We’re ready to jump into our Second Quarter Challenge! Join us for some knitting fun. This quarter, we’re working on simple colorwork projects.

Project: Use two colors of yarn, 500 yards total or less, for this month’s project. Your pattern needs to mix the colors with stranded work (so just doing solid stripes doesn’t count).

Dates: You can start as soon as you have your yarn. All projects must be completed with photos uploaded to our Loopy Ewe Second Quarter Photo Gallery by July 1st.

Yarn: If you need to buy yarn for your project, we’re offering a 20% discount on the yarn if it’s purchased between today and Wednesday, April 10th. Yarn must be Sport, DK or Worsted Weight, and the discount is valid on two colors, up to 500 yards total for your project. In order to get the discount, you must leave us an order note telling us which two colors you will be using for this project. We’ll apply the discount after your order comes through to us. If you’re going for free shipping in the U.S. (over $75), please make sure your discount won’t take you below that amount.

Need some fun ideas?

Mittens & Mitts: Snowfling Mittens, Northman Mittens, Houndstooth Check Mittens, Flocked Mittens, Bird in Hand, Bird and Vine Mitts, Vanamo Mitts, Rigmor’s Selbu Mittens, Meta Mittens, and Bacon Mittens (ha!).

Hats: Norwegian Star Earflap Hat, Marius Hats, Flora, End of May Hat, Moose in the Woods Hat, Sequence Hat, Double Diamond Argyle Hat, Diamonds on the Mind, Modjeska Hat, Min Ulla Hat, INSULATE! Hat, and Opus Spicatum Hat.

Other: Luvbots, Snowflake Boot Cuffs, Norwegian Star Slippers, Gyre Cowl, Snowflake Christmas Stocking, Easy Fair Isle Headbands, and Japan Cowl.

Yarn possibilities: Cascade 220, Cascade 220 Superwash, Cascade Superwash Sport, Stonehedge Fiber Worsted, Stonehedge Fiber DK, Amy Butler Aran, Amy Butler DK, Blue Sky Worsted Hand Dyes, Spud and Chloe Sweater, and more. Just be sure to use solids or semi-solids so that your colorwork shows up well.

See that mitten up there? That’s my attempt at colorwork, awhile back. There is a reason the mitten is not on a hand. It turned out way too big! I might just re-do that same pattern (Flocked Mittens) for the Challenge. I really want to get this colorwork skill down. There are so many fun things you can do with colorwork. I figured starting out with a two color project is best.

Sheri who,admittedly,didnotdoagaugeswatchforthatmittenupthere

Happy April Fools day! No tricks or fooling today. Just lots of pretty yarn up on the website. Just up: 

- Juliespins Superwash Merino Lace – These come in 960 yard skeins on a 100% Superwash Merino base. Julie very rarely repeats colors, so if you see one you love, get it now. These will knit up into gorgeous shawls and lightweight scarves or stoles. Need some pattern ideas? Swiss Cheese Scarf, Radiance Shawl, Longfellow, Citron, and Vostok. (I’d also add in Nuvem and Viajante, but I just talked about those last week.) Shown here in Holly.

- Malabrigo Rastita – This single-ply DK weight yarn is wonderful for creating warm hats, cowls, mittens and shawls. You’ll love working with it and wearing it. The colors are Malabrigo-Marvelous, as always. (Of course if you’re doing a multi-skein project, you’ll want to alternate skeins. Hand-dyeing creates a beautiful mix of colors that are hard to repeat exactly from one skein to the next.) You might try this with Flow, Sidetracked Cable Mitts, Yarnster Hat, Honey Cowl, and A Grey Loop. Shown here in Indiecita.

- Skein DK – This is our first time to have this base and it’s a fun one. 100% Superwash Merino with 280 yards in the skein. You’ll find it great for shawls and scarves, sweaters and hats, mittens and cowls. The firm twist gives great stitch definition. Check out these patterns for possible options: Chinook Scarf, The Age of Brass and Steam Kerchief, Arbutus, Spiral Cowl, and Sea Beanie. Shown here in Ayame.

- ChiaoGoo Needles – more re-stocks in some of the sizes that were backordered the last time. You all sure love these needles. (We do, too!)

- Loopy Cakes – two new sets (Sizzle and Shakespeare’s Garden) and two re-stocks (Whisper and Doll Parts). My favorite project with the Loopy Cakes is my Cowl. Free pattern on this blog post. Wouldn’t it be fun to make that cowl out of Sizzle for the winter? It would really brighten any gray day. Shown here in Sizzle.

- Schacht Spinning Bobbins – these fit the Matchless, Ladybug and Sidekick wheels.

- Cricket 15″ weaving looms – Great for weaving scarves, towels, placemats and tablerunners. (Please note, due to the size, we’re only able to ship these to addresses in the U.S.)

Have fun checking out the new things and we’ll get your Boxes of Fun shipped out to you tomorrow!

Sheri onceagaindrawninbyprettyyarncolorstonight.
Stashcontinuestogrow.Icontinuetobehappyaboutthat.

I like having friends who knit. Knitters are fun friends to be connected to. It’s always fun to see what they’re working on, and sometimes they even let me borrow their beautiful work to show to you (and display in the shop). For example, this gorgeous shawl that my friend Sheryl made. (Sheryl’s hubby Michael is a Loopy Elf.) This is the Dandelion on the Meadow, done in Madelinetosh Prairie in the Violin color. Isn’t it pretty? I wish you could feel it. It’s almost weightless. The nice thing about making a shawl out of lace is that it’s very lightweight, but very warm (if you’re knitting with wool or silk).

And a closeup:

I’m working on a Nuvem (“working” meaning I started it last Thanksgiving and haven’t worked on it since that week. But hey, it’s in my knitting bag, ready any time I want to get back at it!). It’s another shawl that calls for lace weight yarn and is going to be very warm to wrap up in. Viajante is another new pattern done in lace that you might like.

Speaking of connections, are you connected to us in all the ways you can be connected to us? (Because we love connecting with you! And also, I’m trying to see how many times I can use connected/connections/connecting in one paragraph….)

You can find us on:

Facebook We  post on there about what has gone up in the Monday Update, what I’ve blogged about, what might be happening in-store on a certain day, questions I’d like your input on, and then yesterday we posted a fun video taken around the shop – go check it out!

Pinterest I have boards on there for Project & Pattern Inspiration, Colorwork, Crochet, Yarn Bombing, Tips, Ambitious Projects and Unusual Projects. There are so many fun things to find and share on Pinterest. I’m going in and adding to the boards every couple of days and there’s always something new!

Instagram This is our newest project, so watch for that to grow in the days to come. We’ll be adding photos from around the shop, photos of incoming shipments, photos of the Elves being silly, photos of Loopy being silly, and anything else that will give you the flavor of things around here.

Ravelry The Loopy Groupie board is the best. Seriously. If you have any knitting question, you can pop it up there and have an answer almost immediately. It’s awesome. You’ll also find pattern ideas from other Groupies, product sharing, finished-project photo sharing, and Loopy Swaps going on from time to time.

Twitter We mostly use Twitter for announcing Monday Updates and Wollmeise Updates. If you don’t have Twitter, you can still get a text to your phone when we post to Twitter. Just text “follow theloopyewe” to 40404 and you’ll get our texts on Mondays and Wollmeise days.

Come connect. We like having you around! 

Sheri whocan’tbelieveit’stimetogohomealready.
Wheredidthisdaygo?

Happy Monday to you. We just put lots up for tonight’s Monday Update! 

Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Worsted - a worsted weight yarn that is 100% Superwash Merino. When people walk down our Worsted aisle feeling the yarn, they always stop at the Shepherd Worsted and comment on how soft it is. I’ve used it for fingerless mitts and scarves, because I want it close! It’s also great for sweaters, vests, and baby items. Here are some pattern ideas: Abalone, Linen Weave Boomerang (love this – just added it to my favs), 5th Avenue Infinity Scarf, Katrina Ballerina Lace Layering Cardigan (maybe I should make this, since I can’t seem to finish a sweater), Deephaven, Abate, or Sunset Shaw. (Shown here in Sheridan.)

Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Sock -a fingering weight that is 80% Superwash Merino and 20% Nylon, with 430 yards in the skein. This makes it great for socks, as well as shawls, cowls and scarves. Need some ideas? Level Up Socks, Mojo (fun textures in there), Old Joe, Rivers of Mars, or Ananke.

Shalimar Breathless - a fingering weight yarn that is 75% Superwash Merino, 15% Cashmere, and 10% Silk. You can use it for socks (and they’d be luscious), but many people are using it for things like cowls, scarves, and shawls. It’s so soft. Equally wonderful to work with and wear. I think it would be beautiful in Imagine When, Tempest Shawlette, Bryce Canyon Shawl, Elowen Shawl (two colors – gorgeous), or January Scarf. (Shown here in Melba.)

ChiaoGoo Interchangeable Sets - More of the Large, Small, and Complete Twist sets. The Small set has needle sizes 2 (2.75) – 8 (5.0), the Large set has sizes 9 (5.5) – 15 (10.0), and the Complete set has everything.

Sajou Scissors - If you want something truly beautiful to add to your notions case, check out these scissors. They’re pricey because of the labor that goes into each one. It takes a dozen people to make each pair! We have them in several styles. (Shown here in Tortoiseshell.)

Clover Beading Hooks - I don’t know about you, but I always have a hard time figuring out hook sizes. To add to the confusion, some hooks seem to have different sizing than others. We have added in two sizes of hooks for the two sizes of beads that we carry. You’ll want the 1.0 mm for the 6/0 beads (that’s the size bead that fits well on fingering weight yarn) and you’ll want the .75 mm for the 8/0 beads (that’s the size bead that fits well on laceweight yarn.) I ordered every one of the hooks they had in stock and put more on backorder. So if we run out, just know that we hope to have more again soon.

Namaste - re-stocks in Boardwalk Bags, Hermosas, Harlows, Laguna, Mini Messengers, Monroes, Zumas, Buddy Cases, Circular Cases (some of those colors are on backorder), and Oh Snap bags in Eggplant.

Soak - Handmaid Creme (in the perfect size for purses and knitting bags) in Aquae, Celebration, Lacey, Yuzu and Scentless. Soak Wash in large and small sizes in Aquae, Celebration, Lacey, and Scentless, as well as Yuzu in the small size and Travel Kits that contain 8 mini Soaks.

Blue Q Bags - We continue to have a lot of fun with these bags! We’ve re-stocked and added more. You’ll find them in the Handy Totes (the perfect project sized bag, although I’ve heard some of you are using these as gift bags, too), Shoulder Totes (the perfect multi-project sized bag with a zipper on top), Messenger Bags (great for one-skein shawls and scarves), and Large and Small Pouches for your notions and DPN’s.

Have fun checking out the new stuff, and we’ll get your orders packed up and shipped out asap!

Sheri lookingatnewprojectbagsagain,asusual

When the Madelinetosh Vintage came in a couple of weeks ago, I decided that I needed to (immediately – that’s what you would have done, too, right?) cast on for a worsted weight shawl. I’ve really been wanting to do Ashby, but I didn’t want to have to pay that much attention to charts right now. So I chose to make the Amery. It was a leap of faith. There is only one photo of the pattern on Ravelry and it doesn’t show it all spread out. But I liked the ribbing and the I-cord bind-off edge, so I jumped right in.

I love the color (Baltic). The shawl is very heavy, done up in the worsted weight it calls for. And it’s very very long. 76″, without blocking. I can’t figure out if I should wear it like a shawl (with long, long ends) or a scarf (that happens to be deeper in the middle.) I couldn’t even fit the whole thing in a photo.

There’s plenty to wrap up in.

And it’s very warm. If I made it again, I’d probably use a DK or Sport weight. (Like Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Sport, or String Theory Hand Dyed Merino DK).

A couple of things to note – it calls for a 32″ circular needle, but you’ll need at least a 40″ length. I probably should’ve even gone up to a 47″ length. I spent a lot of time squinching the yarn around and around the needles. (Spellcheck does not like the word squinching. But you know what I mean.) It also calls for 750-840 yards and I used 4 2/3 skeins of Vintage, which is about 940 yards. Don’t run out!

Here’s the thing that really annoys me. Knitting almost 5 full skeins of worsted weight yarn is about a sweater’s worth. If I can make this shawl/scarf in a couple of weeks, then why in the world can’t I whip out a sweater? I must have a real mental block about sweaters. FPS.*

Sheri nowIthinkI’llgopickoutsomeVintageforanAshby

*For Pete’s Sake

Busy day today, with lots of shelves re-stocked and orders sent out. We have yarnyarnyarn up on the website tonight! Just up, we added in:

Madelinetosh Vintage – over 85 colors of this beautiful Worsted Weight yarn, including new colors. I am using it to make the Amery shawl/scarf, that I found on Ravelry last week. I have 4 skeins set aside and it’s knitting up so wonderfully. Also, this pattern has an i-cord bind off, which I always think looks cool. If you do this pattern, note that it calls for a 32″ circular needle, but my 40″ cord is stuffed. I can’t imagine doing it on a 32″ cord. Another worsted weight shawl I have long had on my “to make” list is the Ashby. And someday I’ll do the Guernsey Wrap. Also? Vintage is great for sweaters. Someone brought in a Dark and Stormy in progress the other day, and that went on my must make list. Although we all know that I don’t have a good track record with sweaters. And I just found this Infinitude Scarf pattern – might need that one, too. So many fun choices. I did have a hard time picking a color, and I bet you will, too. (Shown here in Jasper.)

Malabrigo – we added in more Sock (a fingering weight), Silky Merino (a DK weight), Rasta (a bulky weight), Rastita (a single ply DK weight) and Finito (that super-soft fingering weight that is only available once a year). One of the things I really appreciate about Malabrigo are the colors. You really can’t go wrong with any of them. (Shown here in Rastita Piedras. Isn’t this a great yarn base? How about using it for Of the Moon, or the Piccoloa Dolce Hat, or 22 Little Clouds, because I always love Martina Behm’s patterns.)

Shibui – we added in more Staccato (merino/silk fingering weight), Silk Cloud (lace weight Kid Mohair/silk), and Cima (lace weight baby alpaca/merino). Staccato is great for socks, shawls, fine sweaters, cowls, mitts, gloves and cowls. The extra bit of silk in there adds a little shine. Both the Silk Cloud and Cima can be knit on their own into wonderful, whispy creations. (Like the Mohair Bias Loop or the En Pointe Pullover). However, they are also both great carry-along yarns to knit in with something else, adding warmth and texture. I’m using the Silk Cloud with Shibui’s Baby Alpaca DK on a wrap that will be done soon. (In the meantime, here’s Silk Cloud in the Raspberry colorway. Isn’t it beautiful?)

To round out tonight’s Monday Update, we’ve also re-stocked the ChiaoGoo needles, Darning Eggs, Stork Scissors, Chibi’s, and Offhand Bags in the Marcella and Scottie designs. (Because of course you need a new bag and some notions to go along with your new yarn, right?)

Have fun shopping and do share pattern ideas in the comments below, if you have some that you must make. I’m always looking for new ideas!

Sheri tryinghardnottorantaboutdaylightsavingstime
andhowdarkitisformorningwalksagain.