Dear Friends of The Blue Purl,
Zoom fatigue is real.
No, we really mean real. There is science behind it! So, you’re not going crazy if after a day staring at the screen, you feel wiped out. Apparently, this is especially true for women.
We have learned a lot about ourselves, and about each other, during this pandemic. One thing we have learned is that we are, if nothing else, adaptable. With little preparation, we immediately switched to life largely online.
But now, hold onto your hats, we are beginning to emerge. More and more of us are being vaccinated. The weather is turning lovely. And while we must still be patient and still follow best practices—like social distancing – we're excited to celebrate NJ WoolWalk with all of you.
It will be different this year. And please remember that we are still in a pandemic. But, get your fun on and come by The Blue Purl and mark this fun rite of passage with us.
The shop is full of trunk-shows, and yarn and sales - oh my. Marianated is here with her beautiful hand dyes and samples all week - )
Laurie Brekke with Sandnes Garn will be here on Sunday with Double Sunday :) - and Lori Versaci's trunk show is stunning!
AND we have an embarrassment of riches with three Woolfolk trunk shows and the Fibre Co.
If we have learned anything this year, it is that our strength can often be our weakness. We are all driven, all determined, all committed to sticking with our craft. That has meant a lot of waiting, because we can only let a few people in the shop at a time, and it has meant a lot of screen time.
You know, those who suffer the most, it seems, are not those who are emotionally fragile, but those who are strong. Why? Because they think they can handle it all, and so just keep taking it on. That is true so many of you – and it is true of us,
which is how we end up with Zoom Fatigue.
You are all there, all present, all engaged as if this is normal, staring into each other’s eyes, day after day (or staring at ourselves, if you have self-view on). It’s not normal, but we do it, because we are responsible and committed and really had no choice.
We are getting a bit fried.
So this is just a reminder, take some time off; use your vacations; stay away from screens whenever possible; make an old school phone call; go for a walk, or run, or swim; play some tennis (or pickleball). And speak up. If there is anything we can do for you, please let us know.
And please join us for NJ Wool Walk. It’s fun (there are a lot of sales) and it’s not on screen.

Come say hi to Patty and Wendy and the whole Blue Purl team. We are there for you. On screen and off.
connect + create
Patty, Wendy & TBP Team
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BYOB - Please Bring Your Own Bags! |
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We had started asking you to BYOB just before the pandemic began to support Madison's initiative. Let's get back there! |
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SEE WHAT WE'RE UP TO! FOLLOW US ON INSTAGRAM
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NJ WOOLWALK HOURS:
Saturday, 4/17: 10- 5pm
Sunday, 4/18: 10-5pm
Monday, 4/19: closed
Tuesday, 4/20: 11-4pm
Wednesday, 4/21: 11- 7pm
Thursday, 4/22: 11-4pm
Friday, 4/23: 11-4pm
Saturday, 4/24: 11-5pm
Sunday, 4/25: Closed, back to regular programming
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6 customers at a time are allowed in the shop for half hour shopping.
- Face masks MUST be worn.
- Phone/facetime/email sales and curbside pickup will continue
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Please limit your in-person visit to 30 minutes when we have others waiting.
- NO Appointments during WoolWalk
- NO yarn winding services during WoolWalk
- We can NOT offer knitting help/fixing mistakes in the shop at this time due to social distancing guidelines. Thank you for understanding. Call us and we'll try to arrange for help.
- Sales are for yarn in store inventory only.
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We're showcasing 3 Jersey Gals for Blue Purl's WoolWalk 2021. Nope, it's not a new band. It's Lori Versaci of VersaciKnits, Marian of Marianated Yarns and Mother Knitter (Laurie Brekke) of Sandnes Garn Yarns. We have lots of special items from their creative minds for you to explore. |
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Lori Versaci of VersaciKnits stopped by and we now have 20 pieces of her amazing samples. She may have been distracted by colorful yarn while we picked through her tote of knits. There were two of us and only one of her. These will all be showcased during WoolWalk but we couldn't resist offering a little sneak peak.
Lineage is a classic elegant vest knit in Woolfolk Tov DK, a gorgeous 3 season piece. Number 10 is a stunning, fun long shawl worked in 10 colors of fingering weight yarn. Fine Lines is a colorful and sporty classic spring sweater, worked in Kelbourne Andorra. These have already made it into our queues for this year. Beautiful, restful, fun knits! All patterns can be purchased on Ravelry. The yarn is in our shop.
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Another of our favorites from Lori Versaci's collection is the Luminous Shawl, a simple wrap using a skein of hand-dyed fingering and mohair lace. We were a little excited by the color possibilities and made kits with Baah La Jolla and Shibui Silk Cloud. You can find the Luminous pattern on Ravelry and the kits are available in store only for WoolWalk. |
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We are so fortunate to have Marianated Yarns in all week! Marian is dropping off her trunk show & yarn with us for all of WoolWalk. Her beautiful hand dyes, amazing gradient sets, and loads of special kits (some pictured above) will be with us for the duration of the WoolWalk! She may be here on Saturday for a bit also...
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Sandnes Garn with Mother Knitter |
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Laurie Brekke (Mother Knitter) will be here to show us (and sell!!!) the new Sandnes Garn Double Sunday X Petite Knit yarn new to the US from Norway. Big buzz around this yarn!
She will also bring the Sandnes Garn Pattern Books and some new Plystre Bags and needle cases. There are also some other goodies that haven't been seen here yet in her bag of tricks. She really is a knitting Mary Poppins.
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Best of Fibre Co Trunk Show |
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The Fibre Company's Best Of Fibre Co. Collection is also at the Blue Purl for WoolWalk. I bet you're wondering how all this fits in our shop. Just you wait! The collection includes 3 lightweight sweaters and 3 shawls. We pulled out 2 of our favorites, the Glykos Shawl (left) in Luma, a DK cotton/linen/wool blend and Irish Sea (right) worked in Meadow, a light fingering mix of wool, llama, silk & linen. Our pictures do not do justice to the beautiful texture of all the pieces. The softness and drape will inspire your knitting plans for months. All patterns are available for purchase on Ravelry and the yarn is available in our shop. |
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Did you see Joji Locatelli's latest pattern. We love the colorful lightweight summery feel of this shawl. The Linen Summer shawl is knit in fingering weight with 3 fun colors, ready for a cool summer evening of dining outdoors. We put color combos together in Shibui Pebble & Dan Doh Silk+ and of course, these will be on sale during WoolWalk. You can find the pattern on Ravelry. The yarn sale is only available in our shop during WoolWalk week. |
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Want to get your winter wardrobe ready? Check out Andrea Mowry's Ochre Moss, worked in 2 colors of Jill Draper Kingston. This cozy relaxed sweater is knit bottom-up using a simple colorwork pattern to create texture throughout the piece. We loved working with Kingston in our Hard Cider winter knit-along. The yarn blooms beautifully after blocking. Yes, we pulled out a few of our favorite color combos. The Ochre Moss pattern can be found on Ravelry and Kingston is available online or in the shop. |
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Two days and counting until NJ WoolWalk 2021! If you haven't figured it out, we have a lot of plans for this event. (We may have been planning since early 2020).
Special Deals:
20% off all in-stock Shibui, Rowan, Dan Doh, Berroco, Cascade, Plymouth, & Sirdar
10% off all in-stock Blue Sky Fibers, Fibre Co., Kelbourne Woolens, Kenzie, Noro & (non trunk show) Sandnes Garn
20% off in-stock kits, books, pattern leaflets.
Sidewalk sale (weather permitting) with clearance bins of yarns & notions, all final sale & not subject to additional discounts.
Special Giveaways:
- Every purchase gets a Blue Purl Needle Tracker, while supplies last.
- Every $25+ purchase gets a limited edition Blue Purl stitch marker, while supplies last.
- Every $100+ purchase gets a Blue Purl insulated tumbler, while supplies last
- 4 special baskets for random prizes.
Boring important details:
Discounts only apply to in store, in-stock purchases (no online sales).
Clearance items are Final Sale & no additional discounts.
No discounts for special order items or preorders.
Refunds offered within 30 days of sale, with receipt, otherwise store credit.
Store credit offered up to 60 days of sale.
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Don't forget to purchase your WoolWalk passports. You'll need these to get all the discounts & join the giveaways & door prizes during WoolWalk week. |
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2 NJ Designer Patterns for Wool Walk |
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But wait, there's more! The folks at the NJ WoolWalk organization have free patterns for all you WoolWalkers. There is a free knit shawl pattern, the Garden State Shawl by Shaina Bilow, and a free crochet cowl pattern, the Pixel Cowl by Nicole Colella. Just ask us for the download codes or copies of the pattern when you check out! |
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Besides the launch of NJ WoolWalk 2021, did you know Saturday is also LOCAL YARN STORE Day? Who knew all the yarn shops in the country decided to celebrate with us in NJ? We always knew New Jersey is a pretty influential state.
Several yarn companies are offering free pattern codes to some of their popular designs, with yarn purchase of their brands. We LOVE Woolfolk's hat, FORENE, knit in 2 skeins of FAR. This pattern will be released on LYS Day. Berroco is offering a 5 pattern leaflet for online download. There's also a mosaic scarf pattern from Cascade and many more from Plymouth. Just ask us on Saturday, 4/17, when you purchase their yarn brands.
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Did you make it down this far into the newsletter? If you did, look what showed up in our deliveries this yesterday? Just in time for all these great knitting ideas- Spun Right Round in fingering and DK weight. If you're not familiar with the brand, Spun Right Round is a small batch dyer based in Rochester, NY. Because these are all hand dyed, there are no dye lots but lots of beautiful individual skeins of art. Be sure to check them out on your WoolWalk trek! |
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Laine Issue 11 & 52 Weeks of Shawls |
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We're still taking preorders for 52 Weeks of Shawls & Laine Issue 11. These will come out at the end of April & early May, respectively. Please note: these are not part of the WoolWalk discounts. Preorder 52 Weeks of Shawls and Laine 11 online or in store. |
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Isn't this the cutest poncho?! Ilene used Sandnes Garn Alpakka Ull to make the Sandcastle poncho. This pattern is an easy throw-over for babies to children. Love this Ilene! Thanks for sharing :) |
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Eleanor was in the shop with her beautiful Log Cabin Blanket. The class pattern we used was part of this pattern and part (the picking up stitches part) of this pattern! Ahhhh, but all the blankets are beautiful. Love your Berroco Vintage colors Eleanor! |
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Geneva has made at least 11 of these stockings she learned in one of Keri's classes and now the names are going! These NL3 Christmas Socks are perfect for the mix and match pattern & easy to make each one individual. We're planning on offering this class again! Fantastic Geneva! |
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Janet's BEAUTIFUL Lightweight Hipster by Joji Locatelli is knit up in Baah's La Jolla and is a perfect 1 skein project. It's also super "lightweight" and perfect for a little summer throw on US 7 needles with loads of drop stitches. Lovely Janet!. |
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We love Carol's Easy Peasy Scarf. This sequence pattern is a great intro to sequence knitting and so soft and squishy in Fibre Co. Acadia - Kits available online. Beautiful Carol! |
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Check out Tam's adorable Magnolia Mini by Camilla Vad, knit in Sandnes Garn Line. It will be here for WoolWalk, then a lucky little girl will enjoy it for the season. |
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Cherie made the Woodstock Shawl by Vanessa Coscarelli Black. The eyelets and tassels give it that relaxed feel - reminiscent of those crochet shawls from say....1969! Groovy Cherie! |
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Gretchen worked up these two sweet blankets. One is the Baby Blossom Chunky Blanket the other has a seed stitch edge and is made in Encore. So cute Gretchen! |
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