No, it's not December and Chanukah has not begun.  After the hurricane I lost power.  My son said that one good thing about being Jewish is that you always have candles.  So, I brought out the menorah, lit a few candles and knit peacefully.  There was no TV, radio, computer or other distractions.  Just me and  my knitting.  I was really fortunate.  I was able to hook up my sump pump to my neighbors generator with about 18 extension cords going between the two houses, so my basement didn't flood.  I had to keep the doors open ever so slightly to accomodate the cords, and had to booby trap the doors, so the kitties wouldn't escape which they inevitably tried and almost succeeded.  The power came back about 3:30 am on Tuesday morning.  I feel so very lucky.  I know there has been great devastation to other parts of New Jersey.  Mill Race Village, where my store used to be was hit particularly hard. Lots of folks told me how soothing knitting was during the hurricane.  I have to agree. I am so glad that I know how to knit.

Here are some completed projects from classes that we have.  Jamie likes our Tuesday night knitting class and is gung ho on making things for her kids.  She recently found out a third one is on the way, so she just had to make a pixie hat from the Vintage Baby Knits book.   This one is made out of Jojoland Superwash Melody and is cute as can be. All we need is the baby to model it for us.

 And here is her Baby Surprise jacket out of Jojoland Rhythm Superwash.  This baby will be well dressed.

A finished poncho from Mary, modeled by Lisa.  This one is knit out of Cascade Lana Grande. I hear ponchos are coming back in a big way this fall.

 Jeanne was constantly coming in for more Cascade 220, I couldn't imagine what she was making.  Here it is -- Babette's Blanket, crocheted out of Cascade 220 and Plymouth Worsted Superwash Merino.  She did a fabulous job.

 Janet has been knitting up a storm (no pun intended).  She completed 3 sweaters, several scarves and hats and is working on 2 baby blankets this summer.  This is the Wallaby she made for her sister, who tried it on and it fit perfectly!

 Jane made this Wrap Me up Shawl this summer using SWTC Karaoke and trimmed it with Plymouth Worsted Superwash Merino.  It's going to look great over a black coat.

We've been getting in tons of new yarn. Here's a little preview:

Balder from Viking -- it's a chunky superwash yarn, great for baby blankets

Bazinga from Plymouth, a self-striping chunky wool/acrylic blend

This is Voyage from Berocco, made of an alpaca/nylon blend it has a chained construction for a light and airy feel.

 Casbah -- merino/cashmere blend sock yarn by Handmaiden

 New Noro Kureyon and Silk Garden colors

 Juli is a chunky alpaca/nylon blend with a little bit of glitz

 Lustrous Extrafine Merino DK -- merino/nylon blend that really glows

 Dream in Color Smooshy with Cashmere sock yarn

Classic Elite's Vista -- alpaca/merino blend

Classic Elite Toboggan -- chunky wool/alpaca blend -- great for hats, mittens, scarves and sweaters

And here is Rowan Fine Lace -- A Suri Alpaca/Merino Blend -- there's a book of patterns for this yarn coming out in a few weeks -- can't wait to see all of the beautiful shawls.

  Dr. Who -- lots of folks have been coming in lately looking for their Dr. Who scarf colors.  I was really surprised when my daughter, Emma  who was in the shop a few weeks ago, announced that she just had to make a Dr. Who scarf and could I help.  You have to understand that she is 17.  Even though she has known how to knit since she was 10, she doesn't.  And I didn't push it, because I know that the more I push the more she will push back and would never ever knit.  So I waited and lo and behold -- it took a TV show to get her interested once again.  Last week a gal came in with a list of colors of Cascade 220 that she needed.   I immediately recognized what she wanted to do, so I ran off the list of colors that Emma is using and she bought them all happily.  So, in case you are looking for Dr. Who scarf colors, this is what Emma and I picked out (in no special order):
Cascade 220 8622 - Caramel Brown
Cascade 220 8885 - Dark Plum
Cascade 220 2453 - Pumpkin Spice
Cascade 220 2415 - Sunflower
Cascade 220 9459 - Yakima Heather
Cascade 220 9473 - Gris
Cascade 220 9488 - Christmas Red Heather

We are following the pattern from this website.  As it happens, Rachel came in the shop yesterday with her completed Dr. Who scarf, sans fringe, which she proceeded to put on while we were all knitting.  Rachel happens to be Emma's age and they are friends.  I immediately called Emma on the phone and told her.   Well, she is knitting as I am writing this blog post.  But, I am not saying another word.

Here is Rachel's finished scarf -- she says that it's over 15 feet long.

I have a Tuesday afternoon beginning knitting class, using the Barbara Walker Learn to Knit afghan book.  After 6 months, folks wanted to knit something more than squares.   So, I got out Sally Melville's "The Knit Stitch" and of course, some of the gals wanted to knit Einstein Jacket. 

Here's Janet's first knitted item that she made for herself.  When she started the jacket, she wanted to make a size large, but I remebered some folks complaining their jackets were too big, so I talked her into a medium size.  When she completed the bottom portion, we measured it on her and it looked like the medium size would fit.  So, she did the fronts and backs and as we tried them on, I wasn't so sure --  Janet thought, well, if it doesn't fit, I'll give it to my sister.  But I was a little worried.  All that work.  But as you can see, the finished result is absolutely perfect.  And Janet gets the prize for finishing the coat in record time -- just about 2 weeks.  I may have to hire her to knit for the shop!  Oh yeah, she used Cascade Eco Wool and size 10.75 needles!

Sherry lives in Georgia and works in Staten Island.  On her trips home, she always stops at Woolbearers for my hand dyed sock yarn.  I am so thrilled that she would take the time to do that.  Here is a sock she made out of Woolbearers' Merino and Bamboo sock yarn in the color Cranberry Bog.  Something to remember New Jersey by.

 

Another gal from my Tuesday class, Sharon,  knit the poncho from "The Knit Stitch" out of Cascade Lana Grande.  This is her very first garment and she did a beautiful job.  The gal who is modeling it, Liz,  is also in the middle of making an Einstein jacket.

New Noni patterns --  this is the Bettie Boop bag and it was alot of fun to make.  I just have to find the right handles.

 Sydney's son got interested in knitting from the "Big Book of Knitted Monsters" by Rebecca Danger. Love that Dinosaur.

New Ab Fab afghan kits from Colinette.

And -- it's that time of year.  LOTS of new yarn coming in.  More about that later ....