Sometimes I wish there was a tab like this on my computer:

And every so often, when the day turns extra busy and overwhelming, I would hit that button and someone would bring me this:

Wouldn’t that be handy? What kind of tab would you like on your computer?

Sheri whocanthinkofseveralmoreusefulcomputertabs,actually.

There is never a lack of color here at The Loopy Ewe. Every day I come in to work and color pops off of every nook and cranny. I’ve been bringing more color into our house, too. It’s spring (actually it feels like summer here – we bypassed spring) and it’s always nice to lighten up the house in this weather. So I have color:

In the pillows on the couch (flowers from Pier One and turquoise from Crate and Barrel).

In the pillow on the chair (also from Pier One, although someone in the house – and you know it’s just me and WH in there now – thought it was a silly pillow, so it will be coming to Loopy to sit on the red couches. How could I not buy it? It’s crochet!).

In glass jars (from Home Goods, mostly. Now that these are full, I need another one. I like having my extra sock yarn balls in jars.)

In more glass jars (from various antique stores).

In candles on the mantel (which are not this green at all. Remember when I said it’s hard to get a good picture of teal? It shows in this photo.)

Certainly lots going on in our house this spring. What’s the most colorful spot in your house right now? Or do you need to add some in?

Sheri whoseknittinghastakenarestforthepasttwoweeks

Do you remember the Field of Dreams quote that says, “If you build it, he will come.”? (I thought it was “they will come” until I Googled it. According to Wiki, many people quote it incorrectly. Like me.) My new mantra is, “If you buy it, you will learn it.” In my case, that particularly applies to two things in tonight’s Update.

1. Lorna’s Laces Helen’s Laces in Grand Street Ink. I think that I may have stated here that lace intimidates me a bit. Not the patterns (although there are some that make me feel like I need to sit down with an iced tea and a hand fan). It’s the yarn itself. That whispery thin, intimidatingly little, laceweight. One laceweight line that I think I can handle? Helen’s Laces. It’s a 50% merino / 50% silk which makes it soft and strong at the same time. It’s a 2-ply with a little weight to it, so it’s not like knitting with thread. And the merino in there makes it easier to work with (than the 100% silk laceweight that – while entirely lovely – was a little too much for me and my needles, the one and only time I used it. In fact, it might be why I swore off of laceweight yarn after that.) At any rate, this is the yarn that Jared Flood used in his newest pattern, “Rock Island“, and I’m going to jump in and give it a whirl with Helen’s Laces. See? If you buy it (which I did), you will learn it (which I’m going to do). Maybe it will inspire a whole new love of laceweight knitting for me. Or at least Helen’s Laces laceweight knitting.

2. Beads. At last year’s Spring Fling, I saw so many gorgeous shawls with beads. I really liked the slight weight that they added to the ends of the shawls, and of course the extra shimmer added more pop to the already amazing patterns. Look at these lovely gals in the photo. Doesn’t that make you want to knit up a shawl? With beads? Now that I finally have beads here at The Loopy Ewe, I am going to start knitting with them. See? If you buy it (which I did), you will learn it (which I’m going to do). It’s always good to push yourself and your knitting skills once in awhile.

Of course there is more to entice you to shop today.

* Not only did we get Grand Street Ink in the Helen’s Laces weight that the pattern calls for, but we also got it in Shepherd Sock, Shepherd Sport, and Roving.
* We also have re-stocked some of our Cascade lines, so look for updates in 220, Eco Duo, Heritage Solid, and Heritage Silk.
* We’ve added in 13 more colors of Hand Maiden Swiss Mountain Sea Sock (which is one of my most favorite yarn bases ever).
* We added more Fleece Artist Trail Sock colorways, so we now have 25 colors to choose from. Trail Sock is a great merino/nylon blend at a very reasonable price.
* We have lots of new Sanguine Gryphon Bugga for you (which is another one of my most favorite yarn bases ever).
* And I added the Laci’s Wrist Yarn Ball Holder to the website, because I bought one at a Stitches event awhile back and really like how it works. These are especially nice for when you are knitting in a place where you don’t want to risk your yarn rolling on the floor. (Like in cars, planes, movie theaters, standing in line, when you have dogs or cats at your feet, etc.). Plus, it’s easy to take your yarn cake on or off of this ball holder, even mid-project. Or leave it on and pop the whole thing into your knitting bag when you’re done for the day. Just make sure you knit from the outside of the ball when you use it.

Did you catch Friday’s blog with the new Second Quarter Challenge? It has been fun to see your orders and stories come through. We’re enjoying seeing how you’re adapting this challenge in your own way.

Sheri thinkingweavingmightneedtobenextbuyit/learnit.Whatdoyouthink?

We’re ready to tally up your votes for our first quarter challenge! Take a peek at the photo gallery, where you’ll find 65+ entries, and then send us your vote for your favorite. (support @ theloopyewe.com). We’ll be drawing for two Loopy gift certificates – one for the project that gets the most votes, and one for a random drawing from all participants. I hope you all had fun working on cables during First Quarter.

That means that we’re also ready for the Second Quarter Challenge, which runs from now until the end of June. I asked for input in the blog a week or two ago, and I appreciate those of you who left comments and sent emails. It’s clear that the plight of Japan continues to be in our hearts and on our minds, and I liked the charity knitting thoughts that several of you suggested. So our Second Quarter Challenge is all about charity knitting. But there are several different ways to participate. You pick the one that feels right to you. You can:

1. Knit a pattern where the pattern proceeds go to a charity relief effort (whether to Japan or other areas) – like one of these, or other patterns:

Wendy’s Japanese Garden Shawl
Kay’s Mitered Crosses Blanket
Janel’s Eiki Shawl

2. Or knit something to give to someone who is going through a tough time and needs a little extra love and support, like:

a shawl, or a pair of socks, or a sweater.

3. Or knit something and donate it to one of the many charities that need such items, like one of these, or other worthy causes:

preemie hats
blankets for animals in shelters
chemo caps

To participate in the challenge, please be sure that the yarn is one that is available for sale at The Loopy Ewe (or one that you have purchased from us in the past.) Stash yarn is great!  But if you do need to purchase a skein of something to use for the challenge, you are welcome to a 20% discount on the yarn for this project. You must leave us an order note on your order, letting us know which yarn you are using for the challenge and how it will be used for some type of charity knitting. The discount offer is good from Friday, April 8th through Friday, April 15th at midnight. If you are going for free shipping (over $75) in the U.S., make sure that your 20% discount does not take you under the $75 amount.

Projects need to be completed (and photos uploaded to our Second Quarter Challenge Gallery) by July 5th, in order to be eligible for the drawings. Please share what you’ve done – we’re all inspired by it!

So who is in? And what are you going to make?

Sheri wholikesachallengethatsharesthelove

You know there is to much on your To-Do List when you start looking at colors of yarn and make up coffee and tea names to go with it. Not that I need an extra dose of caffeine to get through my list or anything. WH took some extra photos of a few skeins of our Loopy Ewe Solid Series and it makes me think of coffee, tea and chocolate (clockwise, starting in the upper left corner):

- strong espresso
- peach tea on ice
- salted caramel hot chocolate
- mocha latte
- iced chai tea
- peppermint hot chocolate

(Ok, in real life they are called Coffee, Sand, Rose Brown, Mocha, Tan, and Sienna. We tried to stay with one or two word names for our Loopy line. But I could’ve really gone to town on names, if I didn’t think that “simple is often better” when naming a basic solids line.)

I might need to add a Tea and Coffee scarf pattern to my To-Do List. It would definitely remind me of Life in the Spring of 2011, which has been crazy nuts.  Or I could whip up a scarf with a combination of some colors that are hot and some that are cold, because some days are in the 80′s and other days, it’s snowing. That seems to be the norm this spring, too. And I definitely need to make a scarf with a variety of blues. Not because I’m BLUE, mind you, but because I seem to be a bit addicted to a combination of Robin’s Egg Blue like the Loopy wall, and similar colors. What colors would you use if you were making a scarf to represent your own Life in the Spring of 2011?

Sheri workingonnewyarninfosignsforLoopyshelvestoday

Why is it that you can have the nicest toys for your kids, and the plushest beds for your cats, and they prefer the boxes and the wrapping? (Well, at least that works until a certain age with kids. At some point, a refrigerator box is a lot less appealing than a refrigerator stocked with good food.) I was unwrapping some things this weekend and had packing paper on the floor. Zoe bypassed a nice comfy bed in favor of plopping her tiny self into the middle of the crunchy, noisy packing paper. She clawed it, she tasted it, and then she curled up and fell asleep. I’m pretty sure it was the highlight of her day.

We have an Update full of beautiful color for you today! And just to make things challenging for the Loopy Elves, we’ve stocked a few similar-sounding yarn bases from Hand Maiden. They’ll need some caffeine before coming in to the shop to pull orders for you tomorrow. Just up:

Hand Maiden Sea Silk – 70% Silk, 30% Seacell, this 436 yard fingering weight skein is ideal for shawls and scarves. This is a yarn that you’ll get and want to cast on immediately.

Hand Maiden Swiss Moutain Sea Sock – 51% Silk, 29% Superwash Merino, 20% Seacell, this is also a 436 yd. fingering weight skein. In addition to shawls and scarves, you can also use this one for socks. Simply scrumptious treats for your feet. I’m currently finishing up a little shawl out of this. (The photo shows the Salt Spray colorway.)

Hand Maiden Swiss Silk – 100% silk and one of their newest bases, this 436 yd. light fingering weight yarn is perfect for shawls, scarves and cowls. I think Hand Maiden’s beautiful colors show so well on their silk and silk blend yarn bases.

(And if I were trying to decide what to use each base for, I’d be using it to make: A Sea Silk Scarf for an upcoming birthday gift, a Swiss Mountain Sea Sock pair of socks for myself, and a Swiss Silk Shawl for a friend for Christmas. Because, you know, I’m all about knitting ahead this year….)

Madelinetosh Pashmina – We put 43 more colors of this up today. I know you love this merino/silk/cashmere blend as much as I do, because you keep buying us out! This sportweight yarn is a little quicker to knit than fingering, and I like the way it makes your stitch patterns pop. Great for socks, scarves, shawls, wraps, and sweaters.

String Theory Hand-Dyed Caper - A few more colors have made their way to our shop (via boxes that got separated from the others), so we now have those up for you. Just added: Ruby Slipper, Winterberry, Cobalt, and Canyon.

Kollage Riveting – The yarn made from re-cycled jeans, re-stocked again in Storm, Dusk, Night and Charcoal, which we have been out of.

Dream in Color Classy and Starry - re-stocks in several colors that you’ve been waiting for.

Needles - a re-stock of Kollage’s square circulars and DPN’s.

Accessories - a re-stock of Stitch Savers (that handy little crochet hook for rescuing dropped stitches), Knitting Counters (am I the only one who needs one of these in every knitting bag?), and Sheep-y Tape Measures.

Sheri whojustsawafewsnowflakesoutthewindow.Andyesterdayitwasinthe80′s.FPS.