How was your weekend? What did you eat and what did you knit? I’m hoping you had a relaxing time. I love 4 day weekends and we don’t get nearly enough of them here in the States. We had a whirlwind of travel (and made it a 5 day weekend – even better!)  First, we drove up to Chicago on Wednesday for the wedding of one of Web Guy’s friends. He and Sarah have been good buddies since early elementary school, so of course we wanted to be there for her wedding. What a special way to start the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. (My photo of the happy couple is blurry, so instead you get a photo of Web Guy and Sarah!)

Then we drove over to my mother-in-law’s house in Clinton, Iowa, for a nice Thanksgiving dinner and a few days of rest and relaxation. Here she is with Web Guy and College Daughter:

And a photo of the kids with me and hubby.

This is the town where WH and I grew up, and one of the best things about Clinton, Iowa is Eagle Point Park. My house was about a block from here, and we rode our bikes through this park (and visited this stone tower in the park) just about every day in the summertime.

You get some great views of the Mississippi River from up there.

The other great thing about Clinton, Iowa is Rastrelli’s Sausage Pizza – nothing like it in the world. We have it every time we visit, but I didn’t get a photo of it. You just have to taste that sausage in person!

I did some knitting and revised my to-knit list (which happens all the time. How often do you revise your list?) We got back to St. Louis last night and suddenly the Fall decorations around my house seem hopelessly past their prime. Time to get the Christmas things up. But first, we’re working on ALLLLL of the orders you put in here at The Loopy Ewe over the long weekend, and then the new stuff we have for you in tonight’s update, including a new indie dyer! As always, we’ll have details on Facebook, Twitter and Ravelry tonight when the new things go up.

But what I really want to know is this – is your house decorated for the holidays, yet? Am I already behind for the season?

Sheri wholovedthecoldChicagoandClintonweather

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving Day (for those who celebrated it this week) and now I’m sure you’re out shopping ’til you drop, getting the bargains at Target (although the lady in the commercial worries me), Best Buy, etc.  I’m not one of those people who get up early to get a bargain, just because I like my sleep a little too much! But I might get out there later today, just to get more Christmas shopping done.

I wanted to show you a picture of our newest elf. Remember Lucy’s first visit to The Loopy Ewe? She came back to visit again this week, and she has grown! We posed her by Loopy again for comparison. This time, she didn’t want to sleep – she just wanted to play. In fact, she nose-butted Loopy right over, after this photo was taken. (I’m sure she thinks he’s a rather boring 4-legged companion.) We were glad that Lucy’s momma (Elf Donna) brought her by for a visit again.

Are you getting any knitting done? I’m working on a Little Jazz, a Tesni Shawl out of Malabrigo Rios, and a sock out of DC Smooshy with Cashmere. Trying not to cast on a Shur’tugal, because I liked the looks of the one that my friend James put on his blog this week.

Sheri youknowmebetterthanthat.
ImightcastthatShur’tugalonafterall.

I came across this pattern on Ravelry and thought it was interesting that so many people said they made one and they were looking forward to making another one. I don’t make a lot of things twice, just because there are too many other things out there that I want to try. But I may make an exception with this pattern! I made this for a friend for Christmas, and I like the finished shawl so much that now I want one for my own. I’m putting it on my list.

There was a big unintended modification to this pattern. I was knitting along on it, completely distracted because I was enjoying a couple of days at my friend’s lake house. We were deep into watching movies, enjoying the fall weather, and catching up on our lives. (At least that’s my excuse.) Consequently, I failed to see the instructions that told me (clearly) to knit on the purl side, when I got to the stripes. It’s supposed to make it look more dimensional and give it more texture. I realized it when I got to the second stripe, but I had no desire to frog it back, and I had no desire to make the second stripe different from the first. So – it looks a little different. But I like it. Now I’m not sure which way I’d do it for the second time around.

I made mine the medium size, out of Madelinetosh Merino Light in the colors Tart and Fig. We started discussing this shawl and colors on our Loopy Ewe Facebook page back when I was first beginning the pattern, and then I did a blog post on other color choices that you might like. It really is a fun knit, and one of those shawls where you can knit and chat and not pay too much attention to the pattern. (Um, except for the part where it tells you to knit on the purl side. You might want to pay attention to that part.)

This is a holiday weekend for us, so the brick and mortar part of the shop will be closed on Thursday and Friday. Of course we’ll continue to be open online 24/7, so you can still be looking and shopping, and we’ll all be in on Monday to make sure that your orders get packed up and shipped out. (How can next week be December already? Is it just me, or did 2010 just whip right by?)  In the meantime, we want to wish a wonderful Thanksgiving to those of you celebrating it this week. When we count our blessings around here, YOU are at the top of our list!

Sheri lookingforwardtoextraknittingtimethisweekend,too

Many of us speak about Malabrigo as Mmmmmalabrigo. Because it’s just that delicious. And now, I think I will have to speak of Sweet Georgia as “Sweeeeeet Georgia”, because that’s what this new CashLuxe will do to you. (Or maybe “Suh-WEET Georgia”!)

I predict that you all will love this wonderful mix of superwash merino, cashmere, and nylon (70/20/10), along with Felicia’s exquisite dyeing. I set aside a skein of Lettuce Wrap for myself, just because of the name. Although Autumn Flame is probably a better color for the season of Thanksgiving this week. And Stella – probably my favorite from this batch, and I’m not even a very purple person.

Also up this week, a whole new batch of Lavishea lotion bars, both large and small sizes, including some new scents that you will love. The Elves have been chuckling over the Man Bar. And I must have Colorado on my brain, because I just noticed that there are two tins of that in this photo. Oh, well. These would make great stocking stuffers for all of your friends. I keep a small tin in my purse and in my knitting bag, and a large tin in my bathroom for moisturizing in the mornings. The other thing that I keep there is our Soak Heel Creme. LOVE this stuff. It might be a good idea to include a tub of this with each pair of handknit socks that you give as a gift, because the tagline says, “For feet worthy of handknit socks.” That just adds a reminder to the recipient that handknit socks are special (so treasure them!) and you think they are worthy of them.

Patterns re-stocked: Dream in Color’s Tulip Baby Sweater, and in the Loopy Sock Clubs section: Loopy Loves You Socks, Anklebiters, Purple Rose of Loopy, Little Jazz, and Swirl Socks.

To round out this week’s Monday Update, we have a big re-stock of Della Q needle organizers and project bags, as well as her newest fall organizing bags. There is a great new hanging circular organizer, as well as a cute Travel Case (which holds a few circs, a few DPN’s, and a zip pocket for small scissors, stitchmarkers, etc.), and a new bag that holds almost every circular needle and DPN that you can come up with. Seems like a good time to organize your needles, doesn’t it?

I washed and blocked my Whippoorwill Shawl – photos on Wednesday. I made it for a friend, but now I don’t want to give it away. I think that means I must make another one for myself. (But isn’t it nice when something turns out so perfect for a friend that you sort of want to keep it?)

Sheri cloudyalldaybutnotaraindropinsight.Maybetomorrow.

There are some things I should do today.

1. I should clean off my desk. There are too many papers on it.
2. I should get my email in-box down to zero.
3. I should wash and block my Whippoorwill Shawl.
4. I should finalize a few orders from a few different vendors.
5. I should organize the yarn samples in my office.
6. I should work until late tonight.

There are some things I shouldn’t do today.

1. I shouldn’t start knitting a new pair of socks.
2. I shouldn’t take any yarn home from Loopy today.
3. I shouldn’t scroll through patterns on Ravelry.

Guess which list is going to get completed?

I do have a new recipe to share with you, and it’s something you might want to have on hand as an appetizer before your Thanksgiving dinner (or with your next soup and salad meal). This is delicious and the flavors are perfect for fall.

Meda’s Spiced Cranberry Appetizer

1 (12 oz) bag of fresh cranberries
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 1/2 tsp. vinegar
2 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 tsp. allspice

Wash the cranberries but don’t dry them. Add all of the ingredients to a saucepan and cook over medium heat until the sugar dissolves and the cranberry skins pop, stirring regularly. (This usually takes about 20-30 minutes.) Let cool until just warm, and then pour over a brick of cream cheese. Serve with Wheat Thins or your favorite crackers.

Note: One batch is enough for two regular sized bricks of cream cheese. You can also make this ahead, store covered in the refrigerator, and warm slightly before serving.

Back to the Shoulds and Shouldn’ts – do you have anything you should or shouldn’t be doing today?

Sheri goingtogoworkonmyshouldn’tlist.
It’sjustmorefun.

Fun stuff! We started the day with a Puppy Shower for Elf Donna. Remember her cute new yellow lab named Lucy? I’ve decided that it’s a lot of fun to shop for puppy presents. Unfortunately, Lucy was not the guest of honor at her own shower, simply because we surprised Donna with the shower. But we hope to see Lucy again soon.

We’re unpacking boxes of a new yarn base from Sweet Georgia – her new Cash Luxe (merino, cashmere, nylon) base. Lots of colors. I grabbed three from the first box, just so I could share a photo with you. (Note – if you click on the photo you’ll see it up close and personal. It’s almost as good as reaching into your computer and touching it in person. Almost.) We’ll get them all photo-ed and up for you for next week’s Monday Night Update.

I’ll bet you are wondering who won the yarn cake of Raku-Regenbogen from last week’s mini contest? I’ll be sending it to Nadine in West Virginia. She shared that she’d use it to make an Annis Shawl. I think it’s going to look awesome! I’m thinking I might want to make an Annis Shawl – maybe out of Wool Candy’s Robin’s Egg or Sanguine Gryphon’s Skinny Bugga Sooty Dancer or Madelinetosh’s Merino Light Sequoia.

I have decided that one of my very favorite parts of knitting is picking patterns that I want to knit and finding the perfect yarn to go with it. I also like starting the project and getting about halfway through, and then I want to pick a new pattern and yarn and start all over. Hmmm. No wonder I have so many ongoing projects. If designers would just stop designing and dyers would just stop dyeing, maybe I’d have a chance to catch up.

What is your favorite part? Picking the project? Starting in on it? Finishing it up? Handing it over to the recipient?

Sheri lotsofongoingprojects,and
I’vedecidedtobeperfectlyokwiththat.