We knew the LOUISA HARDING Collection was a winner when we saw it at TNNA. Our favorite item, the ribbon/impression cape, was the first thing we knit. And the books flew out of here. As did certain colors of the yarns. Now they are all back in the shop!

And a special note of congrats to our Sock teacher, KATHY CEA. Kathy's pattern, SASSY SUMMER ANKLETS, is the JULY 6 entry for the 2006 PATTERN OF THE DAY CALENDAR! Could we be more proud? We think not.

Cozy up to the incoming cooler weather with fabulous Colinette Yarns. These hand-dyed wonders come from Wales (thus knocking Dylan Thomas off as our favorite Welsh export)in brilliant color ranges. The secret to Colinette? Keep the patterns simple and let the yarn do the work. Toward that end we are restocked with three of her best pattern books: Comforts, Journey to America, and La Bella Vita. Whether you want to make a fashionable shawl, a lovely throw, or the prettiest shrug we have seen, check out these books.

We knew the cool weather would eventually get here! As we write this on a beautiful fall day (we woke up to 52 degree weather), we are staring at beautiful bags of CASCADE 220 and 109 and KIDSILK HAZE. The first is perfect for felting as well as worsted/chunky knitwear, and the latter is the ultimate of kid mohair. Work it alone for a lace shawl, hold it with a DK weight yarn to make the LADY OF THE LAKE sweater that hangs in the shop, or wait for the KOIGU to come in next month and make the softest scarf in the world!

Also in (and about to be perused) two JAEGER pattern books. These are always classy and elegant. You deserve that.

We love coming here on our day off because inevitably many things always arrive. Today was no exception. First the good, albeit mundane news: we are fully stocked with ADDI NEEDLES. We continue to be amazed at how quickly our customers blow through these; a testament to the number of projects all of you knit at one time!

LAUREL, ESPERANZA, AND ANNE are back in from one of our favorite companies-yes we worship at the shrine of Cheryl Schaefer. Her yarns continue to be immensely popular. And why not? The fibers are yummy, the colors are glorious, and the price is right. A perfect combination.

We also have more copies of the NATURALLY NORO BOOK, NORO 17, and a new color of BLOSSOM. Come check out the bag Adrian made from this yarn. It is adorable.

More CASHMERINO ARAN in stock. This is a staple for us and we are happy to report that we are having NO PROBLEMS with re-orders.

Finally, we are stocked once again with two great references: KNITTERS COMPANION and CROCHETERS COMPANION. Don't leave home without them.

We had to contain our excitement last week when FOUR colors of the PATRICIA ROBERTS LAMBSWOOL arrived. After all, our Fall sale loomed ahead and we wanted to feature the fantastic bargains that so many of you scooped up this weekend. But now we can crow about this fabulous yarn. You may recall we found it in London and fell in love with everything about it: the hand, the colors, the gauge....and even the price! We are nearly done with our sweater in the ivory and can honestly say that we have enjoyed every row, even the 25 we had to rip out on Friday night (note to self, knock off the wine when knitting)! Wait until you see this yarn. This is sweater yarn, folks. DK gauge, fine lambswool that is as soft as can be. How much do we love this yarn? We love it so much that we dealt with the fact that each color came in in different gram weights and without reference to yardage. So pricing became a challenge until the wonderful PATRICIA ROBERTS herself emailed us a mathematical formula to figure out yardage. Each skein is marked now, but you will notice a difference in price among colors since we have small skeins, medium skeins, and huge honker hanks! We can help you figure out how much you need for your project; we used four, or about 1200 yards, for a cabled sweater. You literally would have to go to London to find this yarn; we are the only store in the U.S. carrying her lambswool. And stay tuned for the cotton in the spring. Use any DK pattern to support this yarn; check out the Elsebeth Lavold ones; we think they will show off the yarn especially well.

And about our sale. Whew! Thanks first to Martha, who worked three of the four days of the sale; Marietta, Jessica, Karina, Lynne, Adrian (who worked even though she wasn't on the schedule), and Lew (who gave up a football Sunday to help). We truly have an amazing staff. We had four crazy busy days at the shop. We loved every minute of it because of the smiles on everyone's faces as they left the store with bargains. Some folks even got carry-out service to their cars! We concluded the sale with our annual drawing, and are pleased to announce the following winners:

3rd Place (Sally Melville Styles): Gillian Van Brakle
2nd Place (Susan Todd Knitting Bag): Barbara Pezzlo
and the GRAND PRIZE WINNER of a 15% discount for one full year:
LAURA RATNER.

Congratulations All!!! And thanks for all of your support and good wishes over the past three years!

You would

Nothing like a tight schedule. We just returned from a quick jaunt to Vegas (yes, we won!) in time to begin our annual FALL/ANNIVERSARY SALE! It starts today at 11:00 AM (guess we ought to get dressed and get to the store) and will run through Sunday, September 25.

What's on sale? For starters, 40% off pattern books on our spinarounds, including Berroco, Mission Falls, Tahki, Noro etc. 40% off EVERY SINGLE PATTERN in our notebooks. 35% off full bags of selected yarns including those from Noro, Debbie Bliss, Berroco etc. Or, if you like, put ten skeins of the same color from those bins. 30% off select yarns from the summer and yarns we are discontinuing, including the full range of Berroco yarns, Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool and Tweed, Manos del Uruguay Stria, Lana Grossa yarns and more. ALL our novelties are on sale for 30% off, not that we have many left. But we are willing to haggle!!!!

And of course you know the legal rules. No frequent buyer cards on sale items, no returns or exchanges. All sales are final, yada yada yada. And what would our fall sale be without our annual drawing? Put your name and phone number in the bowl for a chance to win a book, a knitting bag, or the grand prize of a 15% discount on all purchases (except for classes/lessons/sale items) for ONE YEAR!!! How great is that?

Fall is starting tomorrow. Our sale starts today!

We are so excited that our first customer took advantage of BRENDA'S BIRTHDAY BONUS described in our Fall newsletter. Kathy Straneri proudly marched up to the cash stand, presented her driver's license and received one-half of her age in a discount!!! Make sure you take advantage of this savings, named after our friend Brenda at Uniquities. Just present proof that it is within five days of your birthday and you will receive a discount equal to half your age! So getting older IS getting better, at least at WoolWinders.

It seems we always run out of notions at the same time, even though we are ordering items 48 at a time!!! What ARE you all doing with stitch markers and row counters????? But today the lovely folks at Bryson came through with a large box of reinforcements. We now have four different types/sizes of stitch markers, complete sets of crochet hooks B-Q, and FINALLY the row counter that can sit on circular needles!

And not to give short shrift to one of our favorite vendors, Manos del Uruguay. Beatiful variegateds are back in stock.

We didn't expect it until next month at the earliest, but thanks to the lovely folks at Prism, we have four colors of an unbelievably beautiful mohair/rayon blend called Kid Slique. We've oohed and aahed about this yarn all morning. Come check it out! Deep teals, elegant ivory, jewelled tones, and one called "harvest." Just gorgeous. Knitting at 3 to the inch, this would make an amazing (and quick!) scarf, shawl or trim.

We always look forward to seeing this young man with his mom , Melissa. Here CJ models the sox mom made after taking the Socks on Circular Needles class. A great finished product!

And Kim is well known for her creativity. But did you know that she is a wonderful model as well? Even when the temperature reaches 90 degrees, she is willing to show off the Mango Moon Sweater that we made from the kit. Recycled silk and mohair (this was yellow) are within, as are 12 patterns.

And here is Kim in her own creation from Prism Stuff and a DK merino. Now you know why we all envy her skills!

Finally, the best example of modular knitting we have seen: a long vest done out of Schaefer yarn Laurel, an exquisite pima cotton.

And we often call upon Christina to model for us. Here she is wearing the drop stitch scarf that Lynne knit from Eros and Kidsilk Haze. Like it? Learn to make it in our class given this fall.

One of our most popular (and beautiful) yarns is Blue Heron's Beaded Rayon. Not only do we love it because it is locally (EASTON, MD) produced, but the yarn has phenomenal colors and beautiful drape. This summer, we made Missy Burns' Lady of the Lake Sweater which combines the Beaded Rayon with a lightweight kidsilk mohair (check out the store model!). We were so excited today to receive three new colors: Seastar, Melon, and Raspberry. Aren't the names great? The yarn is even better.

We always knew that our customers were generous. How generous? The back seat, front passenger seat and trunk of our car is filled with boxes and bags of clothing and blankets for evacuees of Hurricane Katrina. We will be sending these on Tuesday to a clearinghouse in Baton Rouge which is distributing such items to charities in New Orleans, Houston, etc. So thank you. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you.

Our fear is that with time these folks will fall off our radar screen. Their needs will last for a long, long time. So we will periodically hold such drives throughout the year to come. With colder weather, coats and heavier blankets will be needed. So please save such items for us.

Thank you again from the entire WoolWinders staff.

Too late to catch Annie Modesitt at WoolWinders? Click on www.destinationknits.com and go to their "retreats" section. She will be in Washington, DC on October 29, and I have been assured by the lovely Laurie Gonyea that there is space in that workshop!

The Fall newsletter is coming out in a few hours. If you have not done so, register on our home page, bottom left. This is a three step process, so just return the emails and confirmation. You will be on our email list to receive all newsletters and special event notices. We've planned some fun things this fall-don't miss out!

It was a wild and wooly day yesterday. We had only one working phone line and it was ringing all day! Consequently, we have filled all 24 slots for the Annie Modesitt presentations on October 8. Will we ask Annie to return to the store for yet a third time? You betcha. So stay tuned.

Watch for the newsletter on Tuesday. And have a happy and healthy Labor Day Weekend. We are closed Monday, but open regular hours over the weekend.

Help us help those who have lost so much. We will be taking donations of those knit items you no longer use and sending them to a designated relief agency. Of particular need are blankets, baby/children's clothes, and garments of light to medium weight for both men and women. If you, like us, were touched by the reports of victims who escaped the hurricane literally with only the clothes on their backs, please help us help them.

Bring your donations to the store between September 1 and September 11. We will ship them out on Monday, September 12. Thank you so very much.