On Saturday, February 2 (snow day: Sunday, February 3), the annual Belfast Cabin Fever Sale will take place throughout downtown. Find great deals at nearly 30 retailers and restaurants (including Heavenly Yarns!). We will offer 20% off storewide, including already discounted yarn, both Saturday and Sunday. For full list, sale details and hours, visit Our Town Belfast's Cabin Fever Sale page.

Winter Whoopla

The second annual Belfast Winter Whoopla will take place on Friday, February 1 through Sunday, February 3. The Belfast Area Chamber of Commerce and organizations across the city are getting ready for this three-day event that offers a wide variety of outdoor and indoor activities, including an Ice Ball dinner and dance, Teen Night at the United Farmers Market, Chili Cook-Off and Corn Hole Tournament, and a Pancake Breakfast.

The purpose is simply to get people out and have some mid-winter fun!

For more information, click BACC's Belfast Winter Whoopla! page, or phone BACC at 207 338-5900.

We once had this child's vest ( Neighborly) knit in Lamb's Pride and Noro Kureyon in our old shop. It was displayed high in the shop and we think many people did not see it, because we frequently had to point it out. We reworked this free pattern in spring colors in Encore -- a machine-washable, worsted weight yarn. The beauty of this pattern is that the "skirt" of this vest can be knit longer and worn as a tunic, and as the child grows, it is worn as a shorter vest.

A fun aspect of this pattern is that it is designed with a large button at the shoulder. This could be particularly fun if you want to choose yarn colors around a special button or pin. If you use a button pin, an older child can easily change the button they wish to wear. (We sell button pins -- which are modified safety pins -- that allow you to easily put on and take off a button that should not go through a washing machine.)

We knit up Susie Rogers' Reading Mitts  using this free, relatively easy pattern that has design elements that make it interesting to knit. We used our very new yarn -- Davila -- a fairly high-twist merino.

Each 50-gram skein has 123 yards, and retails for $7.95. We only used a little bit of a second skein knitting our pair of mitts. If you knit each cuff one inch less than the instructions suggest, you can knit the pair using just one skein.

We currently have six colorways on our shelf and are waiting for four more colorways to arrive any day!

Cheryl tells us:

I had this dear little sweater in my Ravelry favorites for too long and decided it was time.
 
I'm happy to say that the promises of the picture held true and we are pleased to present Noble Eliott at Heavenly Yarns. That sounds pretty puffy; don't worry though. This baby sweater is a straightforward, top-down, raglan pullover with extra markers to set off the wide stitch pattern that runs down the back. Our sample is worked in a chunky yarn on size 9 needles. The pattern is available in a single size, 6-12 mos. That being said, the knitter always has the opportunity to work longer sleeves and/or a longer body on a top-down project.

Plymouth Yarn Chunky Merino Superwash was used for our model. It's a very soft 100% wool and is machine-washable. We agree that Berroco Vintage Chunky would be an excellent choice too.

Did I mention that it was a fast knit? A great project to dive into when a baby shower invitation arrives!

We love our new, whimsical, flour sack cotton kitchen/tea/guest towels by Katzpajamas. They are sure to make you, or a gift recipient, smile. They make a perfect gift for a friend who has a large stash of yarn!

We currently have two fiber-related designs in stock. They are designed and printed in San Diego, California.

What does a knit stitch or a purl stitch look like ... are your stitches sitting properly on your needle? Sound silly? It's one of the most common problems a knitter runs into. Did you actually do the decrease that the instructions called for in the previous row? Your stitch count is wrong and a yarn over is missing ... where is it? Nothing looks wrong ... what next? Many things can be fixed after the fact, but ideally, the knitter wants to avoid mistakes altogether and most errors or possible errors can be nipped in the bud simply by "reading" your knitting. Let's learn how.

This class is about seeing your knitting rather than a technique class.

Class requirements: This is not a beginner-level class. Casting on, knitting, purling, binding off are the skills you need to have under your belt when you arrive for class.

Class Date: Saturday, February 23
Time: 10 am-1 pm
Cost: $25.00 per person
Class Size Limit: 6 people

Homework information will be available when you come into the shop to register for the class.

Would a group of crocheters like to meet here at the shop (or other suitable venue)? A local crocheter, Ann Kennedy, is ready right now to get together with others to explore crochet's creative possibilities. Please contact the shop about what times and days would be best for you, and we'll try to accommodate as many people as possible. And, if you have already signed up, please phone Ann at 410-530-5151 to confirm your continued interest.

Are you a spinner? Or even just a fiber lover? If so, you may want to attend the Newport Spin-in on Saturday, February 16 (snow date: January 23). The Maine Spinners' Registry will host this day of spinning at the Newport Elementary School, 142 Elm St. (Route 2) from 10 am to 3 pm. Entrance fee is $2.00. Bring lunch, mug, spinning wheel and fibers. If you wish, bring baked goodies or finger food to share.

Events
Vendors: $12.00 fee for table space, no door prize obligation. If interested, email Stacie at sbeyerphf4@yahoo.com.
Fiber Swap: $5.00 minimum value, tickets given when you present the fiber.
Used Equipment: If you are not using it, someone else might. Attach your name and price to the item.
Show and Tell: Bring any items you have made or are working on since last year, as the group is always looking for new ideas.

(Please note: This is the spinners' day out; let children stay home with a non-spinning adult.)

For more information, find them on Facebook, or phone Melissa Gregoire at 207-458-2371.

Join Belfast Flying Shoes on Friday, February 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 the Gawler Family Band, featuring Ellen and John Gawler (pillars of Maine's traditional music and dance community); their multitalented daughters, Molly, Edith and Elsie; and fiddling, farming folklorist Bennett Konesni. The Gawlers have charmed audiences across the Northeast with their sparkling musicianship and irresistible good cheer.

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.

Friends of Sears Island will host For the Birds, a backyard birding workshop for kids at Belfast Free Library on Wednesday, February 6, 4-5:15 pm. The program will be led by Rob Burke, who is always on the lookout for birds. He lives in Newburgh and is a retired science teacher as well as a Friends of Sears Island board member. Rob will teach children how to identify the birds that overwinter in Maine, and about the Great Backyard Bird Count.

This program is for kids ages 6-12 with an accompanying adult. To sign up, please visit the  registration page. This event is part of Friends of Sears Island's Science Squad, an after-school program involving children as scientists, explorers and stewardof their environment.

Registered participants can plan to meet in the Abbott Room, on the ground floor of the library. For more information, visit FSI, find them on Facebook or phone 207-975-3878.

Local Color Gallery in Belfast is hosting a Kids Create Valentines! event. Gallery artists Sandi Cirillo and Jim Toothaker will provide guidance and all the supplies for a creative event from the heart. The card making event is free of charge, Saturday, February 9, 10 am-1 pm, children with adult supervision ages pre-school to 12 are welcome to join in. There will be lots of supplies and enthusiasm ready at 135 High St., Belfast. For more information, visit Local Color Gallery or drop by in person this winter, seven days a week, from noon-4 pm.

Left Bank Books in downtown Belfast invites the public to enjoy a Conversation in Poetry and Prose with Belfast authors Elizabeth Garber and Linda Buckmaster on Sunday, February 10 at 3 pm.

Reservations are strongly recommended for this event as seating is limited (but standing room is ample!). Phone 207-338-9009 or email leftbank@myfairpoint.net to reserve seats and to pre-order copies of Buckmaster's Space Heart or Garber's Implosion. Copies of both writers' collections of poetry will also be available. This event is free of charge.

On Sunday, February 10 at 4 pm, composer, guitarist and singer Jim Scott will offer The Dream is Still Alive: Songs for Earth, Peace, Justice -- Celebrating Dr. King, at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Belfast, 37 Miller St. Open to all; suggested donation $10-$20 sliding scale. Scott brings a warmth and authenticity that turns any size audience into an intimate gathering. Drawing on classic songs of peace, earth and justice along with his own well-crafted melodies and words, Scott invites us all to get involved with the ideals he raises. Honed through his years with the Paul Winter Consort, Scott's guitar mastery and enchanting manner moved folk legend Pete Seeger to call him "some kind of magician."

For more information, visit UU Belfast.

On Tuesday, February 12, at 6:30 pm, the Belfast Free Library will host a talk by Eric Rector titled The History of Cheese in Maine. The talk, which is free and open to the public, will take place in the Abbott Room.

Eric Rector has been making cheese commercially since 2006, but his interest in cheese goes back to the 1980s when he discovered that there was a world beyond Kraft Individual Slices of Processed American Cheese Food.

Recently Eric researched the history of cheese making in his town of Monroe, which extends from the 1870s through the 1940s. Dairy has always been one of the top three agricultural industries in Maine, and Maine once had over 60 cheese factories across the state like the one in Monroe village. He wondered why Maine never gained the kind of reputation for cheese and dairy as Vermont. The answer goes way back to the beginning of civilization, and continues through today, and he has created a talk that describes what he found.

Following Eric's talk there will be a reception -- sponsored by Eat More Cheese -- with samples of the kind of cheese that would have been made throughout Maine in the 1800s, as well as examples of what is being made today in Maine.