Our Every Other Project for this month is a wonderful knitted bag that you can use for the food market or the pool (guess which one we prefer). Better yet it is designed by our very own Kate.   She originally made a bag for her mother for Mother’s Day, and I loved it so much that I thought you would too.

We have kitted the knitted bag up in three different yarns, so it comes out in three slightly different sizes and plenty of great colors, and ranges from $13.50 to $26.75. And it is really pretty. And quick to knit. And fun. So get yours now.

We saw some wonderful Karen Shawls made up from our last kits in both Madelinetosh and Fiesta’s Baby Boom.

The winner of the drawing for the May Every Other Month Project is Teresa McCusker, and you can see her handiwork in Madelinetosh at the left. Teresa come in and get your Bag Kit.

Remember to send us the story and picture of the Every Other Bag and we’ll enter you in the drawing for a free kit of the next Every Other Month project.

Riveting – wholly absorbing or engrossing one’s attention and fascination – that definitely defines the Riveting Yarn from Kollage that arrived at Wool and Company this week.

We received Kollage’s Riveting Yarn and Patterns, with all the colors in both worsted and sport weights and I have to say, even though I have not knitted with it yet, I am loving all this jeansy goodness. Made from recycled denim jeans, it is super soft and has the look that you get from a pair that has been around for years and is all soft and worn and the waistband has softened up enough to accommodate most of your muffin-top. You know the ones I mean. Any way, it is good stuff and the supporting patterns are excellent too.

We also got some of their great square needles for socks, very comfy to hold and nice to your hands.

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If you’re like us your heart is breaking as you watch the reports of the death and devastation that the earthquake has brought to Haiti. Haiti is one of the poorest countries in the Americas, where people live on less than $2 day, and it has been hit by another natural disaster.

The American Red Cross is estimating a death toll in excess of 40,000, and the lack of the most basic resources will make that toll rise if help is not immediate.

So here’s a way to help.  Donate to Doctors without Borders (Médecins Sans Frontières) and in return you gain free access to download the knitting patterns pictured below. For every dollar we raise one of our vendors will be matching (up to a maximum of $50,000). Knitting Fever, who supply us with some of your favorite yarns, including Noro, Louisa Harding and Sirdar have committed to making the match. Now that’s awesome – let’s see if we can max out that offer!

Click on comments below to get latest updates on fund raising.

Doctors without Borders work to provide medical aid in crisis situations – including natural disasters such as the Haiti earthquake. The Haiti disaster needs a rapid response with the specialized medical and logistical help that Doctors without Borders can provide.

A Typical Helmet Liner

Put Tuesday December 29th on your calendar – we (along with lots of other LYSs) are designating that as National Helmet Liner Day. As you may know, some 30,000 service men and women will be deploying to Afghanistan and they need hand-made helmet liners because the ones they are issued with are not close fitting and warm enough.

Our goal is to get 100 liners knit or crocheted by the end of January, and I know we can do it.  We will be here with patterns, yarn at a discount, and hopefully some donated yarn that will work, and lots of encouragement.

I know many of you have made these in the past, so if you have any good tips or advice let us know. We have a wonderful new pattern that seems to be just right, and is available in knitted and crochet versions. They must be made out of 100% wool, worsted weight (Cascade 220, Patons, etc) and need to be in black, brown, tan, olive, dark gray or brown/tan variegated. For the knit version, you will need to have size 8 16″ Circulars and DP’S and size 6 16″ Circulars for the ribbing.

If you can’t come in please make a few and send them to us, and we will send you a little thank you surprise!  Here’s a copy of the helmet liner knitting pattern and the helmet liner crochet pattern.  You can send your completed helmet liners to the address on the pattern, and we’ll make sure that they get delivered.

The spirit of knitting has never been stronger than it is right now, and there is nothing more worthwhile than letting our service men and women know they are cared for, so let’s get it done.

June … not usually synonymous with knitting, but overnight the temperature drops to 30-something and it almost feels like winter again.

Come by the store and see some of the new yarns we have received. At last Mini Mochi is here for your socks and shawls, and to my delight lots of Kureyon sock yarn. Our rep had told me that it was to be discontinued and there was no more available so I was disappointed because a) I love it, and b) we have several models in the store that use it. Anyhoo, I saw him last week and as soon as I heard it was not going away I ordered tons, so come and get it while the getting is good. We also received some more of the yummy Hundertwasser from Opal in gorgeous new colorways.

The new Knitter’s magazine is in, as are plenty of new books so there is plenty of inspiration for your summer knitting.

For more ideas come and look at the great models on our class wall. Even if you don’t want or need a class, it will give you plenty of ideas for your next project, and if you are good, Neil will even let you try them on.

Need some company or extra discipline to get your projects done? Come in on Sunday afternoon (3:30 ’til 5:30pm) to our Knitting with Company session, and we will help you whip your knitting into shape.