Skeins on Main

Reminders

Lori Sheffield — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 11:57:40 +0000

Rochester Schools closed today due to snow (I think it’s more for the impending than the current), so we will, too. Enjoy your day. Stay home and knit, be safe. We’ll reopen tomorrow morning.

For anyone interested in walking in the Susan G Komen 3-Day with us, we’ll have an informational meeting tomorrow morning at 9am. Please just knock on the door - we’ll let you in. We’ll discuss our teams, our dates (there are two!), training, and fundraising ideas. There is no obligation - just information.

At 10am, Dr. Carolyn Walker will host a talk on Women’s Heart Health Awareness. Please join her to learn more about your own heart health, including causes, preventions, and the symptoms you should be watching for but may not have even known about. There is no cost or obligation to attend this important discussion. Just come in - we’ll do the rest.

And don’t forget… Our big sale (up to 64% off!) ends tomorrow!! Be sure to get in and get some shopping done before the deals are all gone! See you then!

It’s a SALE!!

Lori Sheffield — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 01:00:36 +0000

Here goes nothing… To some of you, this crazy logic will make perfect sense. Others will just shake their heads and accept it as being my crazy logic (nothing new), while others will ponder it for far too long and miss out on all the rewards!

So here’s the personal side of this… Many of you know that I’ve been struggling to lose weight for almost 11 months now. While I’ve been quite successful, I’ve also been stalled out and frustrated for about 3-4 months. I’m stalled at a 64-pound loss. Great achievement, I get that. But also extremely frustrating because I’m working out 5 times a week, eating extremely well, and still NOT LOSING.

So now I’m going to embrace it. I will embrace my 64 pounds until my body decides to FINALLY go past it and see 65. (Then hopefully 66, 67, 68, and so on, but let’s not put the cart before the horse.) This is where you come in….

I need to start running. I already walk (a lot, and really fast), but I think running needs to become part of my routine for a day or two.

I also want to spice things up. SO… How better to do all of this than one big gynormous (yes, I said that) SALE!

So for three days only.. Thursday (Feb 23), Friday (Feb 24), and Saturday (Feb 25), we’ll be marking select yarns down anywhere from 15 to…. here’s where the embrace comes in… 64 percent off!!! As always, all sales are final, discounts may not be combined, we may not be able to wind during the sale, and patience is required since we didn’t have a chance to call in additional staff to handle the busy times.

How does all this work together? Easy. You show up while I’m working… I run my tail off (that’s the RUN I wanted!), you get up to 64% off (that’s where I’m embracing that stubborn number), and I lose weight and get past my sticky point! We all win! Woo-hoo!!!! See you at the sale!!!

Lori

P.S. I heard we’re expecting a huge snowstorm on Friday that could end up closing the shop… If that’s the case, the sale will be on Thursday and Saturday only. Come in early for the best selection!

Delivery News!

Lori Sheffield — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 22:15:03 +0000

A whopping 156 pounds of Madeline Tosh yarns arrived today!! We called in the troops and all of it is safely on the shelves, but I’m sure it won’t last long. There are more than 20 colors of Vintage, about 25 colors of DK, and about 20 (or so) colors of Tosh Sock. Yummy, yummy, yummy!!! Of course the colorways are absolutely AMAZING, but we expect no less from her. Be sure to come in soon to see it - you know Tosh tends to fly off the shelves. People have been calling for it all day, so Shelly is ready and waiting for you.

Uh oh! Class Schedule

Lori Sheffield — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 14:51:03 +0000

Apparently there has been some confusion with the class calendar on-line. Winter classes begin on Monday, January 9th. See you then!

December Newsletter

Lori Sheffield — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 22:03:50 +0000

The December newsletter is FINALLY available!! Also, more of everyone’s favorite scarf yarn arrived yesterday, although it’s still not arriving in large quantities. More has already been ordered. We’ll keep you posted. Watch for a very large order of Tosh Vintage (a WORSTED!) next week! We can’t wait!

Shop Closed Early and Scarf Yarn Update

Lori Sheffield — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 00:25:15 +0000

Two announcements from the shop… First, we had to close early this evening due to a power outage in downtown. The evening classes will be made up on Tuesday, December 20th. Second… The scarf yarn you’ve all been waiting for should be arriving tomorrow (Wednesday, November 30th)… Unless UPS toys with us again! We’ll get it out as quickly as possible. You can always call the shop for updates on the status. We’re only getting about a third of what we ordered, so as soon as we see it we’ll order more and see what arrives next time. It’s like a Holiday Surprise each time!

Big Day at Skeins On Main

Lori Sheffield — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 03:38:31 +0000

Today has certainly been a VERY busy day around the shop! You guessed it - UPS finally showed us a little love and delivered our many boxes of fun and surprises.

We’ll start with Shepherd’s Wool… Not only did we stock up on most of our worsted weight (some is still coming), but we also received 11 new colors of the DK. YUMMY! It’s so nice to have such a wonderful yarn available in two different sizes!

The we opened two big boxes of Scarlet Fleece hand-dyed yarns. Oooh la la!!! First is Impressions, a textured chunky in ten beautiful colorways - some monochromatic, some variegated. Next was Silky Ewe - a DK weight that is 50% merino and 50% silk, perfect for scarves, shawls, or especially the very cute fingerless glove pattern we got with it. I can’t wait to start a pair! And what new company would be complete without a sock yarn? Come on now - you know better than that! OF COURSE it comes in sock! “It’s Tubular” is the sock weight, available in 9 colorways. Bet there’s one that would fit in just perfectly with your sock yarn afghan or to make that perfect pair of socks for someone special this holiday season.

Unfortunately, the scarf yarns have NOT arrived yet. However, we’re waiting with baited breath and will post on the website just as soon as they arrive. Please feel free to call the shop (248.656.9300) to check the status. We’ll keep you updated. As soon as we receive this order, we’ll get the next one ready. Unfortunately, we’re getting only small amounts in, despite ordering big. We’ll keep trying, though!

And last, the news you’ve been waiting for… MADELINE TOSH hit the shelves tonight and it is STUNNING! There are 17 absolutely amazing colors of her Tosh Chunky (3.5 to 4 sts per inch), and 16 gorgeous colors of her NEW DK! Yes, it’s a NEW DK. The old one was a single ply, much like the worsted. This one is multiple plies, and twisted, more like the sock yarn. The Chunky is the same. And they are absolutely beautiful. We’re already looking forward to receiving our shipment of Vintage sometime during the next two weeks or so. Happy Holidays to me… Happy Holidays to me… Oh… Uh… Sorry. Happy Holidays to all… Happy Holidays to all…

The store looked so amazing tonight that it was actually hard for me to leave and think about opening it up tomorrow. I just wanted to enjoy it for a moment… or three. I hope you’ll do the same in the next few days. Be sure to check out our Gnome in the window. A HUGE thanks to Jackie for knitting him for us!!

Also, just a quick shout out and big thanks to Ann and Sue for volunteering their time this evening to help me get all this yarn out on the shelves while MaryAnn was busy helping customers. It wouldn’t have happened without them.

Hope to have you come enjoy it with me this week. There are so many new choices and so much inspiration… Lots of quick knits for the Holidays - it’s definitely not too late to start!

At the mercy of UPS

Lori Sheffield — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 21:59:45 +0000

USPS delivered our Knit Picks today! Woo-hoo! We received straight needles, straight needle sets (in both lengths) double-pointed needles, sock dpn kits, nickel-plated interhcnageables (Options), and Harmony Options. We received tips and extra cords, blocking mat sets (the big foam 1′x1′ puzzle pieces that connect to make a blocking board), chart keepers (stand-up frames with magnets to help you keep your place), t0ns of notions, and much, much more! It’s not all labeled yet, but we’re working on it as fast as we can. If there’s something you want that isn’t out yet, don’t hesitate to ask - we’re always happy to go get it for you.

So today I looked for the updates on our UPS shipments. Not good. All of them have been updated to MONDAY delivery. I, of course, got on the phone with the Madison Heights UPS location where they’re all being held. The gentleman on the other end of the phone said that UPS doesn’t deliver today because it’s a “government holiday.” I said, “Who’s government?!”

He didn’t laugh.

I begged to come pick up the boxes, but he couldn’t do that, either, because blah blah blah… Have you ever watched a Snoopy cartoon? Remember the teacher? This reminded me of her. Everything he said was like white noise after that.

So… The long and short of it is that everything will show up on Monday. We’ll tag it as quickly as possible, and will continue to update the website to let you know what goes out and when. As always, Tosh will go out after hours to allow everyone a fair chance at it.

Have a great weekend!

Yarn Update

Lori Sheffield — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 00:15:05 +0000

Alas, the UPS man does NOT succumb to puppy-dog eyes or begging. And stalking him doesn’t seem to help, either. We’ve tried it all, and yet he did NOT deliver our Madeline Tosh today. :( Very sad. However, VERY excited about the gorgeous new Tahki stuff that came in! How about Boulder? It’s one HUGE ball of yarn that will make both a hat and a cowl… And you can knit both in about 2 hours! Click, click, done! Love it! We also received more chunkies, and a couple glitzy finer weights. Guess Friday will be a big day for us. I can hardly wait!

Black Friday will start at 9:30. From 9:30am until noon, sale yarn (and there’s a TON of it to make room for all this new stuff) will be 75% off! But you MUST check out prior to noon. From noon to 4pm, it’ll all be 60% off. And never fear… Saturday it’ll all still be a whopping 50% off. We mean business here. We have to make room!

While you’re in the shop, be sure to join the Gname Our Gnome contest. If you haven’t yet met our Gnome, you really should. He’s humongous and really cute! A little flirtatious, too! Just drop your suggestion off at the counter. If you win, we’ll call you and disclose the very elusive prize!

Happy Turkey Day, everyone. I’ll post again on Friday with more updates.

Sidewalk Sales & New Yarns

Lori Sheffield — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 22:29:25 +0000

Next week - July 14-16, is the annual downtown Rochester Sidewalk Sales. Watch for us to put several yarns on sale up to 70% off!! Our sales will all be located indoors in the air-conditioned shop, with unlimited iced tea, water, and cookies.

This week we received more of the ever-popular MaggiKnits linen and cotton. We also saw the return of an old favorite, Ty Dy Cotton from K1C2. This self-striping, worsted-weight cotton is perfect for those transitional garments that take you throughout the year.

Early next week we’ll see two new additions to the shop. First is Sassy Skein’s gorgeous cotton that is unbelievably comparable to Tahki’s Cotton Classic, but with a better price point! We love this!! You’ll see it hit the shelves with 36 beautiful colors!!

And finally… a replacement for Comfort and Encore. Kraemer’s Perfection in worsted weight will arrive next week as well, in 33 stunning shades. Watch for the DK weight to arrive shortly thereafter as well. It’s perfect for afghans, baby blankets, and plenty more, with a similar price and yardage to the aforementioned favorites. We think you’ll like this one even better!