We wish everyone peace and health in the new year. We would also like to thank you for your continued support. Please feel free to give us any feedback that will help us to make your experience with fiber as rewarding as possible.
 
During the winter months especially, if you want a cup of hot tea or coffee as you contemplate your next project while at the shop, please feel free to make yourself a cup! You can find it by our back table.

If you have every considered getting a fiber animal, here is an opportunity you might consider. Penny Bohac-Cardello of B bar C Farm in Hampden, Maine is selling all her German Angora rabbits due to health issues and a desire to relocate south. All rabbits are offered at $100, well below the usual price. There are albino, agouti, black and tort does and bucks of all ages. Buyers can appreciate the fabulous fiber the rabbits produce (1.5 pounds or more of usable fiber per year) but must love the wonderful bunnies. Equipment is also available at very low prices. If interested, phone 207-862-3643.

In recognition of the work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., 10% of our sales on Monday, January 21, will be given to Waldo County Community Action Partners -- or any other local non-profit of your choice whose work helps improve the lives of people.

	Darkwater, to be released January 1 (click to zoom)

We had hoped to have a launch party for Jenn Steingass' (knit.love.wool on Instagram, lovewool-knits on Ravelry) newest release on January 1. Due to scheduling conflicts, we will be unable to do so. However, Jenn will be launching another design around February 1. We will have Jenn in the shop in early February to talk about her pattern and help find yarns in the shop that may be suitable for that project.

The first sweater, Darkwater, is made with yarn from local dyer Rachael Jones of ontheround. It's Everyday Lite in the Eclipse colorway. The second is made with Einrum E+2 Icelandic Wool and Thai silk.

Would a group of crocheters like to meet here at the shop (or other suitable venue) sometime? A local crocheter would love to get together with other crocheters. 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.

This is a yearly town-wide grass roots celebration that takes place on New Year's Eve. New Year's by the Bay is a chem-free, family-oriented, affordable, cultural celebration of the New Year that takes place from 2 pm till 12:30 am, at mostly indoor venues within walking distance, showcasing a wide variety of live performances, as well as several dance bands. Admission is by purchasing a NYBB 2019 Adult or Youth/Student Button to wear. Under 5 years are free.

For more information, visit NYBB.

Long before Belfast was known as "Broiler Capital of the World," there were factories throughout downtown producing shoes, men's pants and vests, furniture, carriages and bottled soda. Attend this free illustrated talk and discover the history of the many and varied items manufactured in 19th- and early 20th-century Belfast, from axes to wagon wheels.

The talk, presented by Megan Pinette, President and Curator of Belfast Historical Society and Museum, will take place on Wednesday, January 9 (snow date: January 10), 11 am-12:30 pm, at Penobscot Shores, 10 Shoreland Drive, Belfast. The event is open to adults 50+. To register, phone 207-338-2332.

The Belfast Creative Coalition will present Connecting the Dots, an "art and your life" pop-up, on Saturday, January 12, 3-5 pm, at the Belfast United Farmer's Market, 18 Spring St. in downtown Belfast. Enjoy an afternoon of convo and performance, art and learning featuring acclaimed, award-winning artist Karen Montanaro. Warm drinks and special treats provided. $15.00 tickets available at door, at Left Bank Books, Bella Books and online. $10.00 BCC Pro and Biz Member discounted tickets available at door and online. You may become a Pro-member for $25.00 and your ticket is $10.00. For more information, visit BCC or phone 207-323-6149 or 207-323-2747.

Want to be part of a flash mob? An interfaith flash mob chorus is being formed to sing songs of love, hope and peace throughout Waldo County. The coordinator is Pat Kaplan, with accompanist Lincoln Blake. Looking for a choral director to lead rehearsals and assist with choreography. First rehearsal: Monday, January 14, 6 pm, at The First Church in Belfast, UCC Sanctuary, 104 Church St., Belfast. For more information, contact Pat Kaplan at 617-633-9627 or [email protected].

Belfast to Belfast: Ulster Scots Connections will be presented on January 14, 7 pm, at the Colonial Theatre (snow date: January 15). The program features three short films: Belfast Northern Ireland, 1718 Migration to Maine and Maine Ulster Scots Project. Historical introductions will be provided by Megan Pinette of the Belfast Historical Society Museum and Rebecca Graham of Maine Ulster Scots Project. The program will also include a special message from Belfast, Northern Ireland to Belfast, Maine, plus musical interludes by the Belfast Bay Fiddlers. Tickets available at the door; suggested donation is $8.00.

On Tuesday, January 15, 2-3 pm in the Abbott Room of the Belfast Free Library, Chuck Piper, co-owner of Sundog Solar, will give a talk hosted by the Belfast Garden Club on how to generate solar power. Piper will discuss ways that solar power generation can reduce household electricity costs and carbon emissions, producing clean power and supporting energy independence. He will also describe advances in battery technology and the current state of net metering laws in Maine. Piper opened Sundog Solar in Searsport with his son, Danny, in 2009. Their business, one of Maine's top solar companies, now employs 10 people.

Come Boating! Belfast's Community Boating Organization and the Belfast Free Library are teaming up once again to offer four evening programs about adventures on the water in the Abbott Room of the Library.

The Winter Adventure Series begins on Tuesday, January 15, 6:30 pm, with a screening of NY40 MARILEE: Restoration of a Herreshoff Classic. This 38-minute documentary, filmed and produced by Camden's own Alison Langley, follows the story of the Marilee's meticulous two-year restoration by French and Webb in Belfast, Maine. With access to the original Herreshoff Manufacturing Company's building plans, and documents and images archived at MIT's Hart Nautical Collections and the Herreshoff Marine Museum, this restoration turned out an amazing yacht with an equally amazing story. Filmmaker Alison Langley, and Todd French of French and Webb, will present the film and lead a discussion after the screening.

The Winter Adventure Series continues Tuesday, February 19, 6:30 pm, with a presentation by Chris Battaglia about his journey paddling and documenting the Lower Mississippi River from St. Louis to the Gulf of Mexico in a 30-foot voyageur canoe. On Tuesday, March 19, 6:30 pm, Maine canoeist Zip Kellogg will present a film featuring the First National Whitewater Canoe and Kayak Championships held here in Maine in 1940 on the legendary Rapid River. And finally, on Tuesday, April 16, 6:30 pm, Suzanne Pinto, the Guinness World Records holder for being the oldest woman to row across an ocean, will give a talk about her experience doing this in 2011.

These programs are free and open to the public. For more information, phone the library at 207-339-3884 ext.10.