Making lasting friendships is one of the best parts of our safari knitting group classes here at Woolwinders! Our longest running safari class, the Tuesday morning group led by instructor, Kim Schneibolk, recently held their annual girls knit night weekend event this past month and spent the weekend together over at the Rio Marriott knitting, shopping, and eating while enjoying one another's company a la slumber parties of old! What a nice thing to see, ladies! Same time next year! While not everyone made it for the group photo, these lovely ladies did: PAT, LYNN, ANNE, JOANNE, LIZ, MARY, MARY, GAIL, TERESA.

In keeping with the spirit of the recent Academy Awards show last night, we'd like to present our own Oscar to LIZ SYMBORSKI for her incredibly stunning SUPER SWIRL SHAWL from the book A Gathering of Lace. I am a huge admirer of lacework and the patience and attention to detail that it requires to create a genuine fiber work of art. Hats offs to you, Liz! The picture doesn't do your stitchwork justice. I've seen in person and it is amazing!

Thanks to everyone who braved the drizzly, dreary day to come out for our Yarnapalooza Sale yesterday! And while we had a great sale, the best part for me was seeing all the finished projects everyone shared with us. I have so many pictures to post it'll take me weeks! KENDRA BIDDICK blew us all away with her own self-designed ENTRELAC SHAWL PATTERN using STRING THEORY MERINO DK and ROWAN KIDSILK HAZE. Gorgeous! The best part: Kendra has offered to share this pattern with YOU! If you'd like a copy of her original pattern, contact her at kendra.biddick@gmail.com. And THIS folks, is why I bought the shop a few years ago--knitting, creating, and SHARING our love of the craft. Knit on, friends!

Save the date! It's time again for our ONE DAY ONLY YARNAPALOOZA SALE at Woolwinders Yarn Shop! This SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2013 from 11-6 PM shop DEEP DISCOUNTS on some of your favorite yarns and accessories including Ateni, Rowan, Shalimar, Cascade, Noro and more at Woolwinders, your neighborhood yarn shop!

Our store is overflowing with new yarns for you! Today we put out all 14 colors of the NEW ROWAN SOFTKNIT COTTON, a very soft and pretty light worsted cotton for all your spring needs accompanied by two pattern books: SIMPLE SHAPES and THE SOFTKNIT COLLECTION! ALSO, be sure to register for our two March technique classes: INTRODUCTION TO INTARSIA on Saturday, March 16th & 23rd from 12-2 PM during which we will learn the basics of intarsia knitting while creating a sweet monogrammed sachet (think Mother's Day gifts!); and our ever popular MONDAY NIGHT KNITALONG CLASS will be tackling REVERSIBLE CABLES in March with the ECHO SCARF on Monday nights, March 4th, 11th & 18th from 6-8 PM. AND BE SURE TO STOP IN THIS SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 23RD for our YARNAPALOOZA SALE at Woolwinders, your neighborhood yarn shop!

Our friend STEPHANIE BOYLE has been so kind to generously share with us, each week during her safari knitting group class, her personal delight and happiness with the upcoming birth of her son in March. We are so thankful for being able to share this special experience with her as she evoked many fond memories (and war stories!) from many of us these past months.With her due date drawing near, today her knitting groups friends from the shop gave her a baby shower luncheon and presented her with a beautiful handknitted baby afghan and pillow with everyone having contributed a knitted square and the sainted Barbara Bachtell pulling it all together into finished pieces. The only thing more beautiful than this lovingly knitted afghan is the mama-to-be! Good luck, Stephanie and blessings to all the special ladies who helped to make this new arrival into our world so very welcomed!    

Missed our knit along on our ravelry group page during season three of Downton Abbey? No worries! You can still knit this awesome sampler scarf we created with 12 different sections, each section being a different pattern stitch and representing a different character from the TV show! Download it here now or for free on revelry! Enjoy, friends! DOWNTON ABBEY KAL SCARF PATTERN[1]

I can tell by the clock on the mantle that it's time for NEW YARNS at Woolwinders Yarn Shop! We've re-stocked our MALABRIGO RASTA, SOCK, and RIOS, that luscious superwash worsted weight merino that get even SOFTER after washing! AND NEW to Woolwinders, introducing a local favorite, DANCING LEAF FARM yarns featuring BALLET, a gorgeous handpainted ribbon, creamy, dreamy SOCK HOP fingering weight, and bestseller SALSA, a fun and versatile DK weight yarn, all in bright and cheerful colors for spring! Abondonza!

Alas, tonight is the final episode of season three of Downton Abbey and thus the completion of our Woolwinders Yarn Shop Downton Abbey Sampler Scarf knitalong. Thank you to everyone who has knitted along with us and who has shared the fun of our knitalong both at the store and on our ravelry group page. We LOVE seeing all the different versions of the scarf that have come about as a result of our knitalong! We hope everyone enjoyed our KAL as much as we enjoyed creating it for you!

I hope everyone had a Happy Valentine's Day today! One of my favorite people ever, Thursday morning safari class member, PENNY CHRISTIAN, really went to town and made the LANA DE NUBE STOLE her own! She knitted this incredibly unique and beautiful stole up in no time at all (remember, it's all garter stitch) and varied the striping sequences and the yarns to create a truly Penny Christian Original! Penny used the LANA DE NUBE yarn to start and then selected her own colors of ART YARNS RHAPSODY GLITTER and ART YARNS BEADED SILK & SEQUINS to round out the body of the stole. What a stunner! Just like our dear Penny! And the best part: she generously allowed us to display it at the shop for awhile! Thank you, Penny!