Doesn’t that sound like a wonderful combination? I found a new coffee that I like. Cameron’s Chocolate Caramel Brownie. It might be the only coffee we brew at Loopy Central from now on, as we’re pretty much all in agreement that it’s wonderful. This morning, I brought in a coffee cake, still warm from the oven. It just seemed like the right thing to do, given that it’s cold and rainy and will be turning to snow in a couple of hours. And you know what that means? Hunkering down in my warm house tonight with a pile of knitting and a list of good movies to watch. And maybe another cup of that coffee. I’m sure WH will be in agreement.

Pecan Cinnamon Surprise

1 (18 oz) white or yellow cake mix
1 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
1 cup sour cream
3/4 cup sugar
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
2 cups chopped pecans
1 cup chocolate chips (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 9 x 13 pan.

Combine cake mix, oil, eggs and sour cream and beat for 2 minutes at slow speed with a mixer.

Mix sugar, cinnamon and pecans in a separate bowl.

Pour 1/2 of the batter into the pan. Top with 1/2 of the pecan/sugar/cinnamon mix. Spread 1 cup of chocolate chips on top of nuts (if desired). Add the rest of the batter and top with the remaining pecan/sugar/cinnamon mix.

Bake for 40 minutes or until knife inserted into center comes out clean.

We have a lot of new Loopy Groupies to welcome in to the fold! They have most recently received their 6th package and Loopy Groupie welcome bag from us:

Megan in VA, Janet in D.C., Mabel in OH, Liberty in MO, Brenda in VT, Orli in CA, Carolyn in NY, Tasha in TX, Michelle in Canada, Valerie in MA, Jone in NH, Cindy in PA, Melissa in IN, Jenna in GA, Holly in GA, Christine in MA, Andrea in IL, Kim in Canada, Anne in CA, Louise in Canada, Amanda in CA, Moe in SC, Rebekkah in NH, Renee in VA, Arlene in TX, Lisa in WI, Camilla in Norway, Carolyn in WI, Jenny in Australia, Rachel in MA, Julia in CA, Christa in MO, Fumiko in Japan, Kristina in CA, Caryn in MN, Minako in Japan, Susi in WA, Annette in CA, Jennifer in VA, Teri in MI, Jodi in Canada, Maxine in the U.K., Andrea in ME, Karen in CA, Shelly in IN, Antonella in NY, Roberta in SD, Barbara in TX, Jennifer in TX, Shauna in CA, Debbie in Australia, Lise in Canada, Heather in ME, Carol in TN, Carine in France, Anne in MA, Virginia in OH, Shannon in WA, Jennifer in TX, Clarissa in IN, Jane in OK, Amanda in KY, Logan in NY, Marcia in AK, Jennifer in LA, Margaret in MA, Sara in CA, Samantha in KS, Tracee in TN, Diana in CA, Erin in Canada, Kristen in CA, Molly in PA, Kerry in NY, Joyce in MO, Ann in CO, Celestine in PA, Sherri in CA, Kathleen in ME, Sanae in Japan, Melanie in OH, Lianne in England, Deborah in NC, Paula in WA, Stephanie in CA, Jessica in WA, Shelda in MO, Melissa in IA, Charlene in MO, Jennifer in IA, Joanne in Australia, Wanda in IL, Debra in TN, Jieun in MD, Shari in WA, Tracey in TN, Anne in MD, Jennifer in VA, Merja in Finland, Paula in CA, Jane in NY, Julia in Austria, Dodie in NC, Deborah in VA, Jacquelyn in Australia, Robin in FL, Rachel in UT, Patti in PA, Kiersten in Kansas, Sandra in PA, Lauren in AZ, Maija in GA, Jami in TX, Elizabeth in MS, Kristine in CA, Angela in GA, Maria in PA, Rosann in WI, Michelle in CA, Cathy in VA, Margaret in TX, Allison in OH, Deb in CT, Rebecca in PA, Renae in SC, Therese in WA, Heather in NY, Caitlyn in CA, Marese in MD, Patty in IN, Kellie in Canada, Cindy in TX, Lori in IL, Mary in WA, Connie in NY, Ashley in NC, Jessica in IA, Maxine in FL, April in PA, Shirley in CA, Andi in AZ, Hannah in PA, Susan in PA, Sharon in NJ, Beth in IL, Karen in NC, Kristin in MS, Karli in MI, BJ in NY, Katie in IL, Stacie in WI, Jeanne in NJ, Judith in VA, Victoria in MD, Loretta in OK, Linda in IL, Janine in MO, Lori in PA, Shana in CA, Pat in NM, Teresa in IL, Susan in D.C., Doris in Germany, Sarah in Canada, Jennifer in TN, Laura in D.C., Yvonne in The Netherlands, Nancy in SC, Robin in IN, Kelly in OH, Laura in CA, Lois in MS, Kimberly in NC, Kristin in FL, Shelby in CO, Nannette in WA, Jennifer in Canada, Allison in CT, Lena in Canada, Laura in CA, Nicole in VA, Kay in MI, Debbie in TX, Rita in CA, Kimberly in KY, Kathryn in TX, Joanne in PA, Dolores in FL, Susan in IN, Kelly in WV, Christiane in Germany, Kaitlyn in MI, Christine in PA, Dee in ID, Tawana in NY, Judy in MO, Karen in CO, Rocky in NJ, Deborah in CA, Dina in MA, Courtney in MD, Kimberly in TX, Meaghan in Armenia, Micki in NE, MaryEllen in ND, Elizabeth in CA, Mary in the military, Susan in OH, Carolyn in MS, Lisa in OH, Lesley in MO, Nancy in MS, Joanne in VA, Gordana in Canada, Mary in TX, Rebecca in NY, Gerri in NY, Sydney in VA, Cathie in CA, Veronica in NV, Cynthia in NJ, Monica in CA, Sara in MS, Betty in GA, Mila in WA, Michaela in FL, Lisa in IL, Sandi in MS, Shanna in ND, Gail in NV, Fumiko in Japan, Nanette in IL, Christine in MO, Dana in WA, Lynne in the U.K., Gilda in TX, Emily in MO, Donna in CA, Kathy in MO, Edna in OR, Rhona in Canada, Laura in CA, Stacy in NC, Ann in CA, Kathy in TX, Rebecca in MI, Deborah in TX, Katherine in VA, Paula in IA, Elizabeth in OH, Nicole in LA, Chrystal in MO, Jill in KY, Sue in CA, Jody in IL, Jean in VA, Silja in Norway, Rebecca in Australia, Lisa in TN, Liz in Australia, Sarah in NC, Heather in NV, Lisa in PA, Carol in CO, Kristi in OH, Linda in NJ, Donna in AZ, Carol in IL, Nancy in CA, Rita in VA, Mah in CA, Michelle in CA, Lena in Norway, Anna in MD, Vicki in Australia, Diane in MI, LuAnn in UT, Vicki in MS, Michelle in IN, Grethe in Norway, Robyn in Australia, Karen in AZ, Momo in MS, Katherine in PA, Ellen in CA, and Melynda in NC. What a great list of new Groupies! Congratulations to these knitters and crocheters. We’re so glad to have you here!

Sheri fingersneedatypingbreaknow.
Goingtohaveanothercupofcoffee.

I love our 2010 “Loved by Loopy” Valentine Kit. I saved myself one because I fell in love with the yarn (and of course I have always loved Keri’s bags). I’m not sure if I’ll knit socks or a scarf with it. Wouldn’t it make a pretty scarf? What are you favorite scarf patterns for fingering weight yarns?

We had fun putting this kit together for you and we hope you like it, too. Due to the handmade nature of the bags, we aren’t able to offer any more of these kits, once they sell out. (Edit: now sold out. But watch for our Anniversary Kit this summer!) And speaking of the bags, the thing I love about Keri’s bags is that she does excellent work. I’m pretty picky about the way things look and are put together, and she even exceeds my pickiness! She made 250 bags for us, and the last one looks just as awesome as the first.

The kit comes with a skein of Fiesta Baby Boom in a colorway that they dyed up just for us, called “Chocolate Strawberry Ganache”. Baby Boom continues to be one of my favorite yarns for squishy bouncy softness, and I’m glad that Jeannie and Brad were game for dyeing up our Valentine colorway this year. Since we called the kit “Loved by Loopy”, we added a little sticky-note packet for your knitting bag with that title on it. (I use sticky notes by the bucket full when I’m knitting – marking my place, making notes, highlighting areas – am I alone in that?)

Now I’m off to help get these kits out. Tell me what scarf or sock pattern you think you’ll use, so I have some choices to contemplate while I work.

Sheri whodidpickavestpatternfortheKAL.Finally.
Moreonthatlater.

Every time I walk past the Bijou Basin booth at different markets, it catches my eye. When I was at TNNA, my friend Marly (who also designed that Sweetheart Tunic that I like so much out of Bijou Basin Yak Bamboo) raved about this yarn, so this time I didn’t just walk by – I stopped in to chat. After learning more about it and handling the luscious yarn, I ordered it for us.

Yak yarn – do you know anything about it? It’s considered one of the most luxurious yarns around. It’s warmer than wool and extremely durable. It’s completely odorless (no wet wool odor when you wash it – I liked that), doesn’t shed, and is hypo-allergenic and non-irritating, as it contains no animal oils or residues. Yaks produce two different kinds of hair. The outer hair is the guard hair, which is longer, courser and stronger. These are carded, spun and braided into ropes and halters, or woven into durable rugs and bags. The second hair is the undercoat, or “down hair”. The yaks produce this in the wintertime and it is an incredible insulator. This down is what they use to make yak yarn. Are you wondering how they collect it? The yaks get combed in the spring. And the Bijou Basin people say that the yaks like to be combed! (What a job to put on a resume – “Yak Comber”.) The fact that this is collected in the spring by hand, makes this one of the rarer luxury yarns, which is reflected in the price. It’s not going to be for everyone, but I know that some of you will jump on it and will love it. Personally, I’m looking forward to having an incredibly warm pair of socks out of it. I knit this first sock out of the Tibetan Dream Sock Yarn, which is made from 85% Yak and 15% nylon for strength and elasticity. (The pattern is Elongated Corded Rib from Sensational Knitted Socks. I did 56 stitches on a size 1 needle. Plenty of yarn in 1 skein for my size 11 socks.) We have added in three of their yarn lines and patterns to go with them, to begin with. Photos used from the Bijou Basin website with permission.

In other news, today is Elf Lori’s first day. She looks happy about that, doesn’t she? We’re glad to have her here! And did you catch tonight’s update? Besides the Bijou Basin, we also added:

* Needle Food (new indie dyer from New Zealand)
* Fiberphile (new Merino /Cashmere/ Nylon base)
* Kollage Luscious (wool-free, just cotton and nylon)
* Alpaca With a Twist Baby (5 new colors for us)
* String Theory (Caper and Blue Stocking)
* Dream in Color (Smooshy and Classy re-stocks)
* Numma Numma (The Special).

Plus:
* Kollage square needles (in circs and DPN’s)
*  Various knitting accessories
*  Patterns (some new, some re-stocks) from: Knitspot, Samantha Roshak, and Knitting Pure and Simple.

Remember last week when I said we were buried in yarn deliveries? There was so much that we had to save some of it for next week. That just gives you more to look forward to!

(Look – Loopy made the Fetching Tags Blog. Now that he has been featured on someone else’s blog, he thinks he’s famous. He’ll be hard to live with tomorrow. Sometimes he gets The Big Head.)

Sheri whothinksbabyyaksarereallycute

I have to say, we have had a crazy week here at Loopy Central. We’ve unpacked and checked in more boxes of yarn in these last five days than I ever remember us doing before in that short of a time period. (The UPS, Fed Ex, and USPS guys all think it’s really funny to bring 15 or 20 more boxes when there are still 10 or 15 sitting there from the day before. They have a warped sense of humor.) We’ve restocked, added new, made way and moved shelves. It’s all coming together, though, so I thought I’d give you just a few pictures in today’s post.

We filled up the Cascade wall. There were too many empty cubbies earlier. (Still  a few empties – the backordered colors. And of course you can’t see the three full bookcases of backstock on these colors. But the wall looks nice and fairly full again.)

We moved shelves around (and had to turn them sideways instead of one long row the other way. It used to look like this in that spot. Eventually we’ll probably have to do that in the other half of this long room, too).

We put up a new slatwall and filled it up with needles. (Well technically “we” didn’t put up the slatwall – WH did that. But I did do the needles.)

We filled up both of our shipping box closets – here’s one of them.

After a week like that, you just have to call it “GOOD” and fill up your stomach with something like these amazing cupcakes that our Loopy friend Lori brought us. (They were seriously good.)

And then, beacause I needed to add another Elf to our Loopy Central Elf Team, I hired Lori to work here three days a week. The other Elves think I ought to have written up a contract that said she had to bring wonderful things from this bakery once a week. She has been known to bring them quite often when she comes by to shop. Why didn’t I think of that? (I would’ve hired her even without the bakery wonders. I’ve always thought she would make a great Elf.)

Sheri nowthatthingsarefinishedfortheweek,
I’mreadyforaweekend.Howaboutyou?

Loopy has some new jewelry. If you’ve been to Loopy Central in person, you know that we have this stuffed Loopy who stands on top of one of the shelves to greet you when you come in. (In his former life, he was a loved-on sheep in a kindergarten classroom. We think he likes it better here.) He has been wearing last years Spring Fling nametag for awhile now, but when I saw these tags, I knew he needed his own. It arrived yesterday, and he looks very proud to be wearing it, doesn’t he?  But I have a dilemma. The fun thing about these tags is that you can have the back personalized, too. So the back of Loopy’s tag says “King of the Shop”. (And he is.) So the question is, which side should show – Loopy, or King of the Shop? (We won’t open up that whole “Wait, if it’s The Loopy Ewe, then shouldn’t Loopy be a SHE?” debate again. Been there, done that. Loopy is a he. Sometimes things just work differently in our yarn world.) So let me know what you think about the tag. And then go take a look at their blog, because the dog featured today has the perfect tagline on his tag.

Of course, who’s to say that these tags have to be for animals? Maybe your knitting bag needs a tag, declaring you the “World’s Fastest Knitter”. (Or at least the fastest knitter in YOUR world). Or “Loopy’s #1 Fan”. Or someone who “Insulates with Wool”, or … well, you get the idea. Cute tags, nice people running the business, quick shipping, and they made Loopy look even more handsome this week. I like that combination.

Sheri movingshelvesatLoopytoday
Advilmightneedtobemyfriendtonight.

Thank you to all of the votes you cast for our 4th Quarter Challenge. We had more votes on this one than ever before, and we ended up with a tie for the Reader’s Choice Award. We will be giving out two Loopy Ewe Gift Certificates for the tie – one goes to Janine for her beautiful Midnight Swallowtail Shawl. This was done with a 150 g. skein of Hand Maiden Sea Silk. The other one goes to Jeannie for her gorgeous Order to Chaos shawl. This was done with Dream in Color Smooshy in the Black Parade colorway. A big congratulations to both of these gals for their beautiful work. We also award one gift certificate that is randomly drawn from all entries, so that everyone who participated has a chance to win. That gift certificate goes to Lynn, who knit up a this wonderful Multnomah out of Dream in Color Starry. Thank you to everyone who participated in this KAL. It was so fun, that we’ll definitely do another shawl KAL in the future again. In the meantime, there are a whole bunch of you who are participating in our Sweater Challenge/KAL for this quarter. We’re going to say that the finish date for this is July 1st. Why? Because someone I might need that extra time. Of course our Second Quarter Challenge will still start in April, so watch for that, too.

We also had our monthly blog contest last week, where I asked you about your sweater knitting habits (or lack thereof) and favorites. I wish you could’ve seen me making lists of all of the sweater patterns that you suggested, as I was reading all of the comments. I looked up SO many of them on Ravelry. You know, just to make sure I wasn’t missing anything that I needed to have on my list. (This could be part of the problem with making ONE decision. Too many great choices.) We randomly drew two names from the comments. Congratulations to Vicki in CT and Sharilyn in NY who will each be getting a skein of lovely Wollmeise for entering and winning.

Just up on the website (and there were so many things that went up this week): Alpaca With a Twist Baby Twist (new colors for us), Skacel Zauberball (those other two new colors I promised you from last week), Austermann Step (the yarn that has aloe vera and jojoba oil – 12 new colors), Knit Kits in black, Jojoland Melody, Lorna’s Laces Pearl (3 more new colors for us), Madelinetosh Sock, Fiber Optic, Cascade 220, Cascade Heritage, Cascade Eco Alpaca, Cascade Fixation, HiyaHiya needles and accessories, Namaste Monroe bags and wallets, and The Sanguine Gryphon Bugga. Whew! (Note – we pre-sold out of some of the colors of Monroe bags, but we’ll have more shortly. Let us know if you’d like an email when your color comes in.)

It’s always a relief on Mondays to get all of those beautiful things photographed and up for you to see. But come Tuesday, we’re back at it again, unpacking more new things to photo and work on for the next week. (Well that, and of course packing all of your orders to ship!) It’s a revolving door around here, but we like it that way.

For those of you who asked about the Alien Rock Photo in Friday’s blog (did you click on it to make it bigger?) – I just thought it was a good depiction of how I was feeling with all of the sweater/vest patterns I had to choose from. WH took that photo at a park near here. (Although it might have involved a bit of Photoshopping. You think?)

Sheri whoneedstofinishherSunshineSocks.
Wehavehadgrayfordaysanddaysonend……..