I’ve learned some things this week. That’s always a good thing, right? I’m trying to be on top of the techno-stuff, because I think it’s important. Consequently, we’ve had some construction going on (inside and out, as it turns out). Here are a few things I’ve learned:

1. A “Group” and a “Page” are different on Facebook. Our “Fans of The Loopy Ewe” that I told you about earlier this week, is a Group. Web Guy pointed out that I should have an official “The Loopy Ewe” Page on Facebook, because “we can do more with it”. So as of this morning, we now have an official Loopy Ewe Page! This Page will be good for me to talk to you and for you to talk back to me. This is the place where I will do the postings about things going on at Loopy Central. (Sneak Up Previews, knitting woes and wonders, and anything else going on in the shop.  I’ll do an occasional contest there, too.) You do have to click and become a fan of the page if you want the updates to show up, even if you’re already a member of the other group that I mentioned the other day. I’ve already added in some news about recent arrivals! (My own Facebook page has a little Loopy stuff and a lot of regular life stuff. Feel free to friend me on there if you’re interested in that, too!)

What I learned: Talk to Web Guy first before jumping into something….

2.  You can hide things on your Facebook homepage. (My friend Janice showed me that last weekend.) It’s not that I’m not interested in your Bejeweled Blitz level or what color M&M you are, but all of those apps do take up a lot of space on that page. Now I’ve closed the apps and I get to actually read about YOU and your status messages. I like that!

What I learned: I really know so little about Facebook.

3.  Twitter continues to be a big thing. I don’t really get it, but I get that other people get it and like it. Therefore, we’re linking The Loopy Ewe Facebook page to our Loopy Ewe Twitter account. (Remember, I said I’m trying to stay on top of the important techno stuff.) If you like getting status updates via Twitter, feel free to add us to your Twitter list.

What I learned: Twitter is important to many people. Maybe I’ll eventually get it. But we’ll be on there for those of you who like it.

4. While we’ve been busy making these technology changes inside Loopy, the street crew has been busy making changes on the street outside our building. (Remember this summer when they cut through our phone lines? Yep. It’s still the same project going on out there.) Now they are breaking up the entire street. With this. And I swear, they drill down several feet, then they bring the jackhammer head up, move it over 6 tiny inches, and repeat. Consequently, it took them the entire day yesterday to do about half a block. Our brick building shakes like we’re having earthquake tremors.

What I learned: Jackhammers give me a headache.

(Edit – for those who were concerned: I will continue to blog regularly and participate in the Loopy Groupies on Ravelry – no worries!  Facebook and Twitter are additions, not substitutions. I promise.)

This month’s contest question: What’s one lesson you have learned lately? Leave your comment below and I’ll draw the winners next Wednesday. I saved some Wollmeise for the prize!

Sheri nowtiredfromallofthistechnology.Imayneedanap.

We had a fun weekend in Chicago! We met our favorite friends Steve and Janice for the weekend, so that Janice and I could go to Stitches Midwest to celebrate my hubby’s birthday on Sunday. I love Chicago. I spent my first two years in college in the Chicago area and there is lots to do and see. We decided that we don’t travel up there often enough, so we’ll be back! Here are a few photos from the weekend.

On the way up, we stopped at an antique store somewhere in IL. This was the statue out front. (??) He was about 3 stories tall and … eating an ice cream cone. I still don’t understand it.  Maybe I’m not supposed to. I found a nice shelf (formerly a drying rack of some sort) for my office. I’m running out of places to put yarn samples in here.

Up in Schaumberg, we stayed in a hotel that just happened to be near the Ikea store. (And I love Ikea!) In fact, this picture was taken out our hotel window. I zoomed in a little, but not much. I was happy to be so close. We made that our first stop of the evening, followed by dinner at Big Bowl. Yum.

On Saturday, Janice and I headed over to the Convention Center to shop at the Stitches Marketplace. Lots of booths, lots of yarn, and lots of fun people to see. I didn’t buy a single skein of yarn, but I did find two cool baskets and a sweater patttern.

While we were shopping, the guys were spending the day downtown. It was gorgeous weather. If you click on the Cloud Gate photo here to make it bigger, you’ll see Paul and Steve taking pictures of themselves in the reflection.  They were having so much fun downtown that Janice and I beat them back to the hotel and got in a couple of hours of knitting before they showed up to take us out to dinner.

Sunday was Paul’s birthday and we celebrated by going out for a great breakfast at Richard Walker’s Pancake House. I wish we had those in St. Louis.

After telling Steve and Janice goodbye, we headed over to the Renegade Craft Fair and scouted out the fun items for sale. There were over 300 vendors and it definitely wasn’t your typical craft fair. Lots of unique things.

Today we’ve been busy getting out your weekend orders, unpacking a ton of boxes that UPS and the mailman brought, and getting things set for the update tonight. (Check out what just went up. New colors of Mini Mochi, a new cool yarn that I love – Panguipulli – from Araucania, Wendy’s shawl patterns, and more.) Later this week I’m doing a big Cascade restock, so if you’ve been waiting on some colors to return, they’re coming.

Lastly, come join our “Fans of The Loopy Ewe” group on Facebook. I’ll keep you updated there on things as they arrive, and we’ll have some fun Facebook contests as we go along.

Sheri didyoudoanythingfunthisweekend?

Does anyone remember that old Dunkin Donuts commercial where the guy leaves the house early in the morning, muttering, “Time to make the donuts.”? Well around here, I’m hearing muttering that sounds like, “Time to make the knitting gift list.” (Of course I know that some of you are WELL into your lists, and a few of you are all finished. Seriously. Finished. Holy cow.) For those who might still be pondering, here are some of the ideas on my possibilities list for this season:

Mittens:
I love Johanne’s mitten patterns. For those who have not done colorwork before, remember that you only deal with two colors on any given row. Easy peasy. These are best done up in solids and semi-solids like the colors from Louet, Alchemy, Dye Dreams and Dream in Color Smooshy.  I have mittens on my list for someone this year.

Mitts:
I still like Fetching for a great fingerless mitt pattern, and they knit up quickly. I think these would be gorgeous done up in Malabrigo Seleccion Privada. (Or for a more semi-solid look, try them in Shibui Knits Worsted. I keep eyeing that Peacock colorway.) I did mine in Schaefer Lola – also a great yarn for that.

Or how about these Noro Fingerless Mitts from a skein of Silk Garden? You can’t beat the colors.

Scarves:
Some of my favorite scarf patterns come from Jojoland. Of course they look beautiful in the Jojoland colors (and we have more of those arriving next week), but they also look beautiful in solids and semi-solids. And if it’s going around my the giftee’s neck, I they’ll want it to be soft. Perfect yarns for these would be Hand Maiden Casbah, String Theory Caper, MacKintosh, Shibui Baby Alpaca, and The YoYo Cashsport.

I also love the Chevron Scarf from Last Minute Knitted Gifts, and have made some of those. You can hardly go wrong with any color combination. I like Fiesta Boomerang (we have a big order arriving any day), but I also want to try one with Hand Maiden’s Sea Three. Luscious. This one was done with Lorna’s Laces Sport – Vera and Pioneer. And then there are those Noro Silk Garden Worsted Scarves, shown in the first photo today. (K1, P1 down and back with one color Noro, K1, P1 down and back with a second color Noro.)  There are too many quick scarf options.

Cowls:
Anne Hanson has some great cowl patterns. (And you know, she also has some great scarf patterns, too.) I made her Spiraluscious cowl last year and it would make a quick and easy gift. Try some cowls in Ella Rae, Enchanted Knoll Farm, and Hand Maiden Mini Maiden or Swiss Mountain Sea Sock.

Shawls:
I have yet to be a big shawl knitter. (Ok – a shawl knitter at all. Although I’m totally enjoying my Girasole Shawl in the KAL that we’re doing.) I may have found the pattern to get me in with both feet. I found it on Ravelry and just bought it. Now to figure out what yarn to use. I also favorited this one. Both call for fingering weight yarn with about 1 skein used. Come to think of it, that might be a good one to go stash-busting for. (Added later: Too late. I already walked around Loopy and found new yarn to use. Mini Maiden for one and Swiss Sock for the other. I’m bad. No wonder my stash continues to grow… )

Do your friends and family members appreciate knitted gifts? Or do you steer clear of that? How many gifts will you knit for others this season?

(In shop news, the Namaste Hermosa in RED, Laguna in BLACK and Zuma in BLACK are enroute and now available for order. We’ll ship the second they arrive, so come and get yours!)

Sheri offtoStitchesMidwestfortheweekend,backtoLoopyonMonday!

I was reading through Twist Collective again, and read Ann and Kay‘s article on Stash. (Read it here – great article). Sidenote: am I the only one who clicks through the patterns and sometimes forgets to read the articles? I’ve been thinking a lot about stash lately. From how I want to store/display it, to how much I want/need to have and how it ought to be organized. Ann and Kay’s article helped me to figure out what I did right, what I did wrong, and where I want to go from here, in terms of stash-building. Here were their points:

1. “Don’t buy single skeins.” As a sock knitter, my stash is full (full full full) of single skeins. Not only are single skeins great for socks, but they also come in handy for scarves, mitts, cowls and hats. Single skeins are great. Having said that, I did purchase an expensive single skein of fancy-yarn-with-beads while on a trip, and it continues to sit in my stash more than a year later. I still love it, but I ought to have purchased two skeins in order to make something out of it. (It was too expensive. I would never have purchased two. Instead, I wasted money on one, because I’m smart that way. FPS…) I think Ann and Kay were speaking about this exact problem. Single skeins of sock yarn are A-ok. Single skeins of pricey yarn “because it’s so pretty and wouldn’t it be fun to make something with it but you have no idea what” – not ok.

2.  ”Figure out what your flour and sugar yarns are.” Now this was a great point. What are the yarns that you will use and knit for the rest of your life because they’re just that perfect for you? I have a good list of what these are for me. Each of us will have a different list. I do find that I tend to put more semi-solids on my list (or those yarns – like Dream in Color and String Theory – that have other colors in them but they knit up looking more solid than stripey or pool-y.). I will always like these colors, and you can’t go wrong with the yarn bases, either. I’ll go heavier on these in my stash, and a little lighter on the “seasoning yarns” – those that have multi-colors that might be popular now, but I might not like in 3 years. (Well, heck – if you hold on to your stash for 20 years, you know those colors will come around again eventually. Can you believe that 80′s styles are coming back into fashion this fall?)

3.  ”Don’t buy discontinued yarn.” I agree. Unless you really really love it and have plans for it right now. I’d go a step further and say that you ought to be very careful of sale and clearance yarns, too. (Unless it’s one of your flour and sugar yarns.) When I look at the yarns that I’m no longer happy with in my stash, 80% of them were purchased on sale and I bought them because they were “such a good deal and I know I’ll figure out something to use them for.” It’s never a good deal if they just sit there, taking up space.  I’ve learned that the hard way.

Now that I have a game-plan, I am going to spend time figuring out how to make a better stash for myself. I have plenty to get rid of, some that I want to expand (I love the flour and sugar idea, and I’m always up for single skeins of sock yarn), and some that will be tucked into a “use or lose” bin for another 6-9 months. Now I need to do the same figuring with knitting patterns, books and magazines. Any ideas? And what are your flour and sugar yarns? Have you ever given it a thought?

Sheri ifIgetridofsomebadstashyarnitmeansIcanaddinmoregoodstashyarn,right?

I’m done calling it a problem. You know, where I knit one sock and don’t knit the second one and that’s just “wrong”? It happens. A lot. There are just too many yarns and there is never enough time to knit. I like trying out different yarns and it’s part of my job. Therefore, I’m no longer going to feel guilty about this. (Really, who says you have to have a pair? Or that your pairs must match? Although I’m not the kind of person who could go out in two different socks. I just can’t.) Instead, my hubby added 12 more spots to the single sock display here at Loopy Central. Yes, that makes 36 total. It IS a little sad that I immediately filled them up with more single socks. No room to grow. We may have to have these railings/hangers in several spots here at Loopy.

I do knit some socks in pairs. I wear handknit socks all winter long, and they do match. Sometimes it’s because the yarn is so wonderful that I want them on my feet instead of just one on the wall. (Although there are a bunch of really great socks on the wall.) Sometimes it’s because a pattern was a lot of fun and I want to do it again. Sometimes it’s because I don’t have enough pairs and need more. Whatever the case, there are plenty of pairs of socks in my house for wearing. (Because you know, once you’ve worn handknit socks, the commercial ones no longer work for you.) And I still fully intend to knit the second socks for all of those on the wall one day. If I ever retire.

Remember the crayons in my post on Wednesday? That really got me to thinking about colors and stashes. When I was young, I loved to color and draw with markers and crayons. Maybe knitting with beautiful colors is one of the adult extensions of that? (Like Mariann. Check out how she “colors” with her knitting. Unbelievable.) I keep all of my yarn in plastic tubs and bins, but what if I kept it out on shelves so that I could see and enjoy the colors, like we do here at Loopy? Several of you commented on the shelves we had in our booth at the Sock Summit, and how you’d like these for your personal stashes. (Here’s a photo of them now being used here in the shop – the red and white ones in the back of the photo. They continue on through our “old” kitchen and into the new area, but this at least gives you an idea of what they look like.) It really is a great design, lightweight but sturdy, easy to assemble and adjust, and I told WH that he needs to make these for knitters. (He said he’d think about options.) If you filled these up with yarn colors, wouldn’t it be like walking into a box of crayons when you walked into your yarn room? (Yarn closet? Yarn bookcase?) Inspiring, encouraging, uplifting and fun. Lots of color choices and fiber choices. Lots of options for your next project. Just like a brand new box of crayons. Stash and display. It’s a good thing. Don’t you think?

Sheri nowrethinkingmystashspaceandwhatI’mgoingtodoaboutwithit

P.S. It’s a holiday weekend here in the States, with no mail on Monday. We’ll be back at Loopy Central on Tuesday, but of course you can shop online all weekend long. We’ll get your orders out on Tuesday. Have a great one!

 …. you go to Starbucks and see that Pumpkin Spice Lattes are back on the menu. (And Pumpkin Spice Scones!)

…. you see big yellow buses driving through the neighborhoods.

.… the air has lost a bit of “humid” and gained a bit of “nip”, even if it’s not enough nip to require long sleeves or a coat, yet. (Believe me, I’m so ready for nip that I’m hyper-aware of it sneaking in, a few degrees at a time.)

…. the tree in the front yard has a yellow leaf. Not a bunch. Just one. But that’s a sign. 

…. the idea of an evening walk around the neighborhood sounds fun, (well, ok, as fun as exercise ever sounds) instead of sounding like a trip to the sauna.

…. the newspaper starts talking about flu vaccines.

…. the school supply aisles are full of brand new things (and you might feel compelled to buy a new box of crayons, even though you’re forty-something too old to color.)  Although this box did make me think that having a good yarn stash full of beautiful colors is just as important as an artist with a palette full of paints, or a five year old with a new box of crayons – preferably the big size. 

…. the list of “what I’m knitting for people for gifts this year” gets pulled out and doodled upon. Note: knitting doesn’t have to be started yet. Just the list. Does anyone have their list done yet? What’s on it?

How do YOU know when Fall is coming to your part of town?

Sheri thecrayonswereonlyaquarter,ofcourseIhadtobuyapack.