We have to congratulate Joy on getting aboard the Poncho train early. She actually made this for her sister LAST year. We referred to her sister as "Poncho" because at the time it was a pretty unique project. And Joy was nice enough to bring in this picture for the website yesterday. How cool is that?

Our customers and staff have been as busy as elves getting ready for the holidays! And we are always so thrilled when they show off their fabulous works!

Scarves and hats are incrediby popular (and quick!)

Hard to believe that Christina has only been knitting since the summer! Check out this Rowan beauty!

Our very own Adrian made this fabulous felted purse out of Noro Kureyon:

And we hope that our pal Charlotte isn't reading our site too often or she will find out about the Pop Top Glittens that we made her for Christmas:

More scarves on display:

And finally, many of you have seen Lew working on this fabulous sweater for one of his law partners, John. (There is quite a story about this, but the blog is not the place to go into details!) Isn't the finished project magnificent?

As many shop regulars know, Lew has been knitting hats, scarves, shawls,baby clothes and blankets, and other accessories for each of the lawyers who works in the advertising law group at Collier Shannon Scott. This week, he handed out four FOs!

First, Marsha received a beautiful and wild scarf made from Kollage Yarns. The yarn has eyelash, mohair and a ladder held together and it was perfect for Marsha:

Then, Meghan and Jasmine received hats made from Colinette's Point Five yarn. Both the hats and models are adorable:

Jill received a scarf made from Koigu and a mohair held together and knit in a seed stitch. It is elegant, soft, and screams to be touched:

Here is a close up of the stitch work:

Now, it's on two scarves for some of the men in the group.

Is your knitting group looking for a quick and fabulous project? Consider the WoolWinders Afghan! Each staff member did a square out of Debbie Bliss' ultra soft Cashmerino Superchunky on a size 13 needle. We used pattern stitches from Design Source's Four Seasons Throw. The result? We finished this in less than two weeks!! See it on display at the shop. The only problem that may result is determining who gets to keep it. We suggest a group rotation.

And we love when customers come in to model their latest creations. Here a new knitter proudly displays her first (and flawless) attempt:

Not to be outdone, our friend Jane shows off her tremendous (in so many ways) Christmas Stocking from a pattern by Design Source. We anticipate Santa leaving a DVD player in this one!

And our staff members display their amazing talents. Lisa is outfitted head to almost toe in her designs:

While Brooks models his sweater that he finished last week.

All we can say is WOW!

We have gotten such a kick out of our customers lately. Seems that more people are driving to Thanksgiving destinations, and more are leaving the driving to someone else so they can KNIT in the car! We have had many requests for road trip projects. So here are our tips. First, dp needles are tricky; they seem to have a habit of dropping to the driver's side of the car. So if you plan on doing socks or mittens, keep a firm hold on your needles! Second, you won't have a lot of measuring room in the car (unless you are in a mini van and can move to the back) so work on something that doesn't need to be measured between rest stops. We find shawls and scarves perfect, or complicated sweaters that can be knit to the armholes without having to be measured. Big needles are great. Circular are better; they don't escape! So whatever your desire, consult us for your Road Trip project. We've been there. We will help.

And we will be working on a poncho for 10 year old Audrey, our best pal's daughter, as we drive to New Jersey for Thanksgiving!

There are weeks at WoolWinders when ten customers will come in proudly displaying their individual completed projects. And then there are weeks when ONE customer will come in with her ten completed projects! So we proudly present Mary, with her early holiday gifts! Scarves, shawls, and hats abound. Mary has mastered the drop stitch, the seed stitch, working in the round, using doublepoints, and all the other skills needed to make fabulous things. Not to mention her keen color sense. Aren't they great?

Lew took some time to load these pictures, suitable for entry into the WoolWinders Hall of Fame, don't you think?

Lew was busy this morning loading pictures for our site. We love showing off the fabulous projects our customers and students complete!

We often tease Lisa about her penchant for buying numerous projects at once. But here are two she completed in FABULOUS fashion: the Stria vest from Designs by Judith, and a poncho for daughter Torie from Stitch and Bitch:

And daughter Bella has earned bragging rights for her lovely scarf:

Felting is big at WoolWinders:

Renee is showing off her Spike hat that she completed in our Absolute Beginners class:

Good friend Maren completed this adorable ladybug sweater for daughter Nora who loves to come to "Jacqui's House," aka WoolWinders:

The previously mentioned Poncho knit by Lisa:

And Julie proudly displays her Spike hat:

As we write this, it is cold, crisp and beautiful out. A wonderful day to knit! Come see our new arrivals; you could be a web star before too long.

We received this adorable picture of Aidan from mom Elisa, who is fortunate enough to work with Lew (on so many levels!). Lew knit this sweater for Aidan out of Baby Cashmerino, one of our favorite cozy (and washable) yarns.

And a Koigu alert. We are expecting two large boxes ANY DAY. They HAVE been shipped. So keep reading the blogs; you will be the first to know!

The Holiday 2004 issue of Vogue Knitting arrived today. We are just bursting to let you know a secret we've been keeping for a few weeks: WoolWinders is featured as the issue's "Inspirational Yarn Shop." It's a very nice review of our store, focusing on the great knitting "party" atmosphere established by our community of knitters! And that means all of you. All we can say is thank you.