The Hanks Question of the Week

Does the weather or outside temperature dictate what you'll be knitting? For example, it gets plenty hot here in Florida during the summer, and I don't know about the rest of you but there's no way I'm working on an afghan when it's in the 90's all day. But cold weather? Bring on the big projects!

What about the rest of you?

Orenburg Lace update

I don't know if you remember us blogging a few weeks ago about Orenburg Lace (you can see our selection here); but we've recently heard that due to stricter export rules, Cherry Tree Hill will no longer be able to import this handspun yarn from Russia. It's our understanding that there are only a small handful of stores - less than ten - in the United States that carry this, so if you are working on a project using this lovely lace yarn, you might want to check what you have and perhaps pick up a little extra before it's too hard to find.

The Hanks Question of the Week

Have you ever had anyone been rude to you, or look down upon your craft? How did you deal with that?

Wasn't that a party?

We had a blast last night at our first yarn shop slumber party! Happy holiday music was played, munchies were consumed, and swatches were knitted. Friendships were formed and fun was had by all. Check out the rest of the photos on the Hanks Flickr Group, and be sure to read Mym's poem on The Rav!



The next slumber party will be on Friday, April 18th. Signups will begin a couple of weeks before then. Keep your eye on the blog and we'll let you know what the theme will be!

The Hanks Question of the Week

Crafting in public: yes or no? Do you knit/crochet/spin in public? Or perhaps varying degrees of public, as in, you'll pull out a project in a waiting room, but not on a bus or subway. How do you feel about being approached by people when you're doing your thing?

Yay! Rocket Yarn!

We are proud to announce that we now carry Rocket Yarn sock yarn! Rocket Yarn is dyed locally in Lake City by our wonderful friend Celena. The yarn is 75% superwash wool and 25% nylon. Let me tell you, the colors are just gorgeous. The only reason we have any on the shelf is because Lorena and Ginger and I couldn't afford to buy it all up ourselves. If you live too far away to visit us in person, you are in luck because Rocket Yarn has an Etsy page as well. Celena, do you mind if I use the picture from your blog? You don't? Ok, thanks! =)

The Hanks Question of the Week

Elaborate baking...? Soap making...? Candle making...? Sewing costumes...? Quilting...? Do you have any other crafty hobbies that you've either done in the past and enjoyed, or still make time for in addition to your fibery pursuits?

The Hanks Question of the Week

The sushi toilet paper cozy... the chicken viking hat... any of the hundreds of toy/robot/monster patterns out there... what's the oddest thing you've crocheted or knit?

The Hanks Question of the Week

Crafting for others, be it for holidays (eep, Christmas is coming, isn't it?!) or for birthdays, or just in general. Do you craft for others? Or maybe only for certain others who appreciate your work? Do you put pressure on yourself to finish an abnormal amount of gifts?

Haldespun

Announcing my handspun line, HaldeSpun yarns; one-of-a-kind yarns in differing fibers, weights, and colorways. And hey, I have five cats and a dog, so watch out for the occasional stray pet hair (or as we call it in my house, "reinforcing thread").

The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat

Check out our pal Fiber Fanatics R Us-- she has a published pattern, and we carry it! We only have three or four copies left, but can get more after Thanksgiving. Her pattern is the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, made with ten different colors of Cherry Tree Hill's Supersock.

Here are some pictures -



And three detail pictures -

The Hanks Question of the Week

Do you have a favorite yarn, or a favorite fiber, that you go back to again and again? For instance, I'm a sucker for a sock yarn with a merino/tencel blend, and I love, love, love to spin Blue Faced Leicester. Maybe you have a favorite? Not necessarily a brand name, but something that you just can't resist whenever you touch it?

The Hanks Question of the Week

Hello, and welcome to a new feature of the Hanks blog; the Hanks Fiber Question of the Week. This isn't designed to make anyone panic, it's just a way to encourage conversation and the sense of community we feel with other fiber addicts. Feel free to answer, or not; this will be a weekly feature on Mondays so if you have an answer for this one, but not for next week, that's fine too! And if you have any questions you'd like to submit, drop us a line.

And the question is....

How do your family and friends feel about your fiber habits? Do they line up for crocheted dishcloths and potholders? Do they live for you to knit them a new pair of socks? Do they fight each other for a hank of your handspun? Or do they smile and nod and back away whenever your eyes fill with joy at the sight of a new project?

Opening weekend photographs

I finally have our opening weekend photos up. It was a blast, really; it felt like we had a party at our house all weekend long and that everyone who came had a fantastic time. We are very, very lucky that such wonderful fiber enthusiasts live around here and chose to spend their weekend with us. Thank you all, so very much! We love you all!

Cherry Tree Hill's Orenburg Lace

Continuing in the theme of Cherry Tree Hill Day, let me mention Orenburg Lace (you can see our selection here although not every colorway has a photo associated with it yet).



This hard-to-get lace weight yarn (it's my understanding that there are only a small handful of stores - less than ten - in the United States that carry this) is brought to you from handspinners in Russia. It's entirely spun on drop spindles. The content of this lace is 80% Kidd Mohair and 20% silk, and comes in 50 gram hanks of 600+ yards. Cherry Tree Hill handpaints the yarn in all of their traditional colorways. We just got a large shipment before we opened, and will be getting even more in, in just a couple of weeks.

Some opening day photos

Our friends Ouida and Mark took some great shots of opening day with Mark's iPhone--



Thanks for bringing these in today! Y'all rock!

We are humbled

In our wildest dreams we could not have imagined a more perfect first day. Thank you, one and all!

I am sure that there are some that I missed, or some that I will remember as soon as I hit "submit" on this post, but here are some high points of the day: getting in and listening to a message on the machine from my friend Karen in Scotland... Karen calling again not ten minutes later and being able to hear her beautiful voice tell us that even though she is thousands of miles away she considers us to be her Local Yarn Store... Sophia calling from Canada (town wave, sweetie!)... flowers and chocolate from Beth and Joe who are traveling in Atlanta right now... flowers from Aunt Gay and Uncle Joe, and also a bottle of champagne from them walked over personally from Robbie at Dorn's across the street... flowers from Kelly and Robbie in North Carolina... my mother and Dave coming up, and bringing limes from their tree (with a caveat not to do this again, hah hah, no worries there!)... turning around and seeing that WV Beth had surprised us by driving up from Orlando... other out-of-towners Carla and Lynn coming up (separately, from the same city!)... my friend Amy dropping off flowers... other people who I missed bringing plants and flowers... the wonderful knitting group who crowded around at opening and watched our happy teary ribbon cutting and cheered us on... and the same knitting group looking so happy and at home as they sat in what we feel is our living room and chatted and knitted and had a great time (thank you Daniel for helping to make coffee!)... Katie coming down from Baltimore on Wednesday and staying through Saturday to help (and she's not even a knitter!)... Charlie and Chris juggling outside... a group of women (one of whom I had heard took the day off from work) who showed up and also sat in our "living room" for a few hours with all number of crafty endeavors including knitting, crochet, and embroidery... meeting people in person who I had only had email contact with... seeing that kids really did like the easel and the toys... hearing that people had been reading about us on our blog and were so excited that we're open... people who said they'd been driving by for weeks (and months) watching us prepare and that they're so glad we're here... I'm sure that I've forgotten something or someone, and my apologies if I have; my mind is like a steel sieve these days. A special wonderful amazing teary thank-you to our men, who did 100% of the renovations and we love them beyond distraction for that and many other things.

We could not have asked for a better, more amazing and happy, first day. It feels like the best dream, and I can't believe that I get to go do it again today. I am humbled, and full of joy.

Thank you, everyone.

These are days you'll remember

These are Days

These are days you'll remember.
Never before and never since, I promise, will the whole world be warm as this.
And as you feel it, you'll know it's true that you are blessed and lucky.
It's true that you are touched by something that will grow and bloom in you.
These are days you'll remember.
When May is rushing over you with desire to be part of the miracles you see in every hour.
You'll know it's true that you are blessed and lucky.
It's true that you are touched by something that will grow and bloom in you.
These are days.
These are the days you might fill with laughter until you break.
These days you might feel a shaft of light make its way across your face.
And when you do you'll know how it was meant to be.
See the signs and know their meaning.
It's true, you'll know how it was meant to be.
Hear the signs and know they're speaking to you, to you.

by R. Buck/N. Merchant

We open tomorrow!

Do we look ready...? We feel ready! Are you ready for us...?

Yarn as art

Every shop should have some nice art on display...



My friend Sophia sent me this yarn a while ago, and even though Sharon and I hadn't said anything to anyone at that point about wanting to open a yarn store, my first thought upon seeing this yarn was "this needs to go on display when I open a yarn shop!"

And it will, now that I have found the proper display case.

Hee hee hee.

Hee.

Like a barn raising, but with science fiction geeks. And yarn.

We are finally at the point where we can take our friends up on all their offers of help, and let me just tell you how kick-ass our friends are. Look what they helped us do today--



We open in two weeks! Eeep!

Hanks Haldesoap

One thing that we'll be carrying at the shop - and that will be available only in the actual shop, and will not be offered on our internet store - is my handmade soap.

Hanks Haldesoap: Handmade for Hanks by Haldechick



These four-ounce bars of soap (one basic, and one decorated with yarn and knitting needles) come in a variety of bases, including Shea Butter, Hemp, Aloe Vera, Honey, and Goat's Milk, and come in a variety of scents. Our major scents at the moment include Lavender, Woodland Pear, and Buttercream & Snickerdoodle. More scents will also be added in the future.

Frequent Buyer Program

I've gotten a couple of emails about this, and keep forgetting to actually post about it. But if you were a member of the Chez Casuelle Frequent Buyer Program, nothing should have changed for you. You do not need to create a new login and you do not need to register on the shop blog (the shop blog is hosted on my personal website, and creating a membership has no relationship to anything done on the internet store).

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions; I know that with all of the changes going on right now, things might appear a little confusing.

Got photos?

Do you have photos of finished (or in progress) items from yarn purchased at Chez Casuelle? In the future, would you like to take pictures of finished (or in progress) items from yarn purchased at Hanks? We love to see what you're working on, and we love to see what you've made-- so please feel free to join the Hanks Yarn and Fiber Flickr group and share some photos!

If you're not familiar with Flickr, you can read their FAQ.

Welcome to Hanks Yarn and Fiber

Howdy! Welcome to the Hanks Yarn and Fiber website.

We’re Lorena, Ginger, and Sharon, and we are three women with a dream.

We have a dream of a yarn shop; a shop that will celebrate the varied and exciting community of fiber enthusiasts. A shop that will cater to young and old; men and women; crocheters, knitters, and spinners alike. A shop that will welcome both the experienced and those new to the craft equally, with open arms and a comfortable environment. Hanks will be open at hours that will allow anyone from students to professionals to be able to shop – and to stop by and just hang out – at times which are convenient for them.

What will Hanks carry?

First and foremost, Hanks will carry a both store brand of a variety of types of yarns in a variety of hand-painted colors, and commercial yarns that run the gamut from wool/acrylic blends to silk. Hanks will carry spinning fibers, notions such as stitch markers and point protectors, books, magazines, single patterns, tools such as knitting needles and crochet hooks, project bags, needle and hook storage systems, drop spindles, spinning wheels, hand lotions and soaps, t-shirts and bags with store logos, and sheep and yarn related tchochkies.

Will Hanks offer classes?

Classes will be offered including topics such as learning to knit, learning to crochet, learning to spin, learning to hand-dye yarn, classes that will teach specific techniques such as felting, sock knitting/crocheting, raglan sweater knitting, lace knitting, fair isle techniques, intarsia techniques, and knitting/crocheting with beads.

What else will Hanks offer me?

There will be weekly or bi-weekly “clinic hours” in which walk-in customers may come in specifically to get help with difficult projects that are not class-related.

There will be fiber community centered events once a week, including club and guild meetings; charity knitting events; movie nights; yarn "tastings" in which new yarns or colorways are introduced to the public; clubs run through the store such as a sock club and a scarf club; and parties such as bridal showers or birthday parties for fiber enthusiasts.