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Gosh, Golly! Where is the year going?

Workshops

The end of October brought with it the end of our workshops for 2013.  What a year is has been.  We have done 12 retreats, 3 fundraisers for the Maiwa Foundation, 3 workshops with guest teachers….a trip to Alberta during the big flood of 2013, Fibre’s West and a Louet Dealers Retreat….no wonder we are so tired.  Seeing it is only November 1st we actually did all that in 10 months.  To all my ladies on Ravellry, I’m sorry if you felt ignored.

Update on 2014 Retreats:

The first half of next year is completely full. However, there are still spots left in Pushing the Boundaries of Plainweave and Twills on Four during the second half of the year.  Check out Class Descriptions on the website and the Workshop Schedule.

Win yourself a spot in a 2014 Retreat!

We are having a special draw for the last quarter of 2013.  The winner will receive a workshop spot in Pushing the Boundaries of Plainweave or Twills on Four which includes Tuition and Farmstay.  A value of $1200.  All you have to do to enter the draw is buy some yarn.  The more times you buy, the more times your name gets entered.  We will draw at the end of December.

 

We did end the year in style with our first ever Deluxe Retreats.  We did 3 of them back to back and I must say I was blown away by the accomplishments of all participants.  Imagine spending 6 days with us here on Salt Spring and walking into a studio with 10 looms all dressed with projects and you get to weave 5 of those projects in 5 days.  What this all adds up to is 15 days for weaving for 3 groups.   21 weavers!  Net produce:  21 Baby Blankets, 21 Mohair Throws, 21 Silk Scarves, 21 Cashmere Scarves and 21 Linen Towels…..not bad huh!

In the afternoons if your project was finished you got to go and hang out with our chef Rosemary and play in the kitchen working with a different set of ingredients.  We toured the island, visited the Saturday market, hung out a Lorrie Irwin’s farm “Ewetopia Farm and Elf Leatherworks”, visited Salt Spring Cheese, got massages from our good friend Liz who brought her travelling massage table, went for walks along the ocean, drank a lot of wine, ate a ton of excellent food and generally had a wonderful weaving awakening.  Every singe participant was blown away with their achievement.

We plan to run another set of Deluxe Retreats in 2015.

Our third quarter winners are:

Cynthia Davies and MIchelle Parzentry!  They will both receive $125 Gift Certificates to JST!  Congratulations Ladies!

 

Spinning Fibre

Do you know that JST has fabulous spinning fibre?  We have lots of natural and dyed fibre.

Check it out online.  And to help you spin up some snuggly warm winter yarn, it’s all 15% off for the month of November.  In stock fibres only.

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Hot Line of Hand Dyed Yarns

Our Hand Dyed Silks are phenomenal.  We have all 32 colours dyed in stock and ready to go out the door.  We have 30/2 Bombyx Silk, 20/2 Bombyx Silk and 20/2 Tussah Silks available.  They make wonderful scarves.  You can get one scarf out of a skein and if you get three, we’ll throw in one of the patterns from the deluxe retreats.

Weaving with this silk is extremely easy. It is beautifully spun in Switzerland, is strong and has superb lustre.  The colours of our pallete blend beautifully together.  The scarves to the left were woven in Buddah Berry, Persephone’s Pip and Chocolate Cherry in 30/2 Silk sett at 30 epi in a turned twill.  The block design allows for varying width in stripes so each scarf can look so different.

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Shipping Free on Yarn Orders Over $200.

If you purchase $200 or more of yarn we will pay for your shipping costs.  Gather your friends together for a group order and if you buy $500 or more of yarn we’ll pay for your shipping costs and take off 10% before taxes.

Mailing List

We want to expand our mailing list.  If you like getting the Old Ladies with String Digest, even if you’re a young lady or a gentleman, please spread the word.

Remember the Helpline.  We are always there for you.