I had fun knitting up a Derecho for my Project Three for Camp Loopy. (So much so, that I’m making another for myself. This one will stay at the shop.) I used our Loopy Ewe Solid Series in Ivory, Iron and Barn Red, and I made the small size. I liked the construction, moving back and forth from one side to the other for the stripes. What I didn’t like was having another set of needles dangling there, while I was working on the opposite side. I eventually ended up taking the second needle out and putting those stitches on waste yarn until I needed them again. That worked out great. It took much less time to do that than to untangle needles from the two different balls of yarn that I was using, for each row.

I wasn’t sure that I’d like the one dark stripe there (which is how it works out for the small size), but once I put it on the mannequin and brought it around to the front, I thought it worked out just fine. I’m going to try the larger size, this second time around. In the larger size, you end up with two of each stripe combination, all going separate directions. I’ll keep you posted on how that works out.

Thank you for all of your exercise tips in last week’s blog contest! Lots of good ideas and motivation in there. The one that I liked the most was “Don’t overthink it.” You have no idea how many thoughts (excuses) I go through each morning, trying to talk myself out of getting out of bed to exercise. Don’t overthink it – that’s my new motto.  I did draw two names to win the final two skeins of Wollmeise Lace that we had for our anniversary month contest. Congratulations to Sheryl in San Jose, CA and Laura in Edmond, OK!

So did you make anything during Camp Loopy (or see anything that someone else was making) that you want to knit this Fall? My list is full, once again.

Sheri takingalittlebreaktoknitsomemoreBiscottefirst

Sometimes you’ll get a peek of wildlife while you’re driving around in the mountains. Last week, my hubby got some great up-close photos (including the last one, where these guys feel like they own the road.)

Sheri thinkingtheylookveryneatandtidyforbeingwild.
Howdotheydothat?

Lots of pretty colors and lots of luscious yarn up in tonight’s Monday Update! (Monday aka “Grow Your Stash Day” or “Start a New Project Day”. I think that should officially be on every calendar.) We just added in:

Malabrigo’s new Silkpaca Lace - Available in 24 colors, this  hand-dyed lace has a beautiful sheen and wonderful drape. 70% Baby Alpaca, 30% Silk, and 420 yards in a skein. Perfect for a drapey scarf or shawl. (Shown here in Abril.) Try it for a Lancet Shawl, or Good Day Sunshine, or a Montego Bay Scarf or a Spice Trade Shawl.

Shalimar Breathless – still one of my very favorites. I just picked a few more skeins for a fall project for myself! (Camp Loopy Project Three is almost done. Time to reward myself with an awesome new project!) This fingering weight yarn is 75% Superwash Merino, 15% Cashmere, and 15% Silk. At 420 yards per skein, it’s a perfect size for one-skein shawls and socks, as well as scarves and cowls. (Shown here in Tequila Sunrise.) Try a skein for socks like: Pas de Deux, or Helen Socks, or Pillars. Or try it for scarves like: Cerus, or Kernel, or To Infinity and Beyond. Of course it is also beautiful in shawls, which is probably what I’ll use it for. Thinking about another Derecho with this. (You need a light, medium and dark color for Derecho. Easy.)

Dream in Color Classy - a re-stock of all colors, just in time for fall sweater knitting. Classy is a worsted weight yarn that is machine washable and comes 250 yards to the skein. Great for sweaters, vests, hats, scarves, mittens and easy-care kid clothes. Check out these fun patterns that call for a worsted weight: Dark and Stormy (or really any sweater by Thea – I love them all), Arroyo shawl, Windschief hat, or a Pine Forest Baby Blanket.

Dream in Color Tulips Baby Sweater Kits – in both boy, girl and unisex color choices. Each kit comes with the mini skeins needed to knit one sweater, as well as the pattern. (Finished sweater shown here. Colors will vary.)

Chic Knits Patterns - Bonne Marie’s patterns are always well written, stylish and timeless. I have about 10 that I want to make for myself. I really need to get into a sweater groove and jump in.

Have fun shopping and we’ll have fun pulling your orders and packing them up just for you tomorrow!

Sheri whoalwayslovesgrowingheryarnstashonMondays

This is what it looks like in our back yard at 6 am. The sun isn’t quite up yet, but it’s on its way. How do I know this? Because I’ve finally decided that there is hardly ever going to be a time when I feel like exercising after I get home from work at night. I tried fooling myself into thinking that after work was the best time for me to do it (since I am so not a morning person), but it just meant that I’d come home, not exercise, and feel slightly guilty the rest of the evening.

So, I heard about the Fitbit and thought maybe that would help. If someone says I’m supposed to walk 10,000 steps a day and do 10 flights of stairs, then those are the numbers I try to hit. And since I started getting up early in the morning to walk for an hour, it has been working. I do like getting it out of the way before work. And I get to see pretty scenes like this (finally – the sun is up above the horizon.):

And this (I love seeing mountains first thing every morning.):

These things have helped me stick to this routine for a couple of months now:

1. Personally, I need to do it every single day of the week. I do take Saturdays and Sundays off, but I’m just about ready to throw at least Saturday into the mix, too. Mondays are a bugger when 6 am rolls around again.
2. I listen to audiobooks. It makes the hour of walking pass by really quickly.
3. I fool my brain. I tell myself that I’m going to walk for 30 minutes (in one direction, away from my house) and then I’ll just walk home. That equals an hour, but the last part of it is just “walking home”.

The downside? I am tired too early in the evening. It’s affecting my knitting, FPS. Somehow I need to learn to be a morning person AND a night person. Is that possible?? I need to finish my Camp Loopy Project Three this weekend. (I’m making a Derecho out of the Loopy Solid Series. So many fun colors to choose from.)

Today’s blog contest question: Are you a night person or a morning person? (And while we’re at it, do you have any tips about sticking to an exercise routine?) Leave a comment below and I’ll draw names for two more skeins of Wollmeise Lace next week.

We do have winners from last week’s blog contest! I’m sending a skein of Wollmeise Lace to Linda in IL and Amber in IN. Congratulations to you two!

Sheri 9162stepssofarfortoday.
Mustwalkbackandforthintheshopafewmoretimes….

I walk down the worsted aisle at The Loopy Ewe at least 20 times a day. It’s my favorite aisle, just because the colors are so enticing. The Cascade 220 Superwash comes in balls, and it feels like a painter’s palette. I wish I could stand in front of it and take a dab of this and a dab of that, and blend it into a masterpiece! Which …. of course, I could. Not a dab here and there, but a ball of yarn here and there. I’d like to just stay there for a few hours and play with color combinations. There are 140+ colors to choose from.

Beyond the pegs of superwash, you’ll find the cubbies of regular 220 Worsted. 250+ more colors to choose from. See why it’s my favorite aisle?

When you figure that we have four long aisles (each about 65 feet long), and there is yarn on both sides, and we have yarn in other corners and walls in the shop, that adds up to a whole lot of color inspiration.

When people come for their first visit to Loopy, they come in the door and see this and think this is the size of the shop:

And then they round the corner and look down the first aisle that seems to go on forever:

Usually, they say, “This is huge!”, with a big grin on their face. One gal came with her dad. He took one look around the corner and gave her a panicked look and said, “I think we need to set a time deadline.”

All that to say, I can’t really be held responsible for all of the different projects that I start. If you worked here, you’d be doing the same thing. Right? It’s not my fault. It’s a job hazard.

Sheri whobetterhurryupandfinishCampLoopyProjectThree

Lots to share with you tonight! I set aside my Project Three last week to knit up a pair of socks to show you. (Actually, 2 separate socks. Not two matching socks.) We have our first 6 exclusive colorways from Biscotte and Cie, and I wanted you to see how a few of them knit up! So I knit two and Knitting Daughter knit one, and we have three more to go. But here are the first three so far.

I’m loving the colors. We also have Loopy’s Herman, Loopy Knit Night, and Loopy Kisses, in addition to the three above. And of course we re-stocked all of their regular self-striping colors, as well as a few new colors in their line. I find that these socks knit up so quickly. I do a really simple pattern, so the stripes can remain the focus. (Knitted foot, K2P2 ribbing on the cuff, short row toes and heels.) I’m eventually going to work my way through all of their colorways. Here’s the Grincheux colorway, my first pair of socks knit up in Biscotte & Cie. That’s pretty much when I decided that I needed to make more of these fun stripey socks.

We also added in a few other things tonight. Just up:

Swan’s Island Lace – spun in a historic mill in Maine, this yarn is hand-dyed using all natural dyes. 50% Merino Wool and 50% Tussah Silk, with 550 yards to the skein. Perfect for shawls, scarves, cowls and lightweight sweaters. (Shown here in Iris.)

Swan’s Island Worsted – spun in a historic mill in Maine and hand-dyed using natural dyes, this organic merino wool comes 250 yards to the skein and is great for sweaters, scarves, heavy socks, hats, mittens and gloves.

Dream in Color Everlasting Sock- an 8-ply fingering weight in 100% Superwash Merino, with 420 yards to the skein. You’ll like this for socks, as well as scarves, cowls, mitts, sweaters and shawls. Here’s the baby sweater and hat that I made out of it awhile back. (Pattern = Felix’s Cardigan and Shibui Knits Bebe Hat, color = morning glory, 1 skein.) I like the fact that there is no pooling or obvious striping.

Fleece Artist Saldanha Two Lace- Beautiful colors and great yardage. This 100% Merino is approx. 870 and is machine washable. Perfect for shawls, whisper-soft scarves, cowls and mitts. (Shown here in Beet. I love this color.)

Don’t forget to get your Sixth Anniversary Kit, if you haven’t already ordered it. We’ve shipped a lot of them out! We ordered extras so that we wouldn’t miss those of you who go on vacation in August and might not catch it the first week. Thanks for all of your emails about the pretty red color. Red is a hard color to capture perfectly in online photos, but I’m glad you’re happy with it when it arrives! Lorna’s Laces did a great job nailing just the shade that we had in mind for this.

Have fun checking out the new stuff and we’ll get your orders packed up and shipped right out. We know you want them quickly!

Sheri reallywantingtojustknitstripedsocksforawhile