We LOVE this time of year, although John, our new UPS Guy, probably doesn't. Today in the pouring rain he wheeled in several GIGANTIC (or GINORMOUS as my friend Jake likes to say) boxes as well as a few small ones. We, of course, tore into the big ones first.

Well! In addition to new colors of NORO IRO and KOCHORON, we came upon a yarn we completely forgot we ordered, the very new and very fabulous MAGALLENES: 100% wool,5/inch, 240 yd. in the most amazing variegated colors. Not only will this yarn felt, it will make terrific jackets and coats which are already proving to be hot fall items. This yarn is the wool "sister" to the enormously popular cotton PATAGONIA which we carried throughout the summer. We have one pattern book that accompanies the yarn and are waiting for a new one. Aren't new yarns exciting??????

And another new entry from Elsebeth Lavold, a yarn called simply "CHUNKY AL." This alpaca/peruvian wool blend is as soft as can be and fills the much needed CHUNKY slot where the alpaca was missing. The colors are typical Lavold; clear and rich.

Not to give short shrift to the small packages, we now have #10 CRYSTAL PALACE NEEDLES (along with the other sizes we were missing) and another beautiful color of the super chunky TURMALIN.

OK, first we waited patiently in front of the store, just soaking in the signage and goodies within....

And then we returned to meet Patricia. Lew used all his charm to convince her to pose for a picture. Doesn't she just LOOK like a fabulous designer/knitter?

And now something totally different. We have as a life goal to sit in as many chairs that held famous people as we can (we have personally sat in every Supreme Court Justice's chair....). So here we are in Ye Olde Cigar Shoppe sitting in the same seat that graced Winston Churchill's ample form. We did not, however, indulge in a good smoke. Lew did that!

Remember last year when we went MONTHS without black felting yarn? Well, that will not happen this year. We are now carrying CASCADE 220 (worsted) and CASCADE 109 (bulky) for felting (and regular knitting as well!). We fell in love with the both the soft hand and bright colors of this Peruvian wool at the TNNA show and bought 27 colors on the spot! Our first shipment of 16 colors arrived today, just in time for our FEARLESS FELTING class next month, and we should have the rest within the month. Although we did buy this yarn with felting in mind, we have to admit to dreaming about an Aran sweater out of this fabulous yarn......

We all love Debbie Bliss'signature Cashmerino Yarn. The blend of cashmere, wool, and microfiber make a cozy and soft yarn that somehow washes beautifully in the machine. But there was always a gap in the CHUNKY range that this year has been filled. Presenting CASHMERINO CHUNKY, a 3.5/inch 72 yd. bundle of beauty. The colors are fabulous as always. If you have not knit with this yarn, you now have your choice of sport, aran, chunky, or superchunky weights!

Also in, new colors of CASHMERINO ARAN and Nicky Epstein's follow-up to her wildly successful edging book, KNITTING OVER THE EDGE. Learn how to knit decorative borders including ribs, cords, cables and lace that will make any project look like a work of art!

Scarves always make beautiful accessories. Nothing dresses up an outfit more at a better value (thus eliminating jewelry from the mix!). Our very own Lynne worked up a fabulous dressy scarf in one evening that uses a fascinating technique involving drop stitches and weaving ribbon. Intrigued? Well, Lew is on a business trip and can't load the pictures we took, so you will just have to come in the store to see this creation. It adorns the lovely KNITASHA PURL WOOLWINDER, who greets you at the door each day!

Missy Burns of Wool in the Woods fame called two days ago to say she had shipped our fall order. We know Missy well enough that we were not surprised to receive it today (we secretly suspect that she drives our order over from Pennsylvania!).

Their fall line is, as always, spectacular. We chose three yarns: Cyclone, a wrapped wool; Feelin' Fuzzy, a kid mohair; and Twin Twist, a wool nylon blend. All are, of course, dyed in beautiful colorways, which Missy changes every year.

To give you the most options, we took all three yarns in all eight colors, which include jewel tones, reds, deep mauves, strong autums....the list goes on. You can hold yarns together, stripe, or edge to your heart's content. And be sure to check out Missy's terrific book, Working with Hand Dyed Yarns. We are making the Lady in the Lake Sweater and can't wait for weather cool enough to wear it!

And from our friends at Skacel, another beautiful Avanti color and three more in Turmaline. Is it Winter yet?????????

OK, that was our tribute to Paul Revere. But really, THE COLINETTE IS HERE! Our entire fall order arrived today and boy is it beautiful. We are now stocked with beautiful selections of Isis, Zanziba, Giotto, Tagliatelli, and Point Five. And new to WoolWinders are the gorgeous offerings SKYE and PRISM. These chunky weight wools have incredible loft which makes them feel much lighter than you would think. And they are quick knits on size 10-11 needles. If you have never worked with Colinette yarns, we will let you in on a secret. These yarns, hand-dyed in Wales, are so exquisite that the patterns are really quite simple. If you are a new knitter eager to make something really special, these are the yarns for you.

Colinette has a new pattern book as well, ROCK GODS and MOVIE STARS. And we have it. Here is one of the patterns:

Wow! The great thing about returning from London is that we were up at 4 AM because of the time change, so we got to the store REALLY EARLY today!!! A good thing, too, since eight ENORMOUS boxes awaited our return. As we unpacked, we were greeted with old favorites, new and fabulous yarns and books, and gorgeous items we had totally forgotten ordering!

So, here is the list. Returning favorites include Debbie Bliss' signature Cashmerino Aran and Baby Cashmerino (in new colors, however!), Noro Kureyon, Blossom, Iro, Cash Iroha, and Silk Garden (again, new colors!), and popular design books from Debbie Bliss, Jane Ellison, and Cornelia Tuttle Hamilton.

We also decided to carry Tahki Yarns ZARA again, a personal staff favorite. Two things weighed in its favor, the first being the requests of several customers, and second, that the yarn is a washable 100% merino! We were delighted to see that Zara now comes in a worsted weight to expand its gauges. So those of you who steered clear of the yarn because of those size 6 needles, get those 8s ready!

And the new yarns? First from Debbie Bliss an amazing boucle ASTRAKHAN. The color palette is gorgeous (we have already picked out a light teal that corresponds to a Cashmerino Aran color!) and the hand delicate. And best of all? Like most of her yarns, it is machine washable. Suffice to say we have been selling the yarn before it is even priced, it is that good! (And the price is a reasonable $8.99/skein.)

Next, from our friends at Skacel a luxurious tweed, SCHULANA CASHMERINO, that blends pure merino with cashmere. Sorry, it is NOT machine washable (though we are certain Lynne will try) but it is the ultimate luxury. It knits at a quick 4.5 stitches/inch so the patterns for this yarn abound in many of our books. And we also purchased their pure merino tweed that knits at a DK weight. These yarns are just yummy!

Finally, along with ZARA and BIG ZARA, we received a patterned sport weight yarn, ZARINA. This is in response to those customers who love the Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino but wanted to work with variegated yarn at that weight!

New books include offerings from Jane Ellison and Debbie Bliss. We have already picked out four projects that should take us through the winter months. Hey, we know it is unbearably hot right now, but what better way to spend an evening than cranking up the AC and "tucking in" to those fabulous fall yarns.

And a word about the store in our absence. Not only did it perk along, but it thrived under the watchful eyes of Pat, Lynne, Adrian, Martha, Marietta, and Karina. In fact, it has never looked better! Many thanks to our fabulous and loyal staff.

Our trip has been blessed with great weather, wonderful people and surprisingly excellent food. First, the news from the homefront: Fall Schaefer Yarns are in and shelved! Come see the gorgeous offerings from Cheryl. We have expanded our selections to include the beautiful loop mohair Blossom as well as her worsted weight silk/merino blend Marjaana. And of course we reordered the popular alpaca blend Esperanza. And we are fully stocked with variegated Manos as well. We also understand that several HUGE boxes filled with Knitting Fever offerings (Debbie Bliss and the like) await our return.

And from London town? Well, we are still breathless from our experience at Patricia Roberts knit shop today. Truth be told we chose our hotel because of its proximity. We have been intrigued by her designs and yarns since our friend Judy Israel showed us samples. And the store, and Patricia, did NOT disappoint. We came away with two pattern books, yarn for two projects, and a promise to discuss WoolWinders developing a relationship with Patricia to carry her gorgeous yarns! So come see our works in progress as we begin to knit her luxurious DK weight lambswool and 4 Ply cotton into two amazing designs. You will be as excited as we were. OK, now to return to normal breathing.....

We will be home Tuesday evening. For anyone contemplating a trip to this wonderful city, don't put it off any longer! Cheerio.

Many customers have purchased the luxurious needles from Lantern Moon. These are hand-crafted in Vietnam from Palmwood and Ebony and come in sizes 5-19. We just received our TNNA order today; the needles should grace our spinaround by tomorrow! Are the needles worth it? Knit with them, and you tell us. We find them to be the perfect combination of beauty and function.

And we are off on vacaction tomorrow. We planned our trip to London well before the horror of last Thursday, and after some discussion have decided to still go. Why? Because we want to honor the Londoners who have stayed strong and were shoulder to shoulder with us after September 11. So look for our blogs from that wonderful city; we imagine that we will report on a "wool shop" or two. Lew was delighted to learn that we have internet access in our hotel room. And of course the store will remain open thanks to the people Annie Modesitt referred to as "One of the best staffs I have ever seen in a yarn shop." As always, we thank them.