Giving shawls a bad "wrap"?

Someone e-mailed recently and told me they are so glad Tulsa "finally has a great modern yarn store." And this may be bad for a modern yarn store owner to say, but I love me some shawls. Yes, I said shawls. Or, as most book editors currently refer to them in order to make them sound more hip, "wraps."

Last year, my (younger) sister gave me a birthday card that said, in big letters, "Welcome to Oldville!" And, in smaller letters, "Grab a shawl."

Well, I'm either living in Oldville, or I've just learned that shawls/wraps can be very, very cool - with the right yarn and pattern. So just to prove it, why not knit up one of the examples below, then throw on your new wrap and go dance to Justin Timberlake at some swanky club while drinking Appletinis. Or whatever.

Example #1: Yesterday, we got in new colors of Prism yarn. This amazing stuff (literally, it's called "Cool Stuff" or "Wild Stuff") changes yarns as you go, having been lovingly hand dyed to match and carefully attached end-to-end. The wrap in the background is made from two "half-skeins" of Stuff and two skeins of Touch Me for the gorgeous fringe. Pattern is free with yarn purchase:


Example #2: "Helen's Lace" from Lorna's Laces. We received their new spring colors yesterday. This "Pie Wedge Shawl" pattern is an easy lace pattern (no, that's not an oxymoron - lace really can be easy!) and best of all, the pattern is printed on the inside of the label, and only takes one skein for a very generous, sexy wrap:


Example #3: Louisa Harding's new books arrived yesterday. A-b-s-o-l-u-t-e-l-y awesome! Every pattern in each of these books is something I would love to make. I'm having trouble deciding! And they all make beautiful use of her wonderfully coordinated new yarns. (By the way, I think we have one of the best Louisa selections in the U.S.) Check out the new yarn "Coquette" with tiny sequins. And look at the "Mexican wrap" on the cover of the first book:


Examples #4 & #5: Sherry always has at least a couple of wraps under wraps! I coaxed her to show me a couple of her new creations. First, Sherry is wearing a free pattern called Rita's Wrap (click link and scroll down for pattern) made from 2 skeins Colinette "Point 5" and 1 skein "Gossamer." The other pattern is a work in progress using Suss "Bunny" and "Love."



Well I guess I'll wrap it up for now...but I've got so many more photos to show you of new stuff rolling in! Look for another entry later next week. OR just pop in the store and I'll show you in person :)

- Shelley