We admit it. We are pattern driven. Give us a great design and we will find yarn to suit it. So when books arrive at the store, we have to resist the impulse to sit at the table and read through all of them to find new designs. (It is a bit easier to resist when we realize that our incredibly hard working staff would be a bit peeved.) Today was INTERWEAVE PRESS day at the store, and we are hoping that one our floor is cleared of the hundreds of skeins of MANOS resting there that we will ACTUALLY have time to embrace the new arrivals.

Three of our favorite references are back in stock: CROCHETERS COMPANION, KNITTER'S COMPANION, and YARN REQUIREMENTS. And a couple of beloved stand-bys return: FOLK BAGS, FOLK SHAWLS, FOLK VESTS, SCARF STYLE, HIP TO KNIT, AND FELTED KNITS.

But we saved the best for last. New arrivals? COLOR WORKS and THE ART OF FAIR ISLE KNITTING for those who want to travel to the realm of color knitting; KNITTING GANSEYS for those who are eagerly anticipating BETH BROWN REINSEL'S trip to the shop in July, KNITTED EMBELLISHMENTS and ONE SKEIN for those seeking quick vacation projects, and NATURAL KNITS FOR BABIES AND MOMS which features organic yarns and extremely clever designs (maternity and nursing sweaters, for example). OK, we are hustling the staff along so that we CAN spend some time with these beauties.....

And don't forget SUNDAY IN THE SALON. For the next three weeks we are having a KNIT ALONG of IRIS SCHRIER's amazing DIAGONAL TANK. We started this during our rain-soaked jaunt to the Eastern Shore and can report that both the REGAL SILK yarn and the pattern are terrific. As is Iris. We ran into one snafu in creating a diagonal (hampered by our left handedness) and frantically called ARTYARNS. Even though Iris had left for the day, she returned our call via cell phone within about 20 minutes. Is she not the best??????

Remember those fabulous afghan kits from WOOL IN THE WOODS that never hang around long at the store? Well, they are back in stock! With a slight price increase (now $101.99), they are STILL an amazing bargain. Hold three strands of hand dyed yarn together on a size 17 needle (getting the message about how quickly this will knit up?) and voila! A work of art.

We have three natural in stock, one with pink/green pastels, one in blue tones, and one in an earthy mix of rose and olive. Hurry in. If these are around next week, we will be stunned.

Sometimes it is good to be blissfully naive. We escaped town on Monday morning for our annual "Best Friend Thelma and Louise Trip" not realizing that the torrential rain we experienced on Sunday had paralyzed the area. OK, we noticed that the traffic going into town seemed a BIT heavy, but we were listening to our CDs and remained pretty much unaware of the situation until we started receiving calls from our staff members who couldn't make it into the store. MANY, MANY THANKS to Adrian and Karina who struggled in Monday, and to Martha who logged in an unbearable commute from Southern Maryland to work Tuesday. And many thanks to our fabulously patient customers who shopped as well. We are a bit embarassed that we missed it all. But we were slogging though the rain ourselves on the Eastern Shore. Even during the deluge we got to see a great new knitting store in St. Michael's (FRIVOLOUS FIBERS) and the entire BLUE HERON YARNS operation in Easton. And got to have a bit of fun with our best pal, Alex, as well. It was, however, wonderful to see blue skies and sunshine today. Hope everyone is safe.

ANNIE MODESITT has rescheduled her KNITTING WITH BEADS for SUNDAY, AUGUST 20. We will, of course, be personally contacting every participant from the original sessions, but feel free to call us at the shop and let us know if you can make the new date. If not, your money will be cheerfully refunded. But we hope you can attend!

And Martha just phoned with word that our FALL 2006 MANOS DEL URUGUAY order has arrived. We will be checking it in and shelving it tomorrow, and we will have to raise prices slightly, just $1.00/skein. So if you want some of this yummy yarn at the existing price, hustle down to the shop, or call us with a credit card. By tomorrow afternoon, the new prices will be in effect!!!

Yes, we WILL be open tomorrow. Annie Modesitt is ill and the programs for tomorow will be rescheduled. So come on out to the shop and we will hvae opne knitting from 2-4 PM. Don't have a project? We will help you select one and get you started. Lots of snacks, company, and air conditioning! We hope to see you.

And check out the new patterns we received from KRISTMEN DESIGN STUDIOS. We searched and searched for the lovely Jolene at the TNNA Show because she was kind enough to spend a day at our shop when she was in town. Couldn't find her in the maze that was the convention center. But she found us! Her designs for sweaters (men's and women's), shawls, and vests are really remarkable. If cables and/or lace interest you, take a look. If not, read through her patterns anyway. They are clearly written and explained.

Very imporatant announcement. Annie Modesitt is quite ill and has had to postpone this Sunday's KNITTING WITH BEADS. We have emailed every participant and will follow up with phone calls, but we WILL be rescheduling. As soon as we get the new date, we will alert everyone, and will, of course, refund the money of anyone who can't make the rescheduled date. So sorry.

So we WILL be open regular hours this Sunday. Come on in and knit with us from 2-4--we will have open knitting with lots of help for projects!

The TNNA boxes just keep arriving. First up, thanks to the discerning eyes of MARTHA and ADRIAN, amazing buttons are here. Not just your ordinary buttons, these are made from wood, glass, and bone. Just gorgeous. Buttons can simply make a garment. Don't believe us? Don't buy your buttons until you are finished knitting, then come in and check them out on the project. You will be amazed.

Books galore,, and thanks to LYNNE, both old friends and new favorites. We are back to being fully stocked with 365 KNITTING STITCHES, the popular perpetual calendar we have sold since the day we opened. Ditto for LITTLE BOX OF SCARVES, and KNITTED COASTERS. That holy trinity of Sally Melville is back on our shelves: THE KNIT STITCH, THE PURL STITCH, and COLOR KNITTING. You will never find a better combination of patterns and instruction. And for those hard-to-find patterns, DEBBIE BLISS' JUNIOR KNITS is back in stock. Great patterns for toddlers through teens. Two new books: LAINES DU NORD and FAIR ISLE SWEATERS SIMPLIFIED. The first is a great way to learn to read patterns--all the designs are easy and yet very stylish. The second? You KNOW we are just crazy about color knitting this year!

Finally, we were very impressed when we met ANNI KRISTENSEN from HIMALAYA YARN at the TNNA show. Here lovely demeanor was only exceeded by the incredibly cool yarns she sells. Many are made from recycled silk and saris, and her pattern support is highly creative. We bought a lot of her yarn and many patterns including those for BAGS, SHAWLS, and JACKETS. We have already squired away five skeins to do her STAINED GLASS JACKET while on vacation later this summer, so hurry on in!

Totally portable books! We love the VOGUE ON THE GO series of books. They are loaded with patterns and inspiration and measure about 5"x7" so can fit beautifully into any beach bag!!!! Check out BABY BLANKETS, BABY BLANKETS TWO, BEGINNER BASICS, CHUNKY KNITS, TEEN KNITS,BABY KNITS TWO, AND WEEKEND KNITS!! And if you have more room, take a peek at EASY AFGHANS (knit and crochet) and EXQUISITE LITTLE KNITS. The books are a bit bigger, but still fabulous!

So find a pattern you like; we will help you find an amazing yarn and get you started on your way!

It just gets so exciting to get the calls on our day off that MORE HAS ARRIVED!!!! So we have to run up to the shop and check everything out.Today? We received our FAVORITE new book: INSPIRED CABLE KNITS by Fiona Ellis. Her designs are gorgeous! We have already knit a shell on size 2 (yes, that would be size 2) needles from the elegant PATRICIA ROBERTS 4 PLY COTTON. And also in the book box? Iris Schrier's MODULAR KNITS (we are currently working on her silk tank), and Vogue BEGINNER BASICS. So no matter what your skill level, we have patterns and inspiration for you.

We LOVE the folks at DALE OF NORWAY. Not only were they really helpful at the TNNA Show, but they shipped IMMEDIATELY!!!! We are now fully stocked with BABY ULL, a 4 ply washable wool in fabulous colors, NEW PATTERN BOOKS, and (drum roll please) HEILO. Heilo is THE Fair Isle yarn. 4 ply, pure wool, can stand up to all sorts of stranding. So bring it on. And if you need help, check out the VOGUE ULTIMATE KNITTING REFERENCE, which came in from Sterling Publishers. There is a whole section on Color Knitting.

Better with classes? Can you wait until Sunday, July 30? Lynne will be teaching "On the Other Hand" in our Sunday Salon. And on the following Sunday morning she will teach "Two Hands, Two Colors." This will get you ready for the process of Fair Isle knitting by showing how to work two colors using both hands!

And it's patterns!!! Lots of them. From OAT COUTURE, KNITTING PURE AND SIMPLE, and VERMONT FIBER DESIGN. Designs for coats, vests, shells, sweaters, bags, blankets, even dolls. Come check them out!