Vendor Show Season!

It is that time of year again for Arachne Yarns and more. I am going to craft sales in the area. I have cut the number of shows I go to down to three this year due to the opening of the store. Here is what my booth looked like last weekend at the Wheaton Craft Show in Wheaton, MN.

The next show will be in Milbank, SD at the St. Lawrence Church on November 18.

I will be at the Ortonville High School on Saturday, Dec. 2nd.


There are several more classes coming up at Arachne Yarns and More in Ortonville, MN.
On Saturday the 11th, from Noon to 4pm students can learn to knit. Just the basics. We will cast on, knit, purl, and bind off. I have several patterns to work with which demonstrate several types of designs to be created with just these few stitches. Students will receive a set of size 7 knitting needles, yarn and handouts on the abbreviations and diagrams of the stitches.

On the 15th from 6pm to 9pm we will be learning to spin wool into yarn using a drop spindle. All the students will receive a drop spindle and roving to spin. Students should pre-register for any classes they want to attend at Arachne Yarns on Facebook or at tessie1506@gmail.com.







On the 16th from 6:30-8:30 Erlys Sis (Ease Fiber Designs) will be on hand to teach a class on needle-
felting. Students will go home with a pendant and a brooch that they can wear themselves or give as a gift. This will be a fun class and we are fortunate to have Erlys available to demonstrate this felting technique.

I hope your can take this opportunity to learn a new skill. These are the last classes that will be offered this year due to the Holidays. Watch the newsletter for classes starting again next January!

The store will be official as of this coming Friday, November 10. At noon there will be a ribbon cutting! Stop in and help us celebrate if you are in the area!

Opening Downtown!!!

 I am so excited to announce that Arachne Yarns and More has opened a bricks and mortar store! We are located in the south side of The Ortonville Flower Shop at 132 2nd Str. NW, Ortonville, MN.

Finally, a place where customers can come and browse, shop, get help with knitting and crochet questions or take a class.

The store hours are Tuesday- Friday from  10 pm to 5 pm and Saturday from 10 am to Noon. Classes will be offered in many different things.  Currently, there are classes planned for October and November in knitting, crochet, needle-felting, weaving and chip-carving!

I am working on new handwoven items, hand dyed yarns, and homespun yarns. Stop in to see what is new! There are three classes scheduled so far for this month and a couple in November. More on the way. Also, starting in November, there will be a knit along every Tuesday afternoon from 1-3 pm. For November, we will be knitting a shawl. A pattern will be provided. There will be fresh coffee and everything is free. Stop in and knit and chat for a relaxing couple of hours.

Downtown Art

This weekend Arachne Yarns and More, EASE Fabric Creations, Cathy Mueller Art and Callie Howell were open for a three day event in downtown Ortonville, MN. It was a very busy weekend in town and we had a lot of visitors!
















Erlys Sis, (EASE Fabric Creations), does amazing things with fabric, wool and found objects. She is so incredibly creative and always surprises me with her latest creations. She makes the most wonderful 'Spirit Dolls'. She also does quilting, needle-felting, thread sketching, and so much more. She has wonderful scarves, wall hangings, cards, and many more items for sale. Great for gifting or decoration or even wearing! A must see.

Cathy Mueller is a watercolorist and also works with pen and
ink. I have one of her drawings on my
wall now and am constantly eyeing more! Cathy has been painting for many years and creates beautiful paintings as well as being an excellent teacher. I am looking forward to her classes!

Callie Howell, also a painter, works with acrylics, oils and epoxy. She has a style of painting that is very different from Cathy's and her paintings are all very unique. She has some exciting abstract paintings, a 'must see' exhibit. Locals may be familiar with her work from her exhibits at Ortonville Area Hospital.













Through out the weekend we had a 'Make and Take' section where visitors could weave a mug rug, paint a picture, or needle felt a pendent or bookmarker. All these activities were free. We had a lot of budding artists participating! The tables were full almost all the time!. We also sold kits that they could buy and do at home if they found a new passion.

Pillows! Pillows! Pillows!

Just in time for fall sales! I decided a while back that I wanted to make some hand woven pillows. I ordered a whole bunch of 14" and 16" pillow forms. I finally got around to making some pillows with them.

All the pillows are wool, except one so far that is llama. The really fun thing about making pillows is that they don't take tons of yarn and yards of warp. Each one is like a new canvas to 'paint' however the mood suits! I have a lot of small amounts of yarn that are not enough for large projects, but perfect for pillows. I usually start with some idea of the colors I want to use and maybe a weaving technique I want to use, and that is about it. Then, I let the rest happen! Making pillow is also a great way to test a pattern, experiment with different drafts and tie-ups, etc. Lots of fun and a great learning tool! They are big enough to get an idea of how the pattern works without committing a large amount of yarn or expense. And, they are pretty! They don't take long to hand stitch together. I do all the sewing by hand. The pillow forms are polyester.

These and more will be for sale at the fall shows. 

Needle Felting Class

Today was a good day in class! We only needed two band aides all afternoon.

Arachne Yarn presented a needle felting class at The Smallest Art Gallery in Ortonville, MN this afternoon. Only two wounded souls. Lots of little creatures were created. Gnomes and snowmen. Each one different. Each one with it's own personality.

Each student received a set of three felting needles, a block of foam for a felting base, and enough core wool and colored wool to make three little critters.

Things got serious once we got started! It didn't take long until everyone figured out that you can talk while you felt, but you also have to pay attention or the needle bites! We learned how to make a basic body shape and how firm to make it. Then we worked on some of the finer techniques such as forming a circle, making flat felt, shaping pieces, and attaching pieces.  Beads, embroidery thread and sequins were provided to decorate the little creations.

 

 All the felters had fun and enjoyed making their very own, very unique gnomes! Several of the felters said they thought that they would continue to felt on their own. We also talked about possible future classes.