Walter, our new (and rather shy) UPS guy wheeled in a boatload of things for us today. First, we were ecstatic to receive four boxes of books from Unicorn Press. We had more fun with Amelya, the Unicorn rep at TNNA, who steered us to the new fabulous selections including: 1000 Sweaters, 50 Baby Bootes, Baby Knits for Beginners, Debbie Bliss Baby Knits, Dogs in Knits, Knitting for Baby, Urban Knitter, Vintage Knits, and Weekend Knitting.

We also found a new pattern designer at TNNA-Chris Bylsma. Come see her terrific scarf, shawl, throw and sweater patterns made from funky and fabulous yarns!

Next, we are now fully stocked with Crystal Palace and Skacel needles. Due to customer requests, we are selling down our circular Clover needles and replacing them with Skacel Bamboo Natura. As we sell out a size, we will order the new needles. Please let us know what you think!

Bryson came through with the necessary notions and knitting gear that make our lives so much easier. We don't know WHAT you are doing with all the stitch holders you buy (we are sort of afraid to ask!) but they disappear with alarming speed and so we have restocked!

We are always on the prowl for knitting bags and have restocked the most popular Ellen Original-the Walking Tote. This is the PERFECT beach/vacation knitting bag because it is both a stand and a detachable tote. Stand it on the floor when you are home, and take it with you to the pool or beach! We bought all her new tapestry designs.

Finally, we have in a beautiful new pink color of the Blue Sky Alpaca yarn. This lovely sport weight yarn makes beautiful scarves, shawls and sweaters; and we have it on authority that pink continues to be HUGE this fall.

WoolWinders: A Knitting Salon will host a book signing with Debbie Stoller, author of the hip, hot and trendy Stitch n' Bitch on THURSDAY, JULY 8 from 4:00- 5:00 PM! Debbie was kind enough to fit us into an extraordinarily busy schedule so don't miss this event! We will have wine and cheese, books to buy and have signed, and an opportunity to hear the Stitch n' Bitch story from the woman who started it all.

Please call Jacqui at 240.632.9276 to register for this FREE event!

We came in last night to another box from John our substitute UPS Guy; seems there was still more Kureyon (we now have the new fall colors) and 2 colors of Silk Garden. Our Noro wall is growing beautifully!

And today he brought the rest of our Cherry Tree Hill order; the popular Froth loop mohair that made such beautiful shawls last year! Come see these gorgeous huge hanks-one makes a large shawl.

We also received new patterns and restocks of yarn from Blue Sky Alpaca. We are pleased to have started a notebook devoted to Shrug, Shawl and, yes, PONCHO patterns!!!! Blue Sky had three terrific patterns that initiated the notebook.

Finally, we received new Oat Couture and Knitting Pure and Simple Patterns. Our goal is to ensure that we have WHATEVER you want to knit!

We couldn't think of any other way to express our excitement at receiving six large boxes today filled with our first TNNA orders to arrive! Karina and Torie quickly went to work unloading, tagging and shelving: bamboo knitting stands from Lantern Moon, nine new colors of Noro Kureyon, our first colors of Elsebeth Lavold's Silky Wool, SEVENTEEN colors of Eros and Eros Glitz, and favorite Cherry Tree Hill yarns Ballerina Mini (fabulous for scarves and shawls), Faux (our new favorite for trims), and their remarkable hand dyed ladder yarn Windsong and new Zebra Windsong! We are also fully stocked with their washable merino sock yarn. CTH yarns never last long at the store, so come see these beauties. Pattern support abounds!

Admittedly, we are not much of a scarf knitter, but were intrigued by a complimentary pattern given to us by the lovely folks at Unique Kolours. So we worked up this self-fringing scarf that uses one skein of hand-dyed Tagliatelli ribbon. It's FABULOUS! Took no time at all, and made us feel, well, glamorous.
Very easy to knit and the fringing process is a hoot!

We carry Tagliatelli in several colors and have ordered about ten more. So come in and try this unique scarf; we think it could also be done for summer in Colinette's Giotto ribbon!

This afternoon, Marketplace, a business program that is broadcast on public radio stations across the country, did a story on, of all things, knitting. It is great fun. So listen and enjoy!.

Marketplace Story on Knitting

In the midst of tending to Lew's every need to honor his role as dad to Ben and Larry, we threw in several loads of wash. Included in the laundry was a white shell made from Tahki Cotton Classic nearly four years ago. What a great yarn!!! The shell is washed on a gentle cycle without a separate lingerie bag and then thrown in the dryer on the regular cycle for a short period of time. Result? It looks like it was knit yesterday! If you have not worked with this terrific yarn, stop in and see the myriad colors we carry. Best of all, it works as either a DK on a size 6 needle, or a worsted on 7 or 8! Perfect for just about any summer pattern for adults OR kids!

We will be closed Sunday, June 20 in honor of Father's Day. Count on us to be home catering to Lew's every whim. He is a wonderful dad and deserves our complete attention. Sadly, we won't be with our dad, who is in Florida caring for our mom who suffered a bone fracture recently. But a special thanks to him for teaching us we could do ANYTHING we set our hearts and minds to. We love you, dad.

Happy Father's Day to all, especially those dads and husbands who support our yarn addictions!

We were so sad when our friend Joy moved away from the area, but knew that she would stay in touch. To wit, she emailed this fabulous picture of daughter Emily in Kool Kidz from their new home in Southern Virginia. Isn't this sweater great? And on size 9 needles, it took no time, reports Joy. A great beginner project!

PLEASE NOTE: WE WILL BE CLOSED SUNDAY, JUNE 20 FOR FATHER'S DAY!

We are HUGE Berroco fans at WoolWinders. We learned to knit sweaters using their wonderfully written patterns and have always appreciated their reasonably priced yarns. Yesterday in the midst of the Debbie Bliss presentation, Walter, our new UPS Guy (more about that later) arrived with half of our Fall Berroco order. Needless to say, the sight of twenty women scared the hell out of him and he left all the boxes outside. We rolled them in when Debbie was through and unpacked them today.

What bounty! We received gorgeous colors of their ribbon yarn, Zen Colors, eight colors of our Fall favorite Softwist, Chinchilla both worsted AND Bulky, and Hip Hop, a quick 2 to the inch thick and thin feltable wool. In addition, we loaded up on novelties Quest, Jewel FX, and Optik. If you have not checked out Berroco's website, do so by going to www.Berroco.com. They have a fabulous section called Scarf Central with a TON of patterns. Finally, we received an ultra soft worsted weight new offering Lullaby which is just perfect for, you guessed it, kids things.