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| May 08 -- Extra! Extra! Read All About It! | |
Noni Bag Kits 
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Greetings & Salutations! I am late in getting out this news and have missed some important info for everyone. Because of this, I am extending some of the specials that have been going on and have had to rearrange a couple of classes. With Spring comes the shearing of the sheep and goats, which results in a lot of wool to move to people who have ordered it. Melissa is finishing up this season's shearing, so those of you with fleeces reserved will hear from us soon if you haven't already. The HOT NEWS is Melissa won first place with her Dinosaur Puppet in the Needle Felting Category at the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival. Considering there were approximately 120 entries, this was terrific! Speaking of fleeces, there was one sheep missed on the list that did not get reserved -- Lorelei's fleece is in the shop for those who might be interested. It is almost 6 lbs. NOTICE - NOTICE - NOTICE The shop will be CLOSED Tuesday (May 20) for renovations! I am having the ceiling redone in the main room, so we will be closed these two days. Sorry for an inconvenience to anyone! CLASS SCHEDULE The 2008-2009 Class schedule is now available in pdf format. Just click on the hyperlink to download a free copy. If anyone would like us to send a hard copy, please call the shop or send an e-mail requesting a copy. The yearly schedule is included on the last two pages. If you or someone you know wants a hard copy, please call the shop or send us an e-mail, and we will mail one to you or to a friend. In the meantime, upcoming classes are: 24-25 May -- Beginning Spinning Class 31 May -- Yarns to Dye For 7-8 June - Beginner Weaving Class 14 June -
Beginner Needle Felting Class &
21-22-23 June -
Spinning Workshop - 3 Classes 28 June - Advanced Needle Felting Class EVENTS Baby Trunk Show! I expect the trunk show to arrive this coming week and be on display for all of you by next weekend. The show will be at the shop all of next week, too! There are some really cute items in this one! Special Promotions -- Between now and the end of May, we will have special sales and promotions on yarns, especially sock yarns! Spring Fling! -- Between now and June 1st, we will be doing some special things at the shop for our customers! There will be specials on purchases and other incentives during this time period, including some cute free patterns with purchase. For every $10 that you purchase, you will
be eligible for a raffle ticket for a drawing on 28 June. The grand prize
winner can choose from one of four prizes: For those of you that made a purchase since 1 May, your name has been put into the raffle automatically. -- For those of you who live far away, you are still eligible when you make an internet purchase. Spring Fling will lead into Christmas in July!!! Fiber Day at Shop - 17 May - Come in and visit and see demos of spinning, weaving, needle felting, and who knows? Hot Sox Contest - Win $6,000!!!! - Come into the shop for details or call. Don't think that you cannot compete! If you have done socks in the past, you can certainly give this one a try. Winners from the 1996 contest included beginner socks to creative ones! You certainly have nothing to lose unless you don't enter... 14 June we have the Sock Class on how to do two socks at a time from the toe up! Just a hint -- That will be a special day for sock enthusiasts. Great American Afghan - If anyone is interested in doing the Great American Afghan, please contact me. I thought it would be nice to do one square every other month. This will be self-paced, but knitters will need to dedicate themselves to do at least one square every two months. This is a beautiful afghan and you can pick the colors you wish to do for your unique cover. I have copies of the book in stock, but can reorder if I run out. Please call to let me know if you are interested in this event! NEW STUFF!!! I have been putting together Noni Bag Kits, which includes the pattern, the yarn, and all the hardware needed to create the beautiful Noni Bags. What's even better, is that I am selling these kits at a savings to you of 15% or more. Each kit is different! Or, you can build your own kit and still get a good discount! The Tail Spinner is very proud to present Buffalo Gold Yarn, Fibers, and Kits. The yarn is decadent, to say the least; and the spinning fiber is awesome! We have the muffler kit, which contains the pattern, the yarn, and a pewter pin of a buffalo head with a Swarovski crystal as the eye. The other kit we are carrying is the Baby Prairie Bonnet. This kit contains the yarn, the pattern, and a set of booties made from buffalo. Both kits have a gold envelope box that you can put the finished item in for gift giving. The Super Cotton Sock Puppets are here! We have halved the balls of yarn to make a full kit more affordable. Or you can purchase the pattern book and the skeins you wish for the socks you want to make! Other new yarns and goodies are on display, including Cascade Venezia and Sirdar Snuggly. We also have the new Soysilk Pals in the shop for that special someone on your shopping list! They are sooo soft and soooo cute! Okay, Spinners! The fiber is out!!! We have beautiful roving in alpaca, mohair, shetland, icelandic, lambs wool, jacob, lincoln, fine colored corriedale, cormo, and polypay roving in all natural colors. There are also some nice alpaca wool batts for felting or blending with other projects. Prices and more pictures will be on the website this coming week. Melissa also has Lorelei's fleece available, and she brought back some nice fleeces from Maryland Sheep and Wool to include Border Leicester, Shetland, Tunis and Finn! We also have SPECIAL GIFT PAKS
OF ROVING AND FIBERS. Each one is unique and contains different
fibers. Some are designed specifically for color. The picture
to the left of the examples shows some of the types of packs we put
together. The red and orange has two balls of hand painted -
superwash merino - pin roving, a braid of dyed Corriedale top with natural
merino, a silk bell, a small sample skein to show you what your yarn might
look like, and a sample of the roving blended together. No two kits
are alike. Some are packaged in bags and others are in beautiful
gift boxes. The cost per pack varies due to the fibers, but the
average is $4.00 per ounce.
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April 2008 |
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 3-Day Spinning Class - 4-5-6 April
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CLASSES Well, spring has sprung, and so have all the lambs! Check out the picture from our last three-day spinning class. Lisbeth is being spoiled rotten! Our next 3-day class is 5 - 6 - 7 April. Two seats have become available if anyone is interested. You may attend for two or three days depending on your schedule. I PROMISE that the new schedule will be posted shortly! It will be in pdf format and will be on the website by the end of the week for download. FLEECES & FIBERS Melissa has begun shearing of the sheep! If you reserved a fleece this year, you will be contacted shortly. A few fleeces are still available. Check out the website for details. The processed rovings will also be available later on this week. We are pricing them out now, and you will be able to purchase some of these as whole processed fleeces or by 4-ounce quantities. There is some really wonderful fiber in the lot, and Ozark Carding Mill did a beautiful job of processing! There are several colors of Alpaca, some wonderfully soft Jacob, Icelandic, Shetland, Lincoln, Cotswold, and others. For those who are not local, we will have this available on the internet site as well. Linda's special spinner packages are being packaged and will also be available soon. They include hand dyed superwash merino, merino and/or corriedale rovings for blending, soysilk and some flash/angelina in complementary colors. Each pack has a small sample skein and sample blend of roving. However, you are encouraged to use your imagination to turn the fiber into something wonderful! From Stella Bedard... Stella has added two new patterns to her collection. One is for fingerless gloves with cables, and the other is a wonderful sock pattern for cotton socks. The pattern she developed for the socks prevents the sock from losing its shape. This sock will not fall down! NEW YARNS & PATTERNS I don't know where to begin! ALL the sock yarn is in! WOW! and More is coming! We will also be carrying the 2008 Limited Collector's Edition of Tofutusies, which has four skeins of yarn and a CD with sock patterns. All of this is packaged in a cute purple bag... Total cost is $64.00. Popcorn, Namaste, and others great yarns have arrived from Skacel, including the Supercotton and the pattern books for the sock puppets! Here is a quick knit in a stretchy cotton blend. It has a wonderfully deep pallet ranging from vivid and fun rainbow colors to softer earth-tones. Works great for bright and happy wear for children. From Cascade, we have Pima Tencel and the new Cotton Rich DK, along with new Noni Bag patterns. We also have a company who provides all the hardware and handles for the Noni Bags! We will be making up kits for several of the new bags so you will be able to get everything in one package for these terrific bags! We also have received more
patterns from Fiber Trends and Knitting Pure and Simple.
The Great American Afghan Book is in stock again, too. This book
sold out within two days of receiving it.
Universal Yarns has increased its color line in Classic Worsted Long Print and Impressions, and we have those in stock; and wait until you see and feel the new Fibra Natura Aspen made from 75% Merino Superwash and 25% Cotton. And coming soon, you will see Classic Shades hitting the shelves. Don't forget, we also have the new "Yummy" sock yarn for the Hot Sox Contest! More Information As we continue to grow and serve you, our customer; we look forward to your input. You are very important to us, so your suggestions and comments are critical in order for us to give you the very best customer service that we can. If there is something you like, please let us know! But more importantly, if there is something you don't like, we want to hear from you! We will continue to listen and hopefully provide you with what you want!
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February-March 2008 |
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Lisbeth
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Spring is Around the Corner and so is the Hot Sox Contest!
Spring is on its way and so is the kick off for "Think Outside the Sox." This contest is sponsored by Knitter's Magazine in conjunction with several yarn companies and runs through January of 2009. The Tail Spinner is proud to collaborate with three of the Companies: Skacel, Southwest Trading Company, and Universal Yarns. There will be categories sponsored by each of these companies, and if your sock design wins with their yarn, there are added incentives. The grand prize for the first place sock is $6,000! That will definitely add to anyone's yarn stash! Rules, entry forms and other information will be available in the store on March 1st. We also will be carrying the yarn from these companies throughout the year! There are some absolutely gorgeous new yarns in the shipments, and more are on the way!
And The Winners Are!
The winners of the Valentine Shopping Spree were:
The shop will continue to sponsor these raffles in the future. Here's how it works: For every $10 you purchase (before taxes), you get a raffle ticket. On the specified day, we pull out the first place ticket and then the second prize winner. Even if you made a purchase via the internet, your name will be entered for the drawing for the amount purchased.
The next drawing will be for Easter, which is March 23rd! BUT, we will not pull the winners until March 29th.
Classes
I am almost done with the class schedule for the year. Until I get it posted: We have the following classes scheduled:
Feb 29 - March 1 - 2 - 3 -- Spinning
Workshop! -- This workshop will begin on
Friday evening at 6 p.m. and will include all three follow-on classes:
1) Spinning the Next Steps, 2) Spinning the Long and the Short of It, and
3) Spinning Novelty Yarns! You may choose to attend one, two, or all
three classes. If you attend all three classes, you will receive a
discount. Monday will consist of a trip to the farm and visit with
the animals and see a sheep shearing. Upon our return, we will do a
dye pot! Again, if you have attended the entire weekend, there will
be a discount on the shear & dye day. March 8 - Advanced Needle Felting Class - Make an "Easter" bunny, chipmunk or squirrel. Cost for class is $65.00. (There may be an additional $8 charge for beginner kit which contains foam and needles. - If you already have one of these, please bring it with you.)
For additional information on classes go to http://www.tail-spinner.com/classes.htm
New Stuff
Some new yarns are due in the shop this week in addition to the sock yarns, and some are absolutely beautiful spring and summer yarns, such as "Sublime" an Organic Cotton. We also have some terrific patterns for them, too!
Spinners! The processed roving is arriving, and it is to "dye" for! Ozark Carding Mill did a wonderful job on the wool that I have received thusfar, and this was not the best stuff that I sent in! I can't wait to see the "good" stuff. After we weigh and package the individual runs, they will go on sale. -- They are truly WOW!
And... Coming Soon! - Dale of Norway! I know that they need no introduction. What a beautiful line of yarns. This company has been in existence since the late 1800's, and they provide the sweaters and other items for the Olympics.
AROUND TOWN in "The Lands"
You just never know who or what you will see when you come to the Tail Spinner. Lately, the customers have been privileged to meet "Lizbeth" who is one of Melissa's many spring lambs. Unfortunately, Lizbeth's mother could not take care of twins, and Melissa had to become the surrogate mother to this adorable baby. Considering that Lizbeth requires feedings like any newborn, Melissa had to set up a "play pen" in the back of her truck to transport this baby each day to the shop in order to care for her. As you can see, baby is doing fine and thriving well! |
| January 2008 | |
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Be a winner! Between now and January 2009 you could win over $6,000!
Hot Sox Contest
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Happy (Belated) New Year!
I hope all of you are keeping warm. I was so disappointed because it did not snow! If it has to be this cold, at least we should be able to enjoy watching a little snow fall. Oh well! Maybe next time? The good side is that this is a great time to knit, spin, weave, felt, or do any fiber related craft! In February, we will begin "Knit Alongs" in the shop. The first one will be "Create and Design Your Own Felted Purse." Call the shop for more information. For those of you who have not visited us lately, the shop has been getting a face lift. Little by little, we are getting the building renovated. Plus, there is so much going on! This is e-newsletter is a bit lengthy, but there is some really important information in here, so I hope you read on, especially HOT NEWS!
Come in and shop this Friday and Saturday for a Superbowl Celebration and draw for chances to get up to a 40% discount on your purchase. Also, every $10 you spend in the store between now and Valentine's Day (February 14th) will earn you a raffle ticket for the Valentine Day Drawing for a second place prize of a $25.00 shopping spree or first place prize of a $50 shopping spree at the shop. The only limitation is that you cannot with both.
HOT NEWS!
The Tail Spinner will be participating in the HOT SOX CONTEST which is being sponsored by several yarn companies and XRX in conjunction with Knitter's Magazine. You will be able to get yarn from at least three of the participating companies in the shop! This contest runs through next January, and you will have chances to win MONEY for your knitting habit. More details will be posted in February on this contest, but you can get started now by beginning to design a pair (or pairs) of socks to enter into this contest!
We will also be participating in Sock Wars III, sponsored by SWTC. This particular contest will begin on February 14th. Rules are already posted on the SWTC website www.soysilk.com Just click on the "Socks HQ" link on the top menu bar for the details. You will be able to get the yarn needed for this contest at the store. Those of you who are fast knitters and love socks, this will be a real treat for you! You can also go to "Think Outside the Socks" link on the same page to learn a little more about the HOT SOX CONTEST!
Classes
I've been working diligently on trying to get the class schedule and catalog for 2008 and 2009 updated. For the moment, we have the following scheduled for the next couple of months:
Feb 29 - March 1 - 2 - 3 -- Spinning Workshop! -- This workshop will begin on Friday evening at 6 p.m. and will include all three follow-on classes: 1) Spinning the Next Steps, 2) Spinning the Long and the Short of It, and 3) Spinning Novelty Yarns! You may choose to attend one, two, or all three classes. If you attend all three classes, you will receive a discount. Monday will consist of a trip to the farm and visit with the animals and see a sheep shearing. Upon our return, we will do a dye pot! Again, if you have attended the entire weekend, there will be a discount on the shear & dye day.
April 5 - 6 & 7 - Beginner Spinning Class -- This is a 3-day class; however, you may choose to only attend on Saturday & Sunday for the 2-day class curriculum. On Monday, we will be visiting the farm and animals and see a sheep being sheared. Afterward, we will return to the shop and do a dye pot!
Feb 16 & 17 - Beginning Weaving Class
Feb 23 - Cookie Cutter Needle Felting Class - Learn the very basics of Needle Felting. - TOTAL cost for this class, including wool and everything you need, is $25.00
March 8 - Advanced Needle Felting Class - Make an "Easter" bunny, chipmunk or squirrel. Cost for class is $65.00. (There may be an additional $8 charge for beginner kit which contains foam and needles. - If you already have one of these, please bring it with you.)
The catalog of classes for the entire year will be posted on the website soon.
New Stuff
I am so pleased to announce that we are now carrying patterns from a local designer! Stella Bedard has been knitting since childhood and is a well known knitting instructor. Each pattern teaches a new technique, and the designs are lovely. The patterns run $4.50, and there are examples on display at the shop, which are also for sale.
There are some terrific embroidered T-Shirts for sale in the shop made by Rosemary Johnson of Needlestrokes Embroidery. I bought a couple of shirts from her almost two years ago. The T-shirts wear well, and the embroidery is as good as the day I put it on. Some of the designs are:
Some lovely crochet cotton arrived called Lyscordet from Twilley's of England. At $5.50 a ball, this is a great bargain.
The new Hand painted, 100% Merino Sock yarn is flying off the shelf. This yarn is soooo soft and is sold as a pair of hanks with 220 yards in each hank, which is enough for a pair response for this.
New Fibers & More!!! I was also busy over the holidays and dyed and hand painted sock yarn, lace weight yarn, and some beautiful pin roving and merino wool, to include blends of buffalo and merino, silk and merino, and seacell and merino.
The Wool Pak yarns have arrived, and considering the current weather, these yarns would make the perfect outer garment for staying warm outside. Is there anyone out there wanting to do the Aran Coat out of the "Opinionated Knitter"? If so, come and join me and we can do a knit along.
By popular demand, there will be new sock yarns arriving to include the new "Sock Puppets" from Skacel. Kits will be available with the Sock Puppet pattern book and Super Cotton yarn that is used for these delightful socks for the little ones. I also ordered some super new yarns for Spring!
Fleeces from ABC Woolcrafts are sold out for 2008, and Melissa is taking reservations for 2009. -- WOW!!! The lambing season has begun, so she is super busy with new babies arriving! As usual, they are too cute to describe.
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