Hello Everyone! I am so pleased and priveleged to be the new owner of Woolwinders. I am also very excited about all the changes that will be taking place at the store over the next few weeks. To prepare for the Fall season, Woolwinders will be closed for renovations July 31-August 26th while we give the store a fresh new look. I look forward to seeing old friends and making new ones when we open our doors at the Grand Re-Opening on August 27th! Please join me and our talented staff as we introduce new yarns, new Fall classes, and our new look with giveaways and refreshments.

Due to all this beautiful snow, WOOLWINDERS will be closed today, Monday - all day. So I am staying home and crocheting with Max. Jacqui is in warm and sunny Las Vegas but she will be updating our voicemail too.

IF we get hit with this late season storm again, we will update here and on our voicemail if we are closed tomorrow

Sorry for any inconvenience.
-Marietta

Our Winter Newsletter is now accessible through our website. Just click on the toggle on the left side of our home page in the Newsletter section. But you know what? You can get the newsletter in your very own email DAYS ahead of when we post it on the site. How? Just register on the bottom left side of the home page. This is a simple three part process. First, enter your email address on the home page. Then on the next screen, re-enter your email address and give us your zip code. Then (and don't miss this final step!) wait for an email from us and respond to it. This will keep your email address private and allow our newsletter to get through to your email address. Don't you just love the privacy laws? Lew the lawyer does!

Yesterday at our Stitch n Bitch, talk turned to Thanksgiving. When I began describing my late grandmother's method of cooking the turkey, everyone began asking for the details. My grandmother was not only a fabulous cook (and eater), but was the most profound influence on my life. Her love of family, cooking, eating, learning, and shopping made me the adult I am today. My best memories of childhood include her. The most touching wedding present I received was a book of her recipes compiled by my mother. So I proudly present Grandma Ruthie's Turkey recipe. Don't keep it just for Thanksgiving!

Clean and season with salt and pepper a turkey of any size. Place in roasting pan and coat with a paste of flour and water (should resemble the consistency of the past from elementary school!). Tent with foil and roast in at 350 degree oven for 20 minutes per pound, basting about every 15 minutes. During the last half hour of roasting, pour maple syrup all over the top of the turkey; remove foil and let the turkey turn a beautiful brown. Let sit for about 15 minutes before carving. Make sure you save the carcass for soup; the maple syrup gives it an amazing flavor.

A happy and healthy Thanksgiving to all. Be sure to bring family and friends to WoolWinders! We will be open Wednesday 11-2 and regular hours Friday through Sunday.

We look for any excuse to better serve our customers. So from now through Halloween, October 31 2004 get 15% any black and/or orange yarn! We are pretty generous about what that means--the yarn can have ANY black or orange in it. So that includes many colors of the new Noro TRANSITIONS (normally $25.99 now $22.10) and BLOSSOM (normally $9.99 now $8.49) as well as new colors of Muench TESSIN, great for kids. And the KOIGU too! Just a few regs from Lew the Lawyer: we will not be honoring the frequent buyer cards for these purchases, since the discount is already there, no special orders, and all sales are final-no exchanges/refunds. Eager to make the gorgeous sweaters in Jane Ellison and Cornelia Tuttle Hamilton's new Noro books? Now is your chance to do so at 15% off! And just think of those Charlotte Web shawls with five skeins of Koigu at that discount! Less than $47 for an extraordinary garment.....

We thought long and hard about ordering yarn for children. We are selling down the Sirdar line due to their decision to sell to A.C. Moore. But what to replace their yarns with? We needed bright colors, washability, good yardage and soft feel. The answer? Muench Tessin, a 3 to the inch washable wool with loft and luscious colors. We have five colors in stock now-perfect for kids' quick knits!

And while we are on the subject of kids, don't forget about our HALLOWEEN SALE now through Sunday, October 31. 15% off Black and/or Orange yarn. No returns/exchanges. All sales final. Boo!

When you are knitting for kids, don't hesitate to ask any of our staff about the practicality of the yarn. We encourage you to explore the Debbie Bliss Cashmerino line (machine washable), all of our cottons, and Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece, a wool/cotton blend that is also machine washable!

Isn't Lew the best? Yesterday while waiting for the Redskins to play, he updated our webstore. Look for complete listings of the Rowan and Berroco yarns that we sell. Some of the recent additions are:

In order, that is Lullaby, Medley, Hip-Hop and Optik from Berroco and Polar and Yorkshire Tweed DK from Rowan. We also have Kid Classic, Kidsilk Haze, Big Wool, and others from Rowan now available online.

Lew has promised to update Knitting Fever, including Sirdar, Debbie Bliss and Noro, this weekend. Isn't football season great? A lot gets done around our house on Sunday mornings!

We took a quick trip South for the past two days; in our absence our fabulous staff kept things humming. Thanks to Adrian, Pat, Kim, Lynne, Marietta, and Karina for giving us peace of mind as we visited the folks in Florida.

In our absence we received restocks of Berroco's very popular kids' yarn LULLABY. This worsted weight, washable/dryable yarn is perfect for ponchos, sweaters, blankets and the like. And the variegated colorways are GORGEOUS!

Happy October to all. Fall is in the air-we can smell it!

The excitement in the air was palpable as the clock struck 5 PM (we have a master's degree in English, ok?). Brooks, our newest employee, reached his hand into the basket put aside for this momentous occasion. And drew out the name of......PATTY BORJA! Patty is the lucky winner of a 15% discount on all purchases through September 12, 2005! We admit to being delighted. We taught Patty to knit when we first opened, and taught her son William as well. Daughter Elizabeth is a frequent visitor when home from college. So Patty, Congratulations!! And come in soon so we can take your picture for the website.

Whew! That's all we can say about the sale weekend. We are exhausted. The store is a mess. We are so appreciative of our wonderful staff who helped out with the sale: Karina, Adrian, Brooks, Pat, Kim, Marietta, and Lynne. We can't believe that Lew and Ben found time to hook up (successfully!) the new Dell computer, which is working like a charm. And we got to see old and new friends who swung by for the terrific deals on cottons and discontinued yarns. Thanks to EVERYONE.

What will today bring? Stay tuned. Just because we are tired doesn't mean that Walter the UPS Guy is.....

Customers waiting at the door before our 11 am opening, frantic phone calls looking for one last skein of Noro, patterns clutched in hands seeking sale yarns to match......has to be the Cotton Up to End of Summer Sale at WoolWinders! We had more fun today! And yes, the Manos Stria and Noro Big Kureyon are gone, but there are still a few skeins of Shinano and Cash Iroha around. Be sure to make time this weekend to get some great buys on cotton yarns as well as discontinued fibers we are no longer carrying. The sale runs through Sunday. Some great deals abound!

And the sale did not stop the intrepid Walter the UPS Guy. He brought us the long-awaited Wool in the Woods Scarf kits and Afghan kits; just gorgeous!!!! And we are fully stocked on the popular 2005 Pattern a Day Calendar featuring our good friend Laurie Gonyea's Turtleneck Turtle Top!