Walter, our new (and rather shy) UPS guy wheeled in a boatload of things for us today. First, we were ecstatic to receive four boxes of books from Unicorn Press. We had more fun with Amelya, the Unicorn rep at TNNA, who steered us to the new fabulous selections including: 1000 Sweaters, 50 Baby Bootes, Baby Knits for Beginners, Debbie Bliss Baby Knits, Dogs in Knits, Knitting for Baby, Urban Knitter, Vintage Knits, and Weekend Knitting.

We also found a new pattern designer at TNNA-Chris Bylsma. Come see her terrific scarf, shawl, throw and sweater patterns made from funky and fabulous yarns!

Next, we are now fully stocked with Crystal Palace and Skacel needles. Due to customer requests, we are selling down our circular Clover needles and replacing them with Skacel Bamboo Natura. As we sell out a size, we will order the new needles. Please let us know what you think!

Bryson came through with the necessary notions and knitting gear that make our lives so much easier. We don't know WHAT you are doing with all the stitch holders you buy (we are sort of afraid to ask!) but they disappear with alarming speed and so we have restocked!

We are always on the prowl for knitting bags and have restocked the most popular Ellen Original-the Walking Tote. This is the PERFECT beach/vacation knitting bag because it is both a stand and a detachable tote. Stand it on the floor when you are home, and take it with you to the pool or beach! We bought all her new tapestry designs.

Finally, we have in a beautiful new pink color of the Blue Sky Alpaca yarn. This lovely sport weight yarn makes beautiful scarves, shawls and sweaters; and we have it on authority that pink continues to be HUGE this fall.

WoolWinders: A Knitting Salon will host a book signing with Debbie Stoller, author of the hip, hot and trendy Stitch n' Bitch on THURSDAY, JULY 8 from 4:00- 5:00 PM! Debbie was kind enough to fit us into an extraordinarily busy schedule so don't miss this event! We will have wine and cheese, books to buy and have signed, and an opportunity to hear the Stitch n' Bitch story from the woman who started it all.

Please call Jacqui at 240.632.9276 to register for this FREE event!

We came in last night to another box from John our substitute UPS Guy; seems there was still more Kureyon (we now have the new fall colors) and 2 colors of Silk Garden. Our Noro wall is growing beautifully!

And today he brought the rest of our Cherry Tree Hill order; the popular Froth loop mohair that made such beautiful shawls last year! Come see these gorgeous huge hanks-one makes a large shawl.

We also received new patterns and restocks of yarn from Blue Sky Alpaca. We are pleased to have started a notebook devoted to Shrug, Shawl and, yes, PONCHO patterns!!!! Blue Sky had three terrific patterns that initiated the notebook.

Finally, we received new Oat Couture and Knitting Pure and Simple Patterns. Our goal is to ensure that we have WHATEVER you want to knit!

We couldn't think of any other way to express our excitement at receiving six large boxes today filled with our first TNNA orders to arrive! Karina and Torie quickly went to work unloading, tagging and shelving: bamboo knitting stands from Lantern Moon, nine new colors of Noro Kureyon, our first colors of Elsebeth Lavold's Silky Wool, SEVENTEEN colors of Eros and Eros Glitz, and favorite Cherry Tree Hill yarns Ballerina Mini (fabulous for scarves and shawls), Faux (our new favorite for trims), and their remarkable hand dyed ladder yarn Windsong and new Zebra Windsong! We are also fully stocked with their washable merino sock yarn. CTH yarns never last long at the store, so come see these beauties. Pattern support abounds!

Admittedly, we are not much of a scarf knitter, but were intrigued by a complimentary pattern given to us by the lovely folks at Unique Kolours. So we worked up this self-fringing scarf that uses one skein of hand-dyed Tagliatelli ribbon. It's FABULOUS! Took no time at all, and made us feel, well, glamorous.
Very easy to knit and the fringing process is a hoot!

We carry Tagliatelli in several colors and have ordered about ten more. So come in and try this unique scarf; we think it could also be done for summer in Colinette's Giotto ribbon!

This afternoon, Marketplace, a business program that is broadcast on public radio stations across the country, did a story on, of all things, knitting. It is great fun. So listen and enjoy!.

Marketplace Story on Knitting

In the midst of tending to Lew's every need to honor his role as dad to Ben and Larry, we threw in several loads of wash. Included in the laundry was a white shell made from Tahki Cotton Classic nearly four years ago. What a great yarn!!! The shell is washed on a gentle cycle without a separate lingerie bag and then thrown in the dryer on the regular cycle for a short period of time. Result? It looks like it was knit yesterday! If you have not worked with this terrific yarn, stop in and see the myriad colors we carry. Best of all, it works as either a DK on a size 6 needle, or a worsted on 7 or 8! Perfect for just about any summer pattern for adults OR kids!

We will be closed Sunday, June 20 in honor of Father's Day. Count on us to be home catering to Lew's every whim. He is a wonderful dad and deserves our complete attention. Sadly, we won't be with our dad, who is in Florida caring for our mom who suffered a bone fracture recently. But a special thanks to him for teaching us we could do ANYTHING we set our hearts and minds to. We love you, dad.

Happy Father's Day to all, especially those dads and husbands who support our yarn addictions!

We were so sad when our friend Joy moved away from the area, but knew that she would stay in touch. To wit, she emailed this fabulous picture of daughter Emily in Kool Kidz from their new home in Southern Virginia. Isn't this sweater great? And on size 9 needles, it took no time, reports Joy. A great beginner project!

PLEASE NOTE: WE WILL BE CLOSED SUNDAY, JUNE 20 FOR FATHER'S DAY!

We are HUGE Berroco fans at WoolWinders. We learned to knit sweaters using their wonderfully written patterns and have always appreciated their reasonably priced yarns. Yesterday in the midst of the Debbie Bliss presentation, Walter, our new UPS Guy (more about that later) arrived with half of our Fall Berroco order. Needless to say, the sight of twenty women scared the hell out of him and he left all the boxes outside. We rolled them in when Debbie was through and unpacked them today.

What bounty! We received gorgeous colors of their ribbon yarn, Zen Colors, eight colors of our Fall favorite Softwist, Chinchilla both worsted AND Bulky, and Hip Hop, a quick 2 to the inch thick and thin feltable wool. In addition, we loaded up on novelties Quest, Jewel FX, and Optik. If you have not checked out Berroco's website, do so by going to www.Berroco.com. They have a fabulous section called Scarf Central with a TON of patterns. Finally, we received an ultra soft worsted weight new offering Lullaby which is just perfect for, you guessed it, kids things.

Yesterday was amazing at WoolWinders! Debbie Bliss captivated everyone for over three hours with a discussion of Design, Color and Inspiration. We were prepared to be wowed by this talented designer, but few anticipated just how much fun she would create at the store! She brought along several garments which audience members gladly modeled, new sketches from upcoming books, and samples of new yarns including an amazing alpaca/silk worsted weight which we ordered in EVERY color way!

Debbie's new yarns and pattern books should start arriving in July, so watch the blogs for announcements. You will be able to knit the fabulous wrap that Kim models on top; the baby dress held by Debbie, and the Aran Tweed jacket that our own Karina wears so beautifully in the bottom photo. Debbie's classic designs are sometime embellished by a simple border or edging that makes them stunning. She is particularly proud of her designs' shaping; they flatter virtually every figure type.

We cannot begin to thank Debbie for her time. It is rare to meet someone so talented who is also warm, funny, and so very down-to-earth. She created a memorable day at the store, and we are so glad to have pictures to comemorate the occasion! Thanks to everyone who participated; we look forward to hosting future events.

Please note: The store will close at 1:00 PM on Wednesday, June 16 due to Debbie Bliss' presentation. We apologize for any inconvenience!

Koigu....Prism. ...Alchemy....Lana Grossa.....Colinette.....we came, we saw, we bought! The annual TNNA market is a chance to see old friends like Linda at Blue Sky Alpacs and make new ones, like Laura at Prism Yarns. We took the show by storm; we didn't even make it one time around the convention center before sitting on the floor amid hundreds of skeins of Koigu Premium Merino yarn (we bought 35 colors!). Two days later we were exhausted and exhilerated by our myriad purchases.

What excited us most? The fabulous ponchos that every vendor seemed to be wearing. No ordinary ponchos, these were made of ribbon and other novelties, knit with dropped and open stitch work. They were gorgeous! And shawls ran a close second; again made of luscious and unusual yarns. What excites us about these? Even beginning knitters can make a work of art! After all, a poncho is just two long rectangles folded and sewn together! Look for a class this fall on making a poncho that you will love forever.

What else impressed us? Rowan outdid themselves; their Fall line is filled with the softest mohairs and wools in deeply hued tones, and their Fall book is just lovely. We bought their Miss Bea books that feature adorable children's clothes (again, ponchos feature heavily!.

We stopped dead in our tracks at Prism Yarns and left ourselves in Laura's hands; she took EXCELLENT care of us and we are breathless in anticipation of receiving their gorgeous yarns in early Fall. Laura dyes each skein of yarn herself; single skeins contain metallic, eyelash, glitter and the like; you can work these into scarves, wraps or dressy sweaters. Look at how fabulous Adrian looks draped in Prism:

We listened to our customers who sought out cool knitting bags and will now be carrying Susan Todd designs. These retro-cool bags in a market and project style will fly out of here, we predict.

And we bought Effectiveness by Design patterns, Wool in the Woods throw and scarf kits, Cherry Tree Hill novelties; we added a new line for us, Lana Grossa, which is known for high fashion yarns and trendy pattern designs. And just before we left we discovered Kollage; a small company known for hand dyed novelties; we are exploring a trunk show option with them this fall!

Keep reading the blogs to see when all this fantastic inventory arrived. We drove from the airport to the store to ready our bins and shelves......we hope you will LOVE our choices.

We are off to Columbus for the annual needle arts market! We will return with less cash but more excitement about the Fall yarns and patterns to come. We have appointments with Colinette, Rowan, and Koigu among others, but truthfully the most fun we have is coming upon an unknown company or yarn that just knocks us out! So stay tuned for our surprises and predictions for the Fall......

And again, many thanks to our fabulous staff: Jessica, Lisa, Karina and Marietta who will keep the store humming in our absence! Rock on!

Yesterday a customer remarked "What a great place to work! You guys just get to sit around all day and knit." I thought about her today with amusement as we received twelve, yes that would be twelve boxes of Manos yarn! Over 45 colors both solid and variegated, this fabulous yarn is an adventure to knit. If you are not familiar with Manos, the yarn is spun and dyed by a woman's collective in Uruguay and distributed through Design Source, led by Judith Shangold. Judith creates amazing designs for this yarn. Manos is 100% wool and felts like a dream. We made a jacket from this yarn last year and it quickly became one of our favorites! And we have a lovely throw knit by Lew adorning our couch.

So to those of you who dream of a job in a yarn shop, be aware that for every day we have time to knit, we have three days like today filled with frantic activity! Thanks to Adrian and Karina, all the Manos should be up in the cubbies by the close of business today. Come see this extraordinary yarn!

We did not attend the Winter trade show in California, but the buzz was all about Alchemy Yarns of Transformation. You may recall we received their poncho kits (which flew out of here) and were expecting a sample of their novelty yarns during the summer. Well, bless the wonderful folks at Alchemy who shipped our trunk EARLY. We learned yesterday that it was here and cut our day off SHORT to check out the offerings.

Amazing. Gorgeous. Rich. Breathtaking. Do those suffice? You must see these yarns to believe them. Silks, chenilles, novelties, alpaca, and even bamboo hand-dyed in the most extraordinary colorways. These define the yarns of transformation. Alchemy yarns base their colors on four elements: fire, air, earth and water. But words cannot do these fibers and colors justice.

We received a sample of the following yarns: Silk Purse, Ritual, Synchronicity, Flake, Flora, Bamboo, Japanese Lantern, and Alpaca Pure. Since we received such limited quantities, these will NOT be offered for sale on line and while the pictures here are all from one colorway (for mixing and matching), we received each yarn in a variety of colors that are not pictured.

(yarns pictured in order listed above)

We encourage you to come in and view these phenomenal yarns. We guess you will not leave empty handed. Whether you want to knit a scarf, socks, or a dramatic shell made of several colors, Alchemy Yarns of Transformation will help you create an unforgettable project.

Ah how we love auto-ship! Our book distributors ship us limited quantities of new knitting books as they come on the market; this way, we never miss a new title! Unicorn Books sent us three fabulous newbies: Funky Knitting, Hot Knits, and Knitting on the Edge.

Check these out! If you are a new knitter and are seeking something trendy and quick, Funky Knitting and Hot Knits will delight you! Plenty of scarves (including a few with pockets!), hats, and easy projects.

Knitting on the Edge is Nicky Epstein's latest. This thick resource provides instructions and photos for over 350 decorative borders including ribs, ruffles, lace, fringes and the like. You can create beautiful cables where there were none, and jazz up a simple sweater or shell by knitting a lovely border. Entertain the designer within you with this wonderful book.

One of our close friends - Christie - used Plymouth's Encore to knit this beautiful blanket for her niece. Just look how snug Kendal looks swathed in her warm, cuddly blankie. And, for those of you who have yet to venture past knitting a scarf, this was our friend's first knitting project!

We spent our first weekend away from the store on a "busman's holiday" touring Manhattan yarn shops! Well, OK, we also did some fabulous eating and drinking with our best pal, but yarn shops figured prominently on our schedule.

First stop was Stitches East in midtown. Fabulous space with immediate access to the crowds of folks who work in the office building above. Lots of pretty things: Manos, Tahki, Colinette. The shop features classes and lots of patterns.

Next was Yarn Company on the Upper West Side. This store is practically a legend in the world of wool! And did it live up to expectations. The store, even 1/2 hour before closing, was jammed! People sat at a small table in the center of a very typical NY space knitting, crocheting and chatting (our favorite comment was the description of a murphy bed that adorns one of the customer's 300 sq. ft. apt), and the store was floor to ceiling yarns and models. Yarn Co. is known for its pattern writing; we continually overheard sales staff tell customers that the pattern is written for the yarn and the person's measurements. Again, lots of Manos, also Prism, Debbie Bliss, and some angora (more about that later). Warm and friendly environment.

Third stop was Purl Soho. This new shop has gotten a lot of press in a short period of time. Incredibly narrow space with beautiful window displays, the owners are to be saluted for using a tiny space with great abandon. Purl had a wonderful selection of high end yarns including more angora and cashmere than we have seen in a long time. Angora proved to be a theme of the weekend; this yarn did NOT sell well when we stocked it, but New Yorkers evidently love it! We can just imagine the coziness of an angora sweater in a harsh NY winter.

Finally, String on the Upper East Side. We immediately struck up a conversation with owner Linda, who came from a similar corporate background to ours and who opened her shop just a month later than we did. The shop is just lovely, and made us drool for more Koigu and Manos (we called to restock today!). Linda knows her customers well; lots of new grandmothers who are knitting baby blankets and sweaters in cashmere and, yes, angora! We felt very comfortable in String.

So here we are back in our sweet shop, happy to be here with our 1000+ square feet and cubbies no higher than we are! We are so excited about Fall yarns coming in (beginning any day) and look forward to greeting our wonderful customers who are in search of fine yarn.

Next weekend? We are off again, this time to our annual buying Market in Columbus, OH. We will, of course, blog about our purchases for the Fall, but if there is anything you view as a "must have" send an email our way, OK?

Finally, our gratitude goes out to our fabulous staff, who literally "minded the store" in our absence. Thanks to Marietta, Karina, Lisa, Jessica and Adrian who gave us peace of mind while we gallivanted around NY. And a special thanks, as always, to Lew, who was "on call" in case the computer system exploded.

Our Summer Newsletter was sent by email to all of our subscribers on June 1st and is now posted (to the left) on the website. We are wound up about Laurel Yarns as are all of our customers who have purchased it over the past few weeks!

If you did not get our newsletter in your email, please take a moment and subscribe by typing your email in the form (left side of the page). You will also get announcements of sales events and other special events (like the soon to be announced visit to Woolwinders by Debbie Stoller, author of the book "Stitch 'N Bitch" on July 8th!)

We received an odd assortment of packages today. Inspirations is a fabulous pattern book filled more than 15 adorable year round baby patterns. Gauged to yarn ranging from 4 ply to worsted, the patterns are cute and funky!

And in the "must have" knitting gear category, we received Bear Huggers to keep your sock needles all together! These come in packages of 10 and work for needles sized 0-9.

The store is, of course, open this weekend but we are off to NY to check out their yarn shops! Stay tuned for a full report on Monday.

Aren't these projects lovely? Our friend Lara forwarded this photos of her finished projects for family members and friends. We LOVE when our customers do this. Please send any digital photos of finished works (or even works in progress!) to jacqui@woolwinders.com. You will make our website Wall of Fame!