** Beep, Beep, Beep . . .

This Blog post has been interrupted for a message from the St. Louis Loopy Ewe Elves as The Loopy Ewe moves cross-country to Colorado this week …***

Dear Loopy Customers,

The St. Louis Elves want to say THANK YOU and Goodbye to all of our great customers!!

We’ve had such great fun packing your orders!  We’ve enjoyed helping with your yarn choices and then seeing your finished projects.

We’ve imagined far away places where the yarn finds a new home.  Knitters hunkered down in the snow in Alaska or on the beach in Hawaii.

We’re curious about your cities, towns and countries.  How fun would it be to live in Surprise, Arizona??  Do they ever play marbles in Marble Hill, Missouri?

We’ve had so much fun meeting our customers when they stop by Loopy Central.  We get to put a face with a name and we love it when you bring your projects to show us.

You’ve inspired our own knitting adventures.

We would also like to THANK Sheri for making Loopy such a great place to work!! We will miss you!

The St. Louis Elves wish the new Colorado Elves all the best!

As a final note we’d like to end with the following quote:
“You’re off to Great Places, Today is your Day, Your Mountain is waiting so get on your Way”  - Dr. Suess

Goodbye and Good Luck to everyone. Maybe we’ll see you on Ravelry!

The St. Louis Loopy Ewe Elves

(Drawing by Elf Sue. What do the icons mean? Sue has an inventory sheet for Invetory Manager, Anna is the best double-checker with orders, Vicki always looks cute (she really does), Susan is the “glue” that holds everyone together, Mary has a menu – she’s our lunch takeout expert, Donna is the knitter, Karen is the one who talks to you on the phone most of the time, Lori is the ball winder, and Sharon is the photographer.)

There is much going on in our new shop space here in Colorado. (We won’t talk about the fact that it’s not going to be quite ready when the moving van gets here. They need two extra weeks. Just be assured that it won’t affect shipping and updates. We have a Plan B in place.)

The framework is up, the heating/air conditioning ducts are in, and the electrical is done. Here’s the kitchen , the photo room, and the back door to Loopy. (Note – there is a huge sign on the door that states “Hard hats must be worn at all times. NO EXCEPTIONS.” Except for the guy in the orange t-shirt, I guess.)

The “big long space” is still a big long space, ready for ceiling and carpeting and shelves full of yarn. (Why is the guy in the yellow hardhat just standing there, looking out the window when there is work to be done? Seriously.)

The front door has been cut and is ready for you to walk through. Just about. (See that corner where the two walls of windows meet? That’s where the Loopy Webcam will go, so that you can keep track of orders being wrapped up and new deliveries coming in the front door.  Cool, huh?)

The photos above were all taken earlier last week. When we popped in on Saturday, all of the drywall was up and the heating ducts in the ceiling were wrapped and insulated. So things are moving fast, which is good! Here’s a shot similar to the one with the yellow hardhat guy (above), but now with the walls taking shape.

Our schedule – we’ll be shipping orders from St. Louis through this Wednesday morning, November 30th. The movers are loading up the shop on Thursday and Friday (12/1-2), driving to Colorado over the weekend, and unloading everything on Monday (12/5).  We’ll get set up on Tuesday (12/6) and hope to start shipping orders from Colorado on Wednesday, 12/7. All orders from Wednesday afternoon on (11/30), will start shipping on the 7th. The website will stay up 24/7 as always, and you’ll be able to place orders throughout the moving process. We might be a little harder to get by phone during this time, but we’ll be answering emails every day.

I’ll share a few photo-blog entries along the way. Wish us luck.

Sheri hopingtosurvivethenextfewweeks,prayersappreciated….

P.S. Congratulations to Sally in UT, who won the Jane Austen Knits drawing from Friday’s blog!

I continue to be a sucker for knitting magazines, and it always seems like I find the most knittable projects in Interweave magazines. Oh, there is beautiful eye candy in all of the different knitting magazines out there, for sure. But the projects I look at and think, “I might make that!” typically come from Interweave magazines.

Did you get a copy of their Holiday Gifts issue this fall? I want to knit up McHenry by Susan B. Anderson (a cute stuffed puppy pattern, as well as a puppy hat for kids option). Susan comes up with the greatest patterns for kids. I also like the Novel Sleeve by Kathy Zimmerman (perfect for your Kindle or Nook). But the pattern that I just had to start in on this week are the Ashbury Mitts by Simona Merchant-Dest, shown on the cover. It’s making me try my first go at bobbles. (They’re so easy. Sometimes I wonder why I think things are intimidating – cables, colorwork, bobbles – all were just fine, once I actually sat down and tried them.)

Another recent publication from Interweave was Jane Austen Knits. I’ve marked the Fiori Pullover sweater by Mary Annarella, the Lambton Top by Theressa Silver, and the Frederick & Anne scarf by Kirsti Johanson, as possible future projects. I was so anxious to see this issue that I bought it myself, even though I knew I’d be getting a copy in the mail for advertising in it. Since I now have 2 copies, I’m giving one away to a lucky blog reader today. Would you like it? Just leave a comment below and we’ll announce the winner on Monday’s blog. (I wish I had five copies to give away!) Do you have a favorite pattern that you’ve made from a knitting magazine?

In keeping with Gratitude Week here on the blog, we have winners from Wednesday’s blog. We are sending a beautiful skein of indie-dyed yarn to these five knitters: Eloise from OR, Suellen from PA, Beth from MD, Cynthia from NC, and Melissa from MI.

I took photos of the Colorado Loopy Shop Space-in-progress last week. I’ll share them on Monday’s blog. It’s sloooowly coming together ….

Sheri leftoverturkeysandwichesareontoday’smenu

…. so many things! But I’ll give you the ones that (mostly) relate to The Loopy Ewe:

1. I’m thankful for all of YOU. We would have no business without you. You keep us on our toes, and you make stocking the shop fun. You’re at the top of our list and we’re always happy to have you here.

2. The indie dyers who trust us to represent and showcase their beautiful lines. Such talent in that group, and we’re grateful to share their art with you.

3.  The “big” yarn companies who are so wonderful to work with. (Big is in quotes because even though they are big, most all of them work hard to be personal and friendly in all of their dealings.)

4.  Coffee and chocolate. There might be a little stress going on with this cross-country December move of ours, and coffee and chocolate are helping. (I know that I should say knitting is helping, too, but my knitting time is going to be limited for a bit….). Coffee and chocolate are staples in our Loopy kitchen.

5.  The St. Louis Loopy Elves. They’re forever a part of the Loopy family (meaning their impact here will last forever, but it also means that they get a Forever Loopy Employee Discount, and a forever free place to stay when they want to visit Colorado in the future. Also? A forever job if they realize that they’re tired of the St. Louis humidity next summer and want to move to the mountains. I keep hoping.).

6.  The moving company that will be taking all of Loopy’s earthly possessions and driving it cross-country in a week or so. If you see a bright yellow Exodus moving van in Missouri/Kansas/Colorado the first weekend in December, you might want to ambush it and plunder the yarn. (On second thought, don’t plunder. Let’s make sure it arrives safe and sound in one piece.)

7.  Your patience. I know you don’t like No-Update Mondays. I don’t either. But we are stockpiling a bunch of great yarn for our first post-move December update here in Colorado, on the 12th!

8.  Stash enhancing. Ok – beyond the coffee and chocolate stress busters, I’m also picking yarn to add to my stash. I might not be able to knit for a bit, but I can still dream about future projects in wonderful colors. And I do have cases and cases of yarn sitting at my house, waiting for your next Monday Update. What’s a knitter to do?

9.  The Colorado Loopy Elves. They know they have a lot to live up to (because they know you all love the St. Louis Elves) but they are ready for the challenge. I promise you, they are bringing their own kind of awesome to The Loopy Ewe. We wouldn’t have it any other way.

10. A long holiday weekend with my family. Nothing is as refreshing as spending time with the people I love the most. I hope you’re doing the same!

In honor of my Top Ten Gratitude List, we’re giving away 5 prizes. I’ve picked out 5 skeins from 5 different indie dyers and we’ll pick five winners. Will you be one? Leave a comment and let us know what you’re thankful for, even if you’re not celebrating an official Thanksgiving holiday this week! Prize winners will be announced on Friday’s blog (where we’ll have another Gratitude Week giveaway).

We have five winners of a copy of the Skinner Hat from Monday’s blog, and I’ve emailed the winners. Congratulations to Analiese in NY, Anna in WA, Lael in WI, Sarah in AL and Lisa in VA!

Sheri wishingthoseintheU.S.aHappyThanksgiving!

(P.S. So that the Loopy Elves can enjoy a long weekend with their own families, we won’t be shipping orders today, Thursday and Friday. You can still place orders 24/7, and we’ll ship them out on Monday and Tuesday of next week.)

I turned to this hat because I was making a boring-to-knit cowl and needed something to get my knitting mojo back. The idea was to knit 4 rows on the cowl and then spend the rest of my knitting time (for that day) on the hat. Of course once I started in on the hat, I had no desire to go back to the cowl, so I haven’t touched it since.

This is the Skinner Hat by Melissa LaBarre, knit up in a new yarn line that we’ll be adding in to the shop soon. (Still under wraps, but I love the yarn.) It’s a 50/50 merino/silk and knit up beautifully. The hat is long so that it slouches in the back when you wear it. (Or if you have Rapunzel braids, I would imagine you could tuck them all up in there and keep them warm and dry.)

Guess who else likes merino/silk blends? Zoe had a good time checking it out.

“Mine?”

I thought I’d celebrate Thanksgiving week by giving away a few things in the blog this week. It seemed fitting to share some extra prizes with all of you, since YOU are at the top of The Loopy Ewe Gratitude List this year. Today’s giveaway – 5 of you will win a copy of this pattern, just because I liked it so much and want to share it with you. If you’d like to be in the running, leave a comment below. We’ll announce the winners on Wednesday’s blog (where we’ll then have another giveaway to share with you.)

Sheri oughttogobacktothecowlnow,butmightstartsomethingelseinstead

It seemed like a good idea. Start an interesting new project and then alternate between that and the boring-but-going-to-be-cute cowl. It was supposed to motivate me to continue working (slowly but surely) on the cowl. However, once I started the hat, I didn’t want to go back to the cowl. The hat is almost done. Hoping I get some time to work on it this weekend. I’ll show you pictures next week.

In the meantime, if you are in the mood to make something other than pumpkin pie this coming week, you might try this Pumpkin Crunch Cake recipe. It smells wonderful in the oven and it tastes great.

Pumpkin Crunch Cake

1 Large can of Pumpkin (29 oz)
1 Large can Evaporated Milk (10 or 12 oz)
1 Box Yellow Cake Mix
3 eggs
1 cup butter or margarine
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 cup chopped nuts (walnuts or pecans or hazelnuts)

Line a 9 x 13 pan with foil and then spray the foil with cooking spray.

Mix pumpkin, evaporated milk, eggs, sugar and cinnamon in a large bowl. Pour into foil-lined pan.

Sprinkle the dry cake mix over the top of the pumpkin and pat down lightly. Sprinkle nuts on top of the dry cake mix. Melt the butter and drizzle it over the top.

Bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees.  Let stand for 2 hours before turning it out on a cutting board.  Peel off the foil and cut into squares. Serve with ice cream or whipped cream.  Enjoy!

Do you have a favorite pumpkin recipe?

Sheri whomightwhipupsomepumpkinbreadthisweekendtoo