Customers have been busy! Linda knit this vest of Manos seemingly overnight. Wish you could see how wonderfully the buttons compliment the vest.

These creepy characters are the result of a two session needle felting class taught by
Susan Maruska.

Sabra's Greystone Vest by Doreen L. Marquart is knit of Simply Shetland's Lambswool Cashmere. I am learning that although the Shetlands feel a little scratchy in the ball, once they are washed and with repeated washing, continue to soften and soften. I just love it.

Debbie's Wrap Me Up Shawl by Knitting At Noon of Rowan Tapestry. She is doing a beautiful job and says she has learned a lot about interpreting patterns and knitting techniques.

Trish and baby Ben! He is so sweet. I couldn't get too close due to illness, but I wanted to pick him up in the worst way!!! Trish is wearing her rib warmer of Woolbearers Lanamira.

Mike, the Fishmonger

You know how those days go. You are visiting with your girlfriends. The knitted uterus is hanging by the cash register. There is a brassiere pop up book on the coffee table. Women are sitting around chatting. Most men who walk into that milieu don't stay very long. (Tola's Mike and Jill's John are exceptions.)

But on this day, Mike the Fishmonger walks in. He smells a little fishy; has Wellingtons and a t-shirt on that are covered with scales. But he is in Mount Holly to register to vote, so right away, I fall in love with him. Then he tells us, he knits!! He's a knitter! This adorable, twenty something son to every mother, knits! He plops right down, and starts talking knitting. He is hungry for information, and we are happy to oblige. We find out he really is a fishmonger at the nearby, big organic grocery store, and made a death run to get to town in time to register. And he saw the store.

Oh, I hope he comes back. He is the epitome of a living doll. We don't have many men knitters; two guys who show up twice a year, and Bruce, our first crochet teacher who kept bringing Red Heart into the store. Mike needs to be a regular.....

Anne and Joanna and I had a great time at Bungs tonight...this is what they are knitting.

Joanna's sweater of Knit One Crochet Too Linus.

Anne's Rib Warmer of Jojoland.

The Autumn always makes me want to spin, so I got out this lovely bundle of wool and started working on it last week. I think I want to knit the Cottage Creation afghan out of my hand spun. Phyllis and Linda are knitting theirs out of Cascade 200.

Linda's beautiful vest from Knit Kimono knit of Rowan Felted Tweed. This is a classic piece she will be able to wear forever.

This is Branched Out, a lace scarf from Knitty.com. I'm knitting for my daughter, Jeni, who doesn't ask for much, but hinted she would like a shawl a while ago. The yarn is some Lily Chin we had on sale. It's really very lovely to work with.

Is this the cutest thing you have ever seen???
It's a Star Bunting, knit by Kris of Muench Big Baby,
the only 100% acrylic yarn we have in the store....

A group of regulars at the store got together and signed up for the Felted Pumpkin class. It sounded like a bunch of woodpeckers were at work! We'll have pictures next week of their finished pumpkins.








Good bye, Lisa and boys!!! It's sad to say good bye to customers who you have seen so often, they become your friends. We know they will be happy down south, closer to family! Good luck!



Three generations! We love it when the whole family comes in; this mom is knitting socks for everyone!


The February Lady Sweater...is finally finished!!!! I was happy to find out I am not the last knitter to complete it. Brenda had fun trying it on and wasn't shy about showing those bodacious tatas! Tola and Mike were not there Sunday.... that's Donna's pink head in the back; she dyed her hair pink for the Three Day Walk she and Brenda did for breast cancer. She says it will wash out, eventually.



Friendship is...



knitting the same project...

There is nothing like a group of friends sharing a common love. This weekend was full of evidence of that fact as one person after another came into the store, seeking out friends. As soon as one group came, another would come in, sad they missed the last but eager to hear the latest news from the present group. Gwen and Joanna are knitting the Spider Wrap; Gwen's is the purple and Joanna's the blue. They are works of art.

Patterns, patterns everywhere. Have you noticed the proliferation of on-line knitting and crocheting pattern magazines? We all know http://www.knitty.com/. This is certainly the most- read pattern magazine for knitters and sometimes crocheters and ah, yes, spinners too! We’ve all done our share of Clapotis and Branching Out, to name a few of the most popular patterns. When every new issue comes out, it seems to take longer to get connected to Knitty; I imagine their servers are just overloaded with anxious knitters. (Speaking of which, my “Hey, Teach” is done -- hooray!)

There are a few others out there that I thought I would mention. One of Woolbearer’s customers, Jody Pirrello, has started her own knitting magazine – http://www.knotions.com/, Great book reviews, patterns and lots of useful information. Check it out. Another e-zine that I love is http://www.twistcollective.com/. Kate Gilbert is the Creative Director of this e-zine, so you know it’s gotta be good.

As a shop owner it’s hard to figure out just which patterns to buy. We always get the major knitting magazines and those usually sell quite well. But with the proliferation of pattern writers out there, it’s hard to choose. This year at TNNA, we came upon a great pattern company called Chic Knits. I’m going to knit up the Cece cardigan – it’s top down and has a little eyelet pattern at the yoke. I think it will knit up quickly and hope a few of you will join me. Of course, this means we must reorder the pattern once again. There are quite a few other great Chic Knits patterns. There’s also a Chic Knits group on Ravelry. Take a look.

Another gal we just bought patterns from is SheKnits for Knitters. Sharon Dreifuss is the brains behind the Dumpling Bags, and I’ve been eyeing her patterns for quite a while, ever since Suzanne brought her Carrie Lynn bag in for display. So, we bought a bunch of her other patterns – all felted bags – a few are quite close to the dumpling bag in size. Come in and see for yourself. Sharon also has a really nice podcast which you can find at http://she-knits.mypodcast.com/

Those Zephyr gals have the cutest patterns. We just go in the “Juliet” pattern. Looks like a quick knit with bulky yarn (think Lamb’s Pride Bulky).

Please remember that October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. One of our customers, Marian Schenke, has knitted and felted the cutest bags and is donating all the proceeds to Breast Cancer Research. So, if you would like to participate in helping out a worthy cause, come in and buy one of her bags that are pictured here.

I just wanted to mention that we are having difficulties with our web host for our woolbearers.com site. The folks at Yahoo webhosting tell me (now that I have finally had a chance to speak with them after being on hold for many hours) that they are working on the problem and it may take a few more days to fix. The wonders of technology!

So many projects, so little time ….
Lots of new projects for you to work on. We finally got our sample “Swirl Shawl” from Jojoland (you know, if I had to knit it up for a sample, we’d be seeing this next year!) and the pattern is


going like hot cakes. Pattern and yarn have to be reordered already!


Another great pattern comes from Claudia Handpaints – it’s called the Plaza Knitting Rectangle Sweater and can be done in several different gauges. Knit like the original, it takes 10 skeins of Claudia’s fingering weight yarn and can be worn several different ways.






Judy knit the mitten that was on the cover of Fall 2008 Vogue – we actually had the yarn it called for (Jamieson's Spindrift) in the color Vogue used. She said this mitten is not for the faint of heart. But then again, Judy is quite a master knitter herself. Here are some photos of a Kaffe Fasset Shawl she is working on. The details of this shawl have to be seen in person.






While we were at TNNA, we came upon this new yarn called Polar Knit. It is a fleece yarn made of Polartec that knits up on a 10.5-13 needle at 3 stitches to the inch. Great for kid's mittens, hats, scarves, Polar Knit is wind resistant and so so very soft. There are free patterns on the Polarknit website. We'll have a sample in the shop real soon!





You must come in to squeeze the buffalo. Buffalo yarn that is. We have Buffalo Gold's laceweight, bamboo/bison mix and mohair/bison mix. A few free patterns and you are all set for the winter.



Mountain Colors has come out with a new laceweight yarn -- it is 1200 yards of a silk/wool blend and retails for $36.00. You can't beat that price or those colors. Of course, my favorite colorway is "Crazy Woman" -- I wonder why!




We 've been dyeing like mad trying to get ready for the New Jersey Sheep and Wool show, the first weekend in October. Here is a limited supply of our new Woolie Bears Superwash Sport, sh0wn here in the "Raspberry Sorbet" colorway. It is 250 yards, 6-6.5 stitches the inch on a 4-5 needle. I'm sure you can whip up a pair of socks in no time!



And now for some of our wonderful customer projects.

Here is Judy's Stonington Shawl - in-progress, made out of Heritage sock yarn.



Gwen has been going crazy over cables. Here's another one of her many vests out of an old pattern she dug up. You can't see much of the pattern here, but just wait!




Jennifer lives in Pennsylvania and whenever she comes to visit her Mom, near Mt. Holly, she always stops in for some yarn and a new baby project. This one is made out of Rowan Cashsoft. I think it's her fave.


Jill's Stonington made out of Lorna's Laces sock yarn in colorway Black Purl with edging in Plymouth Buckingham.. A scarf out of the One Skein Wonders book, knit in Woolbearers Superwash worsted weight and -- ta da -- Jill's myster shawl 4. Look at all those beads. Jill says that she was born to knit lace -- absolutely!


Donna did her Tomato sweater out of SWTC's Soy Silk in natural (Woolbearers dyed the blue/green part). It looks fab. Donna completed her Breast Cancer Walk hat made out of Rowan Handknit cotton while we were chatting on Saturday. Hope it's not too hot to wear. Good luck on your walk this weekend!



Bonnie, along with 6 other gals, made a Rambling Rows Afghan out of Cascade 220. Her color choice worked so well together -- other customers have asked for the same colors for their afghan.

Anita is a very particular knitter and loved working on this cute sweater for her grandson. It's made out of Dale of Norway Baby Ull.