This Week's Friday Alert! Great New Bags! Also-- A Little Hint About a BIG ANNOUNCEMENT!

We just got in some new bags, handmade in Thailand by the Hmong & Lisu Hill Tribe communities. The drawstring shoulder bags make for great large project bags and the duffel and long style bags can hold long straights and lost of smaller projects or you could have room to roll up a good sized throw or baby blanket. We also have two large cricket loom bags for anyone looking for a fun way to carry their loom.

Also... be sure to check back in here on Tuesday morning. We have some REALLY BIG NEWS we'll be sharing then. Mark your calendars!

Follow Up: THANK YOU from Yarnorama!

Hey Y'all,

We knitters hardly need proof of the power of our knitting community-- it's there at the store, in classes, when you knit in public and someone approaches you to swap yarns (pardon the pun). It's there when hundreds of you gather to hear the Yarn Harlot give a talk at BookPeople. It's Just There. And yet, even though we just know it's just there, isn't it nice to get a reminder sometimes? Toward that end, below is a note from Susan at Yarnorama in Paige-- y'all came together to help her community of knitters when they were devastated by the recent fires.

Thanks for all that help! Here's her note:

I just wanted to take a moment and thank you all for your tremendous support and assistance in making the Phoenix Rising event an incredible success… beyond our wildest expectations! The love, generosity and sympathies towards all of our customers who have lost so much has been overwhelming, mind-boggling really. Donations came from all of your shops in mass, as well as from many Houston area groups, and from as far away as Alaska, California, Washington D.C., Florida. I would say that we easily received over 5000 skeins of yarn, 500+ pairs of needles, 200+ crochet hooks, 2 spinning wheels, 1 RH loom, 2 inkle looms, 1 floor loom, drop spindles, fiber, books, 500+ patterns, cross stitch supplies, embroidery supplies, notions, 50 washcloth kits with yarns, needles and pattern, weaving yarns and wefts, toiletry kits, 200+ washcloths, 50+ project bags, I’m sure there is more… There were even more weaving looms offered that I asked them to hold onto until we find a recipient and until some have places to actually put a loom and it’s tools.

I learned a lot from this experience about how to manage the logistics of such a large outpouring and also a lot about my own limits in such an emotionally charged, unrelenting situation. The idea of having people write notes was captivating and helped people feel like they were contributing something positive in an hellacious situation… and they did contribute immensely. The notes bring tears of joy and comfort to those who receive them still. It’s going to take a long time for people to heal and just the thought that a fiber friend who they did not know sent them their thoughts is profoundly meaningful to them.

Again, I cannot thank you enough for all you and your customers did to make this happen.

Best,
Susan

Help the Little Penguins and Get 15% off Cascade!

Hey Y'all,
In case you haven't heard there are some little penguins in New Zealand that are in trouble due to an oil spill. They need sweaters. You can read all about it here.

Want to help? Great! Come on down today (Friday 10/21) through Monday (10/24) and ask for the Penguin Sweater discount-- we'll give you 15% off of Cascade 220 and Cascade 220 Sport-- the sweaters need to be 100% wool and the link above will tell you all about that as well as provide patterns so you can make the sweaters just right.

Thanks for helping!

The Harlot is Coming! The Harlot is Coming!

Hey Y'all,

As if in anticipation of the arrival of everyone's favorite Canadian Knit-Blogger, our weather has dipped down into the sixties! Whoa! Brrr... Stephanie Pearl-McPhee is going to freeze her buns off down here. Oh wait, no she's not. She's going to LAUGH her butt off when she sees us all show up at her reading at BookPeople on Sunday, October 23rd, decked out in our heavy, hand knit sweaters.

Wait a second. Scrreeech. Hit the brakes. Back up. Did I just say STEPHANIE PEARL-MCPHEE is COMING TO BOOKPEOPLE?!! I did indeed. But I have one correction to make. I said she's everyone's favorite Canadian Knit-Blogger. I meant to say she's just everybody's favorite Knit-Blogger, period. I'm still quoting her from the last time she came to town, back in May 2009. That was such a great talk. And it was also very funny that BookPeople, not understanding the power of SPM, under-ordered her books. (Don't cry BookPeople, we love you-- just ribbing you a little bit because that's what we knitters do-- we RIB people.) I think close to 300 rabid knitters showed up that night.

This time around, Stephanie is giving a reading in the afternoon, at 3:00 p.m. She's here to peddle her new book: All Wound Up-- The Yarn Harlot Writes for a Spin. You can RSVP the event at Facebook. Also, know that if you want to get a book signed-- even if it's one of her older books-- you HAVE to buy a copy of the new book at BookPeople. If you want to buy that copy in advance, you can, just be sure to bring your receipt with you.

And if BookPeople sells out-- highly likely-- don't forget you can always get Stephanie's books at your favorite knit shop: Hill Country Weavers.

Fox in Socks!

Attention all you foxy sock lovers! We just got in some Lorna's Laces new yarn, Solemate, which contains 30% outlast, a fiber that is engineered to regulate body temperature, wick moisture and resist tearing & abrasion. If you get cranking now you can have some wicked wicking socks ready to go for when it REALLY gets cold-- you know, like in the 70s. Also, remembering that you can simply never have enough project bags, here's more good news: We've also got some very cool new Della Q project bags. We're recommending one bag for each sock you're working on. See ya soon!

Learning to Crawl!

This is Lindsay AFTER the Bus Full of Crawlers!

What a splendid weekend! I popped by the shop on Saturday and man, to say it was hopping would be the understatement of the century. I got there when the charter bus was there-- the driver was hanging out waiting for all the crawlers to shop 'til they dropped. Inside every room was full of eager knitters. And-- as if Mother Nature herself was giving a thumbs up to the whole concept of Yarn Crawl-- we got that glorious wet and chilly (well, chilly for Austin) weather. Hooray! Perfect knitting weather.

I hope y'all had a super blast. I can't wait to hear who won the Grand Prize. Tell us how your crawl went!

The fearless bus driver!

The 2011 Yarn Crawl has Begun!!

Y’all, today through Monday (10/7 – 10/10) join us for The Best Little Yarn Crawl in Texas!
 Nine yarn shops in Austin and the Hill Country are participating!
Don't have your passport yet? Its not too late!
 Come pick up yours at HCW or buy one online at hillcountryyarncrawl.com. Passports are just $20 and you get a commemorative bag when you buy one.

Visit the participating stores and pick up a passport stamp AND A FREE GIFT at each store (retail value per gift approx. $8). Each store will also have drawings for additional prizes. And, if you visit ALL of the stores, you can drop off the last page of your passport at the last store you visit and you’ll be entered to win the GRAND PRIZE—valued at $1300! Prizes are on display on the website.

When you visit HCW, you can choose two items for your prize. Chose from one Knitter's Hand Balm,
one pair of HCW Bamboo Knitting Needles, and/or
one pattern from a Hill Country Weavers pattern collection
(Check out Shelter Collection & Prarie Bliss Collection look books!)


For more info: see yarn crawl website.

HCW will be open 10am - 6pm Friday, Saturday & Monday & 10am - 5pm on Sunday and we will be doing Second Sunday. We also have trunk shows from Jojoland & Fiber Co. on display this weekend.