could definitely also be incorporated into a screen beautifully.

Instructions for handling the paper yarn are very detailed. As an aside, I have sampled with some paper yarn from Habu Textiles in New York and didn’t find it especially difficult to work with. I only used it in the weft, but it dyed beautifully and went through the whole shibori process without a hitch.

Pillow

This new revised edition is worth taking a look at and certainly a great resource for beginners.

Designing with Monk’s Belt	Paper yarn screen	Rag weaving
Illustration for hand manipulations	Hand manipulated hangings	pillow 2 with detail

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Knitter’s Frolic …..

On April 26th we participated in the annual Knitter’s Frolic Show at the Japanese Cultural Centre in Toronto.

This was a new venture for Yarns Plus as traditionally we only carried weaving yarns. With the addition of the 3/5 Tencel along with 2/5 Tencel we felt we had yarns that would be of interest to knitters. We were right. While Tencel has been in the weaving community for 10 years we found it is a fairly new yarn to knitters .

We had a hand out on the properties of Tencel which proved to be good vehicle to acquaint knitters with all the pluses of Tencel. That along with knit samples on the 3/5, 2/5 and 2/10 sizes spawned a myriad of questions along with a great deal of interest in Tencel as a knitting yarn.

We were very gratified with the response and the enthusiasm of the knitters to give Tencel a try.

The Yarn Plus door prizes were won by Shelia Charters and Catherine Osborne. Emily Chatten of the Downtown Knit Collective made the draw for the winner of the Yarns Plus Email draw. Congratulations to Nancie Line.

Thanks to Joan Kass and her team for the easy and smooth move in, set-up and take down. Marie and I really enjoyed the day and are looking forward to next year’s Frolic.

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Yarn Bits---a blog

Be sure to take a look at our Blog. Marie relates the behind the scene happenings at Yarns Plus and Woven Works along with fibre news of interest. Just click on the words Yarns Bits below or on the opening page of yarnsplus.com

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What's New & Coming!

The 3/5 undyed Tencel arrived right on schedule so is in stock ready to ship. If you enjoy working with Tencel but would like a bulkier yarn this size may be ideal for you. Reeling on request.

During April we handpainted all twelve colorways in 3/5. We are now topping up the inventory following the great reception the 3/5 Hand Painted received at the Knitter’s Frolic on April 26.

Plans are underway to have the 3/5 dyed black by our local dye house. This will be the same strong black we feature in our complete Tencel line.

Plans are also underway to revamp our website with a fresh new look. We have received many compliments on how easy the site is to navigate. That feature will not change. More details in the next issue.

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May/June Special

2/10 Dyed Tencel Clearout … 15% off all in stock inventory !

Regular $22./lb now only $18.70/lb

We have discontinued stocking the 2/10 Mill Dyed with the exception of the black which we get dyed locally. Clearance prices are available on the remaining one pound cones of the twelve colors listed below. Most colors are from two dye lots.

Adobe—5 Burgundy—6 Cobalt—6 Emerald—6 Gold—11 Herb Green—7
Indigo—10 Mauve—3 Morrocan Blue—11 Seafoam—2 Silver—8 Tussah—11

Order early for best color selection.

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Shows we will be attending in future….

• Saturday, September 13, 2008 - Knitters’ Fair
  9:30 to 4:30 at Bingeman’s in Kitchener Complete details at www.knittersguild.ca
• Saturday, September 20, 2008, - OHS Five Counties Seminar
  hosted by the K-W Weaver’s and Spinner’s Guild. Theme of the seminar is “Anniversaries” in celebration of the guild’s 60th Anniversary.
  Location is St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, 54 Queen Street North ( corner of Queen North and Weber East ) in Kitchener.
  

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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…..

“It’s the little details that are vital. Little things make big things happen.”

John Voden

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