Due to the Covoid Lockdown the Shop is closed until further notice. We are still taking orders and doing deliveries. If you wish to order message us on our Facebook page or email me at lorraine@woolybutt.com.au

We have some beautiful yarns that have arrived in the Shop plus the famous pom poms have landed to give those just knitted beanies a brilliant touch so when you have a chance come in and check them out!

Open!

The Shop is now open Tuesday to Friday 10am until 2pm and on a Saturday 10am until 1pm. We are still requiring you to hand sanitise at the door and we are limiting customers to three at a time to obey the social distancing rules. Despite this it is nice to be open and welcome the Woolybutt family back!

We wont be doing classes until social distancing rules lessen quite a bit as our classroom is fairly small but the staff is always ready to help people who maybe “stuck”. As soon as classes are back I will let you know.

We are continuing our delivery service for those of you who are self-isolating or who can’t get to the shop easily.

Stay safe and well,

Lorraine

Ah the winter knitting season is nearly upon us and the new yarns are starting to appear. Fairly soon we’ll be doing the big changeover from summer to winter yarns. You can still purchase summer yarns but they will be soon in the back rooms of the Shop. Easter comes early this year so don’t forget to stock up on a project to do over the Easter vacation! Talking of Easter my elderly Aunt (96 this coming weekend) was bitten on the arm by a baby bunny and has developed a nasty ulcer which stopped her knitting endeavours. She had been knitting knee rugs for the residents of her retirement home who use a new mini bus for when they go on trips. I now have the job of finishing them off for her until her arm heals, so my Easter message is beware of  bunnies no matter how cute or little they are and stick to the chocolate variety!

We now do deliveries to the following hospitals free of charge: the Austin, the Olivier Newton John Wellness Centre and Box Hill. It is probably easiest to phone your order in and pay for it over the phone and we’ll deliver it to you as soon as possible.

Current Projects: the knitted knee rugs (see above), baby bunnies (the woolly kind) for the window and a summer shrug which may have to be abandoned until next summer as I’m getting itchy fingers looking at the new yarns!

The end of the year is nearly here and summer is not far off. All the new summer yarns are now in stock at Woolybutt as well as new colours in some old favourites such as Cotton Blend and Heirloom Pure Cotton (both 8 and 4 ply). For those knitting wintery items for people overseas all our winter yarns are still available although many have been moved to the back room of the Shop. Woolybutt is also well-stocked with both knitting and crochet books which are ideal gifts for others or why not treat yourself? We also have Gift Vouchers available for all those people that you don’t know quite what to buy them.
The Melbourne Cup Day Holiday is here on Tuesday but for the first time in many years Woolybutt will be open on the Monday before it i.e Monday the 4th of November!
Lana is back in the Shop after her long illness. Many thanks to Rowena for filling in, I know her enthusiasm and care has been much appreciated by many.
Current projects: Remembrance poppies for the Shop, a summer cardigan for a certain little girl and summer scarves for the Shop.
Happy knitting
Lorraine

Finally winter is here although the “snow bunnies’ haven’t had their snow yet. It is certainly hard getting out of bed these mornings and to get the bones working. I love winter ‘though because it the time of year for hearty winter soups and casseroles and delicious hot chocolate drinks. It is also the time of year for winter woollies and Woolybutt is jam-packed with delicious yarns itching to be made up into snuggly garments.
The trend this winter is definitely towards large ply yarns that can be knitted pretty quickly. The colours in these are just gorgeous and with a bit of dedicated knitting one can produce a garment in a weekend. We now stock a very good range of Katia yarns including those that have been featured in the Knitting/Crochet booklets in Better Homes and Gardens magazines in recent months and if we don’t have a particular colour we can order it and Katia (unlike some suppliers) are very responsive and the yarn is in the Shop in a matter of days.
There has been some changes going on in the staffing of Woolybutt. Both Lana and I have been ill and while I am back in the Shop now Lana is still battling ill-health. As a result a new person has joined the team, Rowena. Rowena is a highly skilled knitter and is one of our teachers on a Saturday morning. She knows her yarn and techniques thoroughly and she has the added advantage of being tall so some of those pesky yarns just out of reach for us “short-stops” can be easily accessed by her!
A new numbering system is being introduced for the Shop so that everyone is seen in order. We have decided that this is the best way to deal with those mad days at this time of the year when the place fills with people. This is being introduced as a trial and we’ll see how it goes.
Many people access patterns through the Internet now and come into the Shop asking what ply yarn to use. A quick solution is to look at the size needles it uses i.e. 4mm = 8ply, 5mm= 10ply. if the needle size is stated in US sizes there are Knitting needle conversion charts available on the Internet and many purchased Knitting gauges had US size conversions printed on them as well. Remember the conversion applies the same for crochet i.e. for 8ply wool you use a 4mm crochet hook.
Current projects: a pink and grey child’s overtunic for the Shop (a Katia pattern), a cardigan for myself and a snuggly warm cowl out of super thick snuggly yarn.
Well happy knitting until next month,
Lorraine

The last of the winter yarns and patterns have now arrived and they are absolutely gorgeous. There are thick yarns, thinner yarns and the standard 8plys but they have all had the magic colour wand waved over them and the colours are breathtaking. We stock Katia and it is highly featured in this month’s Better Home and Gardens magazine. The colours and variety are amazing and my husband has already picked out an 8ply for a new jumper surprisingly for him, in jewel tones! There are some special offers from a large store chain in this booklet. At Woolybutt we sell yarn at that discount year ’round which is why we don’t have sales as such. If you want to nab a real bargain check out our discontinued lines and the Bargain Room upstairs for some fantastic deals.
I have been very ill so I have not been in the Shop much lately (at one stage I couldn’t even knit)! I’m slowly getting better and at least I’m back to knitting so all is improving.
With the Easter fast approaching now is the time to buy wool for a nice project you can do over the holidays and some of the thick chunky Katia and Patons yarns lend themselves perfectly to short term projects.
I’ve just finished the cutest little crossover cardigan in Baby Loyal Prints. This is a new yarn from Naturally with all the great characteristics of Loyal but made specifically for little ones. It is a delight to knit and very pretty and like all the Loyal range comes in at a very low price point. I love knitting baby garments because they’re so quick to knit. This garment should be in the Shop fairly soon.
Current projects: still knitting the Grffyndor scarf for the granddaughter (it has to be extra long so it can be wrapped around a couple of times and being knitted in the round slows progress considerably). Cute Bunny egg cosies for the Shop for Easter and contemplating that jumper that husband is keen on! So nice to be back knitting…….

Summer is here with a vengeance and today is going to be very hot so when the worst of the heat arrives I plan to have chores done and be sitting either in front of the air conditioner or fan (depending on the room) and knitting! At Woolybutt the first of the indent orders have arrived so if you want to check it out please call in. There are some wonderful new colours from Patons in both Bluebell and Totem and this yarn is finally getting back to the glory that it once was. I remember knitting a huge number of my children’s garments in Bluebell because it was so versatile, it was light enough to be used for layering on those days when one wasn’t sure what the weather was going to do and it was machine washable with the added bonus that it came up looking new wash after wash and the colours were glorious. The good thing is that these light and bright colours have been matched with the heavier Totem if one wishes to knit a more wintry garment. There are some heavy yarns in the range which could easily be knitted up over weekends and once more the colours are very bright and fashionable.
Thanks to our dedicated suppliers Woolybutt is now restocked with large quantities of baby wool in all makes and plys so if there is a new baby about to arrive we have the yarn available.
Many people actually have asked me what we stock so here is a list:
Patons
Cleckheaton
Panda
Heirloom
Sirdar
Peter Pan
King Cole
Rowan
Katia
Filatura di Crosa
Mission Falls
Opal
South West Yarns
Noro
Sublime
Poems
We don’t stock every yarn in each range so it is a good idea to give the Shop a call and check, quite often if we don’t have the yarn in stock we can get it in for you!
Just a reminder that classes have recommenced so if you wish to join just call the Shop on 9458 3101.
Happy (and cool) knitting until next month,
Lorraine

Current projects: a Grffyndor scarf for my granddaughter, a slipped rib beanie (an experiment) possibly for the Shop in Sirdar’s Freckles.

The Christmas season at the Shop is in full swing. New stock has arrived from overseas including more sheep mugs, bags and last minute stocking stuffers like pens and pencils all featuring very cute sheep! We will be closed from this Saturday at 1pm until Monday the 20th of January so if you need to stock up pop in now.
To those of you with lay-bys please come and collect them or let us know if you no longer require them as we will be undertaking a renovation of this area through the holidays and all out-of-date lay-bys will be returned to stock.
It is not too late to quickly knit up some small gifts for Christmas – small scarf/neckwarmers are always welcome as are fingerless gloves for the cold time of the year. For time poor there is always knitting accessories and Woolybutt has lots of cute and innovative little things to warm the heart of both knitters and crocheters plus of course dome great books!
I do wish everyone a lovely, safe Holiday season and Happy Knitting until next year,
Lorraine

It has been a busy month for Woolybutt with the new summer yarns arriving almost on a  weekly basis. Many of the most popular summer yarns are now in the front room of the Shop and  the winter yarns are now located in the back room. We are carrying a huge stock of Patons Vintage blend Cotton (the old Panda Vintage Blend) so if you have the current edition of Better Homes and Gardens and want to make some of the glorious items that are featured we most certainly have the yarn. This yarn not only crochets beautifully but knits sublimely (I have one customer who has knitted eight garments in this yarn and loves it to bits! She does have a wool allergy so Vintage Blend is great for her). The pretty four ply Heirloom cottons have all arrived and are ideal for summer baby garments.

Christmas is coming and will be here very soon and there is a new Christmas Book from Panda now available plus quite a few new one’s from overseas so if you are looking for a Christmas project come in and have a browse.

We have started a second class of knitting/crochet having finally found a teacher! The good news is that there are now vacancies so if you want to brush up your skills or learn a new one for the summer holidays enrol now. Just call the Shop on 9458 3101.

Woolybutt will be closed on Saturday the 12th of October as we are taking a break to talk about what went right and what we could be doing better next year. We will re-open as normal on Monday 14th at 10am.

Current projects: Perfect Day jacket is nearly finished and am thinking about a new pullover in Cotton Blend plus starting to think about garments next year for the Shop!

Happy knitting until next month,

Lorraine