Have you been sucked into the creative and visually stunning vortex that is PINTEREST yet?  Well we have and believe you me, we are not always proud of the amount of time we’re spending doing it!  However, (and this is important) it is an extremely valuable resource for all creative types.  Just last week we started the Woolworks, Baltimore Pinterest account, after having individual accounts amongst us for a couple of years.  The idea behind Pinterest is to create virtual “boards”, by category of things you like.  These boards can be any subject matter and when we say the possibilities are endless of what you’ll find, we are not kidding.

With that in mind, the Woolworks, Baltimore Pinterest is made up of 19 boards so far – all having to do with knitting, crochet, needle felting, buttons, inspiration and design.  We’ve chosen knitwear designers to “follow” on Pinterest so that you – our followers – may see what current designers are pinning and planning.  If you choose to follow Woolworks, you’ll have access to an already curated batch of boards that cater to what we all love the most.  In addition, when following our “Feed”, you’ll scroll through and see what some incredibly talented people are doing and what they are inspired by when it comes to fiber arts.

If you haven’t joined Pinterest yet (it’s free, there’s an app, etc.), please do.  Once you have an account, look for us – Woolworks, Baltimore – and give us a follow.  We think you’ll like what you see.  Best of all, most of the “pins” track back to the source, whether it’s Ravelry, Rowan’s website, great blogs, tutorials, etc.  It goes on and on.  We love it and we’re pretty sure you will too!

Join Woolworks on Pinterest!

We know…it’s crunch week.  The needles are flying, nerves are fraying and gosh darn it, there’s MORE to do!  Every knitter, crocheter, needle felter and handcrafter is at their wits end trying to finish what is started for gift giving.  In light of this very specific angst, we’d like to say this:  We all do it.  We all plan, have good intentions and amazing ideas, all ready for execution.  The reality is, there are only so many hours left and the toothpicks holding your eyelids open are starting to pinch!

For those of you wanting that last minute save, we’ve ordered the greatest reusable project bags that are set to arrive Friday of this week.  The wonderful Della of DellaQ has designed plain fabric drawstring bags that have
one of three sayings on them…”Shhh…I’m counting”, “Knit With Love” and “Cheaper Than Therapy”.  We figured we’d give you a clever vessel to put that last minute, perhaps even unfinished project in to give on Christmas morning.  For $10, you really can’t go wrong.   A bunch of cute colors in all of the sayings are on their way to us.

We also want to remind you about our great Gift Card Deal that is on until December 24th.  For every $50 gift card you buy, we throw in an extra $5 to sweeten the pot.  So if you go for $100 (for that very lucky recipient), they will get $110 to spend as they choose.  Like you, we love a deal and we hope this helps with some of the knitters on your list.

An easy gift for even the non knitter or crocheter is one of the gorgeous JUL Designs shawl sticks or pins.  They come in a pretty organza drawstring pouches and are sure to please any lady on your list.  We have the Twig Lace Pin pictured below, as well as Pearl Tendril Fermoir Pin, and a variety of shawl sticks with various stones…For specifics, please come in.  We have a great selection, all priced from $17 up.

We wish you a wonderful holiday with your family and friends.  We thank you from the bottom of our hearts for being our customers and we greatly value your friendship and patronage.  We look forward to seeing you in 2013 and continuing the fun!

Amy, Mindy, Kim, Karen

As Labor Day approaches, we all seem to have the “back to school” mentality.  The kids are getting their last swim in and their supplies ready.  The rest of us think about how our schedule is going to change once the calendar flips to September.  At Woolworks, we look forward to Fall especially, with the new Fall/Winter products arriving each day and the shelves switching over to cool weather fibers, patterns and idea inspiration.  This season is no exception, with the abundance of enticing new colors, fiber combinations and patterns to support the yarns.

A big part of our shop learning curve this fall is our new Point of Sale System which arrives today and will be installed on Monday.  We eagerly await the new, improved check-out system, loyalty program and bar-code scanner!  We feel a little nervous about getting ourselves acclimated and “online” with it all, but feel sure we can do it.  This coming Monday, August 27th, we will close our doors at 2:00pm to get things set up and organized.  We’ll be Back-To-School ourselves that day and we’re hoping it is indeed possible to teach a few old dogs a very new trick!  Please indulge us in this half day of learning.  We feel sure it will be worth it!

Speaking of learning, our Fall/Winter Class Schedule is available on this site and we hope you’ll find something you’d like to learn this year.  We have all sorts of technique classes and workshops.  As always, private instruction is available.  Just give us a call and we’ll get that organized for you.

Here’s wishing everyone a smooth transition for Fall, 2012!  We hope a Woolworks class will be in your queue, a visit on your way to carpool, and the place you think of coming for amazing yarns!

We’re knitting through the days of summer quickly.  A storm and heat wave left many of us in the dark and in oven-like surroundings about week ago.  We saw an uptick in traffic during a traditionally slow Woolworks time, which was lovely.  Instead of coming in for vacation projects, we saw our friends straggling in for a bit of borrowed cool air and community.  Misery AND knitting love company, after all.

Our July Home Goods Knitalong is in full swing with a select few tuffet crocheters and pouf practitioners.  When it comes right down to it, there are may goods for the home that can be crafted with yarn.  Whether it’s doubled for an extra bulky cushion cover or crocheted in a tight stitch to withstand the demands of a family room throw, handknits beef up the homey for all of us.  While our numbers are small for this knitalong, our Thursday night regulars are joining in with whatever project they have going.

In a few short days the Olympics will be starting!  A rare knit community controversy has been the hot topic as the US Olympic Committee has put it’s collective Nike-clad foot down on the usage of the word “Olympics” by anyone but themselves.  Ravellenics is the new name of our game, thanks to some bright and spunky folks at Ravelry, who renamed their knit and crochet gaming for this year.  We are pleased to be having our own Ravellenics festivities starting July 27th through August 13th, the details of which can be found in the link below.  We thank Hadley Mendoza for lighting the competitive Woolworks spirit, not only organizing the event, but generously donating the prizes.    Ravellenic poster

We hope your plans include stopping in, whether it’s for a vacation project, to say hello, or to participate in Ravellenics.  We’re here!

It’s the Friday before Memorial Day and as we make our plans for a day or two off, we’d like to extend thanks to all who came out LAST Friday for our Rowan Yarn Tasting Event!  We were thrilled to open up both doors on that gorgeous evening and welcome you for some socializing and Rowan immersion!  Between the samples we had made, a few sent on loan from Rowan and the generosity of several of our customers, we had a shop full of garments to help showcase Rowan yarns and patterns.  We loved watching customers mingle and consult with each other about projects in a relaxed atmosphere.  The hour and a half event flew by and we felt exhilarated by the community that was created.

It takes a lot of hard work to run a local yarn store.  On nights like last Friday, we all felt a great sense of accomplishment and pride in the relationships we have not only with our yarn manufacturers, but our extremely loyal and interested clientele, who are also great friends!  Thank you for making what we do so worthwhile!

Have a wonderful long weekend.  See everyone soon!

May 18th

5:30-7:00pm

RSVP:  info@woolworksbalt.com

In conjunction with Rowan Yarns, we are delighted to hold our first Yarn Tasting this Friday evening.  We’ll have wine, a few nibbles and most importantly, tons of garment samples to showcase spring/summer Rowan Yarns!  We’ve collected samples that we’ve made, Rowan has sent us and even a few generous customers have given us garments for the event!  There’s no better way to experience the gorgeous range of fibers and what they can be made up into than an event such as this.  Each guest will leave with a “tasting” of each of the yarns to take home and swatch.  This is a great way to decide what is your favorite and plan your summer project.  In addition, any Rowan Yarns and books/brochures you buy at the event entitles you to a 10% discount.  It’s all good.  Come on over.

It’s Hip to be Square…

Ann Weaver will return at the end of the month for a NEW workshop about Square Shawl Construction!  This is a new workshop for Ann and we’re delighted to be one of the first shops to offer it!  The workshop will cover all sorts of technique on constructing a shawl from the center out, either starting with a central square or starting at the center and knitting out with various increases, etc.  To read all about it, click the link below.  Give us a shout to sign up, but don’t wait!  Spaces are filling fast.  Here’s the scoop:

Date:  Sunday, April 29th

Time:  10:00am-1:00pm

Cost:  $85

Workshop Description_Square Shawls

Weaverknits @ Woolworks!

We are really delighted to be hosting designer and all around cool gal, Ann Weaver this weekend for two great workshops!  Ann’s design portfolio contains many popular patterns, including “Oranje” & “Neiman Beauty” from Knitty.com.  Ann will be teaching a Design Your Own Triangular Shawl tomorrow from 2-5pm and a Color Theory/Albers Cowl workshop on Sunday from 10-Noon.  The Sunday session is SOLD OUT!!!  We’re excited to learn the ins and outs of log cabin knitting in conjunction with color theory.  Ann is a dynamic and accessible instructor who is sure to make a lot of friends.  We are happy stockists of both Craft Work Knit and White Whale, Ann’s two books.  Here’s a peak at a few of Ann’s goodies:

Go Dutch from Craft Work Knit

Neiman Beauty from Knitty.com

Next week:  New Books!  Stay tuned.

Taking Stock

We did a lot of counting after the Super Bowl Sunday Sale last week.  Inventory is never fun, but we filled the tea pot and forged ahead. Inventory gives us a chance to assess what we have and do a bit of cleaning.  Just as we were finishing up, UPS dumped multiple boxes on our doorstep.  Evidently, it’s time for SPRING in the yarn world!

Now that we’ve regrouped and opened up boxes, we are most excited…Rowan’s Spring/Summer line is amazing, both yarns and pattern support.  We’ve made room and stocked the shelves with all the pretty colors in all the different fibers.  Here’s a little preview

Rowan Yarns

Pima Cotton DK: 100% Pima Cotton/5.5sts/inch

 Handknit Cotton: 100% cotton/4.75-5 sts/inch

Purelife Revive: Recycled silk, cotton, viscose
5.5 sts/inch

Cotton Glace: 100% Cotton/5.75 sts/inch

Creative Linen: 50% linen, 50% cotton
5-5.25 sts/inch

Summerspun: 50%wool, 50% cotton
5.5 sts/inch

Summer Tweed:  70% silk, 30% cotton
4 sts/inch

Savannah: 94% cotton, 6% silk
4.5 sts/inch

Rowan Magazine & Brochures

Rowan Magazine 51/Spring/Summer 2012

Holiday Crochet              Seascapes                     Summerspun Collection

So if you’re feeling cold and dreary, come and see us.  We’re feeling Spring from a fiber point of view and we’d love to share.

…but it would have been REALLY nice if the Ravens had made it to the big game.  We were so close.  Now we’ll watch the game unemotionally Sunday and hope for another great season next year.  Woolworks has hosted a Superbowl Sunday Sale since 2007, and this year is no exception.  We like to gather during the day, eat a few munchies, give away some door prizes, and generally enjoy “pre-gaming” as only knitters and crocheters know how: BUYING YARN!  We put our in-stock yarns on sale for 20% off and have towers of yarns on sale with as-marked prices.  It’s a lot of fun, it’s great to get a deal, and what the heck else are you doing this Sunday?

So put on your shopping clothes (you know, loose fitting, comfy knit duds like this guy has on) and come on over.  We’ll be opening the doors at 12 noon and closing at 4pm.  We can’t wait to see you!