New Blog Site

The Lamb's Wool has a new blog it is at baabaablogger/wordpress.com
Look for updated blogs there. Thank you and if you would like to receive our newsletter go to http://eepurl.com/dleZM to sign up for it.

Liz

Put this on your Holiday wish list

Before long the folks who love you will be wondering what to get you for the holidays. Being an avid knitter I always thought it was fairly simple to come up with a great gift idea for me. And yet, my family seemed to struggle with it every year. If your family has the same difficulty I have a suggestion. Picture yourself relaxing and knitting among friends, settled before a toasty fire, away from the demands of home and spoiled by great food and the ambiance of charming 1700's era home located on the Eastern Shore of the Chesapeake Bay. Now imagine all of that as the doldrums of January and February settle in. I don't have to imagine it because I have been attending the annual knitting weekend for the last ten years. This fabulous retreat is coordinated by the ladies of the Lambs Wool and the proprietors of the Mitchell House, a lovely Bed and Breakfast in Tolchester, Maryland. The fee for the weekend includes accomodations, a wine and cheese reception, Friday night dinner, breakfast Sunday and Sunday mornings, snacks during the day, a variety of classes and plenty of time to just sit, knit and bond with your fellow house mates.
The 2011 retreat is offered three different weekends. January 21st, 22nd & 23rd
February 4th, 5th and 6th and February 25th, 26th and 27th. The cost is $260.00 for a single, $240.00 for a double and $215.00 for a triple. Contact the shop for information on availablity for the weekend you're interested in.
Trust me this gift is way better than any body wash sampler or pair of slippers I have ever gotten for Christmas.

Dana

It late Thursday afternoon and it's about time to close. It,s been a busy day with folks buying yarn for sweaters, hats and felted pocketbooks. The pocketbooks are Christmas presents for friends using hand made ceramic buttons What a wonderful idea. Come in and see our collection of ceramic buttons. Now is the time to start thinking about knitting, crotcheting, and felting gifts for your family and friends. We have lots of suggestions.

Finally, we are anxiously waiting for some new yarn to come in. Maybe tomorrow!!!!!!!!!!

Betty

What a wonderful time of the year!

August is an odd month. I look at it as the end of Summer but not really. You are getting your kids ready to go back to school and college but it is still 90 degrees. It doesn't hit you that the season will be changing in the next month until you go to the grocery store and see mums popping up at the entrance. You step into A.C. Moore and there are beautiful orange and gold wreaths for sale. All of a sudden you are thinking of knitting and the thought of wool passing through your fingers makes you happy. That is why August is wonderful. You can have the best of both words. Wonderful warm days and a crisp coolness that signals wanting to play with yarn and wool.

Of course at The Lambs Wool the feel of wool passing through your fingers is always a reality. We have had a great Summer of beginner spinning classes. All of my students were successful with turning fluffy fibers into wonderfully knit worthy yarn. We certainly had a lot of fun while spinning. Now is definitely the time to think about taking either a beginner or advanced class. Even if you have spun in the past and are a little rusty come on in and get a refresher class.

Don't limit yourself to just spinning and knitting.We are also forming classes for traditional wet feltmaking and modern needle feltmaking. There is plenty of time to learn to make Santa Head Christmas Ornaments and Wet Felted Holiday Handbags. They are both so much fun to make and are wonderful gifts too.

So, enjoy the warm temperatures of August but plan ahead and live dangerously. Try a new fiber art and learn how to spin or make hand made felt. Classes are forming now so call Betty or Liz and let them know what day and time is good for you.

Think wool!

~ Rose

Weaving - What's Happening In My World

With the resent heat, staying inside and weaving doesn't seem to be such a bad idea. I have actually have had sometime this past spring and early summer to do some weaving. For Mother's Day I wove my mother some towels with sheep on either end. I used an 8-harness Maccomber, 20 inch loom. The towels were woven with 8/2 cotton. The pattern was from an old Handwoven magazine. They turned out very nice and my mom uses them everyday. I also had the opportunity to weave two towels using a technique that I had never done before. It was using a pick up pattern that made a bunny rabbit. I found this pattern in an old Weaver's magazine. I have one on display in the store and the other I gave to a new mother for her baby. Those towels also used 8/2 cotton.

If you have had a chance to see our website you may have noticed that we have some used looms for sale. We have sold three so far. Take a look there are a few more still in stock. There is a four harness counter-balance 26' oak loom. It is a very handsome loom and would be a great loom for weaving rugs. Another loom we have is a 24" Rigid Heddle made by Craft Yarn. It is a very simple loom for the beginner.

Interweave press just released a wonderful book written by Jane Patrick, owner of Schacht Looms, called The Weaver's Idea Book, Creative Cloth on a Rigid Heddle Loom. This is a very good book and should get all weaver's creativity flowing. Another book that was just released is Double Weaving, by Jennifer Moore. This book is a great book if you ever wanted to double weave more that just doubling the size. She uses very precise picture that are easy to see and understand. She also uses Pearl cotton in many of the projects which is very easy to use. We have both of these books in stock. Stop by and check them out along with other great books that have come in.

Liz

Share a Project Month

Just recently we had our Share a Project Month to show off our customers' wonderful knitting and crocheting projects. First place, a lovely knitted lace shawl, was knitted by Susan Conville using the Jaggerspun Wool/Silk. Second place, a highly cabled pullover sweater, was knitted by Linda Botz using Merino-Cotton 135 from Schulana. Both pieces are on display in the store. Stop in to see them.

Susan has another larger shawl on display, also using the Silk/Wool from Jaggerspun. This yarn is on a cone which is great for lace knitting because you don't have to join ends and we sell it by the yard/ounces.

-- Betty

Spinning Workshop in August

Summer has been really hot, hasn't it? Want to learn a new craft that will keep you in the cool and take you into the fall and winter? Rose Kramer will be here teaching Spinning on the Wheel. You will learn how to use roving to make yarn which can be used for projects of your choice.

The classes will be Tuesday August 10 and17 from 6 pm to 8 pm. The cost is $65.00 for the two classes. Call the store (215 361 9899) for more information and to register. Class size is limited to 4 participants so call today to sign up.


--Betty