WoolWinders: A Knitting Salon is now offering a new service to its customers: BLOCKING. We have arranged for HERSHEY’S CLEANERS to pick up and deliver here at the shop every THURSDAY beginning April 16. Just bring your garments that need to be blocked to the shop before then and you can pick them up the following week. We have been using Hershey’s for over a year and can vouch for the quality of their blocking (and cleaning, for that matter). Just make sure you do three things: include any specifics with the garment including whether you need the piece(s) blocked to specific measurements; make certain that you have the things at the shop by close of business Wednesday of the week you choose; and please give us a credit card number.the blocking is incredibly reasonable (averages about $7.00 a sweater). We won’t charge your card as long as you pick up your garments within two weeks, but we will be laying out the money for the blocking so appreciate your cooperation with the card. . We will bill you when you pick up your garments the following week.

So put away those beach towels until the summer and take back your dining room table!

has arrived at the shop; if past history indicates the future, it should be gone by this weekend. We received SUSAN in colors VIRGINIA APGAR, BILLIE HOLLIDAY, and CATHERINE THE GREAT as well as LAUREL in BILLIE HOLLIDAY and FRIEDA KAHLO.

Also in, reorders of KIM HARGREAVES beautiful book AMBER, as well as popular colors of COLINETTE GIOTTO.

And new stuff abounds. We have several of Nora Bellows extraordinary NONI BAG PATTERNS, some from her spring collection. Stay tuned for some exciting news about these phenomenal bags. And we also received the uber-luxurious new yarn from CASCADE: BABY ALPACA LACE. You will swear this is cashmere. We met with our Cascade Rep this morning and their new offerings for fall will just dazzle you.

As for this upcoming weekend @ WoolWinders, we know that spring break starts next week, but if you are around, come join us Saturday for the first installment in our STAYCATION KAL—the slip stitch pillow. On Sunday, we pay tribute to our proximity to DC with the CROCHET CHERRY BLOSSOM SCARF. Both programs are free of charge and run from 2-4 PM.

Join us this weekend as we begin our APRIL KNITALONG with this fabulous SLIP STITCH PILLOW designed by our very own MARIETTA. Slip stitch knitting (or as Paige refers to it “the lazy person’s Fair Isle) is the easiest color knitting we know. Hence, we profess our love for it. Although you create beautiful two color designs, you don’t have to strand OR weave yarn in; rather you “slip” the secondary color. We’ll teach you how to do it in a heartbeat, and Marietta will instruct you on the finer points of pillow completion, such as stuffing and sewing/crocheting. April kicks off our Spring KALs focusing on “Staycations”-projects meant to beautify your home in case you, like us, are cutting back on travel this year.

As always, the program is free of charge and runs from 2-4 PM each Saturday. Just give us a call to participate. We do ask two things-that you attend the first week, and that you work with yarns from WoolWinders. Other than that—no rules, just fun!