This Local Yarn Shop Day is about as local as we have ever been! New colors in Bella Filato's Feather DK, hive unique chain row countersare made right across the street in an array of gemstones, as much Brooklyn Tweed US Wool as we could handle.
It's rare for us to have discounted sales in the shop. Only once or twice a year and next weekend is one of them! All shop items in store and online will be 20% OFF. From Friday, April 25th - Sunday, April 27th.
And with every purchase, there will be a 'sweet' gift tucked in your order. We have limited gifts so we will included one in each order until we run out. This year we are celebrating community with our new local snuggery The Folded Leaf. Each order will a $5 gift certificate to use in-store or online, The Folded Leaf sticker and a 100% pure honey lollipop (ok, these might have been intended for tea but take our word for it - you want this as a lollipop.)
Our August 2020 installment, Market Day by UPNorth Yarns
In a future life I want to be a maker of color - Inks, paints dyes for fabric. I'll spend my day like a Goddess conjuring chroma Driving the nothing back to shadow and light while every imaginable hue dances on human made objects blending their existence into the natural world
'Chroma' by Mimi DiFrancesca
Almost twelve years ago, we launched our Sleeping Bear Yarn Club and there is simply no way we ever could have conceived what it is today. The dyers we've met, the colors they've created, the relationships that have grown‑‑the impact of this club in our lives‑‑personally and professionally‑‑is beyond our wildest dreams. (And just wait until we tell you about Year Twelve! Next month.You're gonna love it!)
The Colors of Leelanau
Sunset Pilings, our May 2018 selection.
Because our club continues to add new members every month, there are many, many customers who've only just joined us‑‑and have missed out on some of the previous months. And almost everyone has said that they'd love to get their hands on at least one more skein of one colorway or another.
So. We're opening up the opportunity for everyone who has been hoping to get another go at one‑‑or more!‑‑of our exclusive yarns. We reached out to the brilliant dyers who've produced colorways for our Sleeping Bear Yarn Club and asked them to dye a limited edition run for the spectacular colors from the first ten years: The Colors of Leelanau.
This year we are bringing back The Colors of Leelanau as a curated collection. Every year our list of dyers grows and grows and the options are simply overwhelming. Let's make it more manageable for choosing what sweaters to make and socks to gift. We want to feature our dyers in a more concentrated light. Each coming year will be a mystery to see what colors come back from the recent and not so recent past. We have to say, it is mighty hard to narrow down these amazing colors. We keep telling ourselves, there is always next year.
We've said from Day One that these colors are exclusive to our members and we still stand by that. Before you can order any of the colorways pictured here, you first have to join the club.
After that, you can order any of the colors between now and March 31st.
Into small projects with two colors or more? There are SO many high contrast options within our palette‑‑think about Stephen West's Woven Checks Socks, Stephanie Lotven's Morning Sunshine Cowl, or Midori Rose's Paul Klee Sweater.
And doesn’t this colorway seem perfect to show off our support to Ukraine!
We are thrilled to announce the April installment of the Sleeping Bear Yarn Club: Fritz Forsythia. Dyed for us by the talented Rhonda of Three Trees Fibre Craft in Australia. This is an assigned pooling skein. It’s bold yellows echo the florescent spring flower with a clear, rich blue sky. The sight of a Forsythia bush takes me right back to our childhood home and seeing this electric yellow. Hardly anything in the rest of the backyard view is happening on Fritz Road. No color to the grass yet. The hills still look a pile of sticks. This is a bizarre, random bush. It makes me think of past Easters and our mom’s family coming over for the day. It’s trying to be warm outside. It’s a welcome jolt of energy before we can muster it on our own. The first exciting piece of landscape to set our sights on.
We are thrilled to announce the March installment of the Sleeping Bear Yarn Club: Treasured Skies. Dyed for us by the talented Ashleigh of Sewrella Yarns in North Carolina. This color is a soft transition between lavender grays and blush pink. Accented with sprinkles of gold and touches of Stellina. The deep cold we are experiencing this year and all we want to do is hibernate. We may force ourselves to move outside. “It’s good for us” they say. The beach is pretty but also brutal – accept for those surprising nights. Flash of color bursts on the horizon bouncing off the clouds. It doesn’t matter how cold it is; we will stand in that scene and smile.
March’s delightful little package will include a skein of Sewrella Yarn Stellina Sock (Superwash Merino Wool/Nylon/Stellina ‑‑438 yds), a Pink Aventurine stitch marker and your choice of the Peace Socks, Bobble Cowl or Baby Sundial Cardigan pattern, as well as the free gifts for NEW 12-month members, Thank You gifts for Year Two members and Leelanau Lifetime Members for those in Years Three through Eleven.*
Each and every one of you plays such an important part of our lives. We can’t imagine where we would be–as shop owners or people–without your influence. You each bring your own spark to this community–our bright, buzzing hive–and we are so very grateful.
Thank you.
Friday, November 29th ‘Plaid Friday’ 10 am to 5 pm
Do you have any plans for the day after Thanksgiving? (After you have your first cup of coffee and a slice of leftover pie for breakfast, of course!) Rather than battling the mass-market, pre-packaged Christmas frenzy, come to Cedar. We’re celebrating with the theme of ‘Plaid Friday’, conceived in Oakland, California in 2009–the idea of “weaving the individual threads of small businesses together to create a strong fabric that celebrates the diversity and creativity of independent businesses” vs. the department store-themed ‘Black Friday’. Bring your projects to sit and create with us–we’ll have hot coffee and treats, ideas and Maker fellowship–our interpretation of a perfect holiday weekend. Wear plaid in whatever way you can–shirts, pants, Stormy Kromers, bathrobes (yes, we advocate wearing pajamas all day!); we plan to take LOTS of photos (as time allows) of you and with you to really showcase the Plaid Friday community spirit.
And of course, there will be a sale–one of the rare times we’ll be discounting regularly priced yarns, patterns and gifts, for a very narrow window of time. More details to come.
Don’t live locally? We’ll be hosting an online sale, too–stay tuned for a coupon code in your inbox early on Friday, November 29.*
*These sales, of course, will be on a first-come, first-serve basis and limited to what’s in stock. If there’s something you’ve had your eye on, don’t wait–during sales events, we have orders flowing in from every direction and we often sell out of our most popular items.
Saturday, November 30th ‘Small Business Saturday’ 9 am to 4 pm double punches all day long (in-house)
Double punches mean for every dollar spent, it’s worth two dollars on your in-house Wool & Honey frequent customer card–it’s the best way we could think of to honor our loyal, local following. Once your punch card is full [$250 spent in the store,] it can be redeemed for a $25 gift certificate….which would come in handy, both during the rest of the holiday season or for yourself in the New Year.
Saturday is another chance to spend your day cozied up with us–and it’s also about shopping small. We’ll be featuring brand-new bases of small produced yarn, shelves jam-packed with yarns and gifts galore, including candles, enamel pins (If you’re local, this is a really good time to double dip; place your order online in the morning and in the afternoon, come in to the shop to collect double punches on your in-house purchases.
Monday, December 2nd–Cyber Monday A Surprise (Naturally!)
A fun new yarn we have never never offered at Wool & Honey before–and that’s all we can say about that.
Watch your inboxes first thing on Monday, December 2nd for all the details.
Tuesday, December 3rd–Giving Tuesday
Starting to feel festive? You just wait.
Want to be among the first to receive more details about the weekend? (Yes, there are LOTS more.) Drop us a line at thebuzz@woolandhoney.com and we’ll be sure to add you to our newsletter list.
This is a tough season. I find myself revisiting past Novembers, from my previous career to Cecily’s illness, life-changing events, and elections. Muscle memory with its internal clock is hitting especially hard these days. Just trying to navigate the present while waves of the past hit. Do you feel this too? Is Fall specifically a time for grieving universally or does grief have it’s own personalized section on everyone’s calendar?
Recently, an opportunity presented itself at a time I couldn’t see doing one more thing. But wow, did it spark joy! I hadn’t realized how long it had been since I felt joy. Honestly it was uncomfortable and so alarming to my system that I was questioning a mental break. I’m new to forty so is it about time for one? But this new joy meant something important.
Over the past few years, my fervor for mental wellness has expanded beyond just being conscious of our own, but to include those responding to trauma and our children’s mental wellbeing. This picture cleared, defining ‘Bee Well’ as an extension of Wool & Honey’s passion for social-emotional support to local children and families. A place for creativity and imagination through play and making, deepening family bonds and strengthening mental wellness. I have been working with a magical unicorn named Tracy. The stars aligned and Tearwater T (@tearwater_t) is the perfect coordinator to bring this project to life. This is her area of expertise, her life passion and kiddos adore her. And for those of you who don’t know Tracy yet, just being next to her will make you feel lighter.
Mural leading to Bee Well by Nesta of 13 Point Painting, local illustrator and sign painters
This week with the election was hard for myself and many I have spoken with (and it comes with a big realization that there is a majority of folks in which this was a good week.) I have been hit with personal and political unrest. Yet, in the past day, the fog is lifting. Bee Well’s vision holds even more value to me now.
A place where children can be open to explore in spaces that are safe for all ages, colors, languages, genders and parenting styles. An inviting place where little bodies can feel at ease and let play express their feelings. It’s a place that adults can feel seen and find the mental and physical rest needed to carry on. A place where magic can happen or be taken home to bloom there.
How our children see themselves and others will change our world. This statement is no truer now than it was at the dawn of time, but it feels heavier this week.
Things we can always do though, Bee Playful, Bee Curious, Bee Creative.
Bee Well Friends,
Liz and the Bees
Imagine a place where kids find magic they can bring home to create. To build, to draw, to read, to image, to Bee Curious. A place that is 100% for them to Bee Playful while offering activities to Bee Creative along with their grown-ups. A space for adults to be comfortable while kids are deeply immersed in imaginative play, making art, exploring books or playing games. Spaces to connect quietly with kiddos and a place to make friends. A place for play groups, unique gifts and creativity from wall to wall.
It’s here. In Leelanau. Right in the sweet little town of Cedar. Three (3) ways to Bee Involved.
Join us for the Brume KAL this Fall and meet the upcoming cold season with a new sweater. We’re looking forward to this bunny soft sweater to live in all winter. A simple knit that’s casual and chic no matter what you pair it with–and how about some matching fingernail polish?
Gwen at Bella Filato Studio just launched her newest base—Feather DK—the same content as the original Brume was made in. We are so excited to bring this fluff into the shop but first, a knit-a-long!
Bella Filato Feather DK top left to bottom right: Never Too Bold, Out Of The Blue, Dancing Green, Olive Branch, Sol, Linen, Elderberry, Pen Pal, Royal, October
Prizes: The prize for finishers? A nail polish bundle (Nourishing Base Coat, 30 Second Top Coat, Natural Nourishing Soy Based Nail Polish Remover) that comes with a color matching your new sweater!–a $50 value–AND every single participant who completes their sweater will be entered in a drawing to win a $50 Gift Certificate to Wool & Honey, a $50 Gift Certificate to Bella Filato Studio Online, and 3 Drea Renee Knits independently published patterns of your choice delivered digitally via Ravelry.
We all fall in love with yarn‑‑shocking, I know. The colors, the fibers and the artistry no doubt. But you know it's a good story that really draws us in. What we don’t all see at first blush‑‑is what makes every member of this community even more precious to us. Aimée is the life force behind the one and only Parisian dye studio La Bien Aimée‑‑one of the most striking hand dyed yarn companies of all time. Her colorways are deep and light and happy (yes, all at the same time!), the bases are sumptuous and swoon-worthy. We love her heart, and what Aimée brings to the fiber community in terms of her humanity and her artistry‑‑we know you love her, too.
Memorial Day marks not only summer's official start in Northern Michigan, but it's also our anniversary celebration. This is our Opal Anniversary, which means that 24 years ago, on a quiet little street in a sleepy little town, a happy little storefront opened its doors to the wool-loving public for the first time.
Opal is thought to inspire love, purity and hope for the future. Our arms are wide open ready to receive such a wish over The Hive. HEAR, HEAR!
These set will be available this weekend. From left: Citrine, Iridescent and Druzy sock sets
An unintentional rock theme here but we are feeling rather grounded these days. It's fitting. We are so thrilled to have our first order of Hue Loco here in the store for our Memorial Day celebration. We've admired the Hue Loco Team from afar and loved everything about the Scenic Trail Sundown club colorway they made for us.
Arriving in this first batch are their gorgeous socks sets and an array of DK superwash in speckles and variegates. Stay tuned this weekend for all the celebration fun. There will be:
Hue Loco YarnsSummer KAL Sign-upsPrizes** if you haven't been in for a few weeks **
L to R: La Bien 
