We look for any excuse to better serve our customers. So from now through Halloween, October 31 2004 get 15% any black and/or orange yarn! We are pretty generous about what that means--the yarn can have ANY black or orange in it. So that includes many colors of the new Noro TRANSITIONS (normally $25.99 now $22.10) and BLOSSOM (normally $9.99 now $8.49) as well as new colors of Muench TESSIN, great for kids. And the KOIGU too! Just a few regs from Lew the Lawyer: we will not be honoring the frequent buyer cards for these purchases, since the discount is already there, no special orders, and all sales are final-no exchanges/refunds. Eager to make the gorgeous sweaters in Jane Ellison and Cornelia Tuttle Hamilton's new Noro books? Now is your chance to do so at 15% off! And just think of those Charlotte Web shawls with five skeins of Koigu at that discount! Less than $47 for an extraordinary garment.....

We thought long and hard about ordering yarn for children. We are selling down the Sirdar line due to their decision to sell to A.C. Moore. But what to replace their yarns with? We needed bright colors, washability, good yardage and soft feel. The answer? Muench Tessin, a 3 to the inch washable wool with loft and luscious colors. We have five colors in stock now-perfect for kids' quick knits!

And while we are on the subject of kids, don't forget about our HALLOWEEN SALE now through Sunday, October 31. 15% off Black and/or Orange yarn. No returns/exchanges. All sales final. Boo!

When you are knitting for kids, don't hesitate to ask any of our staff about the practicality of the yarn. We encourage you to explore the Debbie Bliss Cashmerino line (machine washable), all of our cottons, and Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece, a wool/cotton blend that is also machine washable!

More Koigu, which brings us up to 35 colors! A new pattern, too, for an easy T-shirt in children's, women's and men's sizes. And a reorder of Schaefer including the best selling Esperanza in Indira Ghandi. And all is ticketed and shelved.

It wasn't enough to get the Koigu in last week, when Kim suggested we unpack every skein and roll around in it (we didn't, don't worry!). Yesterday we received our first round of Prism Yarns as well as the new Noro yarn Transitions, and an old favorite, Blossom.

Prism Yarn is the royalty of hand dyed yarns. These exquisite yarns, dyed by Laura Bryant, possess unusual fibers, extraordinary colorways, and one-of-a-kind pattern support to knit and crochet dramatic scarves, stoles, shawls, and sweaters. We received three of their yarns in this first shipment: Diana, a broad rayon ribbon, Biwa, a textured loop rayon, and Sunshine Hand Dyed, a nylon/ribbon combination ribbon possessing a luxurious sheen. We hadn't realized it when we bought them at TNNA this summer, but these yarns are PERFECT for those trying to avoid wool! Still on the way are multi-yarn kits with enough yarn to make either a shawl, poncho, or sweater. We will keep you posted. It is difficult to describe the colorways of Prism Yarns; you need to SEE these to believe that colors could be dyed so richly.

And we couldn't believe that Noro could outdo himself, but wait until you see the new Transitions yarn. We are all familiar with the color changes that mark Noro yarns, but how about fiber changes? That is what Transitions is all about. Everytime the color changes, the fiber does as well, from wool to silk to cashmere to alpaca to kid mohair to angora and camel. The result? Softness to die for, and the colors that only Noro can produce.

And we don't want to give Blossom short shrift. We literally sold every skein of this yarn last Fall/Winter. It has texture, vivid color changes, and loft that keeps the resulting project soft and silky. We have a lot of patterns to support Blossom (including the new Noro 17 pattern book!) and two models to boot!

What a day to take off!!! But how much fun is unpacking going to be?

We've waited a long time for these, but Stitch n' Bitch and Knitter's Book of Finishing Techniques are back in! Also in, Top Down for Toddlers (great seamless sweaters for kids!), Bags: A Knitter's Dozen; and Working with Hand Dyed Yarns. Great reading. Great knitting.

We were fortunate to host a trunk show for Kollage Yarns today and had so much fun doing so because of the fabulous energy and creative talent of Susan Moraca. Susan and her husband Mark drove up from Kollage's headquarters in Alabama with all of their yarns and put on quite a show for an overflow crowd at WoolWinders!

Here is a picture of Susan modeling an absolutely fabulous sweater shaped as a poncho in glorious Kollage yarns. (Yes, we have the patterns available at the store).

As you can see, we had a huge crowd for the class Susan taught about how to work with multi-strand yarns:

Our very own Lynn even got involved:

Overall, it was one of the most high energy, fun days since we've been open. Kollage's yarns are beautiful and fun, just like Susan and Mark!

Lew was busy this morning loading pictures for our site. We love showing off the fabulous projects our customers and students complete!

We often tease Lisa about her penchant for buying numerous projects at once. But here are two she completed in FABULOUS fashion: the Stria vest from Designs by Judith, and a poncho for daughter Torie from Stitch and Bitch:

And daughter Bella has earned bragging rights for her lovely scarf:

Felting is big at WoolWinders:

Renee is showing off her Spike hat that she completed in our Absolute Beginners class:

Good friend Maren completed this adorable ladybug sweater for daughter Nora who loves to come to "Jacqui's House," aka WoolWinders:

The previously mentioned Poncho knit by Lisa:

And Julie proudly displays her Spike hat:

As we write this, it is cold, crisp and beautiful out. A wonderful day to knit! Come see our new arrivals; you could be a web star before too long.

We are now fully stocked with two of our most popular yarns: Berroco Suede and Rowan Ribbon Twist. Great yarns, great colors! Come and see all the fabulous projects you can make with these fibers.

Even Richard, our substitute UPS Guy was excited! Two big boxes (and more on the way). Come and get it! Prints and solids, over 35 colors! Hoo hah!

We received this adorable picture of Aidan from mom Elisa, who is fortunate enough to work with Lew (on so many levels!). Lew knit this sweater for Aidan out of Baby Cashmerino, one of our favorite cozy (and washable) yarns.

And a Koigu alert. We are expecting two large boxes ANY DAY. They HAVE been shipped. So keep reading the blogs; you will be the first to know!

The Holiday 2004 issue of Vogue Knitting arrived today. We are just bursting to let you know a secret we've been keeping for a few weeks: WoolWinders is featured as the issue's "Inspirational Yarn Shop." It's a very nice review of our store, focusing on the great knitting "party" atmosphere established by our community of knitters! And that means all of you. All we can say is thank you.

We love to receive models from our manufacturers, and today we received two fabulous ones! Knitting Fever sent a gorgeous cabled sweater in Noro's new Kureyon colors of teals/greys as well as a Blossom sweater in greens,rusts, and bricks. Wow! Along with the models, which we will hang as soon as our tall husband Lew arrives, we received Debbie Bliss' new Book Seven; we are already working on her Lily design in Aran Tweed.

The books were selling out of the box, folks, so hurry in!

Also in, restocks of Crystal Palace short bamboo needles perfect for those scarves and shawls!

Two important pieces of information about upcoming classes. First, the Socks on Circular Needles scheduled for Sunday, October 17 and 24 will be held from 11-1 on the 17th due to a race that is being held in King Farm that morning. We will resume the regular 10-12 time frame for the second class on the 24th.

Also, space is filling fast for our one-time LAST MINUTE GIFT class held on Tuesday, December 7 from 6-8 PM. Don't miss this exciting opportunity to receive instruction, tips, 10% discount, and over 15 patterns that can be knit in less than TWO DAYS. We promise! Cost is $15. To register, call the store at 240.632.9276

Nothing makes us happier than when friends take the time to email pictures! We received these beauties yesterday. First, Colin and Nels model baby sweaters that we knit for them when they were born. These Wee Knits sweaters made from Mission Falls 1824 Cotton remain favorites. And the twins are adorable. They live on the West Coast so we haven't seen them in person, but parents Margo and Andrew are dear to think of us and send these along.

Next, we have had the true pleasure of watching Hannah grow as the store does! She was a year old when we opened, and is soon to turn three. Mom and Dad Flo and David used to live in King Farm, so we got to see them, as well as son Benjamin, all the time. When they moved up the road a bit, we missed them terribly. But they stop in every so often, and David is GREAT about sending photos of Flo's work. Now THIS is a poncho!

OK, guilt works. The staff that abandoned us brought wonderful gifts from the show, so we can't stay mad at them AT ALL. We love reports from knitting shows; they fuel our desire to bring you the best and most gorgeous yarns, patterns and accessories. So here goes. We loved the comfort cuffs Lynne brought us; this creative item eases the pain of knitting-weary wrists. You just heat them in the microwave, slip them on, and relief is on the way! We are wearing them as we blog!) Ditto the clever way someone used a plumber' pipe to hold double pointed needle projects. We promise to track these items down!

Brooks displayed fabulous signed editions of Stitch n Bitch and Unexpected Knitting; he also brought us lovely note pads that read "Knitting....Not a Sickness, a Life Style." Eloquently put.

And Lynne brought samples of Himalayan Yarn's Recycled Silk, a must-have for Spring. We will be ordering this fabulous and unusual yarn around the end of the year!

Adrian found fabulous kits and patterns that we are now perusing. Kits bring up an interesting issue: if you are interested in our carrying sweater kits, please email us at the end of this blog! We haven't done so as yet, but would be curious as to the level of interest.

We expect to hear from Pat and Kim tomorrow and will of course give you their reviews!

We were feeling a bit pathetic today as almost our entire staff abandoned us to go to the knitting show in Atlantic City (ah to be left behind....) but in walked Ted the Substitute UPS Guy with two large boxes from Unicorn. We were not expecting any books so opened the packages to discover with great glee that Lana Grossa yarns and patterns were within!! We bought this line at the TNNA show last June, drawn to its sophistication of style. And the boxes did not disappoint. Check out their pattern magazine, Filati 28, which features Chanel-styled garments in a variety of weights and colors. And we were delighted to receive three more colors of FUMO, an incredibly soft mohair (ask to see the sweater pattern that coordinates!), three colors of a new yarn COLORE that knits at 11 stitches to 4 inches and FELTS (!), and a new color of sock yarn.

We are feeling better now. And the lovely Karina dashed over after school and is already hard at work!

We just received Amy Singer's new book KNIT WIT: 30 Easy and Hip Projects, and all Pat could say was "Wow!" Amy is the editor of Knitty, our favorite on-line 'zine and she has collected some terrific projects here including our favorite "Girly Boxers." You have the see this to believe it!

A fun and fast book perfect for holiday gifts!

Adrian has been waiting not-so-patiently for a reorder of Colinette's new yarn Enigma in the Raphael colorway. We sensed that some whining may have been on the way when Walter arrived with it today! In addition to the Raphael, we received Enigma in Jay and Sahara (come see this beautiful and unusual yarn; perhaps Kim will show you her daughter's shell that she knit in the Monet colorway!), backorders of Poncho kits in Denim and Blackberry, and reorders of the following books: Tagliatelli, Comforts (with the Winterthur Shawl), Giotto, Art to Wear, and Point Five. A Colinette day all around. And Adrian is happy. Isn't that what is all about?

So there we were calmly eating our lunch after the noon rush, and Adrian said "Gee I hope Walter brings us stuff today." No sooner had she finished her sentence than the door burst open and Walter the UPS Guy arrived with three huge boxes from Knitting Fever, four boxes from Unicorn Books, and one from Skacel. Needless to say, our panninis grew cold.

But how much fun we had unpacking four colors of Noro's new chunky yarn YOROI (click on pic for larger view):

five new colors of Silk Garden, one of Blossom, and Cornelia Tuttle Hamilton's new book TRANSITIONS.

And then we unpacked the Unicorn boxes. In addition to restocks of the popular 365 Knitting Stitches and Little Box of Scarves, we received Lana Grossa's new design book SIMPLY KNIT 3,

TEEN KNITTING CLUB,

the 100% Klutz-Proof KNITTING KIT, VOGUE KNITTING ACCESSORIZE, and DEBBIE BLISS JUNIOR KNITS. We can hardly wait to get started!

Isn't Lew the best? Yesterday while waiting for the Redskins to play, he updated our webstore. Look for complete listings of the Rowan and Berroco yarns that we sell. Some of the recent additions are:

In order, that is Lullaby, Medley, Hip-Hop and Optik from Berroco and Polar and Yorkshire Tweed DK from Rowan. We also have Kid Classic, Kidsilk Haze, Big Wool, and others from Rowan now available online.

Lew has promised to update Knitting Fever, including Sirdar, Debbie Bliss and Noro, this weekend. Isn't football season great? A lot gets done around our house on Sunday mornings!

We try not to show off too often, but we knit this Colinette Giotto jacket to wear in Miami. How very South Beach, don't you think? But we have worn it here as well and just love it! An easy, fun, and fast knit for anyone looking for a fall, spring, or summer cover up!

We took a quick trip South for the past two days; in our absence our fabulous staff kept things humming. Thanks to Adrian, Pat, Kim, Lynne, Marietta, and Karina for giving us peace of mind as we visited the folks in Florida.

In our absence we received restocks of Berroco's very popular kids' yarn LULLABY. This worsted weight, washable/dryable yarn is perfect for ponchos, sweaters, blankets and the like. And the variegated colorways are GORGEOUS!

Happy October to all. Fall is in the air-we can smell it!