What can you do with a fine gauge yarn, like our new ROWAN FINE TWEED? It's perfect for colorwork, of course, like this CABLE ROSE vest by Sasha Kagan! The long winter months after the craziness of the holidays is over is the best time of year for knitters to really up their knitting game and take on new challenges to enhance their skills. This winter, why not up your game with one of our technique classes such as 1) SHORT ROW SHOULDER SHAPING  on Saturday, February 23 from 12-3 PM, 2) INTRO. TO INTARSIA (used to knit the Cable Rose Vest) on Saturdays, March 16 & 23 from 12-2 PM, or 3) INTRO. TO SOCKS on Saturdays, March 2, 9, & 16 from 12-2 PM? The more you try, the better you get! The only thing to fear is...some tangled string, lol! New Today at Woolwinders: A partial order of SHEPHERD'S WOOL. Six out of the fifteen colors we ordered arrived in a partial shipment today: Berries, Frosty Blue, Seabreeze, Beaches, Denim, and Great Lakes.

Will it snow tomorrow night? I don't know about the weather, but I DO know that if it does snow I want to be ready with all my knitting projects lined up!  Need ideas? We're re-stocking new yarns and books everyday including the new issues of KNITSCENE MAGAZINE and ROWAN MAGAZINE #53! We also have NEW STITCH MARKERS handmade from LIZKNITZ and a brand new BEGINNING KNITTING CLASS opening up on WEDNESDAY EVENINGS beginning in MARCH! If you're looking for an evening class--don't get shut out--register for this one early! There's always something new going on at Woolwinders, your neighborhood yarn shop!

First, meet "Hank!" KATE BLANEY is the winner of our "Name Our Little Red Sheep Contest" which we ran on our Ravelry Group Page! She submitted her son Henry's nickname, "Hank," and the staff loved the name so much they voted it the winner and the name of our store's new little red sheep logo! We snagged a photo of "Hank" today when mom, Kate, came in to spend her $25 gift card prize:)  NEXT, we received in a HUGE shipment of ROWAN YARNS today including: 12 colors of FINE TWEED, 16 colors of FELTED TWEED DK, ALL 8 COLORS of the new KIDSILK HAZE GLAMOUR (kidsilk haze with sequences spun into the yarn!) and it's companion pattern book, THE GLAMOUR COLLECTION, and new books ENCHANTED by Kim Hargeaves, WINTER WARMERS, and the NEW ROWAN MAGAZINE #53! Be sure to stop in and check out what's new next at Woolwinders, your neighborhood yarn shop!  

Happiness is a new pair of handknitted socks on a cold January evening.  All too often I get asked the question from newbie sock knitters whether or not they can knit a pair of socks on a yarn weight other than fingering/sock weight. the answer is a resounding, "YES!" I knitted this pair of EESTI TRAIL HIKING SOCKS by Nancy Bush from the book FAVORITE SOCKS from Interweave (p. 97) for my son and I used MALABRIGO WORSTED--a soft worsted weight yarn and size US #4 needles. Not only do they take less time (despite the large feet they were made to fit!), but they make wonderful boot socks for outdoor activities or comfy house socks to keep your toes toasty on cold winter nights! Our next INTRO. TO SOCKS CLASS is being offered on SATURDAYS, MARCH 2, 9, & 16th from 12-2 PM and registration is still open. Join the crowd and knit yourself and your loved ones up some happiness at Woolwinders, your neighborhood yarn shop!  

Don't forget--tonight is the second night of our DOWNTON ABBEY KNITALONG (KAL)! Tonight we'll all be knitting along on the second section of our DOWNTON ABBEY SAMPLER SCARF: LORD GRANTHAM. If you haven't already joined us, it's not too late to follow along on our RAVELRY GROUP PAGE at http://ravelry.com/groups/woolwinders-yarn-shop. Happy knitting tonight, everyone!  

These classes are filling up so quickly we can't fit everyone! SO we're offering them AGAIN! Beginning today, we've opened up registration for another INTRODUCTION TO SOCKS class on Saturdays, MARCH 2, 9 & 16th from 12-2 PM. Once you've knit your first sock, you'll be hooked! We've also opened up registration for another MODULAR SCARF class on Sunday, FEBRUARY 3rd from 1-4 PM (you'll be home in plenty of time for the Superbowl!). Warning: modular knitting can be addictive--plan on making more than one of these beautiful scarves! AND Don't forget about our next installment of our DOWNTOWN ABBEY KAL this Sunday night! Follow along and knit along with us with the next section of our DOWNTON ABBEY SAMPLER SCARF on our WOOLWINDERS RAVELRY GROUP PAGE at http://www.ravelry.com/groups/woolwinders-yarn-shop. Happy all-SORTS-of-knitting, friends!

What better way to kick off the weekend than with visiting Woolwinders and choosing yarns for a new winter project from out HUGE new shipment of CASCADE YARNS and the new Spring/Summer 2013 issue of DEBBIE BLISS MAGAZINE?! On our shelves tomorrow: NEW COLORS and tried-and-true customer favorites alike of BABY ALPACA CHUNKY and CHUNKY PAINTS, 220 SUPERWASH and SUPERWASH PAINTS, CHERUB ARAN, and new customer fave MAGNUM PAINTS! The perfect yarns for afghans, children items, and quick-knit accessories. Ride the "wave of color" this weekend at Woolwinders, your neighborhood yarn shop!

Our FEBRUARY CLASSES are filling up quickly! Check out the list below and REGISTER TODAY either online, or by calling or visiting the shop at 240-632-9276. ALSO, it's not too late to join our DOWNTON ABBEY KNITALONG on our RAVELRY GROUP PAGE and join over 400+ Downton Abbey knitters! Go to http:/www.ravelry.com/groups/woolwinders-yarn-shop and join the FUN at Woolwinders, your neighborhood yarn shop!  MODULAR SCARF (second offering!): Sunday, February 3rd from 1-4 PM; WHIPPED SCARF: Sundays, February 3 & 24 from 4-6 PM; BEGINNING KNITTING: Sundays, Febuary 3 & 10 from 10-12 PM;  BEGINNING CROCHET: Saturdays, February 9 & 23 from 2-4 PM; MONDAY NIGHT KNITALONG: YARN BOMBING! Mondays, February 4 & 11 from 6-8 PM SHORT ROW SHOULDER SHAPING: Saturday, February 23 from 12-3 PM    

Looking for the perfect sweater for a winter's afternoon walking the dog or lounging in front of the fire? Look no further! Here's the KENNEDY SWEATER by Anniken Allis from KNITSCENE MAGAZINE SPECIAL ISSUE FALL 2012. Knitted with MADELINETOSH TOSH DK yarn, the classically beautiful cablework will look equally as stunning with any worsted weight yarn. And the KENNEDY SWEATER pattern puts a new spin on the classic cable sweater by knitting the entire sweater in the round, making it faster and easier to knit than ever! We did change the neckline since the mock turtleneck  tends to look better on some of us more youth-challenged ladies (lol!) but all in all, this is a great, favorite sweater in the making that you will wear lovingly year after year!

Holy cow! Thank you to all the WONDERFUL people from around the WORLD who have joined us at Woolwinders Yarn Shop for our DOWNTON ABBEY KNITALONG! Last night was the first night and the first section of our mystery scarf featured THOMAS, using a navy blue yarn. It is so thrilling to be sharing this project with so many of you! If you haven't joined already and are interested in knitting along with us on Sunday evenings and would like copies of the weekly patterns, please refer to our thread on our WOOLWINDERS YARN SHOP RAVELRY  GROUP at http://www.ravelry.com/groups/woolwinders-yarn-shop or stop in to our store in Rockville, MD. The email list is now full and we are not accepting any more email requests for patterns. Happy Downton Knitting Everyone!