Christmas in April, for me

Yesterday I drove down to Biddeford to check out the newly-opened Saco River Yarns. The shop is located in one of the big, old, former textile mills in Biddeford, next door to the Saco River Dyehouse.

I'd been wanting to check out the yarn shop. Its grand opening was last Saturday, but I had to miss it because of this darned sinus infection that has been keeping me subdued for the past two months.

I wasn't entirely sure exactly what I'd find at the yarn shop, but I wasn't disappointed. Although their main shop room is still getting stocked with yarns and knitting supplies, the back room is where most of the excitement can be found. In the back room, pictured above, are shopping bags, dozens and dozens of them, full of yarns from the dyehouse. These yarns are technically seconds, but they're still fine quality. Best of all, they're sold by the pound.

In fact, they're sold for $3/pound.

My kind of deal.

Two other knitters were already pawing through the bags when I arrived. They quickly explained to me the deal: All the yarn that strikes your fancy for $3/pound, grab a shopping bag and start making your selections....One of the workers at the dyehouse repeatedly brought in more bags of yarn while we were making our choices.

I had no idea how many pounds of  yarn I'd chosen, but it looked like enough to keep me off the streets for the next several weeks.

I went to the cash register and helped the clerk put my selections onto the scales. I'd chosen five pounds of yarn.

Then the clerk asked, "Do you knit for the Maine Mitten Project?" I replied that I did, indeed, and that I'd cast on for a pair of new mittens just yesterday morning.

"In that case, " she said, "you get one pound of yarn free."

All I need to do is take the finished mittens to the yarn shop, and I'll be given another free pound of yarn.

Sounds good to me. So I handed over my $12 plus tax, came home happy, and photographed these gorgeous beauties.

I know one of the yarn brands at the dyehouse is Quince and Co. That brand has become well known in the past couple of years.

I hope the dyehouse and yarn shop are a big success, because it's wonderful to see new life breathed into these big, old mill buildings that have sat idle for so long.