Archive for the ‘Inside WEBS’ Category

Ready, Set, Knit! Show 548: Kathy Talks With Amy Greeman About The WEBS Spring Retreat

Saturday, December 8th, 2018
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This week, Kathy is talking with our Education Manager, Amy Greeman about our 2019 Spring Retreat! A brand new event for us. Teachers include Patty Lyons, Nicky Epstein, Susan B. Anderson, Michelle Hunter (KnitPurlHunter), Julia Farwell-Clay, Fiona Ellis. You don’t want to miss out on this one!

For more information, check out the info on our site here.

Sign-ups will take place January 17, 2019 at 12:00pm EST

 

Steve’s Yarn Picks of the Week: 

Our Holiday 2018 catalog is LIVE! Click HERE to check it out! 

Upcoming Events

WEBS is open on Sundays for the holiday season this year! We’ll be here from 12-5 for all of your holiday shopping needs! Our last Sunday opening is Sunday, December 23rd, so if you’re going to be in Northampton, don’t forget to stop by and say hi!

Reminders

Do you have a crafting resolution for 2018? We sure do! Tag your posts #WEBSfiberfollowthrough for a chance to be featured!

Be sure to follow us on Facebook and Instagram for lots of great new products, contests and fun!

Check out all of our upcoming Events here.

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Ready, Set, Knit! Show 495: Kathy Talks With Kate Gilbert of Twist Collective

Saturday, July 22nd, 2017
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Dear Friends,

We are extremely excited to share some awesome news with you! Twist Collective, a phenomenal online magazine dedicated to supporting independent designers, is now a part of the WEBS family. Launched in August, 2008 by the incredibly talented Kate Gilbert, we are honored that we have the opportunity to work with Kate and together take Twist to an entirely new level. In the upcoming months you will see even more of the great design and editorial content that you expect from Twist. Like Twist, WEBS is dedicated to supporting indie designers and will continue that emphasis. Additionally, we will be adding lots of new features to the Twist site over the coming year. Twist will continue to be led by Kate, and we couldn’t be happier to have her on our team!


If you’ve never been to twistcollective.com before, head on over and take a look at some of the amazing independent designs from past issues. They are truly inspiring! Kate is already hard at work on the Fall issue which should go live around October 1st.

 

Please join us in welcoming Kate and the Twist Collective community!


Steve and Kathy Elkins
WEBS – America’s Yarn Store and Twist Collective
www.yarn.com
www.twistcollective.com

Steve’s Yarn Picks of the week:

 

Reminder:

You can sign up for the 11th annual WEBS Rhinebeck Roadtrip RIGHT NOW!! Have you started knitting your sweater yet? Click here for more details and to purchase your ticket…seats always fill up super fast, and you wouldn’t want to miss out!

Upcoming Events

WEBS is holding our first-ever Spinning Summit this fall! From September 29th through October 1st, we’ll be holding classes, special Sunday shopping hours for participants, and other exclusive events. Our teachers include the amazing Jillian Moreno, Abby Franquemont, Amy King, and Beth Smith! Check out our brochure over here!

Registration for the WEBS Retreat has filled! If you missed out, please consider signing up for the waitlist. We had many people come off the waitlist last year!

WEBS is having a Rhinebeck Sweater KAL! There’s still time to sign up and start your sweater, so sign up now to join for a reduced rate!  Click here for more information and to register!

Be sure to follow us on Facebook and Instagram for lots of great new products, contests and fun!

Check out all of our upcoming Events here.

Right click or CTRL+click and Save As to download the MP3 of this Podcast Subscribe to Ready, Set, Knit! in iTunes Subscribe to the Ready, Set, Knit! Podcast RSS Feed

15th Annual WEBS Tent Sale: A look Inside

Friday, May 26th, 2017
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Our busiest weekend of the year has passed! Keep scrolling for an insider’s look at our 15th Annual Tent Sale and Fleece Market!

headerSaturday morning starts off with a quick meeting (and pep talk!) for store staff. Tent Sale is all-hands on deck, so even those who do not work in the retail store are on hand to help out! We want to make sure everyone is on the same page – it helps the lines move faster,  and helps us provide the best service we can to our customers.

storemeetingWe have tons of high-quality yarns on sale! At Tent Sale, you can often find your favorite brands for $2.50 and $5.00 a skein – not to mention full bags of yarn at unbeatable sale prices!

Untitled design (1)One of our favorite parts of Tent Sale is the annual Fleece Market on Saturday. Local farmers and artisans gather in our parking lot to sell fleeces, tools for fiber artists, luxury yarns, handmade goods, and sometimes, animals!

Untitled designMadelinetosh on sale? Yes, please!

toshonsaleOur store and warehouse are open all day! After shopping under the tent, customers come inside to take full advantage of the WEBS discount!

Untitled design (2)We love it when customers show up wearing knitwear! This customer came wearing her gorgeous Shusui Shrug by Susanne Sommer. It looks like a generous brioche shawl, but it’s actually an open cardigan! It’s definitely giving us some finished object – envy

Untitled design (3)Did you know that WEBS is dog-friendly? Even our four legged visitors are excited to shop!

saledogDid you miss our 15th Annual Tent Sale last weekend? Don’t fret! Our 43rd Anniversary Sale is in its last days, and we have a full list of amazing deals you can shop online! Click here for a list of May Anniversary Sale yarns!

5 Tips for Tent Sale!

Tuesday, May 16th, 2017
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The wait is over – clean out the trunk of your car! This weekend, Saturday, May 20th and Sunday May, 21st WEBS will be hosting our 15th Annual Tent Sale at our Northampton, Mass store!

Whether this is your first trip, or you’re a Tent Sale pro, here are a few insider tips for shopping our biggest in-store sale of the year!

 

1. Come prepared!

If you aren’t sure what you’re looking for, it’s not a bad idea to take a peek at our website and check out our offerings. Our May Sale is in full swing, and you can score some excellent deals under the tent, as well as in the store, and the warehouse. Coming with a few patterns, and having a list is an excellent idea, and will help give you some inspiration. Knowing what PDF patterns you’ll need printed out at checkout will help you as well. Of course, there will be yarns or sales that are just too good to pass up – so, be open to trying something new! WEBS offers a volume discount of 20% off of full priced yarns if you spend $60, and 25% off of full priced yarns if you spend $120. For more information about our discount system, click here!

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Historically, the Saturday of Tent Sale is our busiest day of the entire year! Every person who works for WEBS will be on hand to help, but not everyone will have the same knowledge as our retail store staff, especially in the hustle and bustle of a busy day. If you have specific questions about patterns, we suggest stopping by the store on another day, or taking advantage of our free drop in classes, if you can! We want to provide you with the best service we possibly can!

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2. We can (almost) always order more!

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Because our store is in one location, and our shipping warehouse is in the next town over, what it says we have in stock online, doesn’t always reflect what we actually have on hand, which can be frustrating for customers who are traveling a long way to come to Tent Sale. There’s no need to fear though – we can order you the quantity you need at checkout, and if it’s in stock, we’ll ship it home to you for free! If the item is out of stock, we’ll backorder it for you, and charge your shipping fees when it hits the mail. If you’re shopping online this week, you can also select “in store pick-up” at checkout, and your items will be waiting at the store for you . . . but you’ll have to act fast – we need about 48 hours to fulfill these orders!

 

3. Don’t forget about our Fleece Market on Saturday!

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Everyone’s always excited for the Fleece Market, which takes place from 10 until 5 on Saturday. We’ll have 15 (!!!) local farms who will be set up around the perimeter of our parking lot, selling all kinds of goods, from fleeces and handmade yarn, to lamb meat and jewelry. Bring some extra cash – you never know what you’ll find! Check out a full list of vendors over here, with links to their websites.

4. There will be lines!

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There’s no avoiding it, there will be some waiting. Thankfully, we will have parking attendants on hand who will help you find a place to park easily. To alleviate wait times, we’ll have extra cash registers set up to accommodate everyone as quickly and smoothly as possible. We can’t avoid long lines though, so try to bear with us. So, wear comfortable shoes and bring a friend to chat with (or your knitting!) – you’ll get through that line in no time!

 

5.  Bring a snack, or stop by the bistro bus!

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It’s a given – most people plan to spend a good chunk of time at Tent Sale. We encourage you to bring plenty of water and a snack. The Bistro Bus will also be parked in our lot for most of the day (10 – 3), so there’s no need to leave for lunch. Check out their menu! They have delicious offerings, like Asian Fusion Tacos, and Quesadillas, as well as weekly specials!

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Are you as excited as we are?

WEBS will be open on Saturday from 10 – 5:30, and from 10 -4 on Sunday. Don’t forget to tune into WHMP for Ready, Set, Knit!, which will be airing LIVE at 9. We’ll also be posting a virtual tour of the Fleece Market for those who can’t make it, but still want to get in on the action.

 

We can’t wait to see you!

It’s almost time for the Hot Chocolate Run for Safe Passage!

Monday, November 28th, 2016
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In what has become a yearly tradition for WEBS, our employees will be walking and running in the Hot Chocolate Run for Safe Passage on December 4th. Now in it’s 13th year, and with this being our 6th year of participating, this event has become an important part of our lives.

Team WEBS memories from the Hot Chocolate Run over the last 5 years. Read more on the WEBS Blog at blog.yarn.com

Some of us walk with our knitting, or spinning, some with our mothers, some with our spouses and children, or pets, some of us walk to support survivors we know, and in the hope that someday we won’t need fundraisers like this.

We participate for the good-natured competitiveness of the fundraising (you can make a donation here), for the team building excitement on race day, and for the positive impact it has in our community. We’re on track to meet our goal this year, $15,000!

To all of you who have donated in the past, and those of you who have participated yourselves, we say, “Thank You.”

Spinning my Wheels

Wednesday, October 26th, 2016
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My passion for fiber and color runs deep and I love to knit, weave and crochet, but I resisted the siren song of spinning because I was afraid. And then, two years ago I accidentally volunteered to be captain of the WEBS Spinzilla team and my worst fears were realized – I loved spinning! Down the rabbit hole I went and another fiber obsession has been added to my bag of tricks. I was afraid that spinning would distract me from weaving – and it has – but it has also given me another way to create and deepened my understanding of fiber and yarn and how they work and interact – useful information for my other creative outlets.

Of course, learning to spin opened me to a whole new world of color, texture and fiber and the overwhelming desire to have it all at my fingertips! I kept finding more things I wanted WEBS to carry and started organizing spinning events to learn more about the craft. More fiber, more spinners, life is good, right? The success of Spinzilla and the feedback from spinners at our events has brought a resurgence in spinning at WEBS. Steve and Kathy want to further strengthen our spinning area and decided to create a position to oversee that. I am honored that they asked me and excited to add spinning to my role at WEBS as Weaving and Spinning Manager.

Spinning fibers from Louet, Spunky Eclectic and more on the WEBS Blog at blog.yarn.com

We still have a few fiber specials from Spinzilla to take advantage of. The fiber packs we put together with Louet are a great way to learn about how to spin different breeds. Each pack has just enough of each breed  to develop your skill in spinning and enough variety to keep boredom at bay. There’s also some great colorful braids from Spunky Eclectic in the Autumn Welcome colorway she designed for us with 2 fiber options – easy to love and spin BFL or a luscious Polwarth/Mohair/Silk blend. To round out the sweet deals, we have what my friend Liz calls a box of crayons – the Lamb’s Tail Medleys from Frabjous Fibers. Also in 2 bases – superwash BFL or Merino/Bamboo/Nylon – these are a random assortment of colors with unlimited possibilities.

I am looking forward to expanding the fibers, tools and classes for spinners. Please feel free to contact me with suggestions; I want to hear what you’d like to see here!

Our Fall 2016 Catalog is here!

Friday, September 9th, 2016
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Our Fall 2016 Catalog is now available for you to view online and will be arriving in mailboxes over the next few weeks! We have almost 2 dozen new yarns for you to discover from companies like Blue Sky Fibers, Berroco and Artyarns and over 40 new patterns, including 9 new designs from Valley Yarns!

WEBS Fall 2016 catalogs are mailing out now! Learn how you can get a copy on the WEBS Blog at blog.yarn.com

Whether you peruse online today or wait for your copy to arrive, you’re sure to find plenty of yarns and projects to fill your mailbox!

WEBS Fall 2016 catalogs are mailing out now! Learn how you can get a copy on the WEBS Blog at blog.yarn.com

If you’re not yet on the mailing list sign-up here!

 

 

Just 2 months till Rhinebeck!

Thursday, August 18th, 2016
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Are you headed to the Dutchess County Fairgrounds in Rhinebeck, NY for the annual New York State Sheep and Wool Festival? You could save yourself the hassle of driving and give yourself extra knitting time by riding the bus with WEBS!

Ride the bus to Rhinebeck! Read more on the WEBS Blog at blog.yarn.com

Your ticket on the bus includes a light breakfast, your ticket to the Festival, and a chance to win fabulous prizes along the way. Register now as seating is limited!

Altering a Hand Knit Garment

Thursday, August 4th, 2016
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Many of you know Marthe – one of our store team members.  Last summer, she decided to knit a sweater as a gift for her daughter, Lilah.  Standing nearly 6 feet tall, Lilah can never find garments, particularly sweaters, that account for her height and long arms, so Marthe took up the challenge to knit a sweater that fit her daughter’s shape.  Marthe chose to knit a cardigan in Sweet Georgia Superwash DK in the Cranberry colorway.  After lots of knitting to accommodate the 29 year old’s frame, Lilah’s beautiful sweater was shipped off to her. She was thrilled but found the upper arms to be a bit too loose which made her feel frumpy (photo).  There was too much ease in the upper arms. She asked her mother if anything could be done without reworking the sweater altogether.

Marthe altered her daughter's Custom Fit sweater, details on the WEBS Blog at blog.yarn.com

Marthe’s solution was a three-step process. She began by removing the mattress stitched seam from the forearm to the armpit,  folding over the excess fabric, and pinning it to create a new line for seaming.  She then re-seamed the sleeve to the more accurate dimension, along the folded edge, using mattress stitch.  Finally, Marthe used her serger to remove the excess fabric and secure the yarn ends. She did say, however, that a serger is not essential. The same result may be achieved by using a sewing machine to straight stitch, and then trimming the excess knitted material – just like doing a steek.

The alteration was successful!  Lilah was thrilled and immediately asked her mother for another handknit sweater. Her next request?  Could Marthe knit the sleeves a half inch shorter next time!

Thank You!

Thursday, July 28th, 2016
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Once again the residents of the Pioneer Valley have voted in the Daily Hampshire Gazette‘s annual Reader’s Poll and have chosen WEBS as their favorite yarn store!

WEBS is in first place for 2016 in the Daily Hampshire Gazette's annual Reader's Poll. Read more on the WEBS Blog at blog.yarn.com

A huge thank you to all our customers that voted. We wouldn’t be able to keep doing what we do without you!