Look – an Ishbel that I finished over the weekend. I am in love. Between working with this yarn (more on that in a minute) and looking over today’s list of yarns going up, and knowing what we have coming up in the near future, I realized something. It is important to me to work with beautiful yarn. So I came up with my own personal yarn rules.

1. I want it to feel good on my hands, since I’ll be spending hours and hours working with it.
2. I want it to look good when the project is finished and blocked and ready to wear … and long after that.
3. I want to be happy that I spent the time and money on the whole thing.

Pretty simple rules. It helps me to make better yarn-buying decisions for my own personal stash. For the first rule, that means I know that I like the feel of soft merino, alpaca, cashmere, soft cotton, and silk. (Not all together – just in differing combinations and in different bases.) I don’t like things that feel rough or squeaky in my hands. For the second rule, I know that it means that I want to buy quality yarn, from quality dyers. I have added other yarn into my personal stash over the past years that was not necessarily a good quality, and not necessarily well-dyed, and those went into my give-away pile. (Some were samples to see if we wanted to carry them here at the shop, some were “too good to pass up” sale items, and others were just …. a lapse of judgement, I guess!) For the third rule – well, that automatically works out if I followed rules one and two.

Back to the Ishbel shawl. This skein of yarn fit all of my rules. Julie (of Juliespins) sent me a sample of this yarn to test out. You just have to know, I’m not a yellow person. It’s not that I don’t like yellow, really. There are a lot of great yellows out there. In fact, I still have a pair of in-progress yellow socks, started during a time of too many cloudy days in a row. But I very seldom see a yellow in yarn that I “have” to knit. Other colors always catch my eye first. This skein of silk/merino from Julie was one that really grabbed me. It was a combination of the color and the silky sheen and the luxurious feel. I just knew I needed to sit down and make something out of it. (And when the big batch of it arrived last week for the shop, I grabbed a different color. Love the base.) I think I needed a bright yellow shawl/scarf to wear in the middle of winter, right?

This is what I mean about wanting to work with beautiful yarn. Every time I sat down to work on this project, the yarn made it that much more fun. And in addition to using these kinds of beautiful yarns myself, I love sharing them with you! So here are some of the beautiful things that we have for you tonight:

Juliespins Silky 435 – 16 colors of this same fingering weight yarn base that captured my attention during my Ishbel knitting. And you already know what an amazing job Julie does on her dyework.

Fiesta’s Gracie’s Lace – another one that falls into the “beautiful to work with” category, because this laceweight yarn is a mixture of merino, cashmere and silk. And at 950 yds. per skin, there is plenty to work with.

The Sanguine Gryphon Bugga and Skinny Bugga – the merino/cashmere/nylon yarn bases that we have all become addicted to. Just as wonderful for socks as it is for shawls and cowls and scarves and sweaters.

HiyaHiya – more Puppy Snips (yet again!) and a big re-stock on needles.

So you’ve read my three yarn-buying rules. Do you have any others that you go by?

Sheri itwas85degreestodayandfeltspositivelydelightful

I actually have a recipe for you today – surprise! I think it has been awhile since I’ve shared one. (Not because I haven’t been baking, but because I mostly make old family favorites while Knitting Daughter is home for the summer, and I have shared most of those with you already.) I’m kind of surprised I haven’t shared this one already, but I looked in my past recipes here and couldn’t find it.

But first – I wanted to tell you about a special Sock Kit that we will have up in a week or two. Many of you may remember Skacel’s Booby Sock kit that they sold in 2008/09. They combined a cute pattern and an exclusive pink Trekking color, to sell 2500 kits to participating shops. Skacel donated their entire proceeds to the Susan G. Komen Foundation, and shops could choose to donate whatever amount (or not) that they wanted to from their sales of the kits. We didn’t order those kits, but they have a new kit benefitting a new cause, and we’ve ordered a bunch.

This year, Skacel has again worked with Rosemary “Chappy” Chapman to come up with a special pattern, and Trekking has jumped in and come up with an exclusive colorway in teal, which is the official color of Ovarian Cancer research. This is being done in honor of Susanne Skacel, a 3 year survivor of Ovarian Cancer. The kit contains the pattern, the Trekking yarn, and beads to complete the sock design. Skacel is once again donating their entire proceeds from the sale of this kit, and we at The Loopy Ewe will be donating our entire proceeds from the sale of the kit as well. We’re hoping to send a great big check to the Marsha Rivkin Center for Ovarian Cancer Research. The kits are scheduled to ship to us in the middle of next week, so hopefully we’ll have them up sometime during the week of August 30th. I just wanted to let you know that we plan to have them, and we will get a good photo of the yarn/pattern/beads as soon as they arrive.  Each kit will be $25. (Edit – for those who have asked, yes, you are welcome to get more than one kit!) We’re happy to be a part of this, and to be raising funds for a great cause.

Today’s recipe is so easy – almost too easy to share. But then again, whenever I take it somewhere, people want the recipe. That tells you how delicious it is!  I hope you make it and your family enjoys it. (The photo? I know. A food blogger I am not. sigh.)

Brownie Truffle

1 package of brownie mix (for 9 x 13 pan)
2 lg. boxes of chocolate instant pudding mix
1 lg. container of Cool Whip, thawed
1 bag of toffee brickle bits (or chopped up Heath bars)

Make the brownie mix as directed and let it cool.

Cut brownies into 1″ pieces and layer half of the pieces in the bottom of a glass bowl. Mix up 1 box of pudding mix and pour over the brownies in the bowl. Spread half of the Cool Whip on top of the pudding and then sprinkle half of the brickle bits on top of that.  Repeat these layers a second time.  Let sit in the refrigerator overnight (or several hours). The longer it sits, the better it gets. (See? Isn’t that embarrassingly easy? You almost don’t want anyone to ask for the recipe…)

The weather is supposed to start cooling off (to a whopping 85 degress) this weekend. I think it will feel marvelous, after our days of 110 degree heat indexes. It’s all relative.

Sheri treasuringthelastdaysofhavingKnittingDaughterhome
sillystupidcollegeschedule

Done, done, done.  What a project that was! Although, based on the amount of things thrown away, and piled up for Goodwill, WH wants to know why there isn’t more empty space on the shelves. He was in charge of dispersing garbage and the give-away pile, so he’s aware of exactly how much stuff came out of that room. We both agree that it looks better, though, so that’s a good thing. What’s left? A LOT of childrens books and toys. I just saved the good stuff. Unfortunately, since I was a reading teacher and my mom was a kindergarten teacher and my mother in law has good taste in children’s books, there just aren’t a lot of “bad” kid books in the bunch. (Except maybe Captain Underpants, which was a particular favorite of Knitting Daughter’s. I had to save those two books.) Also, I have decided that I love plastic bins. And Uline, because that’s where my bins came from.

I found an expandable file of reports that I had done in junior high. (And it was important to save those for all these years, because …?) Tossed it. I also found this paper in there – “I will not talk without permission”, 50 times. I have no recollection of the event, but I can confirm that it was my handwriting, so it must’ve been something. I also found lots of fun hand drawn pictures and letters from both of my kids (you know, back when writing an “I love you, Mommy!” note was fun for them). So glad I saved those then, and of course I saved them now as well. Those are keepers.

I also found this photo of me, WH (the dark haired one) and one of my oldest friends in the world, Steve (the light haired one). He’s now married to one of my best friends, Janice, but I’ve known him since 7th grade, way before Janice appeared on the scene. (Isn’t it nice when you really like the people that your friends end up marrying?) We were all about 19 in that photo, and now all of our kids are older than that. How can that be? (And what is up with my hairstyle? I have no justification for it. My hair is naturally straight as a board, so you know that between my 80′s perm and my faithful curling iron, there was some time spent on that interesting ‘do.)

Enough about basement cleaning – on to the Anniversary Contest Winners! We had 1593 comments (thank you for all of your wonderful wishes!) and so we picked 8 commenters for the gift certificates.  All winners have been notified.

Winners of the $30 Loopy Ewe Gift Certificates:
Ruth in Ontario, Canada, Bhama in KY, Alicia in GA, Erin in OH, Dawn in NC, and Ruth in Thunder Bay, Canada.

Winner of the $50 Loopy Ewe Gift Certificate:
Jennifer (not sure where she is from, but I have emailed her. If you’re a Jennifer, check your email!) Edit: from Delaware. She emailed back!

Winner of the $100 Grand Prize Loopy Ewe Gift Certificate:
Tamara in TX

It’s steamy hot here in St. Louis, and we’ve been under an “extreme heat advisory” all week. What’s it like where you are?

Sheri verythankfulforairconditioning!
Andplasticbins.DidImentionhowmuchIlikethem?

I’m still stuck in The Back Room. (And you all made me feel a lot better by sharing your disorganized places in the comments. I’m sorry you have them, too, but I do feel better…) When I look at the “toss” pile, it does make me wonder why in the name of pete we have been storing these things all this time? I guess I wasn’t ready to toss some of that stuff before now. One illogical thing that I saved this time … again? My lesson plan books from when I was a teacher. Really, I flipped through them and there is no reason to save them. None.at.all. But there is so much work represented in those lesson plans! Maybe I’ll be ready to toss them in five years, when I do this again. (So, see? I guess I do understand why some things are saved that are later tossed.)

I’ve also been working on my crocheted Granny Stripe blanket, but have encountered a problem. Not only do I love this yarn (Amy Butler’s line), but Zoe likes it a little too much. It’s impossible to flip the whole thing at the end of the row, when she is sitting there with her feet tucked under, purring to her heart’s content.  I’m such a patsy. I’m making it 50 x 70 so that we can use it as a throw. And I’m already planning on making another one out of Cascade 220, just for fun. I can’t wait to pull colors and figure out just what I’ll combine for the next one. It’s a nice no-brainer project to have in process, on the days when you’re too tired to think about fancy patterns.

We do have a few new things up on the website for you tonight! Come check them out:

Lorna’s Laces Honor – the new base you’ve been waiting for! This DK weight yarn is 70% Baby Alpaca and 30% Silk. It’s just as luscious as it sounds. Use it for a cowl, scarve, mitts, or gloves, or get 2 skeins and knit up your favorite shawlette pattern. Don’t you need a new shawl for this fall?

Tempted Yarn’s Good Grrl – Stacy’s 100% fingering weight yarn, perfect for socks and lightweight shawlettes.

Fiesta Baby Boom – Some of my very favorite colorways come from Fiesta (Hello …  Adirondack, Clematis, Madrid, Mochachino …..) I love using this line for socks and scarves, but I’m thinking a shawl might be fun out of it, too. What do you think?

Opal’s New Rainforest VI – just out! If you collect this series, you’ll want to get it while we have it. It’s always fun to see the patterns and colors they come up with.

Patterns from Connie Chang Chinchio and Knit & Tonic. Take a look and see what inspires you!

Have a great night. If I can dig myself the rest of the way out of my basement, I’ll be back to the blog on Wednesday….

Sheri whohasbeensneezingalot.Perhapsthebackroomisaweebitdusty.

Boy, do I ever have an exciting few days in store for me. Wait ’til you hear! I am off work today (ok, most of the day) and will also be off Monday and Tuesday. Not that this upcoming project will take that long (please tell me it won’t), but because Knitting Daughter is off on a little trip to visit a friend, and for some reason I thought I’d turn my attention to the house.

Or more specifically, the basement.

It’s a nice basement. After all, that’s where Loopy resided for the first year of our shop. Now, that old Loopy corner is all set up for my scrapbooking. (Never mind that I haven’t scrapbooked in four years – which, coincidentally, is how old The Loopy Ewe is. Enough said.) But hey, it’s ready for me, as soon as I want to sit down and do it.

There’s an area for sitting and watching tv. (With the oft-used treadmill behind the couch. Cough.)

But the scary part of the basement? It’s The Back Room. Really, I usually avoid it at all costs. It’s not that big (which is part of the problem) and it’s almost impossible to find anything in there (which is also part of the problem). But lately, it seems to multiply things when we’re not looking. No one sees the back room. If you were to ring my doorbell and ask, I’d tell you no. If you were over, watching a movie and knitting with me and Knitting Daughter, and begged to see the scary Back Room? I’d tell you no. Also, no to my parents, my mother-in-law, my best friends, and the meter reader. (Not that there is a meter back there to read, but just in case there was – the answer would be no.) No one gets to visit The Back Room.

So I am going to be buried back there over the next few days, sorting, tossing, Goodwilling, and organizing. Who knows what I will find? I can hardly contain my excitement. I know that WH was pretty excited when I mentioned this possibility of organizing to him. (As a member of our household, he DOES get to see The Back Room, but he tries not to.) I hope I come back out alive.

Am I alone in this? Do you have a room, or a closet, or a part of your home that no one gets to see? That needs a bit of organizing? That is off limits to everyone but you? (Now that I showed you a picture of my Back Room, I’m assuming you’d allow me to see your unorganized area. I just need to knock on your door and ask, right? Just between us?)

Sheri whomightonedaydeletethiswholepost
PrettysureIdon’twantthatpictureinitafterall.

As I mentioned in Monday’s blog, we’re celebrating our fourth anniversary this month! To celebrate, we’ve put together our annual Loopy Ewe Anniversary Kit ** to share with you. (Would you like to see the ones from years past? First Anniversary, Second Anniversary, and Third Anniversary.) The one for this year has to be my favorite so far, because we have included things that you haven’t seen before. Very special yarn, an extra special tumbler, and of course a great anniversary pattern.

The Yarn – You’ll be the first to get a brand new yarn base from Dream in Color called “Smooshy With Cashmere”. It’s luscious! This fingering weight yarn is 70% Superwash Merino (in the regular Smooshy twist/ply), 20% Cashmere, and 10% Nylon. We had them dye this color to match the happy blue paint color that you see when you walk into the shop. Since it makes us happy when we get to work in the morning, the colorway is called “Joy in the Morning”. It has turned into one of my very favorite colors.

The Tumbler – Are you familiar with Mary Hadley Pottery? This 70+ year old pottery company has used specially trained artists to hand-draw the fun, whimsical figures in their line since Mary Hadley first picked up her brush. We thought the style would lend itself very well to Loopy, so we had him “Hadley-ized”. Isn’t he cute on there? Since each one is hand-drawn by an artist, they may differ slightly from one to the other. The artists have also hand-drawn “The Loopy Ewe” in our font on the back of the tumbler, and look what’s at the bottom of it: Baa. These tumblers are lead-free, and are microwave and dishwasher safe. You can use them for hot beverages, cold beverages, or knitting needles, notions, pens and pencils.  The stoneware is made from clay, and then painted, glazed, and kiln-fired at 2100 degrees fahrenheit, making it highly resistant to chipping and scratching. Due to the time involved in drawing on each tumbler (and the large number of tumblers we ordered), the Hadley artists have been working on this order since February for us! (The Spring Flingers may have gotten a sneak peek in April….)

In keeping with tradition, we sent our anniversary yarn to Debbie O’Neill who came up with another great anniversary pattern for us. The semi-solid colorway lends itself to this beautiful pattern that creates the look of movement across your feet and around your ankles. You’ll have fun knitting this up.

The kits are available for purchase here. We have lots available, but if we run out, we may be able to pull together a few more. We’ll keep you posted. For our international customers, we’ve ordered special boxes to ship this kit to you. We can’t guarantee no-breakage in transit, but I can tell you that these are heavy-weight tumblers (hard to break) and between that and our packaging, I don’t anticipate any troubles.

We have a couple more things in the works with those Hadley artists that we’re excited about, too. We’ll keep you posted!

Sheri whowillbehappytohavethesekitsoffinthemail.
However,themailmanfeelsdifferently.Hehasalready
beeneyeingtheboxesandplanningvacationtime.

**Edit: because these sold out in 24 hours, we will put together a few more for you. I’ll announce on the blog when the last batch is ready. Thanks so much for such an enthusiastic response to them!