And the winner is...

Our winner in the Summer Solstice Day drawing is...

Janet Getz!! Janet, stop by the shop and pick up your yarn kit from Lorna's Laces.

Janet's 5 things that remind her of summer were...

• fireflies
• popsicles
• July 4 parade
• swimming
• summer reading at the library

I used to love the summer reading program at the library. And speaking of the July 4 parade, I hope you all are going to join me in marching in the Farragut parade. The flag pieces are almost done and I've already started sewing them together. But it's going to be hard to carry the flag by myself. So let me know if you can join us!

Other people listed these things are summertime reminders:pool

• pool
• beach
• heat
• mosquitos
• surfing
• shorts
• hot dogs
• sandals
• sun hats
• sunscreen
• summer squall
• watermelon
• flowers blooming
• barefoot babies
• ice cream
• longer days
• Saturday drives
• fresh mown grass
• kid's home saying "I'm bored"
• Beach Boys music
• sand
• hot weather
• ocean
• limp hair
• barefoot in the grass
• going to the lake
• blue skies
• porches
• beautiful sunsets

All of these really do bring back lots of memories in the summertime. Looks like this summer is going to be a hot one. So be sure you have lots of knitting and crocheting projects to work on. Remember, there are only 185 days until Christmas. Summer is a great time to get started on those projects!

Summer Solstice Day...

I love the summertime. Today is Summer Solstice...the longest day of the year. It marks the end of spring and the beginning of summer. Since the shop is closed on Mondays, we're going to be celebrating it on Tuesday, June 22! Come join us tomorrow for a glass of lemonade and receive a bag of seashells with your purchase. We’ll be having an evening Knit-a-long and if it's not too hot outside, we'll take our chairs out and enjoy the evening together. We’ll also be having a drawing that day for a prize…a yarn kit from Lorna’s Laces. All you have to do is come by the shop and list 5 things that remind you of summer. That will enter you into the drawing and we’ll announce the winner on our website on Wednesday, June 23.

For me, the 5 things that remind me of summer are:

• sitting at the beach watching the waves


• catching fireflies at dusk with my kids


• having a big glass of ice cold lemonade on a hot day


• hearing the sound of the ice cream truck going down the street


• stopping at produce stands along the road and getting some great fruits & vegetables

So be thinking about the 5 things that remind you of summer, and come join us tomorrow as we celebrate SUMMERTIME!!!

What fun we had at the Yarn Market...

Many of you know that last weekend Mimi, Paula & I went to Columbus, Ohio to attend the TNNA Yarn Market. It was a crazy week before we left as we played musical chairs on who would be attending with me. Melissa was originally scheduled to go, but had to stay behind because her mom unexpectantly had to have surgery. Paula was suppose to watch the shop, but she was now going with us. So I got on the phone and invited Kelora to come learn how to run the shop. She had one day of training and then I left her for 3 days to run things by herself! Now under normal circumstances, I would never had done that. But this was an emergency and I knew that Kelora could handle it. She did a great job and, as a result, has become our newest staff member. She has been knitting and crocheting since she was a little girl. She's also a spinner and has done some weaving. I think she'll be a perfect fit to our team. I hope you'll stop by and meet her soon.

Driving to Market was a challenge for me as I've been dealing for the past year with PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder). But I'm thankful to say that we made it up there and back without any accidents. Not that I didn't have a few scary moments here and there. On the way up we stopped at the Traveler's Art Center in Berea, KY. It was quite interesting to see the different crafts that artisans had made. And we also stopped at a yarn shop in Cincinnati called "Fiberge". Turns out that the owner is my Skacel rep! It was quite a surprise to see Vicki there. She has a lovely shop and next door was an ice cream shop. I don't know how Vicki stands it being so close to such wonderful ice cream. That was a good break to get to stop and pet the yarn...AND get a cone of ice cream!

We saw lots of wonderful things at the Yarn Market and will let you know as they arrive. One night when we were eating at Cracker Barrel, Mimi and Paula put on these cowboy hats and I just knew it was a kodak moment. We had a lot of fun being together and talking about all of the wonderful things we have planned for you this next year.

We got back from Market and had our Felted Soap class for kids. Here is Shelby with the soaps that she made for her dad and grandads. She looks quite pleased with herself. But she has a right to be pleased as she did an awesome job!

I have a couple of finished objects to show you today.

Kori made Lisa's Berrilicious sweater out of Louisa Harding Hulda yarn. I love this color!

She also made the Tropical Punch Shawl using Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool.

Mary brought in this darling baby sweater she made out of Plymouth Cotton Kisses.

Ann made the famous shrug that everyone's been making out of Ironstone Sky yarn.

And Pat's Icarus shawl was made from Fiesta Ballerina yarn.

Great job, everyone! Don't forget our World Wide Knitting in Public Scavenger Hunt this coming Saturday. Details are on our website.

Recent Events & Random Information...

A couple of weeks ago, we had our very first Pajama Party at The Yarn Haven. It was a lot of fun and I thought you might enjoy seeing some of the photos. Barbara even came from Nova Scotia to join us. We made felted soap, ate pizza, and watched "The Tooth Fairy". It was a lot of fun and is the reason we've scheduled some Chick Flick Movie nights during the summer.


Jasmine joined us during the Pajama Party. We tried to teach her to knit, but she spent most of the time just sleeping. Isn't she cute in her little nightgown!


Another fun thing that happened was when Girl Scout Troop 723 came to visit the shop. They are working on a badge and came to learn all the ins and outs of running a yarn shop. They were a great group of middle school girls from Cedar Bluff, Karns & West Valley Middle Schools.

This past week was a week devoted more to family. We went to Memphis to see my niece, Bekah, get married to a wonderful guy, Joe. It was good to catch up with family and see some faces that we only get to see a couple of times a year.

Then some more challenging news came to our family when my husband, David, got laid off from work last week. He has worked as a computer hardware specialist with this company for 10 years, but the poor economy finally caught up with him. So we are entering another chapter of our life as we seek to find him another job and keep everything afloat financially in the process. We would appreciate your prayers during this stressful time in our life.

And before I close, I have to share with you some of the finished projects that folks have brought in.

Leigh brought in these fingerless gloves that she made from a free pattern on Ravelry. The yarn she chose was Mountain Colors River Twist...one of my favorite yarns.

Monica made this Moose hat for her hubby. It was her first project in double stranding and she did a great job!

Paula finished an Evelyn Clark shawl out of J. Knits sock yarn. The colorway was called Reno. Wonder if she has plans to go there?

And finally, Ginny's vest out of Noro Silk Garden was so pretty on her. She did a nice job as well.

Don't forget our Summer Club is starting up next week. If you want to keep improving on your knitting skills during the summer, this would be a great class to join.

And on Thursday evening, June 3, from 6-8 pm we start our Rockin' Knockers Night as we make breast prostheses for women in our area dealing with cancer. It's a way to support the Knoxville Knockers Club that Sue Klipsch has started. It's a group of Knoxvillians that make Knockers for women dealing with Cancer. I hope you'll join us that evening as the yarns we are using for this charity project will be 20% off that night. We'll be meeting the 1st and 3rd Thursday evenings from June - October.

We have a mascot...

Some of you know that I've been wanting to get a dog for a while. The psychologist that I've been seeing for my PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder) thought that having a dog would help lower my anxiety level. Well, this past weekend we adopted a boston terrier/chihauhau mix from a rescue group. Jasmine just turned 7 years old and is the sweetest dog. Some of you who came to the shop yesterday got to meet her and love on her a bit. She will be coming with me most days to work, so I guess she'll get to be our mascot. I realize that not everyone is a dog person. So if you are not comfortable around dogs...or have dog allergies, please tell one of our staff and we'll make sure she stays in the back office during your visit. That's where she is most of the time anyway while I am working. I hope you'll come by and meet Jasmine. Her name means "God's gift" and that has been so true. She is God's gift to me and is helping me get back on the road to recovery.

We've had a couple of garments lately that a lot of people have been knitting. The first one is one of Lisa Hackman's designs. It's called the Primetime Shawl and can be made out of different bulky/chunky weights of yarn. Here is Aggie wearing Lisa's Primetime.

And here is Jan's Primetime shawl out of Ironstone Sky yarn. The Sky yarn is a good choice for this shawl as is the Plymouth Jungle yarn. We have a sample of the Primetime knitted up in the Jungle yarn in the shop.

Another popular design has been the Liesl sweater by Ysolda Teague. We have the pattern for this quick-knitting sweater. Here is Karen wearing her Liesl made out of Malabrigo yarn. A lot of the students in Mimi's Weekly Classes are making the Liesl.

I hope you used the pattern in our April/May newsletter to make a butterfly dishcloth. Dianna brought her dishcloth in to show us. It turned out very nice. These dishcloths make great housewarming gifts. Just tie a wooden spoon together with a couple of dishcloths and you have a very useful gift to give.

Hope you are enjoying our beautiful spring this year.

Show and Tell Saturday...

All day yesterday I kept thinking I was forgetting something. It wasn't until today that I realized that I had forgotten to do Show and Tell yesterday. Well, Saturday's as good of a day to share with you some finished projects as Friday. So, today I'm going to share with you some finished socks.

Kori made a pair of socks from Swedish Yarn Raggi. This is a great yarn to use when making thicker socks because it has nylon added.

Aggie made TWO pairs of socks. One from Berroco Comfort....

and one from Lang Jawoll yarn.

Kim made some socks with a lacey design out of Cascade Sock yarn.

And Jennifer made her very first pair of socks out of Opal yarn. She learned how to make socks in Mimi's Weekly Class.

Didn't everyone do a good job! We don't believe in second sock syndrome here at The Yarn Haven!

Celebrate Earth Day today...

Today is the 40th anniversary of the very first Earth Day. It was started by U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson as a way to educate students about the Earth's environment. Earth Day is a day to celebrate this incredible planet on which we live.

I think the slogan "Reduce - Reuse - Recycle" sums it up for me.

Reduce...

• I try to turn off lights when I leave a room.
  
• Fill a large glass jar with water and put in the tank of your toilet. It will save water every time you flush.
  
• Our Go Green program is designed to reduce the number of paper bags that we use. It has been a huge success and folks have enjoyed winning gift certificates just for not taking a bag when they make purchases.

Reuse...

• When my printer misprints...or prints a page I didn't intend to print, I use the back side of the paper as scrap paper...and then put it in my paper trash can to recycle.
  
• I also reuse bags...plastic, paper or cloth...until they go into the recycling bin.

Recycle...

• Did you know that every box that arrives at The Yarn Haven goes to the Goodwill Recycling Center at the intersection of Cross Park Drive and Park Village Rd.? We break them down and once a week take them to the Recycling Center. If you ever need boxes for storage or moving, then Saturday is the best day to come by and get boxes from us. Then once you are finished with the boxes, please recycle them. Besides cardboard boxes, they also accept plastics, aluminum and steel cans, glass, mixed paper, household batteries and reuseable household goods. Why not make a habit of stopping there to drop off items each time to come to The Yarn Haven?


• We have trash cans set up at the shop for you to divide out your mixed paper, plastic, soda cans, and garbage. Please make sure the items get in the appropriate can. This really helps us on recycling days. You can do this at home as well.

These are just a few ideas to get you started. There are lots of other ideas! So what are YOU doing to help save our planet?? We'd love to hear your ideas.