Truck Report 4/29/2011

Good morning, Woolfans! We hope you had a lovely week, and have something good planned for the weekend.

The Pendleton truck showed up right on schedule and delivered around 200 pounds of fuzzy selvage.

Don't despair if you were hoping for something else, though -- we still have two bins full of blanket header, one bin of wooly worms, and several bins of larger blanket pieces from previous deliveries.

And if you're a Facebook fan, we've got an extra treat for you this weekend. Head over to our fan page and print out the fans-only coupon for an extra discount on your Woolen Mill Store purchases this weekend.

A Special Deal for Our Facebook Fans

Are you a fan of the Pendleton Woolen Mill Store on Facebook?

We're offering a special reward just for our Facebook fans this weekend -- Friday, April 29th - Sunday, May 1st.

If you're already a Facebook fan, you can visit our fan page and print out a coupon to use at the Woolen Mill Store this weekend. If you aren't a fan yet, it's not too late! "Like" us on Facebook and you'll have instant access to our fans-only weekend coupon.

Why Wool is Awesome #8: Sports!

Wool is so versatile... it is useful in so many different arenas. Like the sports arena! If you take apart a baseball layer by layer, at the core you'll find a ball of wool yarn. And fuzzy, fun, bouncy tennis balls are covered in a layer of wool felt. You might also find wool ON your favorite sports stars in the form of jackets, hats, socks, and more.

New Classes for May 2011

We wanted to give you a heads-up about some new classes we're offering at the Woolen Mill Store in May.

On Sunday, May 1st, join us to make a Felt Bouquet -- just in time for Mother's Day! No sewing required to bring bright, soft, everlasting flowers to life. The entire garden is within your creative grasp. Bring a picture of Mom's favorite blooms for inspiration, if you like.

On Sunday, May 15th, learn all about Dyeing Wool. Wool is a lovely fiber to dye -- it has a hollow core, so it takes color beautifully. It's fun and easy to combine colors to create your own custom hues! We suggest wearing something you don't mind getting messy and bringing a towel to class.

Check out our full class list for May and June by clicking the Classes tab above. To register for a class, please call the store at (503) 535-5786.

Truck Report 4/22/2011

Happy Earth Day, Woolfans!

We're all about recycling around here... turning scraps from our Pacific Northwest mills into all sorts of creative projects. Wool is pretty "green" to begin with -- after all, it's a very renewable resource! Our Eco-Wise wool line goes a step further, making the manufacturing process even gentler on the Earth. Read all about it on the Pendleton website.

The Pendleton truck brought us some lovely creative inspiration this week:

• 350 pounds of fuzzy selvage ($3 per pound)


• 150 pounds of blanket header ($3 per pound)


• 150 pounds of wooly worms ($0.50 per pound)

And we've got some larger blanket remnants available in our $5 per pound bins, too!

The truck also brought us some exciting new colors of Colorplay carded wool -- new shades of brown, green, and blue to add to our color palette.

Celebrate Spring with Felt Chicks!

Isn't this little chick too cute for words?

Photo and tutorial from Craft Snob

Even better -- it's attached to a hair clip! Give us a few minutes to get crafty and we'll all be wearing chicks at the Woolen Mill Store.

Celebrate Spring with Felt Flowers

Check out this tutorial for making supercute felt flowers!

Photo and tutorial from Craftaholics Anonymous.

We think these sweet little blossoms would look lovely made from our wool felt binding!

Truck Report 4/15/2011

Good morning, Woolfans!

The Pendleton truck brought us a little bit of everything on Thursday afternoon: 200 pounds of blanket header, 200 pounds of wooly worms, and 200 pounds of selvage!

Have a crafttastic weekend!

Community Craft Night 4/20/2011

Heads up, crafty friends! Our next Community Craft Night will be Wednesday, April 20th from 5-7pm.

If you like companionship when you craft, Community Craft Night is your chance to hang out with other crafty types from the Portland area! Bring a craft in progress (we all have at least one, right?) -- we'll all be working on our projects-of-the-moment.

No RSVP necessary; just swing by the store and join us.

FAQ: Felting Wool

One question we hear often at the Woolen Mill Store is: what happens if I wash this fabric? How do I felt your wool?

The short answer is this: WONDERFUL things happen when you wash our wool. Heat + moisture + agitation = thick, fluffy, fuzzy, beautiful fabric.

If you've visited our store, you may or may not have seen our felting wall (pictured above). Behind our fabric rolls, we have samples of different weights of wool fabric after being washed in hot water. You can see and feel what happens to worsted, flannel, lightweight jacquard, heavyweight jacquard, and other fabrics.

Every fabric is different, so it's always a good idea to test a swatch before trying to felt the whole piece. That way, you can see how it will behave when exposed to heat, moisture, and agitation. Some fabrics will shrink, some fabrics will thicken, some will do both.

Felting wool is super easy:

1. Wash in warm or hot water.
2. Tumble dry warm.
3. Repeat if desired.

The fabric will make the most dramatic change on the first washing, but may continue to change with more runs through the washer. Once you're happy with the amount of felting, you can wash your fabric or finished product in cold water and it shouldn't change shape anymore.

Here are some wool felting tips we've heard from customers over the years:

• Throw an old pair of jeans, a pair of sneakers, or some tennis balls into the washer with your fabric to be felted. This will help increase agitation.
• Use the lowest water level your machine offers. Some machines do a small/medium/large setting for water level.
• You don't have to use fancy detergent in the wash when you're felting -- even a squirt of shampoo will do.
• Top-loading washers tend to be better for felting than front-loading washers.

Truck Report 4/8/2011

Good morning, Woolfans!

Another Friday has arrived, and it's time for the Truck Report. Neither wind, nor hail, nor freaky thunderstorms and unspringlike weather can stop the Pendleton truck from making its weekly visit to the Woolen Mill Store. (But didja see that hailstorm on Wednesday afternoon? Crazy!)

The mill has been busy, and as a result we've had lots of fuzzy selvage come through the doors lately. This week is no different -- more than 700 pounds of selvage showed up!

Have a craft-tastic weekend!

Creative Customers: Sandy's Braided Rugs

We *love* rugs here at the Woolen Mill Store. Our most popular class is our Wool Rug Crochet class (next offering is April 9th), but crochet isn't the only way to do it. Rug hookers, braiders, weavers, and more hit the store for supplies.

Creative customer Sandy stopped by recently to show off a few of her braided creations -- aren't they fantastic?

It's so great for us to see all the wonderful things our wool can become. Many many many thanks to Sandy for bringing in a few fantastic creations for us to see!

Truck Report 4/1/2011

Good morning, Woolfans! Here's hoping your April first greets you with sunshine and new flowers -- and not too many pranks.

The Pendleton truck showed up on schedule Thursday afternoon, bringing us crafty goodness! We unloaded around 300 pounds of selvage and a 30 pound bag of fabric scraps (we wouldn't quite call them header pieces but they sure are fun to play with!).