Thursday, February 28, 2013

Hop to Anoka for old world charm and to visit The Shepherdess. It might start to feel like home.

Here at The Shepherdess we are busy preparing for Shop Hop 2013.  We are filled with excitement as we put the finishing touches on our featured pattern and we hope you are going to love this one!   The yarn is ‘oh so yummy’.... I’d love to tell you all about it...but you’ll have to wait. This is our third year participating in the shop hop and we hope this will be the best one yet.  Plan to spend some time here.

You'll find The Shepherdess in quaint downtown Anoka, filled with old world charm. Walking into our shop is like stepping into the past. From the tin ceiling and creaky wood floor to the natural fiber yarns, spinning wheels and friendly service, we are all about good, old fashioned quality. If you like wool, cotton, alpaca and silk yarn you'll love it here. We have lots of samples to inspire you and a cozy lounge to browse our pattern and book collection.

Besides the wonderful yarns, we also specialize in spinning fibers, wheels and looms.  We teach knitting, crochet, spinning and weaving classes and host regular gatherings for knitters, weavers and hand spinners.  

On the first and third Saturday of every month our hand spinners meet for a day of relaxation and inspiration.  On these special days a pot of soup simmers in our lounge to keep you happy and comfy for hours.  Our mill owner Deborah Peterson presents a special spinning fiber each time for sampling.  Deb has a corner at The Shepherdess filled with beautiful roving and bats for our spinners.  We are so happy to partner with Deb to provide fresh local fiber to our spinning community.

Weaving artists also gather once a month to learn a new technique and be inspired by fellow weavers.  We are so fortunate to have Winnie Johnson with us.  Winnie has studied and taught around the world and now she offers classes here at The Shepherdess.  What a treasure!

And new to our shop is our felting specialist, Linda Johnson Morke. Her felted items are for sale and we are hoping to offer felting classes in the near future.  You may know Linda as "the yurt lady".  Her yurt has been on display for many years at Shepherds Harvest. We welcome Linda and her talents to our shop.

While you're here, be sure to try our line of natural skin care and cleaning products all made right in our store filling the air with aromatherapy and filling our guests with a sense of well being. Almost every day someone says, " this feels like home, I don't want to leave".   We’ll be waiting to see you soon,

Kathy, Karen, Winnie, Deborah, Jennifer, Rachel, Mariah, Kate M. and Kathryn

Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Yarn@ the beach with Sheepy Yarn Shoppe in White Bear Lake


What a wonderful, stress relieving hobby we all enjoy! Knitting or crocheting,  we create wonderful items from favorite colors and fibers!  Our theme this year is so exciting as we learn from each other the unusual places we Yarn@. Since we are only 2 blocks from the lake, we Yarn@ the beach. 
When you visit us be sure to check out the huge selection of yarns, patterns, accessories and books. All our employees are very knowledgeable knitters and are happy to help with any project or answer any questions. Our class schedules are designed to meet the needs of all skill levels and are taught by very skilled instructors.  Stop in anytime, wander through, sit and knit by the fireplace and just enjoy all the colors and fibers.
My passion for knitting and crocheting really began when I decided to buy the Shoppe in 1991. I had learned to knit during college days, however, I was able to dedicate full time when I retired from the corporate world. Living in Argentina, South America for 11 years exposed me to the world of Llama, Alpaca, Guanaco and Vicuna as well as great wools and pima cottons.  Everyone seemed to be using their down time to knit or crochet.  
Sheepy Yarn Shoppe will celebrate its 22nd anniversary on May 13th. This hobby has exploded in recent years and we have seen many people discover their own creative ability just waiting to be released.
You will love visiting us in historic, downtown White Bear Lake which boasts summer and winter activities on the lake. We are located in the heart of WBL among specialty shops, restaurants and parks.
See you soon! Marjorie, Bobbi, Kris, Murriel, Nancy, Eileen, Greta, Dottie, Ruth, Jean

Friday, February 22, 2013

Welcoming new and returning customers, Needlework Unlimited is your next shop hop stop in Minneapolis!

Needlework Unlimited has been serving the knitting and needlepoint needs of Minneapolis and its southwestern suburban neighbors for over 42 years.  After a couple of moves and several owners over the years, it is now located at 44th & Drew in the Linden Hills neighborhood in a spacious store with a similarly spacious parking lot.  Karen and her staff stock a huge selection of knitting yarns from around the world, as well as locally-dyed exclusives, and display lots of models showing just how lovely the yarns knit up!  They are excited to help find the perfect yarn, pattern, button, needle or other notion for your project.
Karen has had a life-long love affair with knitting, learning at the knee of her mother when she was just a wee little thing.  She received her degree in design from the U of M and has worked for years in the yarn business.  Her goal is to provide the very best materials and advice for your fiber needs.
She has also accepted the challenge of new technology.  Needlework Unlimited is a Ravelry store and provides a laptop on the sales floor for the use of customers to access their Ravelry accounts while shopping.  And Needlework Unlimited has just joined with Craftsy.com to bring national-caliber teachers to your living room 24 hours a day.
Needlework Unlimited looks forward to welcoming new and returning customers during the Shop Hop – drive safely!

Thursday, February 14, 2013

Lila and Claudine's invites you to come and play during the 2013 Minnesota Yarn Shop Hop!

So What is Lila and Claudine's all about?  What happens there and most importantly Why should you check us out?  What we have learned in our 4 years of business is that there are many levels to a yarn shop. 

On one level we sell yarn and fiber and all things that relate but truly that really is just scratching the surface.

We work every day to provide a warm, vibrant environment that you can be inspired, encouraged and maybe smile a time or two. We are a place where you can sit down, join in on conversation, and get help if you need it.

We have been called a new "fort" for people to play in...because after all, when you love to create, it is all playing; fun and satisfying.  We are always creating community, a place to be known and welcomed each time you visit.  As one of our Kid Knitter's said, " If you know how to knit, you're pretty much set for life!" We could not agree more!

Knitting, crocheting and fiber in general is our passion at Lila and Claudine's.  And it is so fun for us to share our passion with you.  In fact, that is our goal; to have each one of you be or become crazy about fiber, either knitting, crocheting, spinning, felting or weaving. 

This is our third year participating in the shop hop.  We see these four days as a way of celebrating the depth of creativity in the metro area yarn community.  We encourage you to get with your friends, plan the weekend,  choose your route and come see us.  We promise you will not be disappointed!

Polly and Kirsten, aka Lila and Claudine
Lilaandclaudines.com


Yarn@ the river? Stillwater's Darn. Knit. {Anyway} is your shop hop stop!



 Where do you Yarn@?

That is the theme of this year’s shop hop.  IYarn@_______.
So, where do you yarn@? 

Every shop this year is going to show where they yarn@.  We know the grammar isn’t perfect, but the idea is. 

We thought long and hard about how Darn Knit Anyway was going to show where we yarn@; so many choices.   We settled on a good one.  The River.  We are in Stillwater, a historic town on a scenic river.  When you live or work in a river town, the river is a major player.   Is the river rising?  Is the bridge working?  Is the river frozen?  Will there be a new bridge? 

Our shop is 100 yards from the St. Croix River.  We see it out our window when we knit in our lounge.  We sit on the banks of the river and knit on beautiful summer days. 
Yep, the river.  Perfect theme for Darn Knit Anyway!  What is the yarn and pattern?  Those details you’ll have to wait for – see you at the hop!

Thursday, February 7, 2013

Lakeside Yarn is back for more! Add Excelsior to your shop hop adventure.


Lakeside Yarn, formerly Coldwater Lakeside Yarn, formerly Coldwater Collaborative – whew!  It is, in fact, the same shop in Excelsior that has participated in all seven hops since 2007, with only a small identity crisis.
 It’s taken us a little time to figure out exactly who we are to you, our customers, and we hope you like our new identity as Lakeside Yarn.  In the coming weeks, watch for a fresh new website design and storefront to go along with our new logo at the top of this page.  It is an exciting time for us, and we hope you will enjoy getting to know us and spending time at the shop. You can read about how Cynthia came to own Lakeside Yarn in the March, 2012  blog posts, if you missed it last year.
This year, the Shop Hop welcomes 3 new shops to its lineup, offering even more breadth and depth to the experience.  What a world class, creative and innovative fiber community we have all created together with the support of our amazing customers!!   We will be sharing with you some of our favorite places we “yarn” – knit or crochet--  and be looking for you to share yours.   For example, we all know that knitters and crocheters are some of the most patient people—well, as long as they have something to work on – when waiting for just about anything.  Any spare moment is the opportunity for a few more rows, whether at the doctor’s office, the baseball game, or a long traffic light.  Yes, I admit I knit at traffic lights, which reminds me of a story.
While waiting at a particularly long light near my kids’ school, I knitted patiently, waiting for the green.  The driver in the car next to me (obviously, a non-believer), rolled down her window and motioned for me to open mine.  When I did, she chastised me in no uncertain terms:  “PUT AWAY YOUR KNITTING!!!”  Dumbfounded, I explained, “Well, it’s not lace, it’s only garter stitch.”
Thanks for your continued support and enthusiasm and we’ll see you in April!

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

Put Amazing Threads on your Minnesota Yarn Shop Hop map for 2013!



Amazing Threads was launched in 2002.  There were only 8 yarn shops in the Twin Cities and nothing in the NW suburbs. Amazing Threads had simple beginnings in a small space in Osseo, MN.  However, we soon outgrew our space as the textile industry made new and fabulous fibers available to us and our community of knitters grew.  In 2004 we moved to new digs in Maple Grove that included a bigger sales floor and a large classroom space perfect for classes, knit groups, and hosting guest designers.  We now have the perfect yarn shop full of wonderful yarn, needles, books, patterns, bags, notions, accessories and more.  Our library of books is second to none. 
Yarn, knitting, friendships, shared passions…”So much yarn, so little time” we often lament.  We only do yarn for fiber enthusiasts while specializing in yarn and color coordination for any project.  The MN Knitters Guild tagged us years ago as a “hand dyers heaven.”  We carry a great selection of hand dyed yarns (Prism, MadelineTosh, Malabrigo, Claudia’s, Zen Garden, Dream in Color, Shibui, Alchemy, Baah Yarns, Great Adirondack, and more) plus lovely base fibers from a great selection of vendors (Rowan, Berroco, Classic Elite, Plymouth, Knitting Fever, Euro, to name a few).  We are a Rowan Shop within a Shop.  We have space dedicated for Rowan, SMC Select, & SMC yarns. 
In addition to a shop filled with fiber and a classroom for our community of knitters, crocheters and social fiber groups, we have project samples galore.  The staff love to create of samples and it shows.  Our goal is a sample in every yarn with carry.  We love customer show and tell as well.  It’s amazing when we see yarns come alive in a variety of accessories or garments. 
Stop in and become a member of our community of knitters.  Join one of our social knitting groups or register for one of the 30+ classes we offer every quarter.  Visit us on the web to find out “What’s New” (www.Amazing-Threads.com) each week and catch one of my weekly blasts that includes free patterns and knitting resources.  Share the passion for your craft. 
Bobbi, Lindsey, Angel, Carole, Michelle, Judy, Deb H., Cynthia, Sara, Renee, June, Mary Lou, Yvonne, Cathy, Sandy, Susan R, & Deb C.