Thanks to those of you who have called asking about our hours over the Memorial Day holiday weekend. We will be open regular hours Saturday and Sunday (10-5:30 and 12-5 respectively) but will be closed on Monday. After all, we have to barbecue to welcome in the summer just like everyone else!! Have a safe and happy holiday.

We are now fully stocked with myriad colors of Plume FX, Berroco's fabulous eyelash yarn. Come see these lovely shades; we will help you mix them with ribbons, ladders, variegated cottons and the like for some wonderful summer scarves.

This weekend Lew has PROMISED to teach us to upload digital pictures. We are expecting some snafus (ok, maybe some will be sideways!) but are looking forward to being able to illustrate these blogs on our own. Stay tuned!

Sorry. We have been under the weather a bit and so have not blogged. We have actually been so sick that we haven't even knit for a few days (gasp)! But we are on the mend and are pleased to report that we have met with two vendors to order fabulous Fall yarns. Pink is still hot, as is Orange; look for loopy big needle scarves to continue, and the "hand" of yarn is really an issue. Hand refers to the feel of the yarn; we are seeing more alpaca and angora blends which make the yarns nothing short of yummy.

We promise to have more pictures up over the next few days and should be back to our loquacious blogging self really soon. Thanks to all who called and emailed their concerns. We are back.

Breast cancer became a very personal issue this week as our dear friend Linda was diagnosed with the disease for the second time. Linda is facing chemotherapy and radiation away from her WoolWinders friends as she moved back to Kansas City to care for an ailing parent. So we want to send her some funny and funky chemo caps to ease the burning of the procedures she will undergo. Won't you help? Let us know that you would like to participate in this activity and we will provide you with a pattern and lead you to the softest/fuzziest yarns to use for the cap. You will get a discount for your good deed, as well as the personal satisfaction of helping a wonderful woman. Thanks so much!

Looking for a portable set of patterns for scarves and sweaters? Martingale Press has come up with two terrific books: Little Box of Scarves and Little Box of Sweaters! Each has 20 patterns using yarns bursting with color and textures, designed for all levels of knitters including "confident beginners." We love this idea! You can carry the boxes around with you and at $19.95 they are great bargains for 20 patterns. Come see these treasures. They will not disappoint!

Hot off the Presses, we have announced our Summer classes! Click on the class button above and you will gain access to a full range of classes scheduled during July, August and September. We have several new classes including Knitting Safari (Knitting with a Guide), Socks on 2 Circular Needles, Fearless Felting, and Monday Methods. Check these out and sign up quickly! Our classes are limited to 5 participants and fill quickly.

If you are new to knitting, or just newly curious, the summer is the perfect time to learn this wonderful craft! After one beginning class you will be knitting like a champ, and you will have plenty of time to start those fabulous holiday gifts!

We admit to being a bit skeptical when presented with ebony, rosewood, and palm wood needles from Lantern Moon. Yes, we knew they were exquisite. Yes, we could see their beauty and fine finish. But being a pragmatic sort who tends to lose things on a regular basis, we could not determine whether our customers would want to buy high end needles. Well, were we WRONG!!!!! These needles flew out of here. They are difficult to reorder, but we sweet talked Bruce, the lovely President of Lantern Moon, and he was kind enough to send along the highly prized size 5 and 6 in Ebony. Lest you think we are easily swayed, we HAVE knit with these and they are fabulous. Quiet, fast, and possessed of the smoothest finish we have every experienced. Your yarn and hands will love these needles. And don't forget the elegant silk lined cases for storage of these special needles. Who says knitting gear has to be an afterthought?

We continue to be in awe of Judith Shangold, who imports Stria and Manos into this country. She delivered once again when we ran out of our latest Stria stock; we are now fully stocked in the ever popular Tangerine, Lilac and Melon colors. Equally as important, we received the terrific pattern book that accompanies this yarn. Look for our picture this weekend in the fabulous cover vest! We also received her wonderful Design Source Book of Home Decor, which contains afghan patterns from her extraordinary wool yarn, Manos. We don't see any reason why you couldn't substitute the Stria for a cool summer throw.

Cheryl Schaefer came through again! We arrived after our day off to find a box of Schaefer yarns waiting for us. Inside were three more afghan kits in gorgeous hues of reds, purples, and a rust/plum combination that looks like a tropical sunset. She also included a Miss Priss kit, which is suitable for someone wanting an easier project; this kit makes a lap afghan out of Mohair and Miss Priss yarn. We received these in a neutral/taupe color and a red/olive tone that would liven up a neutral room. You must see these to believe them! Traditionally, they stay around the store for about three days. Cheryl Schaefer creates these one of a kind kits from dyepots that are not repeated. This is your chance to own a true original!

And to our surprise, we also received a large box of Noro Kureyon. This is Noro's most popular yarn; the colors are striking and the 100% wool content make it the perfect yarn for both knitting and felting. We made a fabulous pair of clogs from this yarn last winter, and our friend Lisa made an awesome felted market bag from the green/bronze colorway.

We were also greeted by the early arrival of Noro's luxury yarn, Hana Silk. We ave a stunning model knit from this 100% worsted weight silk hanging in the window, but if you want to start off a bit more slowly, we are working up a Feather and Fan lace scarf from one skein. The hand of this yarn is pure luxury. And we received in both vibrant red and black, perfect for an elegant summer evening accessory.

Also in, the new hot book Maggie's Ireland. This is a GORGEOUS book of the Maggie Jackson collection shot on location in Ireland. Patterns are included for coats, sweaters, table mats, hats and the like. They are hip, trendy and beautiful. It makes us yearn to visit the Emerald Isle! We plan on sitting down with this book tonight at home when we can put our feet up and have a glass of wine!

Just a reminder--We will be closed tomorrow, Sunday May 9, in honor of mothers everywhere. Our mom taught us to knit, so we will be thinking of her all day as we knit on our deck in the lovely sunshine.

Best wishes to everyone. We will re-open on Monday at noon.

The popularity of Stria is almost hilarious; as quickly as we received a shipment this week it flew off the shelves. Thank goodness for Judith Shangold, who distributes the yarn. After we called her three times in one day to reorder colors, we got smart and faxed her our order. And bless her, we received it TODAY!!!!! So we are now fully stocked, except for the Orange, which we don't seem to be able to keep in stock. And we think we will give Judith a brief rest before we bug her again......

We also received a limited number of beautiful Palmwood needles from Lantern Moon in the 10" length. These needles are exquisite; a luxury worthy of Mother's Day. Our stock includes sizes 10, 10.5, 11, and 13; we also have some larger sizes in the Ebony and Rosewood.

Finally, Crystal Palace also came through and we have their lovely DPs in the perfect sock size 2, as well as their 9" straights in sizes 6 and 9.

We will be closed SUNDAY in observance of Mother's Day. Have a beautiful holiday.

It is an exciting time to be in the yarn business because we are privileged to come across phenoms like Alchemy Yarns. This new company in California was the talk of the Winter trade show; we chatted with Gina and Austin, the owners, and basically put ourselves in their hands. The result? We received these fabulous hand dyed Poncho kits yesterday!

Alchemy yarns are dyed into four categories: Fire, Earth, Air and Water. The colors are both vibrant and subtle; the fibers natural. We think you will be as impressed as we are with these offerings. Soon to come, a "trunk" of yarns made of silk, soy and even bamboo in all four colorways. We plan on experimenting with all of them. But we will start with the Ponchos, now that we have overcome our skepticism about this fashion icon and embraced it whole heartedly!

This will be the first of two blogs today. But we couldn't wait to announce that the long awaited reorder of Manos Cotton Stria is in! We now have quantities of Pistachio, Black, Violet, Melon, Tangerine and Sky. These will NOT last long; Stria is receiving huge buzz in the knitting community. We sold out of our first order in two days. Come see this beautiful handspun cotton and you will be hooked as well.

Everyone needs one good knitting reference (at the very least). Our favorite is The Knitter's Companion. This compact spiral book is small enough to carry everywhere and contains just about all the information you will need to knit ANYTHING. The pictures and charts are clearly written, the index is huge, and the instructions are simple to follow. We sell out of this book everytime it comes in, and we were so happy to receive 20 more today!

We also received one of our most popular books-FELTED KNITS. Keep watching the site for notice of our "Fearless Felting" class this summer. We will be making a fabulous market bag and felting it at the instructor's home during the last class. The book contains patterns for mittens, hats, bags, belts and more, all made with pure wool and then felted in a washing machine.

And we received still more Berroco. Now in, the popular Suede in BLACK, and restocks of the fun and fabulous Candy FX in myriad colors. Check out the shell made with Zen and Candy FX; it just awesome.

Jacob is a special part of WoolWinders. When mom Marianne first brought him to the shop, he was curious, affectionate, and eager to learn. He struggled with his first swatches in beginning knitting, but now is a champ! After making a fabulous watchcap, he wanted to make a scarf for a very special girl. His only request? That the yarn be such that it would "make her swoon." Jacob is a regular at our knitting groups, and we are all so proud of the progress he has made. Can a sweater be far behind?????