Swallow Hill Scarf Kits and beads are beautiful to look at and a joy to work with. The scarf kits come with their Seven Scarves and a Shawl booklet, a 250 yard tube of lustrous, soft rayon yarn, and a 100 gram bag of Czech beads. Everyone who has knitted this scarf loves it. It can also be crocheted. We have the kit in lots of great colors, and once you've made the scarf, you can buy more yarn and beads without purchasing the book.

The lower picture shows a selection of their 'bead soup'. The Bead Soups are a mix of size 6,8 and novelty beads that are always wonderful, and always different. We went a little nuts buying the soup!

Wrap it Up -- Annie and Cindy have been busy knitting their wraps. Annie's is made out of several different colorways of K1C2's Paintbox and Manos. Cindy is using Rowan's Tapestry with a touch of Nashua Creative Focus. They are both so beautiful, but very different.

I never make anything twice. That's why I don't knit socks. I have too many onesies hanging around. Yet, I couldn't resist doing another wrap. This time, it's out of Southwest Trading's Karaoke in shades of grey with Lily Chin's Greenwich Village in black as an accent and a skein of Louet's Merlin in Black Tulip alternating with the Karaoke in Block 7. I think this one is going to be an evening wrap. Hey -- I hear that grey is the new black.

...and speaking of doing things over again, Donna, who is going to be a grandmother again, made her second Baby Surprise Jacket out of Mission Falls 1824 wool.

Works of Art
Our customers are the most prolific knitters around. Just today, the following three garments came through the door, as well as some accessories -- and Myra photographed them for me. This vest is a beautiful example of knitting by Suzanne Phillips, who's many projects have graced this blog and the pages of our online store. The yarn is a luscious wool and mohair blend Sirena in colorway Tuscany and the solid is Mission Falls 1824 Wool.




How about these lovely Noni bags from Marian Schenke out of Cascade 220 wool.

This lovely sweater, knit by Terry Mader of Bronze Age Fantasia, Woolbearers hand dyed silk rayon blend, has a wonderful drape and feel that must be experienced to be appreciated.

Janet Sawyer knit this gorgeous work of art out of naturally dyed with Pomegranate, fingering weight wool from Woolbearers. It's a real work of art.

Variations On a Theme

This is Gwen's beautiful version of the Wrap Me Up Shawl. She used Boku with a little Noro. She also seamed it, which I think makes it extremely wearable. You can just throw it on and not think about it, losing it or dragging it on the ground. It's just gorgeous.

The weavers have been hard at work this summer, just in time for fall. The top photo is Joanne Tice's Cocoon of a handpainted warp woven in Shadow Weave. A light yarn is alternated with a dark, except in this instance, her light yarn is dyed the most gorgeous shades of pink, green, yellow, aqua and lilac. The bottom jacket is also Joanne's. She wove this beauty of white pima cotton warp and a cotton and lycra boucle as weft.

The center photo is Anne Stegmann's beautiful cotton stripped table linens. This is Anne's second piece! She going to be a great weaver.

More New Yarns!

We really don't stop dyeing! Here are yet more new colorways and yarns.

1. Brushed Mohair in Softfall
2. Dragonne Wool Boucle in Copper Patina
   
3. Bulky Wool in Golden Glow, also Softfall
   
4. Worsted Weight Cotton in Jelly Bean, also available in Softfall, Forest Floor, Topaz
5. Lanamira wool and cashmere blend in River Rock
6. Cotton Flannel in Jelly Bean

New Colorways keep our customers inspired as well as inspiring Myra and I. Two new colorways this week alone are Myra's woodsy greens of our new superwash sock yarn and the warm golds and rusts in Golden Glow, Myra's new colorway I adapted on our wool and nylon boucle, Dragonne . Dragonne is a machine washable, worsted weight yarn that is perfect for baby sweaters, bulky socks and any project requiring a worsted weight hand dyed yarn.

More Eintein Coat and Wrap Me Up Shawls are being knitted this fall than you can imagine. The Einstein Coat has such classic appeal, is easy enough to knit for a new knitter, and doesn't require much concentration, so it is perfect for knitting during gatherings.

The beautiful fall greens and browns of the Cherry Tree Hill worsted that Beth is using for her Einstein Coat will be perfect for cooler weather. She is working on the upper back and sides now.

Sandy is coming along wonderfully with her Wrap Me Up Shawl. Here is the third square, and she is ready to put the finishing touches on this block.

Yesterday, we also had Spinners from South Jersey Guild of Spinners and Handweavers joining the knitters.

The Love Tower

You know how you walk into a knitting store and see a fabulous yarn for the first time? Slowly you walk up to it. In a low, throaty voice, you say, 'Come to Momma'. That's what happened the first time I saw Touch Me. Myra had been telling me about it, but no amount of information can prepare you for the first time. We wanted to have the Muench line in the store for years, but didn't have the room until we moved. When the Touch Me finally arrived, Myra said 'We need a special place for this' and that is how the tower in the middle of the store came to be.

Special yarns get placed in the Tower of Love, like the Colinette Jitterbug, Kaffe Fasset Regia, and the most beautiful scarf kits we have ever seen from Knit One, Crochet Too, The Clouds of Lace Shawl that includes alpaca and silk yarn with mohair and silk yarn that you strand together. It is truly gorgeous. Anyway, the pictures speak for themselves.....

Soxx Appeal We've got it at Woolbearers! Back in June, we saw Soxx Appeal at TNNA and knew it would be a big hit. The first shipment pretty much disappeared, so we reordered and it came yesterday. Available in the store and also online . Each ball is 208 yards, and at $8.95 a ball, makes for a very affordable sock.

Last night was our monthly Meetup group. Susie is almost done with her beautiful, black Wool Bam Boo cabled cardigan, designed by Kathy Zimmerman. Kelly is making fast work of the hand dyed by Woolbearers mohair in the Early Frost colorway. Elda is finishing up the sleeves of her Kimona Jacket in an unusual twist; she is using about six different colorways, and Sabra is on the sleeves of her Elizabeth Zimmerman, Wildflower colorway top down sweater, both of Delaware Valley Hand Dyed Ringspun.



Michael and Tola came in today. She is from Utah (until she moves here!) and he is from PA. He comes in and buys her yarn and then she does her magic. The socks on the left held by Michael are of Wildfoote and she is holding Tiger by Opal. Opal is available in our online store. Tola is a prolific sock knitter. She loves to dye her own sock yarn, but loves Woolbearers' , too! She says that Buckingham alpaca and silk blend yarn by Plymouth is great for socks because the silk adds the strength she is looking for. I can't wait to try it now, myself!

We Are All Wrapping Up! In the almost four years that Woolbearers has been opened, I don't think I have seen so much interest in a project as our customers are showing in the Wrap Me Up shawl by Knitting at Knoon. All I can say is, WOW! About 20 knitters are knitting or preparing to knit the shawl. So far, Paint Box from Knit One, Crochet Too seems to be the favorite yarn, although some gals are using Boku from Plymouth. Both yarns have lovely, fairly gradual gradations of color. The pattern also shows it in Wooly Stripes, available at Woolbearers. I think because Myra did the beautiful example we have in the store of Paint Box, everyone who sees it wants it to look just like her's. Sandy came in today to show us her first square and begin the second. The 2nd picture shows the twenty cast on stitches and the 21 picked up along the edge.