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Guest: Kathy talks with Margaret from Green Mountain Spinnery about the upcoming, 3rd annual I-91 Shop-Hop.

The Spinnery specializes in yarns sourced from fibers grown in the US with some yarns, like Mountain Mohair, in continuous production for over 25 years. They are primarily a yarn manufacturer but they do have a small retail shop open to the public and they will be offering factory tours as well as daily prizes and raffles during the Shop-Hop. Get your passport now!

Steve’s Yarn Picks

• Fibre Company Meadow
• Trendsetter Grace
• Baah Yarns La Jolla
• Noro Silk Garden – New Colors!
• Noro Kureyon – New Colors!
• Fibre Company Canopy – 50g hanks – Closeout

The New England Weavers Seminar (NEWS) is happening July 11-14, on the Smith College campus.

Sweater Basics and Finishing class with Ann Budd, July 13-14.

 

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Guest: Kathy talks with Meta about the 3rd Annual I-91 Shop-Hop happening June 27th – 30th, Thursday through Sunday.

Meta owns and runs Metaphor Yarns in Shellburne, MA., set just across the road from a beautiful New England dairy farm with lots of space for classes and knitting groups as well as a great selection of small local yarns.

Meta will have demonstrations happening all weekend in knitting, weaving, tatting and more, hoppers will also get a goody bag. Each store will have a daily raffle. Get your passports stamped at each shop, once you’ve gotten a stamp from each shop you can enter into the drawing for the grand prize. Buy your passports now!

Our Thanks to everyone who came out for the Tent Sale and to the Vendors who participated in our Fleece Market. Thanks to our phenomenal team! You did an awesome job!

Steve’s Yarn Picks

39th Anniversary Sale:  May sale highlights

This is the last week of the Sale! Our 39th Anniversary sale ends Friday May 31st at 11pm EDT

• Knitter’s Pride Dreamz Interchangeable Circular Chunky Set
• Knitter’s Pride Nova Special Interchangeable Circular Set
• Knitter’s Pride Symfonie Rose Interchangeable Circular Deluxe Set

Cascade 220, Cascade 220 Superwash, and Plymouth Encore

• Valley Yarns 2/14 Alpaca Silk
• Lang Jawoll Magic Degrade
• Valley Yarns Southwick

• Loop-d-Loop by Teva Durham Quartz
• Loop-d-Loop by Teva Durham Moss
• Loop-d-Loop by Teva Durham Birch
• Filatura di Crosa Gioiello – Discontinued Colors
• Ella Rea Lace Merino – Discontinued Colors
• Ella Rae Lace Merino Worsted – Closeout
• Schoppel Woll Zauberball Starke 6

Amy Herzog will be here June 6th to celebrate the release of her new book, Knit to Flatter.

The New England Weavers Seminar (NEWS) is happening July 11-14, on the Smith College campus.

 

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Guest: Kathy talks with Carol Alexander, editor of Crochet World and Crochet! magazine.

Carol talks about her path from designer to editor of 2 major Crochet magazines and the insights she gained during that journey into the inner workings of bringing a magazine full of great patterns and useful knowledge to market, as well as how many people and just how much time it takes to do so.

They also discuss the resurgence of Tunisian crochet, the best yarns to crochet with and why knitters should try crochet.

Steve’s Yarn Picks

New Yarns

• Online Supersocke Ocean Color
• New Colors of Northampton!
• New Colors of Amherst!
• New Colors of Charlemont!

• Cascade Ecologoical Wool
• Classic Elite Crestone
• Euro Yarns Tinseltown
• Universal Yarns Classic Shades
• Valley Yarns 60/2 Silk

Don’t forget about the Tent Sale on May 18th and 19th. There will be some great grab bags as well as some Noro on sale, we’re cleaning out the warehouse, folks!

The Third Annual I-91 Shop Hop is happening June 27-30th.

The New England Weavers Seminar (NEWS) is happening July 11-14, on the Smith College campus.

 

If you’re looking for a fantastic, yarn-filled way to spend a weekend, hop in the car with your fiber-loving friends and take part in this year’s I-91 Shop Hop. June 27-30 (Thursday-Sunday), we are joining 10 other yarn shops in Vermont, Massachusetts, and Connecticut for a weekend of fun.

The theme of this year’s Shop Hop is “A Kaleidoscope of Color.” Each shop will showcase a particular color and will develop an interesting display around it, so you want to make sure you hit every shop to see what they display.

All of the participating shops will have goodies and special giveaways. Two lucky grand prize winners will receive $550 in gift certificates as well as yarns, books, tools, and more from our favorite suppliers. How do you win? Simply have your passport stamped at each shop. At the last shop, leave your completed, stamped entry form. The winners will be chosen on July 1, 2013.

Passports are $5 and are available at participating shops and on our website. Grab them now so you’re ready to go on Thursday morning!

Click on the poster to view all of the shops.

Are you planning on joining us?

If you are local to WEBS and are looking for some fun things to do with your fiber friends, we have plenty of events to keep you busy in June!

On Thursday, June 14th we are excited to host the book launch for our very own Leslie Ann Bestor’s book Cast On, Bind Off! Join us from 6pm – 8pm to celebrate this comprehensive collection of all of her tips and tricks for dressing up the beginning and end of every project. (Leslie Ann is also teaching some of these techniques this summer! Find out more about her classes here.)

On Tuesday, June 5th Iris Schreier will join our regular Drop-In session!  Iris Schreier is the founder and designer of Artyarns, and author of One + One Scarves, Shawls & Shrugs. Stop in to meet and chat with her between 10am and 12pm and see many of the beautiful garments from the book.  Then feel free to stick around for a little advice on your current project.

On Friday, June 15th we will welcome designer Ysolda Teague to the store! From 4pm to 5:30pm Ysolda will hang out in the store for a meet-and-greet after she finishes teaching her class (more information on that class here). Swing by and say hello, she’ll be happy to answer a few questions or sign your book!

And, of course, there is the I-91 Shop Hop!  Eleven local yarn shops located along I-91 from Putney, VT to New Haven, CT are joining together for the second annual I-91 Shop Hop! This event is a fun way to visit new and interesting yarn shops in our area.

The I-91 Shop Hop will take place June 29th – July 1st.  All participating shops will be open from 10am–6pm on Friday & Saturday and 12pm–5pm on Sunday.  Find out how to purchase your passport and all of the other details here.

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June is going to be such an exciting way to kick off the summer!  For details about registering for any of the events above, click the event image or visit our events page.

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Guest: Marji LaFreniere of Marji’s Yarncrafts in Granby, CT chats with Kathy about her shop and the 2nd Annual I-91 Shop Hop. The Shop Hop is June 29-July 1. Marji has been in business for 24 years this June! Marji offers classes and “Knit, Chat, and Get Help” classes where knitters can bring their projects in and get help and chat. A lot of Marji’s stock is beautiful hand dyes, as well as classic yarns. There are some novelties available as well. Her favorite yarn is Koigu.

When you visit during the Shop Hop,  you’ll find special guests, samples, and more. Make sure you pick up your passport to get it stamped to you can enter the grand prize giveaway. The grand prize is a massive basket full of goodies, a $50 from each shop, and an afghan that features a square designed by each shop. Each shop will be giving away their pattern with the purchase of the yarn, so you can collect them all and create your own afghan.

This Is Retail video contest update: We want to thank everyone who helped us and put up with our requests for votes, but unfortunately we didn’t win. Our contest had the greatest number of votes. We are so thankful for all of your votes an really appreciate it.

Steve’s Yarn Picks

Grignasco Springfield Vintage

BeSweet Bamboo

Classic Elite Lush Closeout

Cascade Pastaza Closeout

Berroco Pure Pima Closeout

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Steve’s Yarn Picks

• Noro Summer of Savings
• Noro Aya
• Noro Furisode
• Noro Nobori
• Noro Volume 29, Volume 27, Flowers 2, Noro Kids
• Noro Sock Garden Sock
• Nashua Best Foot Forward Closeout
• Regia Kaffe Fassett Design Line 4-Ply Discontinued Colors
• Kertzer On Your Toes Closeout
• Regia World Ball Closeout

Guest: Meta Nisbet, owner of Metaphor Yarns in Shelburne, MA. She is also one of the founders of the I-91 Shop Hop. Meta talks about her shop, how it got started, and what you can find there as well as in the Shelburne area. You don’t want to miss out on this shop on the Shop Hop. You’ll find yarns from local farms as well as commercial yarns.

The Shop Hop is in one week! June 24th-June 26th. At Metaphor Yarns, you’ll find a number of demonstrations over the weekend. They’re hoping to put a tent on the front lawn to show off yarn basket making, two sleeves at once, painting on silk, I-cord, dyeing, and spinning. They will go on throughout the weekend. Metaphor Yarns is also launching a new vest kit (vests are their specialty).

Make sure you stop by, shop, and get your passport stamped!

Valley Yarns Preview with Kirsten Hipsky

Some crocheted goodies:
#400 October Mountain Cardigan – a lovely lacy crocheted cardi in 2/14 by Sara
#384 Golden Baby Blanket – Out of Goshen, has both knitting and crochet in the same project.

Some beautiful knitted sweaters:
#396 Masonic Street Cardigan – a stunning reknit in Colrain, from the classic Green Street Cardigan. I think it worked out really well.
#380 Boothbay Lace Pullover – a sideways, one-piece lace pullover in Southwick, ribby and flattering

Some unexpected knockout accessories:
#403 Jambalaya Shawl – I sort of just knit it on a lark, wasn’t sure it would even have a place in the catalog

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Guest: Margaret from Green Mountain Spinnery, one of the stops on the I-91 Shop Hop. Make sure you don’t miss out on this stop in Putney, VT. It’s a unique experience because all of the yarn they sell is made at their mill in Putney. They are in their 30th year of producing yarns. You’ll also get a chance to see how the yarns are made. All of the yarns are spun in Putney and all of the fibers are grown in the United States, with the focus on New England fibers. At the shop you’ll also find great mill ends and experimental yarns, which are always fun to pick up!

Steve’s Yarn Picks

• Rowan Kidsilk Aura Closeout
• Rowan Pure Cashmere DK Closeout
• Rowan Silky Tweed
• Cascade 220 Superwash Sport
• Noro Hitsuji
• Shalimar Breathless
• Lang Jawoll Magic Degrade

• WEBS’ Blog
• Herdy Salt & Pepper Shakers

History of WEBS

Barbara’s “little lie” was that she wasn’t planning on leaving, even though she said she would. It has worked out wonderfully because she has been able to travel, design, weave, and work with our long-time weaving customers.

We’ve gone from three computers to too many to count! We’ve also gone from an informational website to one you can place orders from. No more cutting samples – we have four knitting catalogs and a couple weaving catalogs. The building has morphed quite a bit as well!

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Guest: Laura McSweeny of Creative Fibers in Windsor, CT. Laura is the creator of the Shop Hop and she chats about how she came to open her yarn shop. She focuses on changing the negatives she found while yarn shopping and turning them into positives in her shop. The have great classes, a living room with a fireplace, and offer help to customers. They’re also a big part of the community, both locally and across the globe.

Some of the yarns Creative Fibers loves and carries includes a huge selection of Koigu, and Tahki Cotton Classic in over 80 colors! They also stock Jade Sapphire Moonlight. Creative Fibers also has a twice a year retreat.

Make sure you stop by Creative Fibers on your Shop Hop, and if you can’t make it to the Shop Hop, visit Creative Fibers when you can!

Summer Classes are up!

Tina, our Education Manager chats about classes

June 23rd, The Crochet Dude will be here!

Gale Zucker will teach you how to take pictures of your fiber and projects!

We’ve got great crochet classes, knitting classes, spinning class, and weaving classes, plus fiber camp for kids!

Steve’s Yarn Picks

• Trendsetter Dune Discontinued Colors
• Queensland Collection Joey’s Baby Silk Closeout
• Queensland Collection #12 by Jenny Watson
• Noro Kirameki Closeout
• Noro Love by Jane Ellison
• Mirasol Sulka Closeout Colors
• Mirasol Book 17
• Classic Elite Inca Alpaca Discontinued Colors
• Classic Elite 9121 Wharf
• Elsebeth Lavold Silky Flamme Discontinued Colors
• Elsebeth Lavold Book 13

History of WEBS

Art taught Business Management at UMASS and retired in 1988 and went to work at WEBS and help it grow. One busy Saturday, Art wanted to use the restroom at the back of the house. He had to physically leave the building and go in a different door! That was the turning point for a move. There was also yarn stashed off-site, which was difficult.

They started looking for new places, and Art brought Barbara to 75 Service Center Rd. and her first reaction was “no way!” It was an old telephone company building that housed trucks and it needed a lot of cleaning. Where our front window and door is now was a garage door. They moved into the building in 1991.