September is the month when lots of new yarns arrive in our shop. And as usual, if we bring a new yarn into the shop, another yarn has to go.

This is a good month to come into the shop and get some great deals. Select yarns will be put on deep discount continually this month as new yarns arrive. Also, with interior building renovations happening, we need to clean out one of our back rooms that is half-full of yarn.

The timing is perfect. The holidays will be upon us in a couple of months. and with a little less daylight to be outdoors in the evening, there is a little more time to knit indoors. We look forward to seeing you!

	Slow Stitch by Donna Johnson, Saturday, 9 am-4 pm (click to zoom)

Fiber College
Fiber College of Maine, September 8-10, is introducing a new way to participate. Friday is Market Day with $10 spaces from noon-7:30 pm to sell what you make! Entrance is free all day, and there will be live music, local food and free demonstrations. The evening will be capped off with a performance by Hawk Henries at 8 pm.

Expanded this year, the rolling class program offers something for everyone. For more information, email [email protected], visit Fiber College or phone 207-548-6059.

Check out what's offered in the Rolling Classes, at $20/hour (gate fee refunded). Choose classes, and then decide how long you'll stay (turn in one bobbin for each hour). A great way to sample classes! There may be a small materials fee.

Common Ground Fair

The Common Ground Country Fair will take place on September 22-24 in Unity, Maine. You will always find plenty of fiber, fiber animals and fiber demonstrations at the Fiber Marketplace, the Fleece Tent and the Wednesday Spinners Tent.

String Theory Truck Show

We will be hosting the String Theory Truck in our parking lot on the side of this building on Saturday, September 30 from 11 am-4 pm.  There will be a rain date of Sunday, October 1.

	String Theory truck show (click to zoom)

String Theory Hand Dyed Yarn is a small independent hand-dyed yarn company in Blue Hill. Each skein is dyed with love by Tanis Williams. The truck is bursting with color in weights ranging from lace to worsted. Tanis will also bring many samples knit with her yarns to inspire your creativity. The truck will be parked in the shop's parking lot, which is next to Out on a Whimsey on Pendleton Lane, right across from the Belfast Co-op parking lot.

The eighth annual KnitMaine-ia fashion show will take place at the Belfast Boathouse on Saturday, October 14 at 2 pm. Models will showcase local knitwear to raise money for New Hope for Women. Door prizes, live music, silent auction of lace shawls, reception and more. Dig out your afghans to decorate the boathouse walls and don't be shy. We want all your submissions of knit and crochet work. Afghans, clothing and accessories are welcome, and will be returned promptly after the show.

The theme this year is Sea Creatures, and the submission deadline is September 29. For submission forms and more details, visit Knit the Community, phone Sara at 978-325-0045, or email Jillian at [email protected]. And don't forget to find them on Facebook, where you will find photos of past shows and knitting news.

We are all concerned about people in Texas and Louisiana. It seems especially heartbreaking to be going through this just twelve years after so many were displaced and devastated by Hurricane Katrina.

Classic Elite Yarns will donate 50% of all their pattern sales made on Ravelry, through September 30, to the American Red Cross.

They have already made their first contribution, knowing that the need is great. You can donate directly, or help by making a small purchase which they will then turn into outreach for our fellow citizens. No coupon code necessary.

Fall is fast approaching and area families are preparing for the start of another school year. School bells are ringing as well at Senior College of Belfast and the Fall Course offerings are now available for those interested in attending the "College for the Curious." The fall session classes will be held every Thursday from September 21 through October 26.

The schedule of eight morning and eight afternoon classes include choices for all tastes and interests. Senior College has been a beacon to our area's senior population, providing residents with the opportunity to explore a diverse curriculum taught by an outstanding volunteer faculty. It offers stimulating courses on world events and history, the arts, literature, foreign languages, nature, wellness and life skills.

For more information, visit Belfast Senior College or stop by the Office at Hutchinson Center, 80 Belmont Ave., Belfast, any Thursday from 10 am to 1 pm. The cost for each six-week course is $35 plus a yearly membership fee of $25 per person. In addition to the regularly scheduled classes, the College offers organized Special Events and interesting Brown Bag Lunches to all members.

Join Belfast Flying Shoes on Friday, September 1, 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.
 
This month's caller is Belfast's own Chrissy Fowler. A founder and leading light of the Belfast Flying Shoes dance series, Chrissy spreads the joy of contra dancing also at schools, community gatherings and private events.

Sharing the Flying Shoes stage with Chrissy will be Henry Road. Fiddler and bluesy harmonicist John Pranio is known for his elegant musicianship, unerring good taste and tireless efforts to inject Beatles music into the contra dance repertoire. Globetrotting ambassador of mandolin cool Glen Loper adds the melodic inventiveness, bounce and drive dancers will recognize from his other bands, Frigate and Riptide. Multi-instrumental phenom Jamie Oshima never fails to surprise with his ever-expanding range and virtuosity, but if you want to get blown away in advance, check out Oshima's YouTube clips.

Sound provided by Eric Weest Johnson.

For more information, phone 207-338-0979, email [email protected], visit Belfast Flying Shoes or find them on Facebook.

You're invited to a free Community Supper on Saturday, September 2 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 spaghetti and sauce (meat and meatless), salad, bread, beverages and brownies with ice cream for dessert.

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

Science journalist and author Kate Miles will be celebrating the recent release of her latest book, Quakeland: On the Road to America's Next Devastating Earthquake, at Left Bank Books in downtown Belfast on Sunday, September 3, at 3 pm.

Miles is best known for her heart-stopping account of Superstorm Sandy, a compelling chronicle of nine days "inside" Hurricane Sandy as it traveled up the East Coast and made landfall from the mid-Atlantic states to New York City in 2012. Quakeland is an equally riveting "inside" look at earthquakes and all sorts of other seismic disasters from the Midwest to the Pacific coast.

Left Bank Books will also welcome Thomas E. Ricks on Friday, September 8 at 7 pm to talk about his newest book, Churchill and Orwell: The Fight for Freedom, a dual biography of men whose vision and actions helped to preserve democracy from the threats of authoritarianism, from the left and right alike.

Churchill and Orwell is astonishingly pertinent given the current contentious political and social climate. Ricks argues that, by the end of the twentieth century, Churchill and Orwell were two of the most important people in British history for having the vision and courage to campaign tirelessly, in words and deeds, against the totalitarian threat.

The public is warmly invited to these free talks and book signings.

Will Passy Pete predict six more weeks of summer? Find out on Labor Day, September 4, 10 am, Heritage Park, Belfast.

Belfast Soup Kitchen is hosting its first-ever 5K road race fundraiser on Saturday, September 9, at 8 am. Parking is available at the Soup Kitchen. The event will take place on the side street near the Soup Kitchen, giving runners a chance to stretch as they make their way to the starting line. For more information, visit the Soup Kitchen's News page.

The Maine Outdoor Film Festival tour will come to Belfast on Saturday, September 9 at 7:30 pm to screen selections from their 2017 program on the lawn at Waterfall Arts. Bring your own blanket and chair. There is a $10 suggested donation for the event, which will benefit Teens to Trails. The MOFF screening will be held outdoors. In case of foul weather, screening will be moved inside.

The Festival features films from all over the world, many of which have never been screened in the state. The Belfast program runs 90 minutes and is subject to change. Among other films, the program includes:

A Passion of Gold and Fire: Sebastien Pins, Belgium, 6 minutes. A beekeeper shares his worries about the future of his apiary school. A passion of gold and fire which definitely helps our environment to keep on living.

Adam Haynes -- Finding Balance: Luke Seile, Paul Williams, Matt Katsolis, USA, 4 minutes. Artist Adam Haynes finds inspiration and life balance outside. Choosing a life rich in experiences.

Old Rag Mountain: Nathan King, United States, 3 minutes. Within the forests of Old Rag Mountain, a boy, a bird and a stone all converge in a fragile incident of childhood curiosity.

Maine Wienerfest is a celebration of dachshunds and the people who love them. Now in its 14th year, the event will be held on Sunday, September 10, from 11 am-3 pm at the Steamboat Landing Park in Belfast.

This year, P.A.W.S. Animal Adoption Center and The Friends of Belfast Parks continue the tradition with all proceeds benefitting P.A.W.S.

In addition to a picnic social, organized events at the Wienerfest include a Grand Parade of Dachshunds, Canine Costume Contest and a Doxie Derby. This year, there will be a Wanna-be a Wiener heat added to the races. There will be also be a Wiener Cook-off Contest and raffle opportunities.

The Wienerfest will be held rain or shine with gates opening at 10:30 am. Admission is $3 for adults; free for children under 12 years old and dogs. Food and pet-related vendors will be available on-site.

Mushrooms with Greg Marley
On Tuesday, September 12, at 6:30 pm, the Belfast Free Library will host Maine mushroom expert and author Greg Marley for a talk titled Foraging for Edible and Medicinal Mushrooms. The program is free and open to the public.

Wild mushrooms along the coast of Maine reach their peak abundance and diversity in late summer and autumn. A walk in the woods and fields will reveal a bewildering and beautiful array of colorful mushrooms in many shapes and sizes. For someone wanting to learn if any are edible and which are poisonous, it can be intimidating. In this talk Greg Marley will take us on a tour of some of the common edible and medicinal mushrooms and their toxic lookalikes. Attendees are welcome to bring in a few fresh mushrooms for identification.
 
Tribal Justice
The Peace and Justice Group of Waldo County, the Belfast Free Library and the Restorative Justice Project of the Midcoast will present the award-winning film Tribal Justice, on Wednesday, September 20, at 6 pm in the Abbott Room of the Library. A discussion will follow the screening.

The film follows Abby Abinanti and Charlotte White, two Native American judges who incorporate indigenous values and beliefs into their justice system, in order to reduce incarceration rates, foster greater safety for their communities and create a more positive future for youth. White sees Abinanti as a mentor, and both women are focused on restoring their communities rather than punishing offenders.

This event is a collaboration with POV, PBS' award-winning non-fiction film series. The film, offered in anticipation of the events in Belfast for Indigenous Peoples' Day on October 9, is free and open to all.

For more information on the above events and others, call the Library at 207-338-3884 ext.10.