Whether you're making Stephen West's Spectra, Martina Behm's Leftie or turning a heel on a pair of socks, you'll need short rows. Come and explore the long and short of short rows this Saturday at WoolWinders Yarn Shop! Saturday, August 2, 2014 from 10:00 AM - noon with Jessica Armstrong.

Get ready for the WoolWinders Grand Opening party this Saturday and Sunday, July 19th and 20^th! We’ll have cupcakes, beverages, and of course, lots of yarn to start on your fall knitting projects. For each $50 you spend, receive an entry in our raffle for one of four gift baskets featuring new yarns, patterns and other goodies. We just received word that a HUGE order of madelinetosh is arriving on Friday! Yippee! To help make room for Tosh Sock, Tosh DK and Pashmina Worsted, we’re putting all of our 100% cotton yarn on sale this week. 10% off all 100% cotton yarn tomorrow, Tuesday, July 16 through Sunday, July 20^th. There’s still plenty of time to whip up summer scarves and tops!

WoolWinders Yarn Shop is now open under new ownership! The shop is stocked with lots of new, yummy yarn and have a wide variety of classes to help you learn a new technique or get help from our excellent teachers in our daily Safaris. I’m particularly excited about Fyberspates Scrumptious Chunky, a merino and silk blend out of the UK. This yarn is perfect for quick knits (or crochet) like cowls, and the colors are simply gorgeous. I can’t wait for you to see the new store! Come on by and bring a friend!

  Good bye, my friends! In this, my last official post as the owner of Woolwinders Yarn Shop, I would like to say thank you to all the wonderful customers and staff members along the way who have supported me and the shop over these last four years during my ownership.   Quite simply, it has been my pleasure. I wish each of you much happiness in your lives and hope you all continue to enjoy the art of knitting for many years to come. Good bye, and knit on, friends. Yours, Paige

Last year, Carolyn Gold found the perfect knit sweater, but there was no pattern! Instead of giving up on what she really wanted, Carolyn, with the help of Safari instructor Kim Schneibolk, designed and knit this beautiful sweater out of Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino yarn. This just goes to show you that with the right amount of patience and perseverance, you can knit and crochet anything! So, now it’s your turn! What will you make next?

  Last night we held an informal meet and greet to give the staff and a few loyal safari class members an opportunity to get to know the new owner, Amy Murphy, a little bit better! The evening was filled with food, friendship, plans for the future, and, of course, our favorite activity: knitting! Here are a few pics from the evening!            

  Last night I earned a big, "shame on me!" Ok, so I am knitting an afghan for my son and a huge section of it is just mindless stockinette stitch. We were going to a movie that was, let's just say, rather testosterone-driven and I was more enthused by the prospect of the popcorn than the actual movie. Hey, I have spent the last 20+ years living in a testosterone-driven household so this is nothing new, lol. However, this night, I decided I was going to try an experiment. I often knit while talking to others or while watching television and  do not always necessarily look at my knitting. But could I knit in the dark?! You already know what's coming! So I quickly grabbed a new skein of yarn and did a row to attach the new skein and stuffed my project into a bag and headed out to the movies, oh so carefree and light of heart that I was not going to have to watch Tom Cruise too closely for two hours (BTW he's not my favorite, sorry).  I proceeded to watch most of the movie which had a pretty good story line in between a lot of "Tom Teeth" smiles, ate a lot of popcorn which is definitely not Nutrisystem approved, and worked "blindly" on my afghan. As long as I remembered, or could feel, which side I was on I was golden. Two hours later we get home and I pull my knitting out of my bag so excited to see if I purled when I should have knitted, or if I had dropped a stitch or knit any stitches together only to happily discover that I hadn't and that I could, indeed, knit in the dark. I felt so masterful! I felt so special! I held it up in the light to show my family and to boast at my own knitting prowess when, alas, I discovered it was even easier than I had thought to gauge how much I had knitted during the movie--that section was a different shade of red! I had not checked the dye lot on my skeins and ended up with two shades of red in my afghan, see the sad, sad testimonial photo above. A lesson even we more seasoned knitters seem to never need to keep learning: ALWAYS check your dye lots!!!!! Knit on, friends!

Last week, I had the pleasure of interviewing Amy Murphy, the enthusiastic new owner of everyone's favorite local yarn shop, to discover a little more about who she is and some fun hints about what customers can expect. Here's a little bit about Amy! So, where is she from? Growing up, Amy lived in Texas, attended high school in Minnesota, and went to college at Boston University, so, needless to say, she's been to many places! The good news is, she's been living in Maryland for ten years, so have no fear. She has plans to stay at Woolwinders and help it prosper for many years to come! What are her favorite projects to knit? Because Amy has two little ones-ages 1 and 3-her favorite things to knit are super-cute baby items such as colorful blankets and sweaters. Her favorite project to date was an adorable green baby sweater with tiny duck buttons. (So cute!) She said seeing her daughter wear something she made with love was the most exciting part of her experience knitting for her family. Does she have any future knitting projects? (Of course she does!) Just to name a few things, Amy said that she's currently working on a cowl, but she has plans to knit socks, more cute items for the kids (maybe she'll take the How to Knit a Stuffed Animal class), and of course, she has plans to learn from all the workshops offered at Woolwinders when the chance arises. What is she most excited about? Amy said that she can't wait to get to know her customers, work with the current staff, and build on the foundation Paige has created during her time at Woolwinders. (Intern Exclusive: I have it on good account that there are some awesome plans for the growth of Woolwinders coming in the next year, so keep checking back to see what Amy will be doing in the upcoming months.) Ok, now for the really fun stuff! While knitting and crocheting is fun, we all know that what's discussed while working is equally important. So, here are a few television shows that Amy is always up for talking about! - The Real Housewives (the whole series) - Homeland - Downton Abbey (The legacy continues!) - Veep SNEAK PEAKS (A.k.a. the most exciting part of the interview) Any hints at what's coming in July? Yarn! Lot's of yarn! Amy happily revealed that she'll be bringing back some old favorites as well as some new and fabulous brands that Woolwinders hasn't carried in the past. Here's just a taste of what will be arriving! - Malabrigo (YAY!) - Madelintosh (In a variety of great new colors!) - Millamia - Bergère de France - String Theory - ITO Before I wrap this up, Amy wanted to answer two common questions most people had about the transition. 1. Will the store be closed the first week of July? The store will be closed Tuesday, July 1st through Tuesday, July 8th so that all the new yarn and goodies can be shelved and prepped. 2. Will there be classes/are the teachers staying? Yes, the current staff and teachers will stay the same. Well, now that we all know a little more about Amy, the next step is to go to Woolwinders and meet her yourself! She'll be around most of June to learn the ropes from Paige, so when you stop in for a class or just to pick up a few skeins, make sure to ask for Amy. Additionally, she said that if anyone has suggestions for a particular type of yarn or about changes for the store, she is always willing to hear them! So while we will all miss our fearless leader, Paige, it's nice to know that Woolwinders is in good hands! Thank you, Amy, for the interview, and I hope to see everyone this week!

Are you a “funky wrapper” or “pushing pincher”? Well, the ladies attending last Saturday’s Continental Knitting class are now! With the help of SUZY ROY and some middle-finger assisting, these lovely knitters can now say that they are comfortable knitting and purling with their left hands! Great job, ladies! Keep on knitting!