During the month of April, all sock yarn in our sock yarn section will be on sale at 20% off.

We have tried and true sock yarn brands in solids, tone on tone and patterning. We also have three weights of sock yarn. We always keep good value in mind.

A recent delivery of Manos Del Uruguay's Alegria -- a soft tonal yarn -- and Regia's Arne and Carlos Design Line in the Pairfect series, make us smile. The Pairfect 100-gram ball is coded to make sure you make two perfectly matched socks. Their design is so fun!

If you live away, we will be happy to ship to you.

Brennan, from Brooksville, Maine, will be here at the shop on Saturday, April 15, from noon-4 pm. She will be displaying her knit hats which she recently offered as patterns on Ravelry, at  Knitting Imp Design. She will also have some of Seven Sisters Arts' yarn (from Blue Hill, Maine) that she used to knit the hats. These yarns will be available for purchase on this day.

While here, Brennan will happily show you how to do a Channel Island Cast-on, which is a decorative, long-tail cast-on traditionally used on gansey patterns. She will be doing demos every half hour beginning at 12:30 pm. Bring your needles and some yarn and take advantage of some free technical tips as well as conversation about a mutual passion.

Brennan is inspired by traditional knits: Icelandic, fisherman knits such as Irish Aran and British gansey, Fair Isle, Bohus, and Scandinavian knits. Add a scoop of art, history and an extra dollop of natural surroundings at home and abroad, and that equals someone who is always in a state of wonder. She enjoys translating that wonder into tangible, practical and oh so yummy knitwear designs.

We hope you stop by!

In February, Fiber of Maine subscribers received the Sumner Shawlette. This shawlette was designed to be used with A Wrinkle in Thyme's yarn, which they received in their mailing. A Wrinkle in Thyme Farm is located in Sumner, Maine, a small town in the foothills of Maine's western mountains. Unfortunately, we won't be carrying their yarn here at the shop, but that doesn't mean that other yarns can't be substituted.

We made a shop sample out of Quince and Co.'s Owl yarn. The pattern as written uses a minimum of 300 yards -- 200 yards of a main color and 100 yards of a contrasting one. We used only two colors of Owl, but if you have three colors that look fabulous together, we think your result will be fabulous. If you would like a larger shawl, you can just keep knitting in pattern.

Sumner Shawlette, in another colorway (click to zoom)

This garter-stitch-only pattern is an easy first knit, but it doesn't look like it is. For a more experienced knitter, it can be one of those patterns that is relaxing, without much attention needed other than enjoying the yarn between your fingers.

It uses worsted weight yarn with a #8 US needle. We have seen it knit with Ultra Alpaca and some Maine mill spun.

It is a stash buster, and if you like playing with colors and creating, this is a pattern that makes your work almost a guaranteed success!

Just five minutes from Heavenly Socks Yarns, in Searsport, Katharine Cobey, Alasdair Post-Quinn and Erica Schlueter will be teaching knitting at Fiber College on September 6-10. In addition to great knitting teachers, there will also be the opportunity to study quilt design with the Ladies from Gee's Bend, Alabama, and surface design with Susan Tobey White, Betsy Habisch and Amelia Poole. In all, there are scheduled classes, free demonstrations, live animals, evening events, vending and music.

Fiber College is particularly excited about the expanded rolling class option in 2017. These short, project-based classes are available in a drop-in, "oh that looks fun" format. Knitting, spinning, fabric dyeing, fiber prep, weaving, sewing and jewelry making are all being offered for $20 per hour including admission fee into Fiber College for the entire day, with no pre-planning needed.

Defining "college" as a gathering of like-minded individuals in the pursuit of knowledge and exploration, Fiber College has grown in 11 years to welcome a thousand people over five days and offer close to 75 classes and evening programs. Attendees range from those who have never tried their hand at making something to those who devote their lives to creating objects that are both useful and beautiful. Everyone is welcome!

Classes will be posted and registration will be open April 1. For more information, visit Fiber College.

Cafe Italia, to benefit Habitat for Humanity of Waldo County, will take place on Saturday, April 1, at the Waldo County Shrine Club. As well as dinner, there will be baskets to raffle off, along with a wine auction. At 5 pm, there will be appetizers and basket viewing; dinner will be at 6 pm. Tickets are $20. Enjoy a fun evening so others can have a home.
 
Get tickets from any HHWC board member, by calling 207-338-2344; at Mailloux and Marden Law Offices, 151 High St., Belfast; or at Belfast Chamber of Commerce, where you can also view the baskets through March 31.

You're invited to a free Community Supper on Saturday, April 1 at 5 pm at the Belfast United Methodist Church, 23 Mill Lane, East Belfast (Mill Lane is beside the Big Apple across from Perry's Nut House). Enjoy baked ham, baked beans, coleslaw, rolls, beverages and dessert.

Join them in their celebration of God's loving kindness. They want to pass it on! For more information, phone 207-338-5575.

On Saturday, April 1, at the Belfast Boathouse, there will be an auction to benefit the UU Church of Belfast. The auction will be silent at 6 pm and live at 7 pm. Auctioneer Steve Brimley will preside. Enjoy foolishness, frivolity and finger food (beer and wine available). For more information, phone 207-338-4482.

Poets and Fools, Waterfall Arts' legendary annual costume bash, is back, with a new line-up of eccentricities and entertainment! On Saturday, April 1, from 7 to 10 pm, revelers of all ages can expect dancing, goofing, parading, playing, daring and winning prizes.

Costumes will be judged, raffles drawn, and high-energy bands Fan Jones and People of Earth will lead the crowd into a dizzying dance party. For sale at the event will be inexpensive munchies and drinks, visits to the tattoo booth, the all-ages Hat Haberdashery, and raffle tickets. Tickets are $10, $5 for kids 8-15, and free for 7 and under.

Waterfall Arts is located at 256 High St. in Belfast. For more information, phone 207-338-2222 or visit Waterfall Arts.

Pen Bay Medical Center/Waldo County General Hospital are offering Healthy Mind and Body Classes for Spring 2017.

April
Declutter Your Life -- Rockland
Introduction to Meditation -- Northport
Reframing Your Mindset -- Belfast

May
A Deeper Dive into Meditation -- Rockland
Declutter Your Life -- Belfast
Old Stones, New Meanings: Altered Books -- Northport
Restoring Balance with Yoga Nidra -- Thomaston
Take Charge Be Tobacco-Free -- Belfast

June
Reframing Your Mindset -- Rockland
Old Stones, New Meanings: Altered Books -- Rockland

View class details and register online at MaineHealth's Learning Resource Center or phone 207-921-3950.

On Wednesday, April 5, at 5-9 pm, enjoy dinner and an evening out to help fundraise for the Waldo County YMCA at The Hatchet Mountain Publick House, 42 Hatchet Mountain Rd., Hope, Maine. Phone ahead at 207-753-4565to make a reservation, mention the Waldo County YMCA and a portion of your meal will be donated back to the YMCA for their Financial Assistance Program, which helps to ensure that everyone, regardless of age. income or background has an opportunity to learn, grow and thrive and be part of the Waldo County YMCA.

Join Belfast Flying Shoes on Friday, April 7, for an evening of contra dancing at American Legion Post #43, 143 Church St. in Belfast. The evening begins at 6:30 pm with a community dance called by Chrissy Fowler. The contra dance begins at 8 pm and runs till around 11 pm.

This month's caller is Belfast's own Chrissy Fowler. Sharing the Flying Shoes stage with Chrissy will be string duo Sassafras Stomp. With roots in Maine and Montana, Johanna Davis and Adam Nordell tend roots of a more literal sort at their organic Songbird Farm in Unity. As the string duo Sassafras Stomp, they play a coast-to-coast slate of concerts, workshops, weddings and dances. Joining Johanna and Adam will be multi-instrumentalist and local legend John Pranio, who is co-founder of the North Whitefield Contra Dance, a member of the Henry Road Band and a favorite instructor at Maine Fiddle Camp. Sound provided by Eric Weest Johnson.

For more information, phone 207-338-0979, email belfastflyingshoes@gmail.com, visit Belfast Flying Shoes or find them on Facebook.

This year, for the first time, the Belfast Poetry Festival is expanding its offerings and holding an April symposium and open discussion on place, region and belonging, in addition to its beloved October showcase. For National Poetry Month, the Festival presents a timely symposium on writing from a sense of place -- and all the complexity therein. The event will take place on Friday, April 7, at 7:30 pm, in the Gammons Room at the Belfast Free Library, 106 High St., Belfast.
 
How do writers navigate their relationship to region and belonging in their work, especially when border-crossing has become increasingly politicized? Poet and scholar Juliana Spahr has said that eco-poets must pay attention not only to the beautiful bird, but also to the bulldozer nearby. How do writers pay homage to ecology and other species while also recognizing the threat these are under?

Featured will be Belfast's new Poet Laureate Tom Moore; poet and visual artist Mihku Paul; Camden poet and haiku blogger Kristen Lindquist; Stephanie Wade, Associate Professor of Writing/School of Environmental Citizenship at Unity College; and Belfast native Gary Lawless. Each will read poems that relate to this topic and say a few words. A small panel of writers will then each give a five-minute response to the theme before the floor is opened to conversation between the panelists and audience.

During the month of April, The Treasured Leaf Tea Company is offering a Tea Tasting Series on Saturdays from 11 am-noon. Each week they will explore, taste and compare several teas.

April 8: Black tea is black tea, right? Compare teas from India, China and Sri Lanka to help answer that question. April 15: Herbal teas are found throughout the world. Check out herbals from South America, Thailand and South Africa.
April 22: Teas of China, the birthplace of tea. Investigate five different styles China has to offer: white, green, oolong, pu'er and black.
April 29: Green Teas of Japan -- These are all green tea, but are far from being the same. Discover the unique flavors and aromas that arise from different processing styles.

This series is free and seating is limited. Sign up for one or all of them. Tea Cup Club members and those who RSVP will receive a special gift.
 
The Treasured Leaf Tea Company is located at 158 High St., Belfast. For more information, phone 207-930-5534 or visit The Treasured Leaf Tea Company.

The public is warmly invited to a free talk on Sunday, April 9, at 3 pm, by Melanie Brooks, author of the newly released book Writing Hard Stories: Celebrated Memoirists Who Shaped Art from Trauma. The book started as a paper for the Stonecoast MFA program at USM. For help getting through the writing process while reliving painful memories, Brooks turned to memoirs about trauma. Eventually, she wrote to the 18 authors of those memoirs explaining what reading their books had done for her and asking to talk with them about their writing experiences.

In Writing Hard Stories, readers come to know authors they admire through Brooks' in-depth profiles. Among the authors interviewed are Edwidge Danticat, Mark Doty, Andre Dubus III, Richard Hoffman, Kyoko Mori, Kim Stafford and Jerald Walker.

To reserve a seat for this event, or for more information, phone Left Bank Books at 207-338-9009, or email leftbank@myfairpoint.net. Left Bank Books is located at 109 Church St., Belfast.

Join Amber Whittaker on Saturday, April 15 from 10 am-noon to learn about the Geology of the Belfast Rail Trail. Meet at 10 am in the parking lot on outer High Street, a half-mile out from Rte. 1. Bring warm layers, water, snack, rain gear.

On Tuesday, April 18 from 10 am-2 pm, Jason Chandler and Caitlin Thurrell will present an outdoor skills workshop. Meet at 10 am at 210 Oak Hill Rd., Swanville. Bring water, lunch, sharp knife, backpack. All ages. Co-sponsored by the Coastal Mountains Land Trust.

Come to the Belfast Free Library at 6:30 on Thursday, April 20, for Ocean Acidification -- Evil Twin of Climate Change, a multimedia presentation by former state senator Christopher Johnson on the growing threat of ocean acidification as well as current efforts to address the problem at the legislative level.

For Earth Day enjoy the Hills to Sea Trail. On April 22, meet at the Oak Hill Road train station outside of Belfast at 9 am for a 4.5-mile hike. Bring water, lunch or snack, rain gear.

Also on April 22, at the Belfast Free Library from 6:30-8:30 pm, as part of Earth Days Waldo County 2017, there will be a free screening of A Climate of Change, a series of four films which examine the effects on the fishing industry associated with climate change, including warming waters, lack of biodiversity and ocean acidification. The film suggests shellfish aquaculture as an example of economic diversification for fishing communities. Hosted by Susie Arnold, Ph.D., marine scientist, at the Island Institute, who are co-sponsoring this event.

Permaculture -- Not Just About Gardening
On Sunday, April 23, Earth Days Waldo County and BBWC will honor the art and science of permaculture. Starting at 2 pm, tour the permaculture site at Head of Tide Preserve ( find them on Facebook) with local educator and gardener Karin Wittmann. Then spend some time on the beautiful trails of this site on Doak Road, Belfast. Plan to head over to the Belfast Library from 5-6 pm for a potluck dinner (drinks provided, but your own plates and utensils are encouraged), because after dinner, will be a showing of the 90-minute film Inhabit, which shows how permaculture principles are being applied throughout the US in many areas -- agricultural, economic, medical, social and even governance. Film showing co-sponsored by Sierra Club/Maine.

Belfast Bay Watershed Coalition events are free and open to all. For more information, visit BBWC or phone 207-338-1147.

A new show, On Stage, with host Jason Bannister, featuring local theater talk, Broadway musicals, actors, playwrights and directors, will air Thursdays, 5-6 pm, on 100.9 WBFY Belfast Community Radio.