Even before the weekend begins, you can take part in our most popular promotion. Sign up to receive our emails and newsletters (lower left of this home page; follow the prompts) and you will find out about it before we announce it on the blog Friday. Did that get your curiosity going?

And this weekend we usher in 2009 with a new SATURDAY KAL and SUNDAY IN THE SALON. First off, make yourself a pair of cozy FELTED CLOGS each Saturday of the month. We can almost guarantee that you will finish them by the end of January! These are unbelievably fun to knit and felt, and you will also learn things like knitting in the round, picking up stitches, and short rowing. This is a project suitable for a beginning knitter (though some fearlessness would come in handy). You will need two skeins of Cascade 220 or 450 yards of feltable worsted weight wool like WOOLY STRIPES. If you want to do them out of Manos, you will need two skeins. And hopefully we will receive our SKACEL order before the weekend; if not, bring along your Circs in 24” size 11.

And on Sunday, make yourself a pair of fingerless gloves (aka Handwarmers). These have proven to be very popular and practical—great for morning walks or working on the computer in a chilly room. We will be using one skein of DK Weight yarn (our lovely model KNITASHA wears a pair from KOIGU KERSTI) and size 5 dpns. Again, a quick knit in which you will learn some significant skills like working on DPNs and making a buttonhole.

As always, both programs are free of charge and run from 2-4 PM. We do ask that you call and reserve a spot so we have a place at the table for you.

Remember that we are open tomorrow, December 31 from 11 am-3 pm and then closed New Year’s Day. We reopen Friday, December 2 at 11 am. And we wish you all a happy and healthy New Year.

Although it’s our day off, we checked with the fabulous MARIETTA today who let us know that CRYSTAL PALACE NEEDLES (ie. short straights and dpns) as well as NOTIONS FROM BRYSON had arrived. We still don’t understand what all of you are doing with so many needles, but so be it. We have a sneaking suspicion that our December order won’t last long, so hurry in. And stay tuned for tomorrow’s posting when we describe the upcoming weekend, the first in 2009. We have a lot of exciting things planned at WoolWinders!

No programs scheduled this weekend, but PLEASE come help us eat all the goodies that our lovely customers and vendors sent this holiday season. Really. We have many treats in the shop and in the spirit of sharing have put them on the big table for all of you. So just come and hang with your knitting or crocheting, check out our merchandise at the same time, and grab a treat!

Lew and I wish you all the happiest of holidays. We are open today until 3 PM, then reopen on Friday at 11.

Neither can we. In fact, it’s bloody cold out. But we have a spring yarn that we want to brag about, so we thought we would catch your attention with the blog title. In fact, we were NOT going to put this yarn out for a while, but we made the mistake of talking about it with our Thursday night knitting ladies, who then all rushed to the storeroom, stuck their heads into the gigantic box on the floor, and began pulling bags out to put on hold. So before it’s all gone, we present KARABELLA MAKO TAPE.

We fell in love with this yarn and pattern on our annual BFF trip to New York this summer. The yarn is extraordinary-a cotton tape (reminiscent of Rowan Cotton Tape which was unforgivably discontinued a few years back) with just a bit of nylon to prevent it from stretching. It gauges on a size 10 needle, which meant we almost finished the back on four hours of air travel this past week. Karabella isn’t sure they can get more, so we did the only reasonable thing-we bought EVERY SKEIN THEY HAD. So if you have a hankering to do some spring knitting, come on in and check out this yarn and pattern. The shell is a lot of fun to knit!

And we know that you do too because we have virtually none left. So we called the company today to ask about their packaging and order process and learned that we can order just about any quantity we want of just about anything. Don’t you LOVE IT???? So, for example, if you want to make the fabulous FLURRIES FELTED WALLET, you can order any quantity of a color. Or several colors. We are going to reorder two of her yarns: FLURRIES and VOILE DE LA MER. Check them out on her website www.tillitomas.com; she shows the color ranges there. Then come on in and let me know what you want, or call with a credit card. Because this is a special circumstance, we are going to ask for prepayment of the yarn you order. We are going to put in the order on MONDAY, JANUARY 5 so you have plenty of time to noodle through her site and drool over the colors. And we have lots of free patterns to go with the yarns. VOILE DE LA MER is an exquisite laceweight silk that just calls out for a spring shawl. And FLURRIES makes adorable sweaters, hats….and all sorts of felted things.

We finally received 10 skeins of MANOS WILDFLOWER—the lovely shade of our scarf models. We only received the 10 and they won’t last long, so hurry in if you are eager for that colorway.

And we are excited about this weekend—the last before the CHRISTMAS and CHANUKA holidays. Join us Saturday if you want to finish up last minute projects—there will be lots of company for your knitting and crocheting frenzy. And on Sunday, make a great last minute gift-the FLAP HAT. We LOVE this hat—we always get a kick out of seeing elegantly dressed women in it. It may look so goofy that it is actually chic, but most of all it is really WARM! You will need two skeins of Manos and size 9 needles (BYON if you have ‘em; we are pretty low on needles these days). As always, both programs are free of charge and run from 2-4 PM.

Hope to see you soon at WoolWinders!

Join us tomorrow as we knit the ultimate QUICK Holiday Gift-a felted wallet. You will need just 70 yards of worsted weight yarn and size 10 needles, as well as a snap/button to match. Our model was done in TILLI TOMAS FLURRIES which we have unfortunately sold out of—if you are wedded to the notion of putting some dazzling beads into the wallet, stop off at a craft store and buy BEADS ON A SPOOL (not the separate ones that you have to thread) to carry along. Or SEQUINS. Or METALLIC. Go crazy!!!!! The wallet is adorable.

And to thank all our lovely customers this season, take 10% off all purchases TOMORROW! Even if you can’t come to our JINGLE BELLES evening from 5-7, you can get the discount from 12-5 PM.

We received three boxes from the phenom SUSAN of Buttermilk Designs today. To say that her KNITTING BAGS, ACCESSORY CASES and NEEDLE HOLDERS don’t last long here is an understatement. So come and get ‘em!

The weather outside is frightful, but the weekend happenings at WoolWinders are indeed delightful.
First up, join us on Saturday from 2-4 PM as everyone hustles to finish up holiday projects. You will have plenty of company, snacks, and wine at our KAL Finish-A-Long!

On Sunday, we have a nifty QUICK gift—a felted wallet. You can literally whip this up in the 2 hour program and still have plenty of time to felt and dry it. Again, the program is from 2-4 PM, is free of charge, and we provide snacks and wine!

And on Sunday evening from 5-7 PM, join us at our first annual JINGLE BELLES. Check out the box at the left side of this page and you will see all the details. It’s a perfect chance for you to shop for your girlfriends (or even yourself—we won’t tell). The guys had a lot of fun at the JINGLE BALLS evening last week. And instead of pizza and beer we will have girly snacks. And wine. See the theme here????

So give us a call to let us know which events you can attend. We would love to see you!

Remember the “Booties for Babies” project we did for babies in a Zimbabwe hospital? Penny is back from her trip and has unbelievable stories to tell. The booties were much appreciated, as you can read below. Stay tuned for the sequel “Bonnets for Babies” which will be held in March, prior to Penny’s next trip. Thanks to all:

dear Jacqui and all her knitters…This huge thank you is long over due,,but all of you need to know what a wonderful and beautiful thing you did for the children in Zimbabwe…the colorful booties were a big hit and the children keep lifting their feet to look at them..and their mothers were soooooo grateful..all the nurses in the hospital keep sneaking into the room to take a peak at the bag of booties…they were a a BIG hit..and so needed…thank you again for all your beautiful work and thoughtfulness…what a great bunch of knitters!!!!!!!!! If any one ever wants to come w/ me they’re more than welcome,.I’m going back in March to take the old people blankets and sheets…thanks again…..much love….Penny Christian

We are so excited about upcoming events that we couldn’t wait until Thursday to post. First off, check the left side of this home page. We are hosting our first ever JINGLE BALLS on Friday night from 7-9 PM. This is an event for the men in your life—an evening of pizza and beer and shopping for YOU!!!! Lew will be on hand to help out, and to answer many of the questions we’ve received, “NO, THE MEN WILL NOT HAVE TO ENGAGE IN SOCIAL CONVERSATION!” They can just drink, eat, receive your wish list that we have kept on hand, shop, and check out. How easy is that???? And to answer the second question , “YES WE WILL HAVE DECENT BEER ON HAND.” Thanks to Jessica’s husband MARK, who gave us wine drinkers great recommendations! So send your guys around on Friday night, and be sure to come in the shop beforehand and fill out a wish list. If you can’t, just give us a call and let us know what you want.

And we will have a FEMALE response next Sunday, December 13. If you are not on our email list, and didn’t receive the invite, stay tuned for information about JINGLE BELLES, a GNO at the shop.

A new month means a new SATURDAY KAL. We are dedicating December to a FINISH-A-THON so you have an opportunity to complete all the gifts you committed to making for friends and family. Just bring them along each Saturday from 2-4 and receive plenty of support and snacks to help the tasks along.

Finally, this Sunday is a wonderful last minute gift program: THE SELF FRINGEING SCARF or SHAWL. Just wait until you see the model made from COLINETTE TAGLIATELLE. It’s gorgeous! One skein makes a scarf, two a shawl. The really cool part of this is the fringe, so we are leaving the model on the needles, and the lovely HEATHER or MARIETTA will show you how to end the project and unravel the fringe without suffering palpitations! The program runs from 2-4 PM. We are a bit low on needles, so if you have 24 or 32” circs in sizes 10.5-13 (your choice), bring them along.

So join us over this very special weekend. Whether you want the guy in your life to shop for you, finish all those holiday projects, or learn a new one…WoolWinders is the place to be.

We are delighted by the recent inquiries about upcoming classes at WoolWinders. As soon as we get out of our robe and fuzzy slippers, we will be bringing the WINTER SCHEDULE to the shop. If you can’t make it in, keep watching the website; we sent the electronic copy to the lovely Stacy and she should have it up in a few days!

And then we will be back at home, in our robe and fuzzy slippers, to work on the newsletter. Love the telecommute!