The new VOGUE KNITTING arrived today. Here’ are a few of our favorite patterns:

So you know what that means—a link to our BOOK OF THE WEEK and news about the UPCOMING WEEKEND.

We fell in love with this book at TNNA and were dismayed to learn it wasn’t out yet. But now it is! Just perfect for that gift-giving season that is just around the corner. No, really. As a knitter or crocheter, you know that the holidays come really quickly. So check out this book for great ideas.

Simply click on the link to Amazon and you will arrive at the book. Interested in something else? You can get anything on amazon, and it helps us, your local LYS. Many thanks.

As for this weekend, it’s the FIRST OF AUGUST, so hurrah!! We finally arrive at the Saturday KAL for the LACE COAT and we are pleased to report ours is FINISHED. It’s being put together and then we’ll block the sucker—but we had more fun knitting this and can’t wait to show it off. The program is free and runs every Saturday from 2-4 PM. Come join us. Just give us a call at 240.632.9276 to save a spot at the table for you. And you don’t have to come every week. This is a drop in thing.

And Sunday we continue the gorgeous FELTED CABLE BAG begun last Sunday. We can’t wait to see everyone’s progress. Again, the program is FREE OF CHARGE and runs from 2-4 PM.

WAY early this morning, as we were checking in the goodies that arrived yesterday on our day off. And what goodies they were!! Our KARABELLA CASHMERE LACEWEIGHT, which we picked out personally in NY on Friday, is in the shop. We bought some terrific patterns to go with this luscious yarn, including the CROCHET SHRUG below:

Best of all, Karabella gave us a great price on this yarn and we have passed the savings on to you. The yarn would normally retail for $24.99 a skein; we are offering it at $17.99. And this yarn is perfect for those projects that use ROWAN KIDSILK HAZE—if you don’t like mohair, consider this substitute!

And we received HALF of our fall SCHAEFER order. You will notice a vast expansion of SCHAEFER yarn at the shop this year—when Colinette closed their U.S. distributor we pouted for a few moments but then realized it offered us a tremendous opportunity to work with CHERYL and the folks we love at SCHAEFER. We have expanded the color ranges AND fibers from her. You will see ANDREA (lace weight silk), ANNE (sock yarn), NICHOLE (superwash fingering weight), MISS PRISS (light worsted merino), NANCY (worsted textured yarn), and KATHLEEN (superbulky) at the shop now, and we are expecting ESPERANZA and BLOSSOM shortly.

And Cheryl did something really special for us—she put together a few kits. For the men in your life, take a look at the MISS PRISS sweater kit:

as well as two different afghan kits. And we bought a TON of patterns from her, including the infamous SHRUGIGAN that takes just one skein of NANCY:

or the gorgeous jacket made from KATHLEEN:

Is it any wonder we love SCHAEFER???

In our brand new BI-CRAFTAL SAFARI that begins this SATURDAY, AUGUST 1 from 9-11 AM. Join the uber-talented MARIETTA as you work on a CROCHET or KNIT project of your own choosing. Make it something challenging-we have yet to find something Marietta can’t do! Our Safaris are our most popular classes-we started with one a few years ago and now have EIGHT sections of these guided craft adventures. The cost is $95 for the month—you will meet each Saturday from 9-11 AM. Interested? Give us a call at 240.632.9276 to sign up!

So you know what that means—even when we’re on vacation. It’s BOOK OF THE WEEK through our friends at AMAZON, and news about the upcoming weekend.

This week, we feature a book that will satisfy your craving for a vacation project: SOCKS FROM THE TOE UP!

Socks make a terrific travel project-just pop them in a ziploc bag and you are ready to go! And with toe-up socks, you can keep trying them on to see if they fit! We love this technique. And come check our our beautiful sock yarns from CHERRY TREE HILL and KOIGU. We have both 50 and 100 gram skeins in gorgeous hand dyed colors.
Just clcki through on the www.amazon.com link to purchase that, or any other book from amazon. You will be giving us support as well as getting a great price for the book.

As for this weekend, we are in the midst of a FELTING FRENZY. On Sunday, join KERRY from 2-4 PM as she leads you through the amazing FELTED CABLE BAG. This makes a great tote or laptop carrier for your favorite student. We have plenty of CASCADE 220 in stock for this project. As always, the program is free. Just give us a call to sign up and we will be sure to save a space at the table.

And we want to take a moment to thank our fantastic staff for filling in while we are on vacation. They are, to a person, just terrific. And we are very appreciative of their time and talents.

A day late….we were travelling for ten hours yesterday and didn’t get to the website. But let’s pretend it’s Thursday so we can present our weekly BOOK OF THE WEEK and WEEKEND ACTIVITIES.

First off, our book. It’s no surprise that we worship at the shrine of SALLY MELVILLE, an extraordinary presence in the fiber world. Sally is the total package: talented designer, fantastic teacher, phenomenal knitter, and an incredlbly nice person! So we are delighted to present her new book, which is filled with designs inspired by her equally talented daughter:

Remember that by clicking through to this link, you can buy ANYTHING on Amazon and support your local LYS at the same time.

As for the upcoming weekend, we continue our KAL with the CUSTOMIZED SHELL. On Sunday, we have a special program: BROOMSTICK LACE SCARF. If you have even minimum crochet talents, you will love this gorgeous scarf. One skein of LAUREL, size H or I hook and the BIGGEST KNITTING NEEDLE YOU OWN will create this. Both programs are free of charge and run from 2-4 PM. Just give us a call at 240.632.9276 so we can save a space at the table for you!

Our favorite “working yarn” is restocked with lovely colors including those needed for this adorable kid’s sweater (offered as a free pattern on the www.cascadeyarns.com website):

But 220 SUPERWASH is also a great, inexpensive way to make such gorgeous garments as the LACE COAT we are featuring in our AUGUST KNITALONG:

We’re closing out COLINETTE and MOUNTAIN COLORS at the shop so we’re keeping it all on sale. There are still some great bargains left:

YARN: 30% off
PATTERNS: free with purchase of yarn for project
or
50% off
BOOKS: 50% off

When they’re gone, they’re gone! All sales are final and are on existing stock only. NO SPECIAL ORDERS. Sale price cannot be combined with any other discount.

We fell in love with ANNIE ADAMS at the TNNA show. Not only is the actual Annie lovely (and from Buffalo, where Lew spent seven years!) but her SHAWL PINS and KNITTING JEWELRY were fabulous. Don’t you agree?

And you know what that means. Info about the upcoming weekend and a link to our BOOK OF THE WEEK on www.amazon.com

We usher July in on Saturday with the last chance this year to create your own shell. Simply bring in a sleeveless top that fits you perfectly (it doesn’t have to be handknit), select your yarn, and we will create a pattern using our SWEATER WIZARD software program. We’ll do this each Saturday in July from 2-4 pm. The program is FREE OF CHARGE—just give us a call to sign up.

And on SUNDAY, join us as KERRY leads a program to create a lightweight ruffled SHAWL. It’s a beauty—we have a model at the store. And it’s super-easy and quick using big needles. You will need about 350 yards of lightweight yarn (sport or dk) and size 15 needles. We have some great yarn selections including the new TILLI TOMAS PLIE (you can use the beaded version for the ruffle!). Again, the program is free and runs from 2-4 PM. Just give us a call.

And our book of the week is twofold. First, we present KNITTERS AT HOME, the new book from the editors of KNITTERS MAGAZINE. Let’s face it, sometimes we just want some projects that don’t have to fit well or are too complex. This book offers lovely items for the home:

And second, we have a great idea especially if you are travelling. Why not read your knitting books on a KINDLE? We have one and just love it. You can download literally thousands of books onto this baby—just think of the space you will save in your luggage (more room for knitting!) Check it out here: