It’s Friday!

IT’S FRIDAY!!!

Even though we’re open 7 days a week, Friday sill holds a special place in our hearts.  Unwinding, relaxing and taking it a little more slowly is always a welcome mode.  Hopefully this post finds everyone thinking about the weekend and planning some down time.  We are happily exhausted after our web and online shop launch, but still ready to greet you at the shop this weekend.

The best part of being a retail shop is the change of seasons.  This past week we received spring/summer shipments from Tahki/StacyCharles, Classic Elite & Westminister Fibers.  As much as we love the fibers of fall and winter, we all fall hard for the colors and textures of spring and summer.  Vibrant color, amazing drape and a more casual look are hallmarks of spring and summer knitwear.  Linens, silks, cottons and blends are the fibers of the moment, and it’s a welcome transition as the weather teases us with sort-of-warm and sort-of-chilly days this time of year.

Rowan Yarns has a great Spring/Summer line, as always.  Yesterday we unpacked oodles of new colors of Summer Tweed, All Seasons Cotton, Handknit Cotton, Pima Cotton DK, Purelife Revive and Kidsilk Haze.  The Summer Baby book is an instant classic, with both knit and crochet designs.   Purelife Classics includes patterns for Revive, a recycled blend of silk, cotton & viscose that we’re happy to be restocked with this season.  We have two gorgeous samples on display so far – the Kidsilk Haze and Summer Tweed wrap from Rowan Magazine 49 and an All Seasons Cotton tunic from the Cotton Classics book.  We are all anxious to take needles to yarn from the new arrivals!

 

Tahki/Stacy Charles sent our perennial favorite, Cotton Classic, as well as Sari silk and Eclipse, a blend of cotton and viscose with a hint of glam. The colorful array of pattern leaflets support Tahki’s yarns and the 2011 Spring/Summer collection is fabulous.

From Classic Elite, we welcomed back Provence and Provence Marl – an older favorite of ours, but in fantastic colors and tweedy marls at 5 – 5.25/inch.  We are big fans of Classic Elite “Firefly” – a shimmering linen blend that we fell in love with last year.  Firefly is here in 8 colors with a dedicated book.  We’ll be hosting a Firefly Trunk Show the week of June 3rd through the 10th to showcase the yarn with garments provided by the company.  Don’t wait ’til then though – it’s a gorgeous yarn to knit or crochet with.

New fibers will continue to arrive each week.  We are really excited to show you what’s lightweight, new and enticing for the slightly warming temperature trends!  We know Spring Break is upon us, so make it a point to stop by for a project to take along on your travels.

As we enjoy the great response to our new website and online store, we’d like to take a moment to thank some very talented collaborators.  Margie Weeks of Outloud, LLC is responsible for our fresh and fabulous look – from logo to website. Margie has put her quirky and creative nose to the grindstone and brought Woolworks’ look up to date. Our cards, bookmarks, labels and most importantly, our website design and recent advertisements are all Margie’s expert creative doing.    Denise Ryan of Outloud, LLC, has commandeered our efforts on the website by not only putting us in touch with our web builders, but holding the shaky hands that waded into the waters of the 21st century a couple of months ago.  The advice and support was invaluable.  These women had our backs and we are so very appreciative.

Our web warriors, Fastspot, LLC, were the steady hand who took a WordPress template and customized it for Woolworks, down to the smallest detail.  They had no idea when they signed up with us that we would be so incredibly NEEDY, but they never wavered!  We’re not sure what Ben Plum or Amy Goldberg will do without the multiple texts per day from Amy as the site was developed and launched, but we’re pretty sure they’re relieved….  For all those months, days and hours of work, we thank you.  We were late coming to the online game, but we are SO here now as a result of your efforts.

We have loved receiving everyone’s feedback and well-wishes on our new venture.  Thanks, as always, for letting us be your knit shop in Baltimore, and now many miles beyond!