Thanks to the wonder of Constant Contact, the NONI BAG class in June is filled. We will take names for a wait list in case anyone cancels, so if you are interested, just give us a call at 240.632.9276. For those lucky participants who signed up, we will be in touch with you via email at the beginning of May to ensure that you have purchased your pattern and chosen your yarn—we want to make sure we have all the materials that everyone needs. And don’t worry about handles, hardware etc….we work through Nora’s distributor to get you the right stuff as well. The only thing we can’t get for you is lining or any finishing screen you might need (depending on the pattern) but we will let you know where to do that.

We are so excited about this program that we picked out our pattern already and we’re going to be working right along side all of you:

Our Saturday KAL for March wraps up this weekend with all rebellious participants making great progress on WHATEVER shell they chose; and most have more shells in their stash thanks to GALE bringing in the new VOGUE KNITTING! Our APRIL KAL, BLANKET SQUARES, is filled. It will start next Saturday from 2-4; if you special-ordered yarn for it, it should arrive any day. Cascade shipped it last week.

And it promises to be a bit chilly on Sunday, perfect for our make-up SUNDAY IN THE SALON-CORONET HAT. If you signed up for it in February, just come along to the shop for it; if you are not able to make it this time, please let us know. And if you didn’t sign up but would like to attend, give us a call on Saturday; we will let you know if there is space. As always, the program is free of charge and runs from 2-4 PM. We may end up wearing this cozy hat on Sunday night at the opening game for the Nationals—it promises to be in the 30s by the time the game gets underway!

UPDATE/12:53 pm. The CASCADE YARN has arrived for those special orders. However, the NONI patterns did not ALL come in yet; we have received THE RETRO BAG, THE FLAMENCO BAG and the BOUQUET OF SHIRLEY POPPIES.

All other SPRING COLLECTION PATTERNS ARE SHIPPING TODAY and will be here next week.

We are now fully stocked with one of the most popular summer yarns: NASHUA NATURAL FOCUS ECOLOGIE COTTON. This organic yarn was new last year when it received raves, and this year the company wisely also released a fabulous pattern book. We love this yarn. We took a bag of this yarn for ourselves. We will be knitting with this yarn tonight.

so it is printed here. Those pesky yarnovers keep disappearing!!!!

For Block #9, Row 11 should read:

Row 11: K7, *yo, k2tog, k6, rep from * to last 7 sts, end yo, k2tog, k5. (The yarnover in bold was missing). Kathy also recommends using the ADDI LACE needles that we wrote about in the last newsletter.

Isn’t it always like this? You are merrily knitting along and realize that there is a SERIOUS mistake that is just NOT YOUR FAULT. When we started out with 59 stitches on our last blanket square and ended up with a whole lot fewer, we realized something was seriously amiss. So for those of you working on the LACY AFGHAN SAMPLER on your own, be aware that the lace repeat for SQUARE 7 should read:

Rows 1, 3.5, and 7: K1, *yo, sl1, k2tog, psso, YO, k3* to last four stitches, end yo, sl1, k2tog, psso, yo, k1.

The rest of the pattern is fine. They left out a yarnover in the repeat, that’s all. We’ll make sure that everyone doing the April KAL is aware of this.

Check out our hand-knit samples for sale—we just put more on sale. They include sweaters for kids and womem, scarves and shawls, hats and even a few knit bags at great prices (all sweaters are just $50!!!) We are no longer selling the yarns, that’s why we’re selling the models. You can get great deals on NORO, PRISM, ROWAN, DEBBIE BLISS, ELSEBETH LAVOLD and the like! Women’s sweaters are sized SM/MED. And heck, want to pretend you made ‘em yourself? We’ll keep your secret.

For spring—we received reorders from the lovely COLINETTE BOOK LA BELLA VITA. It contains the most beautiful and wearable shrug made from GIOTTO—we have a model hanging in the shop and we have worn ours to several swanky places:

Our SPRING SHELL KAL continues on Saturday from 2-4 PM. This very rebellious group is now working on about four different patterns but everyone is having a great time! There is still some time to sign up for APRIL KAL which will start on the 5th and is perfect for those knitters who a) don’t want to worry about fit and b) need a really special gift in the coming months. We will be knitting a LACE SAMPLE AFGHAN featuring 12 squares that are sewn together for a full-size afghan. It’s a great way to learn lace and we can tell you how much fun it is—originally KATHY and I were going to six samples but enjoyed them so much we are doing all 12!!!!! You can see every design and also see the difference between BLOCKED and UNBLOCKED lace (guess which one of us took the time to block?????). The afghan takes 8-9 balls of CASCADE SIERRA, 220 or 220 SUPERWASH—come check out our stock! The program will be held every SATURDAY in APRIL from 2-4 PM, is FREE OF CHARGE, and we even offer wine and refreshments! Just give us a call to hold your spot at the table.

And please note: WE WILL BE CLOSED ON EASTER SUNDAY, MARCH 23.

Just a reminder—we are putting in a large order with CASCADE YARNS TODAY!!!! If you want to participate in the APRIL KAL (Blanket Squares) we will special order a bag of SIERRA or 220 SUPERWASH for you. We are also ordering all of the new SPRING 2008 NONI PATTERNS (check them out on www.nonipatterns.com). Just give us a call before 3 PM today with your order! Only three spots remain for Nora’s NONI BAG PROGRAM in June!

We are taking names for our APRIL KAL—LACE AFGHAN SQUARES. What’s great about this project? Afghan Squares are, quite simply, the easiest and most portable way to learn LACE KNITTING. No shaping! We will have models of TWELVE SQUARES (five and a half are done now and ready for viewing!) that can be done on any worsted weight yarn. We recommend either CASCADE SIERRA or 220 (regular or superwash). You will need 10 balls to do the full twelve squares, as two balls make 3 squares and you need some for sewing the squares together. So while we have plenty of yarn, we encourage you to come in and check out the stock; we are happy to order a bag of another color for you, but we want to do just one order to save on shipping costs.

And there is a variety of ways to do this project. Don’t like all 12 squares? Do the ones you like! Don’t want to make a full sized afghan? Six or nine squares make a baby blanket or lap afghan.

Please call the shop to register for this FREE program which will run each Saturday in April. And come in to select your yarn by WEDNESDAY, MARCH 19. We will place our CASCADE ORDER ON THURSDAY, MARCH 20.

Our lovely finisher, Marina, has the flu. First time in over five years that she has gotten sick, but we want her to get well and so we will not bother her with our projects until NEXT Friday. If you brought something in last week, it will be back in the shop then (March 21) and if you brought something to be taken over there today, it won’t go until then. Sorry about the delay, but this flu going around is truly awful.

Because JAVIER the UPS GUY just staggered in under the weight of seven boxes. We now are restocked with DENISE INTERCHANGEABLE NEEDLES (both pink and blue sets), CRYSTAL PALACE NEEDLES (including dpns), ROWAN CALMER, and a bezillion colors of MANOS DEL URUGUAY! Since Flo is off today, we have enlisted the help of our wonderful friend DEBBIE to help us tag and shelve everything so it is ready to buy!

New yarn, that is! Just in time for our ST. PATRICKS DAY SALE (15% off any yarn with even a wee speck o’ green or orange), we received GORGEOUS colors of the new MANOS SILK/WOOL. This yarn is just wonderful—we will be using it later on in the spring to make an adorable RUFFLED COWL. And there is a pattern book to go along with the yarn.

Also in, lovely ivory tones of ROWAN PURELIFE and SUMMER TWEED, as well as the long-awaited black colorway of CASH SOFT ARAN. And we are well stocked with CASCASE 220 SUPERWASH, a favorite for children’s garments and all sorts of afghans.

Finally, we still have spaces left for this Sunday’s LACE ANKLETS. These adorable sox take just one skein of CASCADE FIXATION and are a great way to learn how to knit lace on DPNs. We do ask that you pick the materials up ahead of time and knit your very short cuff; we would like to emphasize the lace part of the project.

We are working feverishly on the spring newsletter and should have it ready by this weekend. Don’t miss it! The only way to get it is to sign up on our email list at the lower left side of this page! Thanks to Lew the Lawyer and his obsession with anti-spam and privacy issues, we can’t do it for you. Just fill in your email address and then follow the prompts including responding to an email from us confirming that you really want to be on the list (isn’t technology grand???). We have lots to tell you about for the coming season, including a spectacular THREE SESSION (that’s 18 full hours, folks!) class with NORA BELLOWS, of NONI BAG fame. And look for some information on donating your unwanted stash yarn to a good cause, signing up for one of our new classes, and participating in our FREE weekend programs.

Don’t be late for the WoolWinders KNIT TO FIT or Sunday in the Salon!!!! Move your clocks forward one hour before you go to sleep last night. We know you are losing an hour’s sleep—it’s ok to bring coffee into the shop!

The weather isn’t supposed to be terrific this weekend, so come hang at at WoolWinders!!! We have our Saturday KAL progressing with folks working on different shells, and our SUNDAY IN THE SALON features an easy and quick SELF FRINGEING SHAWL. Made from just two skeins of COLINETT GIOTTO and Size 15 or 17 needles, this shawl is magic!! It makes its own loopy fringe on the last bind off. Very cool. As always, the programs are free of charge and run from 2-4 PM. We only ask that you let us know you’re coming so we have a place for you to sit!

Just in—eight colors of JITTERBUG, which got pretty picked over during our SUNDAYS in the SALON. This fingering weight washable merino is perfect for socks and baby clothes—and the colors are the usual COLINETTE gorgeosity. So come take a look!

We are excited to report that we are now restocked with the popular DALE OF NORWAY SVALE. This DK cotton blend yarn has flown off the shelves in recent week! It is a wonderful yarn for spring shells and sweaters. We recommend using the fabulous ADDI LACE NEEDLES with it—you will find it a pleasure with which to work!

Also in, the new ORGANIC PURELIFE yarn from ROWAN. We are careful about our organics here at WoolWinders-while we know that “green” is the most popular trend in knitting today, some of the yarns just aren’t that great. But this one is! The soft colors and lovely hand are delightful. We are expecting some more colors—right now we have a lovely pale pink and yellow as well as a peachy/rose tone.

And finally, one of our favorite books is back in stock: RUNWAY KNITS. The patterns are sophisticated and beautifully written by the owner of KARABELLA yarns. We made the SOLDIER’S SWEATER and can honestly report we enjoyed every stitch!

We were intrigued when one of our customers walked in with a KNITMATE, a handy “starter” kit that contains just about every notion you need to start knitting: markers, tape measurer, row counter, lock stitch markers, stitch holders and the like. So of course we had to order them. And they are now in stock for $21.99. Even if you are experienced, this is a great way to keep everything organized!

And we received some luscious colors of BLUE HERON COTTON WOVEN RIBBON yarn. This is a great substitute for Colinette Wigwam (we like the brighter colors) and is produced locally! Come check it out!