Now that the colder weather is finally here, you may want to make a bunch of HATS as gifts. We have the perfect one, especially for beginning knitters: THE ALPACA HAT IN THE ROUND. What a concept! A simple watch cap style, quickly done in bulky, but ultra soft alpaca yarn! Come join us SUNDAY from 2-4 PM (we have four spots left). As always, the program is free of charge. This is a great way to learn to knit in the round and learn to work double pointed needles for the crown of the hat.

Hannah is one of our favorite models; we have literally watched her grow up on the website, thanks to her mom, FLO and her amazing knitting ability. FLO’S latest creation, a hoodie made from the exquisitely dyed NANCY from SCHAEFER YARNS. We can vouch for this yarn; we have made a top down sweater for ourself as well as TWO HAIKU sweaters for kids:

Our good friend Stephanie modeled this gorgeous lace cardigan for us; she created the cover model from LACE STYLE from the washable ICELANDIC yarn and we thought it was just fabulous! Quite frankly, we were also gleeful about the fact that it is FINALLY cool enough to show it off!

See what you can do in one of our SAFARI classes????

We have a slight change to this Sunday’s program: LACY HAT IN THE ROUND. The one from Lace Style is simply too complex to attempt within two hours, so we will be making a lovely substitute that requires less than 200 yards of worsted weight yarn (either cotton or wool), double pointed needles and 16” circs appropriate for your yarn. We will still teach you how to knit in the round, read a chart (though we love this pattern because it offers charted and written directions) and how to do lace, but we think this is a better bet for a quick holiday gift!

We have only four spots remaining for the program, so just give us a call to sign up. As always, the program is free of charge, runs from 2-4 PM on Sunday, and we ask that you work with yarn purchased from WoolWinders!

First off, if you are a lace knitter, we encourage you to check out the new yarn from PRISM ARTS. Reknowned for their colors and innovative yarns (remember all the fluffy “stuff” we carried in years prior?), the company has produced LACEWEIGHT MERINO YARN for the first time. These enormous (1460 yds) skeins are dyed in extraordinary colorways and knit like a dream. If the thought of tiny needles intimidates you, try holding the yarn double and knitting it on 5s or 6s for sport weight patterns. We did buy one pattern from Prism—you can find it below. As for the yarn, we took some pictures today and will post them on the site tonight!

And our needles are back in stock, as are WINDERS and SWIFTS. If you love the ADDI TURBOS and NATURAS, please note that the prices are going up with our next order. Come and get ‘em now!

This Sunday’s program is one of our favorites: TWO NEEDLE GLOVES. The program is filled. If you have signed up, please note that this is a rare program that requires some homework prior to Sunday. Please come in and get your yarn (about 300 yards of sock yarn), needles (straight size 2 and 3) and the patterns. You will need to cast on and do 22 rows of ribbing so that we don’t spend the two hours producing a cuff. We will begin on Sunday with fashioning the thumb and the rest of the hand will follow! We promise this pattern will become addictive! How great to knit gloves that don’t require dpns for the fingers!!! And oh, yes, bring a tapestry needle and pair of scissors as well. See you then! As always, the program is from 2-4 and is free of charge.

Want to feel good about your knitting purchase? We have back in stock the PINK DENISE INTERCHANGEABLE NEEDLES. Five dollars from every purchase goes to the SUSAN KOMEN FOUNDATION for breast cancer research. The needles are terrific-they range in size from 5-15, with three cord lengths and little gizmos that enable you to use them as straight needles as well. Just think how much money you will save!

Forget Springsteen at Verizon; we had FIONA ELLIS at WoolWinders last night! Her session on CABLES sold out in the first 40 minutes of the email announcement, and 12 lucky participants took part in the three hour program. FIONA is not only an exquisite designer, but a gifted teacher:

After some basic instruction, everyone got down to some serious cabling:

But we couldn’t let her leave without showing off a sample of her new work from INSPIRED FAIR ISLE KNITS:

Fiona is the best thing to come out of STITCHES EAST. It brings her to our area, and we look forward to having her at the shop again next year!

Then it’s gotta be the annual WOOLWINDERS YARN TASTING! We had a full house for the event, including this year’s GRAND PRIZE WINNER from last week’s drawing, JO CIMINO:

And then we settled down to play with some serious yarn:

Many thanks to our wonderful staff who assisted at the event. HEATHER and RAISA were kept busy all night serving the “courses” and “pairings” and helping with the shopping that followed the tasting. We hope everyone enjoyed the tasting as much as we did!

By the way, someone (we think it may have been DIANE) left a package near the table. We have it safe and sound at the shop, so just give us a call if you are missing something.

This is going to be a busy weekend at WoolWinders. First up-our annual YARN TASTING on Friday night from 6:30-8:30 PM. The program is filled; if you have signed up please bring an assortment of needles from sizes 4-11. It will make it easier to play with the yarn! Second, our SUNDAY IN THE SALON promises to be a winner. We will be focusing on knitting BLANKET SQUARES that you can put together into a wonderful sampler afghan. The amazing KATHY has selected three pattern stitches and even knit them up for you. And we will have pictures of 57 others. Really! If you like knitting without worrying about shaping, and/or if you love to knit while commuting or traveling, this is the program for you—squares are very portable! We have four slots left, so give us a call at 240.632.9276 if you want to join us from 2-4 PM on SUNDAY. You will need straight or circular needles size 8.

Finally, we welcome FIONA ELLIS back to the shop on Monday night from 6-9 PM. The program has been filled since the day of its announcement (do we know how to treat a rock star?), but if you have signed up and NOT received an email from us, please give us a call regarding materials.

MARTI WILLIAMS won third prize in our anniversary drawing-a copy of NICKY EPSTEIN’S KNITTING BEYOND THE EDGE.

VIVIAN CHEN was our second prize winner-she gets to choose a LANTERN MOON BASKET or BAG

and our GRAND PRIZE WINNER of a 15% DISCOUNT FOR ONE CALENDAR YEAR: JO CIMINO!!!

Congratulations to all. Our sale exceeded all our expectations, as well as all of our other sales! We can’t thank you all enough, especially considering the fact that you came and bought vast quantities of yarn in unseasonable 90 degree weather. Many many thanks from the entire WOOLWINDERS family. And thanks as well to our wonderful staff who prepared for, or worked, or cleaned up from the sale: MARIETTA, RAISA, PAIGE, GAIL, FLO, HEATHER, and KATHY. And a special thanks to DEBBIE, who helped us out on Thursday and Friday even though she’s not an official employee, and Marietta’s mom JANIS, who lent a much needed hand on Saturday. We are indeed fortunate to have such wonderful people at the shop!

Saturdays at the shop are always wonderful when MAX is present. Mom Marietta posed him on the LOG CABIN style baby blanket that LEW knit last year (yes we have the pattern AND yarn!) and then plunked the BABY HAT we use in beginning knitting on his six month old head. We think he has a fine career in modeling fiber designs ahead of him:

And MARY came by for the sale. We just had to take a picture of her in her FIRST EVER SHELL that she knit in the SAFARI class. The pattern was customized for her and her SIERRA yarn. How is that for a first effort?? If you are eager to knit clothing but concerned about fit, consider a SAFARI. The instructor will work with you to guarantee proper gauge and fit. SUCCESS!!!

The sale runs through 5:00 PM today. Stop by to scope the bargains (EVERYTHING IS ON SALE!) and register to win one of three great prizes in our annual drawing. Grand prize? A 15% discount on every purchase (except classes, lessons, and finishing) throughout the year.

Sales have been brisk during our anniversary weekend. There is nothing like a big sale to bring out new friends like ANDREW, who accompanied mom Jennifer to the shop. He slept beautifully the entire time, dozing under the coziness of his LAUREL pima cotton blankie:

And never let it be said we don’t throw new employees into the fray immediately. RAISA joined in the tumult on Friday and gave tremendous help and guidance to shoppers:

The sale runs through close of business tomorrow, Sunday. THE ENTIRE STORE IS ON SALE, and we have a drawing to win a 15% discount for one year along with other prizes! There are still great bargains to be had, so come on out to the shop and look around!

We love a good celebration, especially when it benefits our wonderful customers. Our FIFTH anniversary sale begins TODAY and runs through close of business SUNDAY, OCTOBER 7 (when we collapse with Heather over a glass of wine!). Check out the bargains on the left side of the website. If a yarn isn’t listed there, it is 15% off, as is everything else in the store: needles, bags, accessories, buttons, books….you name it! We do this once a year so don’t miss it! And make sure you fill out a ticket for our drawing. The lucky grand prize winner receives a 15% discount on ALL purchases (excluding lessons and classes) for ONE CALENDAR YEAR!!!!

If so, then be sure to join us on SUNDAY, OCTOBER 7 from 2-4 PM for a repeat of our CIRCULAR LACE SHAWL program which filled in September. We finished our shawl last night and will have sample at the shop by Saturday after it has been blocked. Let’s just say we are very happy with the finished product. As we mentioned in September, this is NOT a beginning lace project, but if you have knit lace stitches even once or twice you will be ready for this lovely shawl. We have a few spots left for the program which, as always, is free of charge. We do ask that you call and register so that everyone has a place to sit. You wil need about 650 yards of fingering weight yarn (we have lovely yarns in stock) and size 8 32” needles to complete this unusual shawl.

We were greeted by three* new arrivals at the shop today. First us, leave it to the folks at INTERWEAVE to come up with an issue devoted to HOLIDAY GIFTS! We love the magazine, and love the idea of a KNITTING PARTY.

Next, and with exquisite timing, we received FIONA ELLIS’ new book INSPIRED FAIR ISLE KNITS. Fiona will be here at the shop in two weeks-twelve lucky participants will be working with yer. If this book is anything like last year’s INSPIRED CABLE KNITS, you are in for a treat. And if you would like to purchase either book and have FIONA sign it for you, just give us a call. We will be happy to hold one for you.

And our third treat was the OCTOBER ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS afghan knit. These are unique kits put together by COLINETTE in her amazing colorways. October is resplendent with turquoise and teals. Think of a waterfall. Gorgeous.

• Four if you count the arrival of RAISA MOSIYENKO for her official first day at the shop. If she looks familiar, there may be a family resemblence to KARINA, who is off to college. RAISA is her mom!