Yes, it’s true. I’m outta here! But I’ll be back on Monday. Right now I’m winging my way to California for the TNNA Market in Long Beach. I can’t let an opportunity go by for finding us some lovely new things to carry at The Loopy Ewe, right? I’ll keep you posted on what I find there. In the meantime, the Elves are holding down the fort and shipping orders out to you, so you don’t have to worry that there will be a delay. (Have I mentioned how awesome those Elves are?) I’ll be back to answering emails next week, so I’ll talk to you all then.

Another new recipe for you that we tried over the holidays. It was a hit with my family! I hope you like it, too. (I know the photo is kind of orange-y. It was an orange-y dish because of the French dressing, but I’m pretty sure it wasn’t quite that orange. Food styling/photo-ing is just not my gift. Obviously.)

Dad’s Favorite Chicken Casserole (I have no idea who this particular “Dad” is, but that was the name of the recipe)

4 cups cooked, chopped chicken
2 cups celery slices
2 cups toasted bread crumbs
1 cup French dressing (or more, if you want it creamier)
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 tsp. salt
dash of pepper
1 (8 oz) package Swiss cheese, cut in strips
1/2 cup slivered almonds

Combine all ingredients except nuts. Spoon into greased 2 quart casserole. Sprinkle with nuts. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. Can be made ahead. (Refrigerate covered, bake with cover at 350 for 50 minutes, then remove cover and bake 10 more minutes.)

Serve over hot cooked rice.

Have a great weekend and get lots of knitting done while I’m gone.

Sheri hopingtohaveknittingtimeonthisweekendtoo,inbetweenproductscoping…

I wanted to show you a few of my favorite gifts from the holidays! (Why? Because these are all artisans that I can see buying future gifts from. I’m always looking for something unique when figuring out gifts, and I thought you might like to have these resources, too.) The first two are from a gal here in St. Louis that works with my brother. (Mike gets lots of credit for these gifts - he did good, didn’t he?) I wish you could see them in person. The framed Loopy Ewe is hand done on glass and we hung it as you walk in to the kitchen at Loopy Central. I’m amazed at how well she did on the Loopy font! I wish you could see this lighted bottle in person. It has Loopy and Loopy faces and red socks all over it, and it just shines when you plug it in. It looks like stained glass. Very fun! I kept this one at home in my kitchen. Judi has a website where she can be contacted, if you’re ever interested in these fun bottle lights. She has some fun options already figured out (my mom has a cute snowman one in her kitchen) but she is also happy to do personalizations and logos like she did for us. Wouldn’t they be cute in kids’ rooms, too, with their name and favorite things on the bottle? (Or a knitting one for your knitting nook? The possibilities are endless!)

The next gift was an anniversary gift from my mother-in-law. This is all handcut (you can read about the art of Scherensnitte here) and is full of things that make up our life. Hobbies, jobs, schools, people, pets, dates, etc. The more you look, the more you find. (It does help that there is a list of “do you see what I see?” on the back that gives clues.) The artist who did this - Keith Bonnstetter - doesn’t have a website, but here is a link to one of the places he has exhibited. Instead of putting his phone number on the website, just email me if you’d like me to pass it on to you. WH’s mom told him all about our family, and he came up with his representation of it for us. It is a very special gift!

Then, I had to go investigate another jewelry designer, because we all know that I’m a sucker for great jewelry. On Wednesday in the comments section, Juliblue mentioned that she was helping her friend in a trade show. April has had her designs bought by Anthropologie, as well as having worked with several tv shows and other venues. Best of all, her work is downright fun and beautiful. I bought these pretty silver ones as a gift for myself. But don’t tell. I don’t think you’re supposed to buy gifts for yourself right after Christmas. (April said that I could borrow this photo of them to put on the blog for you. I know better than to lift website photos without permission!) Next time, I will have to go for a pair with colored stones/crystals. I like the ones on her homepage with the three dangles.

I do have a recipe to share with you today. These are soooo easy (so really, “recipe” is a stretch) and very timely with all of the “eating healthy” resolutions out there. We made these Yogurt Parfaits for Christmas morning brunch, and I also like to make them each week for breakfast. I think they are best about 2 days after you make them. That gives the granola time to soften up.

Yogurt Parfaits

Layer the following into cups:

1 large spoonful of your favorite granola cereal
a few fresh berries (I used blueberries and raspberries)
a few spoonfuls of yogurt
and repeat the layers again, ending with granola and berries.

Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to eat. (It’s fun to mix yogurt flavors in the cup, although I will admit to liking the vanilla yogurt myself. You can get vanilla and strawberry in large containers at our grocery store, which makes this all a bit easier and more economical.) Next week’s recipe won’t be quite so healthy.

Attention Spring Flingers - if you’re on Ravelry, make sure you join The Loopy Groupies AND Loopy’s Spring Fling group! There is a lot of fun chatter going on over there, as well as a “Spring Fling Swap” that you might want to be a part of. (Special thanks to Leslie for running the swap and Sarah for setting up the Spring Fling Ravelry Group!)

Great idea - Commenter Tracy suggested that I ask you what your favorite non-sock pattern (using sock yarn) would be. What do you think? Two of my favorite “knit with sock yarn but not socks” patterns are the Chevron Scarf and Monica’s Fingerless Lace Mitts. What would yours be?

Sheri thisweekitwas8degreesonWednesdayandwillbe60byMondayFPS

I thought I’d show you the sign out front. After hearing all of you tell me that we really ought to be on that sign (because initially I told them we didn’t need to be on there), we went back and said we would be on there after all. So, if you come to visit, the sign will help you spot us. (You might have to click on it to make the photo bigger so that you can actually read it.) I really was waiting for them to email us back and tell us that they “couldn’t” put a sheep in socks on the outdoor sign. To their credit, they didn’t bat an eye. Or at least they didn’t verbally bat an eye - ha! We still have a few people here who wonder. The other day we walked out the door and someone was standing there “trying to figure out what you all do at The Loopy Ewe”. The door doesn’t give any hints. See? Just more signage with our name on it and a doorbell to let us know you have arrived. It’s hard to get lost on your way here with all of the signs. If all else fails, follow your nose. It usually smells like cinnamon in our entryway. (That would be Sweet Cinnamon from Yankee Candles). And it smells like Peppermint Jack Frost at the back of Loopy Central where my office happens to be. Mmmmm. Back to the outdoor sign - it does make me smile to drive by and see Loopy standing there in his socks. This road is on the way to most places from our house.

Let’s see, on Fridays I frequently tell you about the new things that will be up next week. Due to go up, we have:

Araucania Ranco (solids and multi - a very good selection, but we still have half of our colors on backorder. More to look forward to! 10 semi-solids and 10 multi’s are in, 10 more semi-solids and 10 more multi’s on backorder.)
Alpaca With a Twist - Baby Twist (12 colors in, a few more coming)
Alpaca With a Twist - Roving (5 natural colors in, 2 more coming)
3 new colors from Spritely Goods (Summer Sky, Desert Rose, Olivine)
Duets (in all 3 weights - Original, Skinny and Middy)
Chewy Spaghetti (more great colorways)
And some fun sheep-y accessories!

We also have a special for you from Cherry Tree Hill. Cheryl at Cherry Tree had a great deal on her Supersock base yarn and of course we jumped on it. She had large or small skeins, and we opted for the larger ones (450 yds. in each. Great yardage for longer cuffs, longer feet, more intricate patterns, hat plus fingerless mitts, etc.) Instead of picking their regular colorways that we stock all the time, I asked her if she could do all new colorways with this batch. She had new dyes that she was anxious to try and thought this was a great idea, and I think they had a lot of fun playing! Consequently, these are all one-of-a-kind colorways from Cherry Tree Hill and there are 22 of them for you! We have a lot in stock, but when they’re gone, they’re gone. (Although she did say, “Maybe our next new colorway will be in that batch!” - so you might see a variation of some of these down the road eventually. But you get the first skeins and you can only get them here at The Loopy Ewe!) The other great thing about this is that she offered this to us at a great price, which we are passing on to you. Each skein is just $17.75 from this batch. (Regular Supersock is 420 yards and sells for $21.00 a skein.) There are some really fun new colorways in here, so watch for them next week.

For the Sneak Up after next week (which will be our last one for 2007 - wow) we will have: Tempted Yarns (ohhhh, will you ever be tempted by these!), Zen String (including a gorgeous new exclusive colorway), and Yarn Pirate BFL Semi-Solids. Also, our Noro Sock yarn has shipped (yay!!) so we expect to get that in and up, as well as our next Dream in Color order (Smooshy, Classy, Baby Lace, and the new colors), and anything else that pops in in the meantime. Many of you have asked about our next shipment of Wollmeise Sock Yarn. It left Germany this week. (Thank you Claudia!) Depending on the mood at the post office, we ought to be able to get it up the first or second week in January. We have some other really fun things coming up in January, too.

Today’s recipe is from Wendy (Loopy Photographer Elf). This is the crockpot recipe I promised to share with you from Wednesday. The thing I love about crockpots? You can throw dinner in there in the morning, and sit and knit right up until it’s time to serve the meal. (Well - in an ideal world, I guess.)

Oven Beef Stew

1 lb. stew beef, cubed
1 small onion, chopped
2 carrots, sliced
1 stalk of celery, sliced
1 large potato, peeled and cubed
1 Tbs. Tone’s beef base
1 (28 oz) can crushed tomatoes
1 (14 oz) can diced tomatoes
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. basil leaves, chopped
2 tsp. Minute tapioca (optional)
1/2 cup red wine (optional)

Preheat over to 325 degrees. Toss all ingredients into a large Dutch oven or roasting pan. Bake covered for 4 hours until meat is fork tender. Stir once during the last hour to test the meat.

Or to crockpot: Toss everything in the post and cook on High for 4-6 hours.

Top stew with fresh grated Parmesan. Serve with rolls and tossed salad. Serves 3-4.

We’re about ready to tell you all about Loopy’s Spring Fling and we’re excited! Is it better to open up sign-ups BEFORE or AFTER the holidays? (Before - you can include it in your “I want this for my present!” list. After - you can include this in your “I got money as a gift and this is how I want to spend it!”) What would be your vote?

Sheri avoidingputtinguptheChristmastreethisyear
becausekittenGracieisgoingtobeclimbingrightup
themiddleofitandbringingitrightbackdown.
ShelookssoinnocentsittingontheLoopyCentral
redcouches,butsheisSONOT!Crazycat.

Yesterday I spent time visiting hotels for our Loopy’s Spring Fling Knitting Retreat. I have learned two things.

1. Most hotels are NOT set up with nice comfortable chairs and a well lit place for 50-60 knitters to hang out and knit. For pete’s sake. And those hard, uncomfortable folding chairs will not do.

2. Finding the right facility to provide that is pricey. (But then again, good concentrated knitting time, visiting Loopy Central, good food, new friends, and a get-away weekend is pretty priceless.)

I may have found a place, though. (Mmmm - cushy leather chairs, wonderful lighting, an abundance of snacks and beverages available all day, fun shops, restaurants and a Starbucks nearby, etc.) I’m checking out one more place in the next couple of days, and then I can finalize and get back to you with information, prices, details, etc. It will be April 24 - 27, 2008 (with an option to do April 25 - 27 if you can’t come in on a Thursday, but why would you want to miss out on Thursday??) More details when they come available.

I’m really having a lot of fun concentrating on RAK’s for the month. Your ideas have been inspiring and thank you again for sharing them. On Monday, you’ll want to leave your blog comments with the RAK’s that you did this week, so that we can do another drawing for another great gift basket.

I thought I’d share a salad recipe with you today that really can’t decide if it wants to be a salad or a dessert. Really, it looks like a salad. But it tastes like a dessert. So you can decide. (I say call it a salad and then have ANOTHER dessert at the end of your meal. ha!)

Strawberry Pretzel Salad Dessert Salad

3/4 cup margarine, melted
3 Tbl. brown sugar
2 1/4 cups crushed pretzels
1 lg. pkg. strawberry gelatin
2 cups boiling water
3 cups cold strawberries (I use sliced, frozen ones)
1 (8 oz) pkg. cream cheese
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 carton frozen whipped topping, thawed

Mix the margarine, 3 Tbl. brown sugar, and pretzels together, then press into a 9 x 13 baking pan. Bake 10 minutes at 350 degrees. Dissolve the gelatin in 2 cups of boiling water; stir in the strawberries (no need to thaw them). Chill just until it begins to set. Blend together cream cheese and 3/4 cup brown sugar. Fold in whipped topping. Spread on cooled pretzel crust. Pour strawberry gelatin mixture over the cheese blend and chill.

We just re-stocked our Knitspot patterns, Zephyr Stitchmarkers (including cute new holiday ones!), Zecca Accessories, and some ShibuiKnits yarn (more enroute). Coming up in next week’s Sneak Up: Hand Maiden’s new Swiss Mountain Silk Cashmere (65% cashmere, 35% Silk - incredibly wonderful), Hand Maiden Mini Maiden (50% Silk, 50% wool), Hill Country Sweet Feet, J. Knits, Schaefer Anne, Lola and Heather, and more Chewy Spaghetti Fingering colorways.

FYI because people keep asking: Noro Kureyon’s new sock yarn is on its way, the next Wollmeise Sock Yarn may be here in December if the post office cooperates, we’ll have more darning eggs in different woods as soon as we can get them, Dream in Color Classy will be back in again in December, along with all of their new colors and their entire new Lace line, Sheepaints, Duets and Yarn Pirate are all in transit, and we do have a lot of fun new lines and accessories on order, too - we’ll keep you posted. (Whew. I think that covers most of the commonly asked questions lately.)

On tap for me this weekend - finish my spinning homework for my spinning class on Saturday, finish a pair of socks that need to be in the mail to someone on Monday (ok, they were supposed to be in the mail this week), and work on projects with some new yarn line potentials. Kind of a knit-filled weekend, wouldn’t you say? I just subscribed to Netflix (they had a 2 week trial period) and have been watching the BBC comedy “Keeping Up Appearances“. It cracks me up! Great for knitting weekends like this one.

What’s on tap for you this weekend? Knitting?

Sheri justhadtodeletetwowholelinesoftextinherebecauseGracie
stoodonthekeyboardanddecidedtoaddalittlegobbeldygookhello

Yesterday, Adrienne visited The Loopy Room. She lives in Chicago and was on her way to a spinning workshop (how cool is that?) in LaMars. We were talking about spinning wheels when she came in, and she graciously offered to get her Lendrum that was in the car, so that I could try it out. (Knitters and spinners - aren’t they just the best?) She gave me some great spinning tips and it was very fun trying out her wheel. The Lendrum and the Schacht were the two that I most wanted to try out. We made her pose for a photo so that we can start the Loopy Wall of Fame. (Of course I totally forgot to take pictures of the fun people who stopped by today. I must leave the camera out so that I remember….) After shopping hours today, I left Loopy Central in the very capable hands of Susan-the-awesome-assistant and The Elves, and went to my favorite LYS - The Weaving Department. If you live in St. Louis, you know why that’s my favorite local shop. We have some great shops here, but Nancy and her gang have an awesome selection of yarns, always make you feel welcome and appreciated, and are just lovely to deal with. She also sells wheels and looms, and she had a Schacht for me to try. I never should’ve tried it. I was sold on it pretty quickly. It helps that Kay - who works there - was an expert teacher and had me spinning away in just 10 minutes. I think I finally “get” it. It just so happens that they have a spinning class going on, so tomorrow I will go to the class (with my second class on 12/1) and at the end of the class tomorrow, I’ll take my new Schacht home. I’m excited!! (And now I’m in the poorhouse. But I’ll be spinning in that poorhouse, so all is well.) I’ll keep you posted on things as I progress. I have also started talking to some roving dyers, and am excited to have that coming here in the new year!

As promised, here is the decadent Pumpkin Dessert recipe that I promised you. Pay no attention to the 2 sticks of butter on the top. (Well, I mean YES, you do need to add those to the top, but NO, you do not need to obsess about how many calories it might add in to your dessert.)

Christy’s Pumpkin Dessert

1 large can of pumpkin (28 - 30 oz)
1 can evaporated milk (10 - 12 oz)
3 eggs
2 sticks of butter or margarine
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 box of yellow cake mix
1 cup of nuts (optional)

In a large bowl, combine the pumpkin, evaporated milk, eggs, sugar and cinnamon.

Line a 9 x 13 pan with foil and grease it. Pour the pumpkin mixture in the pan and sprinkle the dry cake mix on top. Pat the cake mix down with a spoon. Sprinkle with nuts (if desired) and drizzle the melted butter over the top. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour (check it at 45 minutes and put a piece of foil over the top if it’s getting a little brown.) Let stand 10 minutes and turn out on a board to cut into pieces, or refrigerate. Great served with whipped topping or ice cream.

And now the November Loopy Loot contest (where you answer my question in the blog comments and I draw a name next Friday to win a gift certificate to The Loopy Ewe!) We love having music going here at Loopy Central, and I think we need some new tunes. Tell me your favorite one or two musical artists. (I know it’s hard to narrow it down. Ok, go ahead and tell me however many you want.) For instrumental music, I really like Matt Bachrach and Michael Faircloth. Matt was an artist that I ran across at our mall, of all places. They had him playing on a stage one day during the holiday season a couple of years ago. Michael has played at our church a couple of times. Both are amazing pianists and I think I have collected all of their albums over time. So suggest some new names - instrumental or otherwise, and I’ll check into them! (Note - this isn’t for playing while people shop here, since we’re not “open” most of the time - it’s just music for us to pack orders to!)

Sheri doanyofyouhavedaughterswhospin?IwonderifKnittingDaughterwouldlikethis?

I can’t stop thinking about the wildfires in California. I have so many friends out there (at last count, all are safe so far). There was a sad photo on the front page of our newspaper yesterday. It showed an entire neighborhood burned to the ground, except for one house left standing in the middle of it all. (They didn’t mention how that one house was safe. My thought is - of course you want your house to be safe, but how sad to be there when all of your neighbors houses are gone.) I’m hoping that all of you Loopy Friends out there are safe and sound as well. You Californians (and those who have loved ones there) are certainly in our thoughts and prayers.

So today, I’m focusing on happy things, because there’s enough sadness on the news. So:

Happy Thing #1: Knitting Daughter and College Guy are both hanging out at Loopy Central today, and I love seeing them here.

Happy Thing #2: Fun things going up next week: Numma Numma, Chewy Spaghetti, Sheepaints, Seacoast Merino, Perchance to Knit Cashmere Sock, Plucky Knitter Lace, Mrs. Kwitty’s bags, and Ham’s Jams Yarn Cruisers.

Happy Thing #3: We have more Loopy Groupies to welcome to the fold! Congratulations to the following people: Jennifer in TN, Pat in OH, Troy in NJ, Jari in IN, Kathy in IA, Erin in WA, Elizabeth in NY, Katrina in IL, Debbie in MN, Jenna in Canada, Sarah in CA, Jo Anne in HI, Susan in IL, Cindy in KS, Sue in WA, Risa in NJ, Pamela in NY, Christine in NC, Anne in LA, Claire in CA, Erica in Germany, Terri in WA, Suna in TX, Kathy in MO, Kara in MO, Pia in MD, Vicky in GA, Rachel in the military, Sarah in AK, Terri in WA, Annette in AZ, Deborah in MN, Melissa in OH, Ruth in Canada, Megan in TX, Sheila in IL, Natalie in AZ, Katie in IA, Barbara in CT, Mary in TX, Lisa in AK, Elizabeth in WI, Kaylee in CO, Tracie in PA, Christine in MI, Angelina in TX, Lisa in IL, Phoebe in FL, Laura in CA, Ginni in MO, Megan in MA, Barbara in MO, Debra in MA, Jennifer in MD, Sherry in AK, Virginia in TN, Jocelyn in CA, Dee in CA, Allison in MO, Gail in OR, Elizabeth in GA, Sandy in CA, Teresa in TX, Sarah in ID, Nancy in MN, Barbara in GA, Chenoa in CO, Melissa in MA, Victoria in NY, Kristin in MO, Heather in WA, Jennifer in IL, Jennifer in TN, Heather in WA, Emily in TN, Stephanie in CA, Brenna in CA, Amanda in IN, Toni in CA, Karen in FL, Ena in MA, Jewel in CA, Jessica in WA, Ada in VA, Sarah in NE, Mary in MO, Merry Gay in MO, Jordi in NY, Elizabeth in NC, Sue in NE, Ruth in CO, Deawn in NE, Gayle in MA, Rochelle in NC, Amy in NV, Dawn in MO, Angela in the UK, Patricia in IL, Anne in KY, Vanessa in Australia, Greta in OK, Bonnie in CA, Julia in MN, MJ in CO, Renea in OK, Tanis in NJ, Jean in CA, Christy in FL, Gina in NC and Angela in IN. (How do you become a Loopy Groupie? When we have sent out six packages to you, we will be sending you a Loopy Groupie gift bag! You’ll get an email when we have posted the Sneak Up from week to week, along with Loopy Groupie Appreciation gifts a couple of times a year. Watch for another one of those coming in the next few weeks - we have something fun on order for you!)

Happy Thing #4: We’re finally Loopified! I’ll do a Loopy Central tour in Monday’s blog post.

Happy Thing #5: I have loved reading all of your blog comments for our October contest. But I’m not through them all yet and I want to get through them before I announce the winner. (The winner is random - but I still want to finish reading all of those 443 comments before I end the contest!) Really, it has made me wonder what my kids will remember as their “favorite recipes” that I made in their growing up years.

Happy Thing #6: Peanut Butter Brownies. Oh-my-gosh good.

Peanut Butter Brownies

2 eggs
1 stick of margarine, softened
1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 box Duncan Hines butter recipe cake mix
bag of peanut butter chips (about 10 oz)
(can also add chopped nuts if you like nuts)

Peanut Butter Cream Frosting

1 cup powdered sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
4 Tbl. milk
4 Tbl. margarine, softened
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup peanut butter

Mix eggs, 1 stick of margarine, brown sugar and cake mix in a bowl. Mix on low speed for 1 minute. Scrape bowl and then mix on low for 2 more minutes. Fold in peanut butter chips by hand. Spread evenly in a greased 9 x 13 pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Cool completely, frost and cut.

Frosting: Put powdered sugar, salt, milk, 4 Tbl. margarine, vanilla and peanut butter in bowl and mix well. (Add more milk if the frosting isn’t creamy enough.) Frost brownies when they are cool. (Note - this frosting is so good, and would be excellent on a regular box mix of chocolate brownies, too!)

(Kristin - you’re right - I did forget to share the great pumpkin recipe from my friend Christy! I’ll make it up and share that soon. Thanks for the reminder.)

Happy Thing #7: It’s the weekend!

Sheri haveanyhappythingstosharetoday?