We were buried in boxes again last week, and you’ll see the benefits of that over the next few Monday Updates! Tonight we’ve just added in:

Madelinetosh – Merino Light re-stocked in 90 colors. Woohoo! We had 16 or 18 cases of Madelinetosh delivered last week, so we have more re-stocks to put up as well in the next couple of weeks. But we started with the Merino Light, since we were lowest in-stock on that. It’s nice to have our Madtosh shelves filled back up again! (Shown here in Cobalt).

JulieSpins – Merino 370 (for your one-skein shawls, beautiful scarves, classy socks and stunning hats. Have I mentioned before how much I love all of the colors that Julie comes up with? I made this Pogona Shawl out of one skein of the Merino 370. (Shown here in Hollyhock.)

Malabrigo – Worsted (for your Fall sweater planning or your cute felted bag making) and Silky Merino (for some lightweight shawls, a jump on scarf and cowl knitting for the holidays, and just all around lusciousness).

Shibui – Baby Alpaca DK. My favorite pattern for this is the wonderful Cabled Rib Wrap that uses 3 skeins of Silk Cloud and 4 skeins of the Baby Alpaca DK, held and knit together. I’m making one in the ivory color. It’s so nice to knit with.

Yarn Caddies – You bought those all up so fast a couple of weeks ago, so George brought more in for us! These are handmade in Wyoming by a retired gentleman who just happened to bring us a sample one day, when his wife came to shop. We bought all that he had with him and he went home to make more. Each one has been hand done with 5 coats of stain and wax and the workmanships is exquisite. He’s happy that you like them, because he says it’s a good hobby to keep him out of his wife’s way when she’s knitting. We have them in Oak, Cherry, Walnut and Cedar and they are gorgeous.

Are you ready for Project Two of Camp Loopy to start? The official start date is this Wednesday, June 27th. (Coincidentally, that’s also the date that Project One is to be finished.) For Project One, we divided you up into different Canoe Groups on Ravelry, based on the color of your project. For Project Two, we’re dividing you up into different bug groups (because camping involves a lot of bugs), based on the weight of your yarn. Later tonight, you’ll find the groups set up on Ravelry and ready for chatting with new friends about Project Two! We’ll have the No See-ums (for laceweight projects), the Lightening Bugs (for fingering weight projects), the Dragonflies (for DK and Sport weight projects) and the June Bugs (for Worsted and Bulky weight projects). If you’re on Rav and want to participate, head on over to the Loopy Groupie board and find your Bug Project Two Camping Group.

Sheri itwouldhelpiIcouldmakeupmymindonmyproject

Lots to share with you today! First, information on Project Two for Camp Loopy, which I know you’ve been waiting for!

The Project Two Dates: Starting date is 6/27 and ending date is 7/27, with photos uploaded to the Project Two Photo Gallery at The Loopy Ewe by 7/29.

The Challenge for Project Two: This project should contain a color from your country’s flag and it must be at least 800 yards, single worked – not 400 yards knit doubled up to equal 800. (Don’t worry – Project 3 is not going to go up another 400 yards to be 1200. Project Two has the biggest yardage requirement for Camp this summer!)

More details: You can make it all one color or you can choose to use more than one. Just remember that one color needs to be from your country’s flag. We’re loose on exact color interpretation. If, for example, your flag contains a navy blue but you want to use a teal blue, that’s ok. Blue is blue for this project.

Camp Store Week for Project Two: If you need to purchase yarn for your project, we are offering a 20% Camp Loopy discount for the yarn during a designated “Camp Loopy Store Week” each month. The discount for Project Two, is valid on one camp project’s worth of yarn purchased during Camp Store Week Two (Monday, June 11 through Sunday, June 17.). To get the discount, you will need to leave us an order note on the order, telling us which yarn will be used for your Camp Project, and we can only apply the discount to one order, so you’ll need to calculate carefully. We’ll apply the discount when your order comes through to us. If you’re going for free shipping in the U.S., please make sure that your discount won’t take you below the $75 level, or the website will add the shipping charge back in after we do the discount.

Another benefit: In addition to the 20% discount on your yarn during Camp Store Week, we’ll also double your Frequent Shopper Benefits from that yarn purchase, if your project is done and a photo of it is uploaded to our Camp Loopy Photo Gallery by the deadline. (Yarn must be purchased during this month’s Camp Store Week, 6/11-17, for the double credits benefit.) So if your project yarn costs you $30, you’ll see $30 added to your Frequent Shopper totals after your order ships, and then we’ll add in another $30 to your totals when we approve your photo to the Gallery by the deadline.

Please review the other details and FAQ’s on the May 9, 2012 blog post to insure that you know the ins and outs of how all of this camp stuff works.

We’ll let you know the new Ravelry Discussion Groups a few days before the start of the project. Watch the blog for that. It the meantime, keep enjoying your canoes.

We do have new things up on the website for you tonight. Just added in, you’ll find:

- Malabrigo Rios – a beautiful 4 ply superwash worsted weight yarn, great for sweaters and afghans and things you want to wrap up in.
- Malabrigo Worsted – a soft single ply worsted weight that felts beautifully. Also great for sweaters, as long as you always hand wash and lay flat to dry.
- Malabrigo Silky –  a luscious 49% merino wool / 51% silk DK weight. Wonderful for cowls, scarves, hats, mitts and sweaters (that you want to hand wash and dry!).
- Three Irish Girls Cashmerino Fingering – our two latest exclusive colors from Three Irish. A Very Merry Unbirthday and Curiouser & Curiouser. (Shown here in Very Merry Unbirthday).
- The Knit Kit - in the new pink color. This version of the Knit Kit also includes a needle gauge. They just keep getting better and better!
- Knitter’s Pride Dreamz Needles – re-stocked in all sizes.
- Atenti Baguette bags in re-stocks and new colors, too.

It does take us an extra day or two to get orders out during Camp Store Week. We have everyone on the schedule for extra time and days this week (yay, Elves!) and we’ll be working hard to get your orders out as quickly as possible. Can’t wait to see what we’ll be sending to YOU!

Sheri whoneedstodecideonaprojectforMonthTwo

P.S. Thank you for all of your emails, phone calls and messages regarding the fire just north of Fort Collins. We are all fine so far. The fire is 15 miles north of town and Loopy is on the south end of town (and our house even farther south). But do send up prayers and good thoughts for the firefighters who are risking their lives to save homes up there. It’s a bad fire. We really need a big rainstorm.

Have you gotten your Camp Loopy order in yet? Today is the last day for Store Week, so jump in! Last year we had a lot of fun with different Camp Loopy threads on the Loopy Groupie board on Ravelry. We divided people up each month to talk and chat and encourage each other onward and it was a fun way for fellow campers to get to know one another. We’ll do the same this summer, making sure that each month/project gets a new group designation, so that you have a chance to meet a lot of different campers! (Please note – this is totally optional and just for fun. You can certainly attend Camp and not participate in a thread on Ravelry’s Loopy Groupie board.)

For our first project, we’re all knitting a 400+ yd. project using a pattern by a designer from a country other than our own. Most of you have picked your patterns and colors (with the remaining few of you doing so today, right?). For the Ravelry threads this first month, we’re dividing you up by Canoe color. We’ll have:

Purple/Red Canoes
Blue Canoes
Green Canoes
Yellow/Orange Canoes
Brown/Black Canoes
Crazy Canoes

Your Canoe color comes from the predominant color in your Project One yarn. (Even those of you knitting the Color Affection – and there are a LOT of you! – will be using one color more than the other two. In that pattern, the color you start out with on that shawl will be used the most in your project.) If your project yarn doesn’t fit into one of the regular colors listed above, then we’ll just call you a Crazy Canoe-r.

We’ll get the Canoe Groups started shortly over on the Loopy Groupie board on Ravelry* and then you can start paddling in your Canoe group. Knitting on Project One starts May 27th!

Sheri gladit’sjustpretend.Canoeingmakesmyarmstired.

(*You do need a free Ravelry account for this optional Camp activity. Ravelry provides a great forum for knitting discussions, for those who’d like to participate.)

It’s that time again – time to be a camper at Camp Loopy this summer! This is our second year hosting you all for Camp, and we anticipate a great summer of knitting.

How does it work?  First of all, there is no travel involved. This is Virtual Camp! That also means no bugs, no hard ground to sleep on, no sand in your food, no campfire smoke in your eyes, and no swimming tests to prove that you know how to save yourself if your canoe tips. Just lots of knitting, meeting new friends, contests, challenges, and fun!

We will be knitting a different challenge project each month, for the next 3 months. You can choose to knit for one month, two months, or all three months. There are benefits and prizes for completing your projects on time and an extra bonus for doing all three. I know quite a few of you have mentioned that your Camp Loopy knitting will be used for holiday gifts, which is a great way to get a jump-start on those projects.

Here is our schedule:

Project One: needs to be knit or crocheted between 5/27 and 6/27 (with a photo of the completed project uploaded to our Project One Photo Gallery by 6/29).

The Challenge for Project One – We’re all celebrating the Olympics this summer, so in keeping with the theme of many countries coming together for one event, your challenge for Project One is to knit something using a pattern from a designer who was born in (or currently lives in) a country other than your own. The only other guideline is that the completed project needs to be least 400 yards (370 m). I’ve added some designer links to the bottom of this post, in case you need some ideas!

Project Two: needs to be knit or crocheted between 6/27 and 7/27 (photo uploaded by 7/29).

Challenge Two details coming in June!

Project Three: needs to be knit or crocheted between 7/27 and 8/27 (photo uploaded by 8/29). This coincides with the Olympics, in case you’re knitting for that, too. Although the Olympics end before our Camp deadline ends.

Challenge Three details coming in July!

International knitters/crocheters: Since we started the Camp Loopy Store Week earlier this year, we don’t anticipate that you’ll need extra time on the deadlines. Hopefully your packages will get to you in plenty of time to start on the Project One dates with everyone else. But don’t delay in ordering – get it in as soon as you can.

The benefits:

1. If you need to purchase yarn for your project, we are offering a 20% Camp Loopy discount for the yarn during a designated “Camp Loopy Store Week” each month. The first discount, for Project One, is valid on one camp project’s worth of yarn purchased during Camp Store Week One (May 9 – May 16th). To get the discount, you will need to leave us an order note on the order, telling us which yarn will be used for your Camp Project, and you’ll need to purchase what you need in one order, so calculate carefully. We’ll apply the discount when your order comes through to us. If you’re going for free shipping in the U.S., please make sure that your discount won’t take you below the $75 level, or the website will add the shipping charge back in after we do the discount.

2. In addition to the 20% discount on your yarn during Camp Store Week, we’ll also double your Frequent Shopper Benefits from that yarn purchase, if your project is done and a photo of it is uploaded to our Camp Loopy Photo Gallery by the deadline. (Yarn must be purchased during that month’s Camp Store Week for the double credits benefit.) So if your project yarn costs you $30, you’ll see $30 added to your Frequent Shopper totals after your order ships, and then we’ll add in another $30 to your totals when we approve your photo to the Gallery by the deadline.

3.  If you choose to do all three projects with us (photos uploaded by the deadline and yarn for each project purchased during Camp Store Week for that project) we will also be awarding you a special skein of fingering weight cashmere blend, in an exclusive Camp Loopy Colorway. (We will have 3 different exclusive Camp colors for you to choose from, so that you can pick your favorite.) This luscious skein will be perfect for socks, shawls, scarves, cowls, or mitts.

So if you participate in all three months of Camp and follow the guidelines, you’ll get 3 projects done at a discount, you’ll no doubt earn one or more Frequent Shopper Bonuses, and you’ll get a skein of a luxury cashmere blend for yet another project. Cool beans!

Now – here are the answers to your Frequently Asked Questions about Camp Loopy:

Q. Can we participate with weaving instead of knitting or crochet?
A. For Camp Loopy, we’re sticking with knitting or crochet. You can weave for our regular Quarterly Challenges. Just not Camp Loopy.

Q. I ordered two colors for my project and I don’t like how they go together. Can I substitute a color from my stash for one of the colors, or can I order a different color now?
A. Yes.

Q. If I substitute a color, will it still count towards Camp Loopy benefits?
A. If you use at least one color that you ordered from us during Camp Store Week for that project, your project will still be eligible, if you finish by the deadlines. When we approve your project photo in the gallery, we will then add a second FSB amount to your totals for the project yarn that was ordered during Camp Store Week and used in your project. So if you ordered two colors and used both in your final project (done by the deadlines), we will add the amount of both yarns as a bonus. If you ordered two but only used one of those for your final project, we will add the amount of the one yarn that was used.

Q. I didn’t get to order during Camp Store Week, but if I order my project yarn later in that same month and complete the project by the deadline, does that still count, even though I know I don’t get the Camp Loopy discount?
A. Yes! Mostly.  Make sure that you add a “Camp Loopy” note to your order, so that we know you’re participating. You’ll still be eligible for the project drawings and prizes for that month, and if you finish all three projects by the deadlines, you’ll still get the bonus – a free skein of that luscious cashmere blend. You won’t be eligible for double FSB credits for this project, since the yarn wasn’t ordered during Camp Store Week.

Q. I want to participate using yarn from my stash. Does that still count?
A. You are welcome to participate and knit from stash and upload it to the gallery, as long as it’s yarn that we carry at The Loopy Ewe. (We always require projects in our Photo Galleries to be from yarn that we carry at TLE.) You will still be eligible for drawings and prizes for the month, but you won’t be eligible for the FSB double credits or the free cashmere blend yarn at the end.

Q. When you say to knit the project between 5/27 and 6/27, when EXACTLY does the timing start?
A. You can start at 12:01 am your time on 5/27 if you’d like, although a good night’s sleep and a good breakfast might be a better idea. The project needs to be done by 11:59 pm on 6/27, your time. The photos need to be uploaded by 11:59 pm OUR time (Mountain Time) on 6/29.

Q. Should we be starting a new Camp Loopy Group on Ravelry?
A. No. Since it’s an activity through The Loopy Ewe, I’d like to keep it as a part of our regular Loopy Groupies group. However, you’ll see Camp Loopy threads popping up on the Loopy Groupie board, based on different activities each month.

Q. When you specify yardage in a project, can I use up the yardage by knitting double stranded? So you if say 400 yards, can I do a 200 yard project, holding the yarn double? That would use 400 yards.
A. No, no doubling the yarn to get the yardage. If you’d like to knit something double stranded, you’ll need to use 800 yards so that you end up with a 400 yard project when it’s done.

Q. How do I know if I’m on track for the free yarn bonus, and when will I get it?
A. If you have earned the extra Frequent Shopper points for each project (which you will see as a note added to your Camp Store Week order for that project, once your photo has been uploaded on time and approved), then you are on track. Once Camp is over and the yarn is ready, we’ll send you a notice to let you choose your camp colorway. You will have the option of having your bonus yarn added in the box with your next order from us, or you can choose to pay for shipping to have it sent to you right away on its own.

Q. Why do we have to purchase the yarn during Camp Store Week each month, if we want the bonuses?
A. Two reasons. One – it costs us money to fund this (the contests, the extras, the free yarn at the end) and your purchases help us to be able to afford to do this. Two – it helps us to guarantee that everyone is knitting for the project during the designated time and not simply pulling a finished (or half finished) project out of their pile and saying they did it “for camp”. It keeps an even playing field for all of the people earning the bonuses.

Q. Will we have the chance to buy t-shirts with the Camp Loopy logo, like we did last year?
A. Yes! They’re on order and we’ll put them up on the website as soon as they arrive. And maybe a couple of other fun things, too.

Here are some links for designers currently living in (or from) a few different countries. Don’t forget – you need to pick a designer from a country different than your own! There are so many wonderful designers out there. I wish Ravelry had a way to search designs by country. (Or do they, and I just don’t know about it?) This was a result of my not-so-efficient method of clicking around randomly and finding a few to share with you. Feel free to leave other suggestions in the comments below.

United States: Wendy Johnson, Anne Hanson, Kirstin Kapur

Sweden: Johanne Landin,  Asa Tricosa, Anna Dalvi

Canada: Felicia Lo, Stephanie Pearl-McPhee, Ilga Leja

Finland:Veera Valimaki, Lankakomero

Germany: Birgit Freyer, Martina Behm, Susanna IC

Scotland/UK: Ysolda Teague, Gudrun Johnston, Jane Sowerby, Alice Yu, Helen Stewart

Netherlands: Stephen West

Japan: Olga Buraya-Kefelian

We’re so looking forward to camping with you again this summer, and we have lots of fun things planned. Grab your backpack project bag and your canoe, and hop in. It’s going to be a fun summer!

Sheri thinkingIneedawhistleifI’mgoingtobeaCampLoopyCounselor

I picked Lorna’s Laces Pearl for my First Quarter Challenge yarn, because I love the way it looks in a shawl. I made a Traveling Woman in Red Rover Pearl a couple of years ago. This is the Mizzle pattern by Patricia Clift Martin, free on Ravelry.  It looks like it knits up into a pretty scarf/cowl/shawlette type accessory in the fingering weight that is called for. Since Pearl is more of a DK weight, my shawl was a little larger and I like that length and size. I used 2 skeins of Pearl for this and now I have it on display here at the shop, which is where most of my shawls end up. I really love knitting shawls, but I very seldom wear them. I always think they look wonderful on everyone else and kind of dorky on me. But it doesn’t stop me from continually adding shawl patterns to my knitting list, and having several in progress at any given time.

We’re still collecting votes for the Fourth Quarter Challenge, so make sure to email us (support@theloopyewe.com) with your vote. After I blogged that on Monday, Cheryl from MA emailed to ask whoever won the third Camp Loopy project vote. That reminded me that I never finished that off!  Here’s why. We asked for voting right before *Thanksgiving, which turned into The Big Loopy Move, which turned into The Second Loopy Move, which turned into Christmas, which turned into The Grand Opening*. We only had 11 Project Three votes cast at the beginning, and all 11 people voted for 11 different projects. I know that there were over 600 photos to go through, but you all did that very well with the first two camp projects. Typically, we have lots of voters weighing in with voting. I intended to re-blog it and ask for more votes, and then … well … things were a little crazy around here and I just forgot. (Repeat reading from * to *.)  So now, instead of asking you to vote again, I’ve just used the random generator to pick five winners from Project Three.  So congratulations to Una-Mary in Australia for the Absolutely Love It Shawl, to Amy in WA for the Lazy Loopy Shawl, to Barbara from MN for the 800+ Yards, to Kristine from TX for the Camp Sweater,  and to Beth from NY for the Travel Shawl for Camp Loopy.  We’ve added a $25 Loopy credit to each of your accounts, and I know you’ll have fun spending it. (And thank you again, Cheryl, for the reminder!)

So back to the issue of knitting shawls and (me) not wearing them. Do you knit shawls? And do you wear them?

Sheri stillenjoyingmyPalindromeScarfandIwilldefinitelywearthat

We have winners today! First of all, the winners of our Camp Loopy Project Two awards. It took us awhile to tally up all of the votes, but we had a Reader’s Choice winner. That goes to Christina in CA for her beautiful Owlie Socks. We also drew four winners from all of the entries, and those go to: Jessica in NM (Eugenia’s Mittens), Samantha in IL (Sammi’s Convertible Mittens), Rebecca in VT (Sprouting), and Eve in PA (Sweet Loopy Socks). Each of the winners has received a $25 Loopy credit, and I know they’ll spend it well!

Now please help us choose your favorite project from Camp Loopy’s Project Three Gallery. You can send your response to us at support@theloopyewe.com and we’ll report back soon.

We also have winners of last month’s blog contest, which I snuck in at the last minute. We’re sending a skein of Wollmeise to Diane in MA, Patricia in WA, and Jen in CA. Congratulations to all of you!

Today’s recipe is one I tried earlier in the fall and it was a hit. I found it on Pinterest and it comes from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe. I hope you and your family enjoy it.

Baked Penne Chicken, Broccoli and Sun-Dried Tomatoes

1 bunch broccoli (about 1.5 lbs.), cut into small pieces
12 oz. penne pasta
2 Tbl. olive oil
1 md. onion, minced
6 md. garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp. dried thyme
1/4 c. flour
2 c. chicken broth (I used low sodium)
1 c. heavy cream
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1.5 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, trimmed and cut into small pieces
3 oz. smoked mozzarella, shredded (I used regular – couldn’t find smoked)
8 oz. jar oil-packed sune-dried tomatoes, drained and chopped

Topping:
3/4 c. bread crumbs mixed with 2 Tbl. melted butter

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Bring water to boil in large pot, add 1 Tbl. salt and the broccoli. Cook the broccoli until it is bright green – 2-4 minutes. Remove from water and add pasta to the boiling water. Cook until al dente (about a minute less than you might normally cook it). Drain and toss with 1 Tbl. olive oil.

Drain water from pot and add 1 Tbl. oil. Put on med. heat until you see the oil shimmer. Add the onion and cook about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic and thyme, mixing well. Slowly whisk in the broth and cream, stirring as you bring it to a simmer. Whisk in flour, salt and pepper. Add the chicken and cook through, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and stir in tomatoes and mozzarella.

Add the pasta and broccoli to the sauce, and stir to combine. Transfer to a greased 9 x 13 pan and sprinkle with the topping. Bake at 400 degrees until it’s bubbling and the crumbs are lightly brown (about 15 minutes). Enjoy!

Sheri thinkingaboutcastingonahatthisweekend.
Gotafavoritehatpattern?