Brrr – it’s downright cold around here in the mornings now. How about where you are? It’s the perfect weather for knitting a new fall sweater, and we have more of one of our favorite sweater yarns up on the website in tonight’s Monday Update. Just in:

Stonehedge Fiber Mill’s Shepherd’s Wool - a worsted weight yarn that has quickly become a favorite for many of you. We’ve re-stocked all of the colors and they’re ready to turn into sweaters, vests, scarves and hats! (Shepherd’s Wool also come in a DK weight.)

Biscotte & Cie – Did you see the cute twisted Stitch Surfer sock pattern in the latest edition of Knitty, using this yarn? We have it available in 5 different color combinations (self-striping yarn plus solid). It looks like a fun and unusual pattern for all of us sock knitters! (Shown above in the Kit 3 version – Purple Rain.) Don’t forget to check out the regular Biscotte self-striping skeins we have in stock as well. They’re fun to work with. I’ll show you the hat I made with one of them in Wednesday’s blog post!

Shalimar – re-stocks of the Zoe Sock Yarn fingering weight. This batch was done on a new Zoe Sock yarn base, which is a bit softer than the other base. We still have some of the original base left, for those of you who are a fan and don’t like change! The new base is listed on the website under Zoe Sock 2. (Shown here in Asilomar.)

Trekking XXL - lots of re-stocks in all of your favorite colors! This fingering weight sock yarn is great for gift knitting, because there is no special care required. The gift recipients can toss it in the washer and dryer and it will come out looking just as beautiful as when you knit it.

Zauberball - re-stocks in Crazy Socks, Sock, Starke 6 (DK), and Lace. We’ve also added in Zauberball 100 – the single ply fingering weight in a 100% merino wool base.

Fibernymph Dye Works- Hand dyed by Lisa in PA, this fingering weight base is 80% Superwash Merino and 20% Nylon. Great for long-wearing socks and pretty for shawls and scarves, too. (Shown here in Mourning Dove.)

Austermann - re-stocks in Step, the wonderful yarn that is infused with Aloe Vera and Jojoba oil. The softening/moisturizing qualities last for more than 40 washes, and it’s wonderful on your hands as you knit it up.

Zitron – re-stocks in Uni-sono Multi’s and semi-solids, and Filigran (a 100% Superwash Merino single ply laceweight with 650+ yards per skein).

Namaste – the new yellow color is now available in the Harlow Bags, the Circular Cases, the Skinny Minis (shown here), and Zuma Bags. These are a great way to add a little sunshine to your cold Fall and Winter days.

We have a winner from last week’s blog contest, where I asked you what other needle arts you like to do. The Random Number Generator pulled a comment from the bunch and the skein of Fibernymph yarn goes to Julia in TN. Congratulations, Julia!

Happy shopping, and we’ll get your orders pulled and packed up tomorrow. Tuesday’s are always a lot of fun around here!

Sheri thinkingtheElvesprobablyneedextrachocolateonTuesdays,too

Today is “I Love Yarn Day” and we’re celebrating! We’ll be adding this little bottle of Wollmeise Wool Wash to each yarn order that ships out today (while supplies last, but we have lots). This 1 oz. bottle will do 5-6 washes with your hand knits, and of course the smell is wonderful. It also makes a nice size to stick in your luggage when traveling. (Not available for sale, but we’re hoping the nice folks at Wollmeise decide to sell it sometime. We like it a lot.) Celebrate “I Love Yarn Day” with some new yarn and I hope you get some knitting time in today as well!

The votes are in and we have a winner for the Reader’s Choice award for Camp Loopy’s Project Three. Thanks to all of you who voted. The winner is Trisha from Canada, who made this beautiful Vortex Shawl using Three Irish Girls Cashmerino Fingering in Curiouser and Curiouser, Moon for the Misbegotten, and a few other Three Irish colors.

We also drew three names from the rest of the 573 photos that were entered, and they also win a $35 Loopy Ewe Gift Certificate! Those went to:

Gayle from OH, who made the shawl Rocky Mountaineer using Kollage’s Riveting Sport in Sand Denim and Storm Denim.

Meredith from MA who made the shawl Piper’s Journey using Madelinetosh Sport in Cathedral and Dried Rose.

Mary Kate from PA who made the shawl Point, using Madelinetosh Sock in Candlewick, Luster, Lapis, Malachite and Scarlet.

Congratulations to all of the winners (and all of the rest of you, too. It was a fun summer of knitting and we’re already planning for next year’s Camp Loopy!)

Sheri whomightweavetocelebratILoveYarnDaytoday
AfterIshopformoreyarn,ofcourse….

Do you ever feel like you stepped onto an out-of-control merry-go-round? (Or yarn winder, if one were able to sit on a yarn winder….) That’s what this week has felt like. Busy, busy, busy. Maybe I just need to sit and chill and knit for awhile tonight. I’ve been working on my Cabled Rib Wrap and not working on my Charleston Tea (although I need to). I’m also ready to get another scarf on the loom. The purple one from last week is done. I’ll show it to you as soon as I wash and block it. I had fun working on it!

It’s time for our October Blog Contest, and I thought it would be fun to give away a skein from our newest indie dyer. I’m happy to say that we’re adding Fibernymph Dye Works to the shop. We’ll have Lisa’s beautiful semi-solids, striping yarns, and also her awesome roving. This line will be going up soon, but you have a chance to win a skein before it goes up! Leave a comment below and we’ll draw a winner next week. You can pick the color you’d like, from these five pictured. (Left to Right: Brigid’s Cloak, Autumn Harvest, Nothing But Blue Skies, Elphaba’s Corset, and An Air of Elsewhere.) The October Blog Question is: Do you have any other needle arts hobbies besides knitting? (Spinning? Weaving? Quilting? Counted Cross Stitch? Needlepoint? Rug Hooking?) To enter the drawing, leave your answer in the comments below. We’ll email you if we draw your name next week.

Sheri BigBandMusicplaying.Makesmewanttowatchanoldmovie.

Today is a No Mail Monday (Happy Columbus Day here in the U.S., Happy Thanksgiving in Canada!). That means we’re closed at the shop today and that is a nice way to start back to work, after being on vacation for several days last week and through the weekend. I’m putting in a short day here at Loopy and then heading home to unpack and do laundry.

I had a great Girls Trip last week – thanks for your well wishes! We rented a house on Smith Lake (near Birmingham, AL) and had the best time catching up and relaxing. There are 12 of us, and it’s hard to get all 12 there each year, but it’s always fun with the people who are able to attend. We all met as scrapbooking consultants back in the 90′s and have had many fun weekends and trips together over the years. It was so fun to get away and spend time with them last week.

Here is part of the group, hanging out on the deck:

The house we rented was beautiful, and right on the lake.

Here’s the view from the deck:

We spent time chatting on the deck, as well as inside the house:

On one of the days, we went into Birmingham for shopping and checked out the Botanical Garden, too.

Now I’m back into Loopy mode, ready for a fun week! We don’t have a Monday Update tonight, but we’ve been collecting shipments of new things for next week’s update. Check in on Wednesday’s blog where I’ll be doing a contest to win a free skein of yarn from a brand new indie dyer line that we’re adding in.

Sheri prettysureadietisinorderthisweek.
NocaloriescountedduringGirlsTrips.

Well, I did it. I made my first scarf on the Cricket 15″ loom, and boy was it fun! I used a Claudia Hand Painted Worsted weight yarn (in our Peppermint Mocha colorway) that I’ve had on hand for 3 or 4 years. It was fun to weave and took two afternoons (about 5 hours, total, I think). My hands turned red as I was weaving it, so I knew that the red dye would run when I washed it. Despite a Shout Color Catcher in the water, the red still colored the white. Now, instead of a Peppermint Mocha scarf, I have a Cinnamon Red Hots kind of a scarf. But it’s ok – I still like it and I learned a lot on my first attempt. I’m excited to go through my stash and whip up some more! The whole reason I wanted to learn to weave is because I’ve heard it’s a good stash buster. I have some really pretty yarn in my stash that I still like, but don’t know that I want to knit with it. Weaving will be perfect.

Do you want to give weaving a try? We’ll offer another day-long weaving class at the shop in the spring. Our day-long class includes the cost of a new Cricket Loom, as well as the full day of instruction. However, if you’re not local or want to jump in sooner, I have to say that the instruction book that comes with it is very thorough. We shipped a loom off to a gal who wanted to learn to do this with her granddaughter, and they have used the booklet and are going to town on it. So if you’d like us to special order a loom for you, let us know! ($169, and it takes 4-6 weeks to get special orders.)

All of the gals who took the weaving class last month are now on their 3rd and 4th scarves, just because it’s so fun and a wee bit addictive. I finished that first one and started another one the next day. I’m doing this one in Wollmeise in the True Love color. I think multi-colors are especially pretty when woven.

Sheri stillhookedonknittingtoo,buthavingfunweavingrightnow

P.S. No post on Friday, as I’m out of town with some of my very favorite friends for our not-always-annual-but-should-be Girls Weekend. More next week, including Camp Loopy Project Three winners. Have a great rest of the week!

Happy Monday! We’re bringing you lots of wonderful things tonight, and then we’ll have no Monday Update next week due to Columbus Day (and a No Mail Monday). Just up today, we added in:

Skein – Top Draw Sock. This fingering weight yarn is dyed up by Kristen in Australia, and comes 437 yards to the skein. It’s 85% Superwash Merino and 15% Nylon. Kristen is known for her beautiful color blends! This would be great for socks, but also one-skein shawls, cowls and mitts as well. (Shown here in Night Owl).

Shalimar – Breathless. A few more colors from our last order. This fingering weight yarn is one of my personal favorites because the yarn base (75% Superwash Merino, 15% Cashmere, 10% Silk) is so luscious. If you’re making special holiday gifts, you might want to use this. It would be perfect for socks, shawls, scarves, cowls and hats.

Camp Loopy Colors – We had the tent groups in Camp Loopy’s Project Three come up with Camp Colorways and inspiration photos, and Lorna’s Laces took them and turned them into the most beautiful colors. We have: In The Wind, Nature’s Glory, Lilac Fields, Northern Lights, Orange Sunset and Soft Sunrise available, and you’ll find them under the Camp Loopy section in Yarn. (Shown here in Nature’s Glory).

Malabrigo – Silkpaca. You all have been having fun with this. (Or at least you’re having fun ordering it!) This laceweight yarn comes 420 yards to the skein and is 70% Baby Alpaca and 30% Silk. It’s beautiful and feels soft and wonderful. You’ll love using it for shawls and scarves.

Socktopus – Sokkusu. This yarn is hand-dyed in the UK and has a wonderful twist to it. Your patterns will really pop! The 100% super wash merino is great for shawls and scarves, and equally popular for socks. (Shown here in Ayame).

Mountain Colors – Bearfoot. More colors in this warm sock yarn base. 60% Superwash Merino, 25% Mohair, and 15% Nylon, with 400 yards to the skein. You might also try these colors for a triple-color shawl, like the Thin Ice shawl I made awhile back. Pick a multi-color that you like, and then two different solids to go with it.

Della Q – New fabric yarn caddies and yarn dispensers from Della Q, in addition to a re-stock on needle cases.

Loopy Ewe Tote bags - Project Keepers (great for 8 1/2 x 11 pattern plus yarn and needles), Purse Pals (great for notions like your tape measure, scissor, darning needle, stitch markers, etc), and Large Project Totes (holds everything).

Dream in Color – October Dream Club Yarn. (Shown here). This new base is a fingering weight with 75% wool, 25% silk and comes 440 yards to the skein. When you purchase a skein, we’ll also send you a free emailed pattern for the Autumn Fern Mobius Cowl. (Remember, we will have more skeins available again next week, so check back if we run out.) In addition to the cowl, you could also use this gorgeous yarn for shawls, scarves, socks and mitts.

Enjoy your browsing and shopping and we’ll get your orders packed up and shipped off to your house asap!

Sheri whonevergetstiredofbeautifulyarn