Last week it was a working weekend at Stitches, and this weekend it’s pure fun! WH and I came out to Colorado for a long weekend of fresh mountain air. (And some eating out, and some movies, and some knitting, and some reading and some hanging out.  Not necessarily in that order.) The Elves are keeping things running at Loopy Central and I’ll be back there on Monday!

I know you’ve been waiting to find out a couple of things. First of all, which Dream in Color Baby projects won the Reader’s Choice Award and the “glad you participated in the challenge and your number was picked by the random generator” award for out latest knitting challenge? The Reader’s Choice award goes to Woodland Baby - a beautiful shawl knit up out of Happy Forest by Jade in Australia. The second award goes to Timmie for her wonderful scarf done up in Wisterious.  Both have won $25 gift certificates to The Loopy Ewe.

Today’s Recipe – Chicken and Broccoli Casserole

The other thing you’re waiting to hear, are the winning color combinations for our Team Spirit line. They all arrived this week and they look great!  These will probably go up Thanksgiving week, since The Loopy Photo Color Corrector (aka – my hubby) is here in Colorado this weekend instead of spending his Saturday in the Loopy Photo Studio, as usual. I thought I could at least fill you in on the colors that will be up.  We (ok, Elf Susan) spent a long time going through your 500 comments to pick out the top most-requested color combinations.  We’re open to adding more eventually.  We’ll let you know when you can vote again!  We had these dyed up in Shepherd Sport, since we know you will be using them for socks, as well as hats, scarves, gloves, mitts, and … whatever else you come up with. We’ll look forward to seeing photos of your finished products.

Today we have the originator of those wonderful Beanie Baggies that you keep buying up. I met Janie at the TNNA Market this past summer and placed our first order with her then.  She is amazingly quick in getting orders out to me – I don’t know how she does it!  I know you’ll enjoy learning more about her in this Loopy Limelight.
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Loopy: Hi Janie – thanks for being with us today. We love having your wonderful bags here and have a hard time keeping them in stock.  How long have you been sewing and do you remember the first thing you made?
Janie: Thank you to all at the Loopy Ewe for allowing me to visit with you today and to all of the wonderful customers who have purchased Mind Your Knitting products.  I began sewing when I was a teenager.  It was most certainly out of necessity.  When I was in high school I was just over five feet tall and weighed about 90 pounds soaking wet.  Since that was back in the sixties and there was no such thing as petite sizing, I asked my mother to teach me to sew.  She was a wonderful seamstress and had an impeccable sense of style not to mention the patience of a saint.  I began making my own skirts at a time when mini-skirts were all the rage.  Since I was so short and fabric was so much less expensive I could make a skirt for about .25 cents.  My mother did the hard part since she knit me matching sweaters and made me the best dressed girl in school. It’s obvious she had a huge influence on all of my needlework skills by passing her knowledge onto me just as her mother, my grandmother had passed them onto her.  My grandmother lived with us and helped raise me.  One year as a surprise she took all of the scraps from my skirts and made a quilt.  My daughter who is now 32 still has it and every time I see it I have quite a walk down memory lane.

Loopy: A skirt for a quarter sounds like a really great deal – and then you got a sweater to match?  No wonder you like sewing. What made you get into making bags as a business?
Janie: I guess you could say necessity knocked on my door again.  I travel quite a bit and on one particular plane ride I think I must have rescued my ball of yarn at least 10 times from under the seat in front of me.  I was certainly not making any friends and out of my frustration I muttered something about the fact that someone needed to invent something to deal with this problem. In that moment a light bulb went off and I realized I didn’t need to sit back and wait for someone to invent something that I was dreaming of.  I guess it was the concept that if you can dream it you can do it.  So I went to work and after about two weeks and 50 attempts the Beanie Baggie was born.  Many days I would be so frustrated because I knew how I wanted the Beanie Baggie to look. Though it looks simple there are many steps involved.  It was a real lesson in perseverance.

Loopy: They really are colorful and you came up with a great design. What is a typical day like for you. Do you sew all day long?
Janie: I really don’t have a typical work day.  Some days I might work an hour or two and some days I might get up at 2:00 A.M. and work until 6 00 P.M.  Working at home takes a lot of discipline because in a sense you’re always at work and you have to learn to draw a line. It is just as easy to play hooky as it is to get so involved that you forget to quit at quitting time.  When I set up Mind Your Knitting the most important thing for me was to be able to work from anyplace at any time.  It has been my biggest accomplishment and has allowed me a great deal of freedom.

Loopy: It’s nice that your business is portable, since you travel a lot. Do you have a workshop where you create? What things are “must haves” for your sewing room?
Janie: My workroom is actually a converted bedroom with a huge walk in closet devoted entirely to my business.  I have found that I can have all the fancy tools and machines ever created but if I don’t have the space for spreading out while still keeping organized, I can’t think.  So I guess organization is my must have.  If you sew you probably don’t need as much space as I do but do try to carve out a little spot for yourself someplace in your home where you can keep everything at your fingertips.  A tip I learned from my brother who did a lot of woodworking was always make sure you clean up your workspace at the end of the day.  There is nothing worse than starting a new work day surrounded by chaos.

Loopy: You mentioned that you were knitting on a plane. How long have you been knitting and what do you like to make the most?
Janie: I have been knitting since I was a little girl, when both my grandmother and mother taught me.  I love to knit everything but especially enjoy knitting anything I can give as a gift.  I feel there is something special about giving a handmade gift to someone.  Any knitter knows how many emotions can go into a project beginning with picking out the yarn to finding a mistake halfway down to binding off that final stitch.  It’s like giving a piece of yourself to someone.

Loopy: And hopefully you’re giving it to someone who appreciates the work that you put into it! Do you find the time to knit as much as you’d like? Any tips on squeezing more knitting into a busy life?
Janie: No I don’t knit as much as I would like.  There just aren’t enough hours in the day.  I am sure most women can relate.  I always make sure I have one project that is quick, simple and portable.  It is surprising how easy it is to finish a small project even if you only have a have a few minutes here or there.  Of course scarves are a great item.   A change in yarn and needle size can give an entirely different look to the same pattern.  I also like to do baby items as they also work up so quickly.

Loopy: Hmmm.  Scarves.  I seem to know someone else who is making a lot of scarves, too. For any other artisans out there, do you have any advice in starting up a business and marketing yourself?
Janie: I used to own a retail store as well as work for Corporate America.  I always thought that starting a business such as Mind Your Knitting would be so much easier.  In some respects it is because there are no employees to deal with, you can work in your p.j.’s if you want and there is no boss telling you what to do.  But the hard part is that you become the employee as well as the boss.  You have to learn a new kind of discipline which isn’t always easy to develop at the beginning.  Your new business will seem like a shiny new toy.  But then the daily chores show up and you realize that owning your own business is so much more than selling your product. I believe one of the hardest things for very creative people to deal with is paper work.  But I can’t stress how important it is.  If you don ‘t have the knowledge of how to set up your books or protect yourself financially ask someone for help or do some research on the internet.  A good set of books and accurate records are not only a road map to your success, they can make you or break you in the end.

Loopy: You have brought a lot of good experience into setting up your own business – and you’ve shared great advice with us. Can you tell us about your family?
Janie: I have been married to the boy next door for 38 years and he has always been my biggest support.  Together we have two sons and a daughter, who are 32, 33 and 34.  That’s right, they are 13 months apart and at one time I had a newborn, one year old and two year old.  The day they could all put on their own coats was a great day.  Unfortunately they all live in different states but this does make any family time we get very precious.   Our daughter has given us two beautiful granddaughters who are 2 and 3.  They are such a joy and give so much comfort without even knowing it.

Loopy: No wonder you travel – you have family spread all over!  We appreciate you spending time with us today. Is there anything else you’d like to add?
Janie: I feel extremely passionate about passing down the many wonderful handcrafts we have to our daughters and granddaughters.  I was given that gift by my mother and grandmother and it is a something that I will always cherish.

Loopy: And I’ll bet you will have some fun family knitting sessions as those granddaughters get older!
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Sheri whohasalreadyconfessedtohavingathingforbags
sonowonderIlikedJanie’sproductsrightoffthebat

I had a great weekend in Baltimore! Stitches East was a fun event and it’s always interesting to look around and see knitters sitting and knitting everywhere. (Not to mention all of the handknit items that walk by you as you stroll the aisles. It’s a wonder there aren’t more accidents as people stop and do double takes at some of the beautiful designs going by.) On my first day there (Friday), I was so happy to see several people snapping photos.  When I go to our TNNA Market, there are very strict rules about no phots on the show floor. I always figured this had something to do with not spoiling upcoming yarn line surprises – and I am a rule follower.  No photos.  So seeing photographers here was fun.  I took my camera the second day and happily snapped photos of some of our indie dyers and favorite vendors.  When I got to the last person I wanted to photo, she said, “Ok – but we have to be careful you don’t get caught – you’re not supposed to take photos!” So holy cow – I broke rules I didn’t know about! (I continued to see people photo-ing. I guess they don’t have Photo-Police patrolling the aisles.) Since I took them, I’m sharing them with you. But don’t tell.

I picked up a few new ideas and potential yarn lines for us (you’ll love them) and bought way too many skeins of yarn. (For “research” – you know.)  Mostly it was just fun to connect with old friends, and meet new ones. I went up to every person I saw carrying a clear Loopy Ewe totebag, just to make sure I didn’t miss any Loopies!  I’ll keep you posted on the new things as we get closer.  I also have some really fun stuff arriving this week and next week – Team Spirit Colorways from Lorna’s Laces and a brand new special yarn base from Dream in Color that I think you’ll love for holiday knitting.

And here are my photos from the weekend! One of the first booths in the first row was Malabrigo and it was so fun to re-connect with Tobias and Antonio. I met them last summer at TNNA and they’re as nice as can be. They were so happy with all of the sock yarn you guys bought last week! (By the way, we have more enroute – as much as they could send us.  And more on order for the next shipment they get in.) They also liked Loopy a lot. When I was done taking him around for photos, I had to bring him back to them so that they could take him home. They want to make a crocheted Loopy.

Across from the Malabrigo booth was the Cherry Tree Hill booth and this is a picture of Cheryl and Ryan. Ryan is their website guy. I should’ve asked him if he knits. I can’t believe I didn’t think to do that.

Then it was on to our wonderful indie dyers. Kate and Gryphon (of The Sanguine Gryphon) were also in that first row. Gryphon likes to dress up in costume and she has the most beautiful outfits.  Their booth had a canvas atop it, painted to look like a medieval tent. Very cool. (More Bugga coming soon.  New Blended Batts going up this week.)

I rounded the corner and came upon Yarn Love’s Katie and Sharon. (Sharon is tall, like me. I like that about her.  She sat down so as not to point out that Katie is a bit shorter.) I have a new roving order ready to go in with them.

Next to Yarn Love’s booth was Dianne from Creatively Dyed. Actually, I didn’t even make it to her booth – Dianne tackled me from behind, first!  It was fun to meet Mr. Creatively Dyed, too. I know he’s a big help with the business. I ordered a new yarn base in a dye techinque that puts 15 colors in each skein.  It’s amazing. We’ll have that in a few weeks.

Wandering up the way, I came to Jenna from Indie Dyer. Jenna has done a lot to promote indie dyeing (including a video) and she’s young.  But she was raised with dyeing – her mom is Cheryl from Cherry Tree Hill. (See the resemblance?) We have new Indie Dyer colors coming after Thanksgiving.

And these lovely ladies just looked so cute in their shawls that I had to take their photo. That’s Deb, Karen, Kate, and Alison (seated).  Alison is the author of this lace book, and after sharing my “I really can’t seem to get the hang of lace” woes with them, I left thinking I’d have to try it again. They were very encouraging.

I took yarn to knit a second sock, but instead (of course) started on a new project with a potential new yarn line. I’m hopeless.

Did you know that there is no mail tomorrow? It’s Veteran’s Day. We’ll get all of tonight’s and tomorrow’s orders out to you on Wednesday.

Sheri LoopyLimelightwillshowuponWednesday,whereyou’llmeet
JanieoftheBeanieBaggiesthatyoualllovesomuch

Seriously – they rose to the challenge of getting out a record number of orders this week – an amazing feat. (Note to self: Do not schedule a sale with a big load of Malabrigo Sock with a Sock Club shipment in the same week. FPS.) Things have been crazy here, but Friday has arrived and I think we’ve all survived. (And lots of you have gotten boxes from us this week – yay!) Thank you again for all of your wonderful shopping in the past week. We’ve had fun packing everything up for you! And the hands? Well, it seemed appropriate for “applause”. But I seem to have acquired more of them, haven’t I? Honestly, I never meant to collect hands. Because … well … Hands.  Weird. In the beginning, I thought ONE would be nice, so that I could show a knitted fingerless mitt.  And then the second one just kind of came along.  The third one came from an antique store and was too cute to pass up.  Now we seem to have a whole gaggle of them. See the big white one with nothing on it in the back? Elf Susan says that one gives her the creeps.  Looks too much like a paste-y dead hand. I think we need to cover it up with knitting pretty soon. Have you ever ended up collecting something by default, like this? (Please say yes.)

I went to the Weaving Guild’s Boutique Night last week and found these two treasures. This handspun is just gorgeous and was spun up by Amy, who is a Loopy customer.  All of the handspun was grouped together on a big table and in bins, and every skein that I was drawn to pick up, just happened to be spun by Amy.  I told her that I think I need a lesson. Her handspun is soft and wonderful. Mine feels … slightly overtwisted … by comparison.  And then there was this cute elf – an Alan Dart design. (Do I have this pattern to knit my own? Yes.  Have I done it since getting the pattern a year or two ago? No.  Am I glad that I bought him? Yes.  He looks happy on my shelf.)

Today I’m heading off to Stitches East for a little retail therapy and new-product-scouting work. I have never been to a Stitches event before, and I’m really looking forward to it. (Also looking forward to some extra knitting time, and catching up with some of my indie dyers who will have booths there.) Will I see some of you there, too? I’ll keep my eye out for familiar names and faces! I’m actually already on a plane flying eastward as you read this, so I’ll be away from emails and the blog until I get back in the office on Monday – I’ll catch up with you then.

Sheri nonewrecipethisweek-notimetobake/cook
butIhaveonepickedouttomakefornextweekalready!

I was talking to my friend Valerie and telling her that I had to frog a project I was working on FOUR times last weekend. Granted, I only got a few inches into it each time, but it was far enough to know that I wasn’t happy with it and needed to re-jigger the pattern. She related that she had spent last weekend working on a vest and then noticed a cable-gone-wrong near the bottom, so she frogged it.  That got me to thinking – do you typically frog things when you see a mistake, or do you call it a “creative design” or “happy spontaneity” and move on?  I had one of those in the cables of my Mr. Greenjeans sweater, and I was just fine with leaving it there, missing one crossed row. But this scarf that I was knitting this weekend – I couldn’t leave it.  It would bug me the entire time I was knitting.  So I’m curious – do you ever frog? Or not frog? And if you do, how do you decide what gets frogged and what is ok to leave?

Thank you for your extremely enthusiastic response to the Malabrigo Sock that we put up last evening! It’s beautiful yarn and I know you’ll be happy with all of the skeins you ordered.  You’ll be glad to know that more is already on the way, and a third order is in the queue as well. We will keep you well-stocked with it. I stayed up watching election coverage last night so that I could finish my Malabrigo Sock to show you. I really liked knitting with this yarn and am anxious to pick a color to make for myself! (This one is destined for gift-socks, if I can knit the mate without too much delay.) I used the pattern called “Go With the Flow” from Nancy Bush’s Favorite Socks book. (Note – as with almost all of my socks, I knit it toe up and did a short row toe and heel – so the rest of the sock construction doesn’t follow that pattern.) The stitch pattern is easy and stretchy – perfect for this yarn. I’m already looking forward to seeing more Malabrigo Socks turning up on Ravelry, so that I can decide what pattern I want to use on my next pair. (See? I said “pair”. I have high hopes.)

Sock Clubbers – the November invoices will go out tonight or tomorrow morning, so watch for those in your in-boxes.  This is our last shipment for 2008 and I hope you love it!  We’ll do signups for our 2009 Sock Club in mid-January, with the first shipment going out in March.  Watch the blog in early January for details, and we’ll also be putting that notice in the January Monthly Email Newsletter.

Spring Flingers – we’ll open up signups sometime in early December (with the Fling being the last weekend in April, 2009). Again, watch the blog and the December Monthly Email Newsletter for sign-up dates!

Sheri sobacktotheoriginalquestioninthispost-Frogornofrog?

Whew – what a day. We’re still knee deep in Sale Orders, but we’re working as fast as we can. That’s why the blog is going up a little later in the day (and why I haven’t gotten to emails yet today.) We’re hoping that all Sale Orders will be out tomorrow (you all really know how to shop a sale!) because of course there is other fun stuff happening this week – like Sock Club and Malabrigo Lace and Malabrigo Sock going up. So keep an eye on “What’s New” tomorrow or Wednesday.

Today in the Limelight we have Theresa in Italy (many of you know her from her Loopy Legend colorway and from reading her blog comments. I keep threatening to deliver her orders to her in person.  Wouldn’t that be fun?)
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Loopy: Hi Theresa! You’re one of our original Loopy Legends, so we’re glad to have you in the Limelight today. Your colorway is called “Theresa’s Italian Vineyards” in honor of you living in Italy. How long have you lived there and how did that come about?
Theresa: Hi Loopy, thank you for having me!  I’ve been living in Italy for nearly 18 years.  I met my husband while working at a university as a secretary for a research group of professors and grad students—he was one of the students—and he swept me off my feet and brought me here.  We live in northern Italy near the city of Piacenza (which you’ll find on the map about halfway between Milan and Parma) in an area of rolling hills that’s well-known in Italy for wine production, so the choice of name for the colorway was very appropriate!

Loopy: Do you get back to the US very often?  (Like maybe next spring for the Spring Fling??)
Theresa: Not as often as I’d like—we usually make it every other year for the Christmas holidays.  (I’d love to be there next spring for the Fling but I’m still working on that!)

Loopy: Let us know who needs convincing in your family, to make sure you can come next spring. Are there things you miss about living in the US?  And things you’d miss if you no longer lived in Italy?
Theresa: I miss my family and friends above all,  but I also miss minor things like window screens, air conditioning, carpeted floors, and tumble dryers.  In the beginning I was terribly homesick for American food like peanut butter (in the old days anyone who wanted to come over for a visit was asked to smuggle a jar of peanut butter in their luggage!) but now the big supermarkets carry that and lots more.  I’ve learned to be patient and wait for new ideas and products to “cross the pond.”  On the other hand, if I didn’t live in Italy, I definitely would miss the local wine and seasonal foods—right now it’s time for fresh porcini mushrooms, for example  I’d miss the Italian custom of bumping into an acquaintance in the main square and popping into the nearest bar for an espresso and a chat.  I’d miss the art that you find everywhere, even in the strangest places, like frescoed ceilings in the main post office in town.  And I’ve made friends here whom I’d miss very much.

Loopy: It’s interesting to hear about the differences – both positive and negative – in terms of what you miss. The espresso chat sounds like a great idea. And there is definitely no art in our post office. One thing that is the same here and there is knitting. How long have you been a knitter and who taught you to knit?
Theresa: When I was about 7 years old, my grandma sat me down and taught me.  She used to knit constantly–in front of the TV nearly every evening, as I recall—and she made me some beautiful sweaters when I was a little girl.  Years later I found out that it was my mom who had taught my grandma to knit, which was hard to believe because my mom isn’t particularly crafty (she’d much rather play with food—she’s a fantastic cook), but it definitely “took” with my grandma and me, and also with my youngest sister, who crochets.  There have been long stretches when I didn’t knit, but I always come back to it.  It’s just so much fun to play with yarn!

Loopy: We ought to take a poll sometime to see how many people learned to knit from their grandmothers. (Or grandfathers?) Do you have a favorite item to knit
Theresa: Right now I’d have to say socks—I love knitting socks—but I’ve got a few scarves on the needles, too.  Fingerless mitts are also fun.

Loopy: What is the most challenging thing that you have knit to date?
Theresa: A lace scarf in mohair yarn.  The pattern called for mohair, so I got mohair.  I’d never worked with mohair before AND it was my first lace project.  It wasn’t a difficult pattern, but I had trouble counting my stitches, I kept missing yarn overs—you name it, I did it.  That was the project that taught me the value of stitch markers!  I’ve done other projects since then that were technically more advanced, but this was the one that nearly did me in.

Loopy: Well thank goodness you didn’t give up completely, or we might never have met you. Tell us about your family – and are they supportive of your knitting hobby?
Theresa: My husband teaches engineering at a local university and our two sons both attend the “scientific” high school (over here you decide which subjects you want to study and choose your high school accordingly).  We live just outside a small village and share the house with a huge but very gentle dog.  All the guys are avid snorkelers and sailors when they can get near the water—the reason why we go to Sicily for summer vacations.  My older son also rides, and the younger one plays rugby. (As for my knitting hobby, I’d have to say the most supportive one is the dog.  Everyone else complains about yarn and projects all over the house!)

Loopy: It sounds like you have a very good dog and a very active family. Are there other hobbies that you enjoy?
Theresa: Reading, crocheting, and cooking (especially baking).

Loopy: What would be your favorite way to spend a day off?
Theresa: Since normally I’m home during the day, a day off for me would mean getting out of the house. I’d snag some prime knitting time in the morning after everyone else had left for school, then I’d meet some of my friends for a day trip to a big city (Milan or Parma) for lunch out, a visit to a museum, and maybe a little shopping along the way.  In the evening I’d rejoin my family and we’d go out to our favorite pizzeria.

Loopy: I’ll bet you have good pizza over there. Do you have a favorite recipe that you’d like to share with us?
Theresa: This is what my husband used to cook for me when we lived in the States—the most exotic ingredient is the pasta!   Yet it tastes very much like  what you’d be served if you were to order this dish in Italy.  Italian recipes are very flexible when it comes to measurements (some would say “vague”) so feel free to adjust according to taste and/or what you’ve got in the cupboard!

Pasta All Amatriciana, American Style

1 package bacon
olive oil (about 1/4 cup or as needed)
2 medium onions, finely chopped
1 large can tomatoes or tomato puree
salt and pepper to taste
1 pound Italian pasta (spaghetti is good but anything is fine)
grated Pecorino or Parmesan cheese to serve
hot chili pepper flakes (optional)

1. Take the bacon out of the package and while it’s still in a “slab” cut it crosswise with a knife into roughly 1-inch squares.  (They will separate out in cooking.)  Put the slab into a large, deep frying pan (a wok is perfect) and cook over medium-high heat just until most of the fat has melted out.  Drain bacon pieces; reserve bacon fat for another use.

2. Wipe out the pan with paper towels, add the olive oil and onions, and cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until onions are soft and golden.  Add the tomatoes (if they are whole, break them up a little bit) and the bacon pieces.  Cook until sauce has thickened (maybe half an hour—it should be gloppy, not runny).  Taste and add salt and pepper as needed.

3. Cook pasta in boiling salted water until al dente, drain, and mix with sauce.  Serve with grated cheese (and hot pepper flakes if desired).

Loopy: YUM!  I think there will be a lot of people making that recipe soon. It sounds delicious! Anything else you’d like to add?
Theresa: I’m so glad to have found The Loopy Ewe.  Besides being my favorite on-line yarn shop, it’s great fun and I’ve “met” some wonderful people—Sheri, her family, and the Elves are the best.  Someday I’ll see you all in person!

Loopy: We’re holding you to that!
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Sheri whoshouldn’thavetypedthisupatdinnertime
becausethatrecipeismakingmystomachgrowl