It’s summer in Maine, and that means it’s time for the Maine Yarn Cruise! Join us on a journey around Maine’s best yarn spots all summer. Pick up your passport, along with a cute pin or tote (and a free Halcyon Yarn pattern bundle!), and start planning your adventures to all twenty yarn stores around Maine. Check out the great prizes and passport holder specials we’ll be featuring this summer…
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This Memorial Day weekend is everything you could hope for on the coast of Maine – fresh ocean air, lilacs, apple blossoms, and sunlight that lingers on the river late into the evenings… Nothing makes me feel more creative than the abundance of plants springing back to life, and the hustle and bustle of people emerging after a long winter, plus the promise of a little more free time!
Read on to plan your visit, or if you just want a glimpse of what’s happening in our neck of the woods…
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Get ready for an amazing summer of fiber arts – the first round of spring and summer class dates are open for registration! We’ve got something for just about everyone and there’s still more that we’ll be adding soon, so check back often.
Keep reading for class details and information about visiting Bath…
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Please join us for a fun day and a good cause!
Artist Maria Castellano-Usery of Brusnwick, Maine, is holding one of her fabulous Paint-a-Thon events to support the Welcome Blanket Project at Halcyon Yarn. We’ll also be hosting a drop in knitting party if you’d like to join us making Welcome Blanket squares, or get help joining squares you’ve already made. Enjoy complimentary hot cider and cookies too!
Maria’s joyful, color-drenched works are delightful, and so is she… Please come meet the artist, enjoy watching her creative process unfold, buy some beautiful local art, and help support a wonderful cause!
Maria will be setting up her easel at Halcyon Yarn and painting from roughly 10am – 6pm. She’ll also have a pop-up show of her work available for purchase. At the end of the day the completed painting will be raffled off and 50% of the proceeds will go to support the Welcome Blanket Project. Raffle tickets are $5 each, or 3 for $10. Maria will also donate 10% of her pop-up shop sales for the day. See more details and share the event at Maria’s Facebook Event here.
The Welcome Blanket Project is a nationwide community fiber art project. Knitters (and crocheters, and weavers) are making hundreds of handmade blankets to be distributed to recent immigrants. The collection of blankets will form a community art project which will be on display at the Smart Museum in Chicago before being distributed by resettlement organizations to welcome new Americans. Learn more about the project here, or read more on our blog here.
As the project wraps up (so to speak) we’ll be knitting and joining Welcome Blanket squares in the store on Thursday October 26th from 3 pm – 6 pm. You can knit or crochet squares ahead of time and bring them to join, or knit along with us in the store and get help joining your squares to others as we form a community-made Welcome Blanket. We’ll also be donating 5% of our in-store sales on Thursday to the Welcome Blanket Project. If you can’t make it to the event, but would like to make squares or a full blanket, please drop squares off or mail them to arrive at Halcyon Yarn no later than Thursday the 26th (finished blankets by the 30th), and we’ll mail the piece for you.
Join us Thursday for some knitting, grab a skein for your stash, pick up a painting, or or just stop by for some cider… Help celebrate making art, and making a difference together!
A new exhibition at Maine Historical Society explores contemporary creative expression in Maine. Opening Friday, November 3rd, on display through March 31st, 2018.
Maine has always been a home and a haven to artists and creative makers. From the earliest projectile points created by Wabanaki people from Mount Kineo rhyolite stone to contemporary artists who flock to Maine for our light, people are inspired to creativity by Maine’s natural beauty and unique lifestyle. A new exhibition opening in November at Maine Historical Society — Spark! Maine ART Stories — explores creativity in Maine and features sixteen contemporary Maine artists. Among them are Halcyon Yarn co-founder Hector Jaeger, frequent Halcyon Yarn instructor Barbara Burns, and Katherine Cobey who has graciously opened her knitting studio to our students in recent years.
More about several of these unique Maine artists can be found in the My Maine Stories forum at the Maine Memory Network.
“Spark! Maine ART Stories looks at the varied ways people in Maine express themselves today” says exhibition curator and MHS Outreach Curator Tilly Laskey. “The artists featured in this exhibition are diverse in their geography, their artistic mediums, and in what compels them to create. We’re exhibiting everything from snowshoes to neon artwork!”
Featured artists: Titi de Baccarat, Gina Brooks, Brendan Bullock, Barbara Burns, Katharine Cobey, Decontie and Brown, Ayumi Horie, Hector Jaeger, Karen Jelenfy, David Johansen, Daniel Minter, Geo Neptune, Edmond and Brian J. Theriault, and Ian Trask.
SPARK • November 3rd through March 31st
Maine Historical Society • 498 Congress Street, Portland, Maine
The ICA at Maine College of Art (MECA) presents Confabulations of Millenia. The show brings together the works of 19 contemporary artists who take direct inspiration from the 18th and 19th centuries. On display now through December 8th.
Using established styles, techniques and objects perfected in the 18th and 19th centuries, the 19 artists assembled deploy history as a springboard in order to speak to the intricacies and inconsistencies of modern life be they social, political or aesthetic. The show especially caught our attention for including the works of Erin M. Riley and Vadis Turner. Riley’s detailed tapestries represent the tension implicit in the show’s theme by using fine traditional craftsmanship to explore challenging and graphic images of modern life and sexuality. Turner’s richly textured pieces are constructed of hand stitched quilts and draw on a series of interviews Vadis conducted with women in her community. Both artists prompt the viewer to reflect on the often-held notion of textiles as simply safe or decorative domestic expressions.
Featured artists: Martha Arquero, John Brauer, Joey Chiarello, Emily Diaz Norton, Douglas Goldberg, Jeremy Hatch, Beth Katleman, Ryan Wilson Kelly, Melora Kuhn, Livia Marin, Oscar Sancho Nin, John O’Reilly, Erin M. Riley, Richard Saja, Anthony Sonnenberg, Ryan Swanson, Vadis Turner, Julia Whitney Barnes, Kehinde Wiley
Confabulations of Millenia • October 6th through December 8th
Institute of Contemporary Art at MECA • 522 Congress Street, Portland, Maine
Halcyon Yarn Open House – Saturday only!
Saturday October 7th, 2017 • 10:00 am – 4:00 pm
Halcyon Yarn Retail Store • 12 School St. Bath, Maine 04530
Join us for our huge annual open house sale and celebration at Halcyon Yarn! Every October we welcome visitors from all over the country for a giant yarn party – we hope you’ll join us this Saturday for a fun-filled day of fiber arts. The day includes prizes, demonstrators, refreshments and great savings all day!
Please note that telephone customer service will not be available Saturday. Feel free to leave a message (no orders please) and we’ll return your call when we’re back to business as usual next week!
Can’t make it in person? Shop online until midnight Saturday and save! All orders placed online between midnight EST Friday and midnight EST Saturday will receive the same great savings you’d receive in person. You’ll get at least 10% off, plus we’ll draw a mystery discount for your chance at 15%, 20%, 25% or even 30% off your order! You’ll receive a special fall coupon with your order on Saturday too. Please note, discount excludes Floor Looms, Gift Certificates, special order items, and bulk price three.
Everything in the shop is at least 10% off, plus when you get to the register, you have the chance to draw a higher discount out of the basket. Your total discount could be up to 30% off! There are plenty of additional items on sale too. Enjoy great savings and fiber arts demonstrations, plus free refreshments – including local cider and snacks served all day!
Indigo – New this year, we’ll have a community indigo vat that you may dip yarn or finished fabrics and small garments into. Dipping is free, you just need to bring something you want to turn blue! Dips will be from 11:00-noon and again from 1:30-3:00. White yarns and cloth will be available to purchase, or you can bring your own!
Demonstrations include: tapestry weaving, rug hooking, spinning & fiber blending, weaving, lucet braiding, warp painting, lamp-work glass. Woven rugs by Hector Jaeger will be on display with an opportunity to meet the artist.
If you haven’t been to the store recently you’re in for some surprises! We’ve made some fun renovations and we’ve made even more room for amazing yarn, fiber and tools. Come by to see what’s new…
A great time to visit Bath, Maine!
Not only is our annual Open House a terrific day, there’s a lot of great stuff going on in Bath, so why not make a weekend of it! Whether you’re from around the corner or traveling many miles… Bring friends and family (even non-yarn-loving ones!) for a beautiful New England weekend. There’s plenty of parking at the store and getting here is easy. It is peak foliage season and October 7th is also Bath’s annual Autumnfest so there are plenty of activities for the whole family right here in our charming downtown. Located less than an hour from Portland, or Rockland/Camden, and less than three hours from Boston, the Bath area makes a great weekend trip if you want to experience fall in Maine!
Click for more Autumnfest details and Bath area visitor information.
Whether you’re here for Open House, or planning to visit another time, we’d love to see you here in Bath! Just because summer is winding down doesn’t mean visiting season is over. The Halcyon Yarn retail store is located in downtown Bath, on Coastal Route One in Midcoast Maine. We’re open 7 days a week and we love welcoming visitors from all over the world to our shop and to our community. Take a class, test drive equipment, sign up for a lesson, or just enjoy browsing over 6,000 square feet of distinctive yarns, fiber, books, and equipment! Bath is also home to great B&B’s a lovely waterfront downtown (a Great American Main Street winner!), as well as being close to many beautiful Maine coast attractions – here are a few area highlights:
See you at Open House!
For more details visit the Welcome Blanket Project
Join thousands of knitter’s nationwide as we collaborate to create a warm handmade welcome for immigrants to the United States. From the team that conceived the #pussyhat project comes a new endeavor. A handmade message of warmth and welcome to those who’ve recently come to the USA. This project invites knitters (and weavers, crocheters & quilters) to make and donate a simple handmade blanket. Makers are encouraged to tag the blanket with a note or brief story to welcome the recipient. The blankets are being collected and displayed by the SMART Museum in Chicago, and at the close of the exhibit the blankets will be distributed to refugees and immigrants across the country.
The proposed border wall between the United States and Mexico is almost 2000 miles long. Imagine if the massive distance of this wall was re-conceptualized and re-contextualized not to divide, but to include. Instead of wall, a concrete line, to keep people out, what if lines of yarn became 3,500,640 yards of blankets to welcome people in?
A welcome blanket is traditionally created to lovingly mark the arrival of a new person into the world. In the Welcome Blanket project, each handmade blanket is a physical manifestation of this celebration of new refugees and other immigrants: “Welcome to the United States and your new life here! We are so glad you have arrived.”
We want you to join us! Make a blanket and share your story as a gift to a new immigrant to the United States.
If a 40”x 40” throw blanket averages 1200 yards, Welcome Blanket requires about 3200 blankets to reach 2000 miles of length.
If you’re interested, here’s what you can do! You (or you and a group of friends) will make a simple 40″x40″ throw blanket. You can make it in small squares and join them together, or use any pattern of your choosing. The suggestion is for a Bulky weight yarn, but anything will work as long as it works up to approximately 40″x40″ The only rule is to “make something you would enjoy receiving” so it should be new, clean, fresh, and made with love!
Below is a pattern and note template you can work from, and we encourage you to check out the full details here: Welcome Blanket FAQ
Please note: The original deadline has been extended and blankets are being accepted by the SMART Museum until November 4th! Shipping to the museum is free, you can access the details on the FAQ Page here. Or, you can drop off your blankets at Halcyon Yarn by October 30th and we’ll ship it for you.
Join us for a Welcome Blanket party in October!
If you’re near the store in Bath, Maine we’re having a Welcome Blanket making party at Halcyon Yarn in October. Light refreshments and a materials discount will be offered. Drop by to get help stitching squares together, drop off finished pieces, or just spend some time knitting with friends! Stay tuned for details here!
Halcyon Yarn is a great place to learn or advance your tapestry weaving skills, and to find excellent resources and products.
It’s been a pleasure hosting Barbara Burns and a wide range of tapestry students for her workshops. The excitement and creativity flows throughout these workshops. Taking a Line for a Walk – Continuing Education in Tapestry Weaving just wrapped up last week and it offered students a deeper dive into the technical aspects of tapestry weaving.
Students of various skill levels worked on how to control a line within the tapestry, honing the skills of choosing where and how any two colors in composition meet, whether it is a thin line or a large shape. Students learned how to weave a smooth line of consistent thickness no matter what direction it travels. Students explored using highs and lows, stealing and stepping, to create smooth curves and angles. This class provided the opportunity to work on the tapestry surface, warp and weft tension, work in opposing sheds, consider weft thickness vs. warp, sew slits, and other skills.
An excellent next step for the beginning to intermediate tapestry weaver with some experience, or for a seasoned weaver who wants to sharpen skills. We’ll be offering this, as well as introductory tapestry weaving, again this winter. Check the class calendar for more dates soon!
About Barbara Burns:
Instructor Barbara Burns studied tapestry at West Dean College in Sussex, England. She has also studied here in the US, most notably with Archie Brennen and Susan Martin Maffei. She has taught private students and workshops in NY and Maine. Barbara’s tapestries have been exhibited both nationally and internationally. She has received awards from as far away as Serbia and England.
Barbara also contributes to the American Tapestry Alliance through her blog on the Mastering of Self-Promotion as an artist. This wonderful resource is a great tool for those looking for “the tools you need to promote your work in a professional manor…”. Please visit Barbara’s blog here for further information on topics ranging from writing artists statements to the business of art and selling. Barbara will be among the fiber arts demonstrators at Halcyon Yarn’s Open House on Saturday October 7th as well.
The video below gives a brief look into a Tapestry Workshop that took place earlier this year at Halcyon Yarn. It’s a great overview of what you can expect if you plan to join us for a class!
We are also excited to announce that we will be hosting the Tapestry Weavers in New England at Halcyon Yarn this month! Join TWiNE on Saturday, September 30th at 1:00 pm for a tapestry show-and-tell and discussion.
TWiNE, one of several regional tapestry weavers groups in the United States and Canada, was established in 1991 to support contemporary tapestry artists from New England and afar. TWiNE consists of approximately 45 members with experience ranging from full-time professional artists to fairly casual weavers, including teachers, textile professionals and gallery owners. TWiNE members have put on numerous group shows in their 23 year history.
In addition to showing members’ work, TWiNE also focuses on educating the public about contemporary tapestry design and technique. Membership is not limited to residents of New England and currently includes members from every New England states as well as California, New York, Colorado, and Canada. Currently. Members organize three meeting a year. They share news of their own work and projects as well as maintaining regular contact through email.
The event does not require registration and is free – we hope you’ll join TWiNE and Barbara Burns at Halcyon Yarn on September 30th!
Past blog posts, and member work can be seen here: TWiNE
