Woolcott's Last Day Is Today

Today, October 27, is the last day that Woolcott & Co. will be open for business. They're offering:

50% off of all yarn
75% off of all novelty yarns, book and bags.

Also, if you're interested in any of the fixtures, furniture, storage bins, etc., you can stop by. Sean, the owner, says in his latest e-mail blast: "No reasonable offer will be refused. ... And if you want a momento of the shop, we're selling the logo boxes...make me an offer!"

Woolcott & Co. Sale: 50% Off Totes, Patterns $1, Samples

At the Woolcott & Co. closing sale, books and tote bags are now 50% off and single patterns are now $1.00 each. They're also putting knitted samples on sale.

Woolcott & Co. to Close; Clearance Sale Starts Today

Harvard Square is losing its yarn store. After decades in the square, Woolcott & Co. will be closing its doors.

The exact date that the store will close hasn't been settled yet; it will depend partly on how fast the owner can sell off the inventory.

Woolcott's going-out-of-business sale starts today. Everything in the shop is at least 25% off; novelty yarns will be 50% off.

Sean, the owner, is planning to start a new venture, PersonalKnitter.com. [Note: I'm including a link, but it's not up and running as of this writing.] He describes it as a service sort of like a personal trainer for knitters.

Details on the Woolcott store closing and the new venture from Sean's blog post.

40% Off Book Sale at Knitpicks

KnitPicks is having its annual fall book sale. The deal is 40% off all books in stock (so no discount on the books in their Upcoming Releases section). They don't have every knitting book under the sun, but they have a decent selection. And if you are spending more than $50, shipping is free. Here's the KnitPicks book section.

Oct. 3, 2009 edited to add: Another good reason to shop for books on KnitPicks: in many cases, they have many more photos of projects from the books than other web sites, including Amazon and the publishers' own web sites.

Pine Street Inn Knitathon Is Nov. 8

Prizes, guest speakers, food and fun are promised for the 2009 Pine Street Inn Knit-a-Thon.

The Knit-a-Thon raises money to benefit Pine Street Inn’s Supportive Housing Program, which provides permanent housing for formerly homeless people. And the blankets made during the Knit-a-Thon are given to residents of the program.

The way it works: Before the event, participants knit or crochet up as many 9” squares as possible. On the day of the event, the squares are sewn together into afghans. You can help by:

• knitting or crocheting squares,
  
• raising money,
  
• making a donation, and/or
  
• showing up on Nov. 8 to help sew squares into afghans.

Last year 40 blankets were made and nearly $20,000 was raised.

Pine Street Inn makes it easy to create your own fundraising web page (through the site FirstGiving.com) so you can collect donations online.

Learn more about the Knit-a-Thon, or sign up, here.

Knit-a-Thon Info

Date: Sunday, November 8, 2009

Time: 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (you can come anytime during that window)

Location:

GE Healthcare
116 Huntington Ave.
Boston, MA 02116
map

GE Healthcare is near three T stops (Copley or Prudential on the Green Line; Back Bay on the Orange Line). Parking is available in the building, according to the Knit-A-Thon web page.

World Wide Knit in Public Weekend June 13 and 14 (and 20 and 21)

World Wide Knit in Public Day (WWKiP) is actually a KiP weekend this year. It's June 13th and 14th. Most of the events will be held on the 13th, a Saturday, but it's extending over the weekend for those who can't do a Saturday. (Some places are holding events on June 20 and 21 as well, because the 13th and 14th is the weekend of the TNNA conference, but all the Massachusetts KiPs listed are for the 13th or 14th.)

Find local KiPs here.

May 10 Reading at Porter Square Books

Knit One, Read Too, the monthly knitting group at Porter Square Books will have an author reading during its May 10 meeting. Kristen Rengren talk about her new book, Vintage Baby Knits (Abrams, $27.50). The store offers a 10% discount during the knitting group for those who attend, so if you want to buy the book after hearing Rengren speak, you can take advantage of that.

Here's a Knitty article by Rengren on vintage patterns. (Thanks to Jane J. at Porter Square Books for the link.)

The Knit One, Read Too group meets from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. on the second Sunday of each month (except for April's meeting, which will take place on April 5 -- the store is closed on the second Sunday of April, for Easter.)

For more information, contact the store at info@portersquarebooks.com or (617) 491-2220.

Soliciting Yarn Store Reviews, Info on Local Fiber Groups

In an effort to recreate the older version of this blog on the new platform, I'd like to ask people to send me reviews of yarn stores in Massachusetts and I will post them here.

I am also working on recreating the lists of yarn stores and knitting/crochet/spinning/dyeing/fiber groups and guilds in Massachusetts that were on my old blog. If you run or participate in such a group and would like it to be listed, please send information on:

• where and when the group meets,
• whether there's a charge to attend,
• contact information in case people want more info, and
• any other information you think might be helpful.

Please note: I may identify yarn store reviewers by first name (unless the reviewer gives me permission to use his/her whole name). If you don't want your name mentioned at all, let me know that. There may be some reviews I won't publish, or will edit -- for instance, if they seem very self-promotional, libelous, what have you. If you're a yarn store owner or employee, you're welcome to send in a review/rundown of your own store and what it offers -- but please do note your connection with the shop. Thanks!

Michaels Arts & Crafts Store Expanding Yarn Offerings

A knitter named Melinda writes:

I went to Michaels yesterday. It was okay (nothing medium - high end). However, there was a sign posted indicating that a new yarn department would be coming this spring.

This was the Michaels in Danvers, Mass. I emailed Michaels to find out whether yarn departments in any of its other stores would also be expanded, but haven't received an answer.

One More Year to Wait for Updated (and Affordable) Principles of Knitting

Someone called F Vine commented on the old version of this blog that the publication date for June Hemmons Hiatt's revised version of this book has been pushed back to November 2010. (The commenter got the information via this post on Amazon.) For those who are unfamiliar with the book, Principles of Knitting is a comprehensive reference that has a five-star rating on Amazon and is selling used for $100-$200. A completely revised, updated edition was originally due out this fall.

Thanks to F Vine for the info.

Update, 2/3/09, 3:00 p.m.: Jane of Porter Square Books (she runs the monthly knitting group there) called the publisher directly and was told the book is coming out October 2010. So, that's at least only a 12-month delay instead of 13 months -- if they stick to that date.