Yep, that means this blog post is covering the blog for the next three blogging days!  Just popping in to give you a few bits of information.

1. If you haven’t put your Camp order in yet, be sure to get it in by Sunday evening to get the Camp discount.

2. Because so many of you HAVE already gotten orders in, we’re a little backed up in shipping! Your orders will take an extra day or two to ship due to the volume that we’re packing up, but rest assured that the Elves are rockin’ it. They’re awesome.

3. To add an order note requesting the Camp discount: after you put payment through, you are brought back to a page that gives you your order number and gives you a link to leave an order note. If you miss that, you can always go into your Loopy account and click on that order number to leave a note from there as well.

4. I will be away from the blog on Friday and Monday, but I will be back here to chat with you on Wednesday of next week, and will also announce our First Quarter Challenge winners on that post. Thanks for voting!

5. Just to give us an extra bit of time to get these Camp Orders shipped off, we won’t be doing a Monday Update next week. We will definitely have an Update on Monday the 27th (Memorial Day). Our back room is overflowing with cases of yarn waiting to go up on the website. We can’t take more than one week off from Updates, or Rebecca (Inventory Manager) will disappear amongst the boxes, never to be seen again. And I didn’t tell her that we have about 20-30 more cases of fun stuff due in over the next 7-10 days. No sense freaking her out …. (Hi, Rebecca!)

Sheri lovingalloftheyarnchoicesyou’remakingforCamp!

Happy Monday to you! It finally feels like Spring here.The icicles are melting, the snow is gone as of late morning (at least in our back yard), and the sun is shining and warm. (Don’t you love the way WH caught the drop coming off the end of the icicle?)

Now I’m just hoping my lilacs will still bloom. Of course I’ll be sharing pictures if they do. Lilacs are my very favorite flower, and our yard is full of different varieties! But enough of spring talk – let’s get on to the Monday Update talk. We just added in:

Biscotte & Cie – I absolutely love Louise’s self-striping yarn. This batch is in her fingering weight and it’s great not only for socks, but you will also enjoy using it for gloves and mitts and hats and scarves. I used it for socks and also used it for my Sockhead Hat, which is a great gift project. (And remember, we also carry her Gobelin line, which is self-striping on worsted weight yarn. I made this hat in the worsted weight.) Shown here in Arc-en-ciel, and yes, I did happen to buy a skein of this color for myself.

Three Irish Girls – Cashmerino Worsted. This is beautiful sweater yarn, but you should also try it for shawls, hats, scarves and vests. I used two different colors of the Cashmerino Worsted for my Winter’s Rhythm shawl and it feels so luxurious. It was soft and squishy to work on, and feels even better to wear. I also used it for my Camp Loopy mittens a couple of summers ago. (Off-topic – check out the Cake Batter Truffles recipe on that post. I need to make more of those. They are delicious.)

Three Irish Girls – Adorn Sock. A fingering weight yarn that you’ll love for socks, but also for shawls and lightweight sweaters. Sharon comes up with some really unique color combinations, which is always fun! I used a pretty colorway to knit up this sock. (Of course we didn’t get that color in this batch. But we did get Cottage Garden and Mairin – two of my other favorites.) Shown above in Storm Brew.

Fibernymph Dye Works – BFL Roving. Lisa’s colors are gorgeous, and this roving will spin up into a beautiful skein of yarn. BFL Roving is especially nice to spin if you’re newer to spinning, as the fibers are a little grabby, making it easier to work with. Of course experienced spinners love BLF, too, because it spins up so beautifully. Pull out your wheels and your spindles and get at it! Shown here in Candy Mountain.

Head on over to the website and check out all of these new things. And don’t forget to sign up for our Fall Giftables Club, if you’re interested. We have left signups open (and thanks to all of you who have already signed up!), but we’re about at our maximum number of spots and will be closing the signups tomorrow evening so that we can get our dyers working on the yarn.

Sheri whowouldreallyliketocastonstripeysockstonight!

I know it seems like we just finished our Spring Giftables Club (because we did…), but we’ve opened up signups for the Fall Giftables Club this week. We want to give our awesome dyers plenty of time to get the yarn dyed up and ready for us.

For the Fall Giftables Club, we’ll be sending you a package around the third week in August, September and October. Each kit will be $40 (plus applicable tax and shipping) and we’ll send you an email letting you know when it’s time to pay your invoice each month. (No money due now.) Each kit will include a specially dyed skein of yarn, a pattern for the yarn (emailed to you), and some fun little extra. Here are photos of the kits we sent for the Spring Giftables Club, to give you an idea of what the club is all about.

February (which included a skein of Breathless from Shalimar, the Lila Blue infinity cowl pattern, and a Travel Kit of Soak Wash packets.)

March (which included a skein of Perfectly Posh fingering weight yarn from Dream in Color, the Crosscheck hat pattern, and a bar of Vanilla Mint soap from TwentySeven Soap.)

April (which included a skein of Wollmeise DK in the Elsa color way, the Allis shawl pattern, and a container of Wollmeise Wool Wash.)

If you’d like to reserve a spot, you can do so by clicking on this link. By reserving your spot, you’re committing to purchasing all three kits this fall. We look forward to having you particpate with us!

Sheri alreadyexcitedaboutournextsetofdyersandyarn

P.S. Thank you to everyone who left a comment on our Spring Fling blog, in the hopes of winning one of the four Goodie Bags we saved for you! We used the Random Generator to pick the winners, and the bags will be going out to: Tracey L. in NC, Ingrid M. in PA, Kathy P. in CO, and Leah M. in MO. Congratulations to the four of you!

Also P.S. Help us choose a Reader’s Choice Favorite from our First Quarter Challenge Photos! Take a look at the gallery and email us (support@theloopyewe.com) with your favorite.

It has been a beautiful day here in Colorado. The sun is shining and it’s 78 degrees. However, the forecast calls for snow on Wednesday, so we’re not putting away the wooly socks just yet. And I have to say, I’m over the snow. Done. Finished. Don’t need to see any more. Don’t kill the lilac buds. Ready for spring. But that doesn’t mean I’m done with wool and socks and all things knitterly. Good thing, because we added in some fun yarn in tonight’s Monday Update (and needles and project bags, too).

Schoppel Wolle – Zauberball. This yarn has pretty color changes as you knit with it, making it great for socks and shawls and scarves without too much lace detail. So fun to knit and watch the colors emerge. (Shown above in Sock 1564, Tropical Fish.)

Trekking – XXL and Tweed. We’ve re-stocked colors and added in some new ones in both Trekking XXL and Trekking Tweed. If you’re knitting socks for people who are going to toss them in the washer and dryer, this is the perfect work-horse yarn. (Shown here in Sky Blue Tweed – look at those fun tweedy bits in there!)

Universal – Cotton Supreme and Splash. We’ve re-stocked the Cotton Supreme and added in Supreme Splash (which gives a tie-dyed sort of look – very pretty.) These cotton yarns are perfect for summer sweaters, kids clothes, toys, and scarves or hats for people who want to avoid wool. They are all machine wash and dry, making them easy-care as well.

Loopy Cakes – The Colors of Loopy.  Our newest cake set contains all of the colors that make up our shop (which just happen to be our very favorite colors at the moment!).

Knitter’s Pride – Karbonz Needles. We’ve had so many requests from all of you that we added in this line of needles. I actually tried them and liked them last year, but we didn’t have room on the needle wall to add another line at that time. We have them in DPN’s, 10″ single points, and circulars. These needles are made from high-tech carbon fiber, which gives the needles a high tensile strength, while still keeping them lightweight with a lot of flexibility. The tips are covered in a nickel-plated brass with nicely tapered points.

Three Bags Full – Project Bags. Michele has whipped up some more of her pretty  bags for us, in multiple fabrics. We usually get different fabrics each time, so if you see one you love, don’t dally on the purchase! (Shown here in Le Chat.)

While you’re perusing the new things tonight, take a few extra minutes to check out our newly re-done website. New homepage, bigger photos, and several other features that you’ve asked for. It has been a long time in the making, and we hope you like it!

Sheri sothankfultohaveWebGuyaspartoftheLoopyTeam

Our first Colorado Spring Fling is over, and we’re left with lots of fun memories (and another full list of things I “must” knit. Sigh.) We had a surprising 22″ of snow the week of the Fling, which caused some interesting delays in travel. But I’m happy to report that the snow didn’t keep anyone from getting here safely. We began the retreat with our annual Dessert Reception on Thursday night. There were lots of wonderful things to choose from. (Click on photos to make them bigger. Or not. It might make you hungry.)

Friday and Saturday were spent in classes, shopping at Loopy Central, and knitting knitting knitting. This year, we decided to transport everyone to The Loopy Ewe in style, with two stretch limos. Each limo could hold 25+ people and I’m pretty sure we totally confused people here at the shopping center when both limos pulled up. (“Who takes a stretch limo to shop??”)

The aisles were full during the shopping times, and after checking out, the knitters enjoyed hanging out on the red couches and knitting, waiting for their limo back to the hotel. (Or – in many instances – checking out what each person bought and then hopping up to get something else and check out a second or third time …)

Cindy from Iowa found the perfect roving to match her phone case.

We had four awesome teachers at the Fling. We were delighted to have (L-R) Ann Budd, JC Briar, Susan B. Anderson, and Wendy Johnson join us for the weekend.

Susan came in a day early to teach her Fair Isle Hat Design class at the shop on Wednesday night:

and then do a book signing here on Thursday morning. Her new Topsy Turvy book is full of awesomeness. And each of her toys are adorable. I feel a toy-knitting binge coming soon.

We had fun goodie bags for each of the weekend participants. Included – a cute canvas bag, a skein+ mini from our Loopy Ewe Seasoning Series, a skein of yarn from Cascade, a pattern from Shibui, a Loopy Spring Fling mug, and a Soak Heel and Wash sample pack.

We had lots of great door prizes, donated by some of our wonderful yarn and accessory companies. A huge thank you to Cascade (who provided yarn for each attendee, as well as lots of cool door prizes and kits), Malabrigo, Notions Marketing, Dream in Color, Wollmeise, Soak, and Shibui Knits.

Saturday night, there was much knitting going on. (All that new yarn from their shopping trips to Loopy, I’m sure.)

(Look – there’s Web Guy checking out the knitters! He’s always here for Fling weekends, helping check people out at the shop and helping with door prizes on Saturday night.)

(Look – it’s Loopy Office Manager Lynn on the left! And Loopy Honorary Elf Sheryl, who helped out at the hotel the entire weekend. That pretty green shawl is one of several she wore during the weekend, all equally inspiring! Edit: Sheryl’s Shawl is the Kate Shawl pattern. And Loopy Elf Roberta, peeking out behind Sheryl with the purple shawl on. If you’ve called in to Loopy, you’ve no doubt talked to Roberta.)

We always make an oversized sock blocker so that we can get all of the Fling participants to sign it each year. We hang these big socks up at Loopy so that we can remember the fun people we had here! We now have five of these big socks hanging on the walls, from 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2013. (Regular sized sock blocker included in the photo to give you an idea of how big this blocker really is.)

What a wonderful group of Loopy knitters. We were delighted to have everyone here, and so look forward to having you all back again the next time. We did decide to move the Fling to Fall, in order to avoid future snowstorms. (Not that we’re guaranteed not to have them in September, but it’s less likely than April.) So our next one will be the Fall Fling of 2014. I’ll let you know dates as soon as we have the weekend confirmed.

Would you like to win one of our Spring Fling Goodie Bags? I made four extra bags for this blog contest, and we’ll draw names for winners next week. Leave a comment below if you’d like to be entered into the contest!

Sheri whoenjoyedsharingthemountainsandLoopy’snewhomewitheveryone

Guess what it’s doing again here? SNOWING! What a blustery day. I am kind of hoping that this is the last one. (Me. The snow-loving-person. Now done with it this season. Bring on the sunshine and warmer days.) Despite the snow and cold, we have plenty of fun things to warm you up in tonight’s Monday Update! Just up:

- Desert Vista Dyeworks - we have a new indie dyer for you! Susan does amazing work and we are so happy to share it with you. You’ll find it in 12 multi-colors and 16 different self-striping colors. Shown here in the Dia de los Muertos colorway in a sock that Loopy Office Manager Lynn knit up.

- Cascade - we’ve re-stocked 220, 220 Superwash, Heritage Sock, Heritage Silk, Eco Alpaca, Ultra Pima, Ultra Pima Fine, and Fixation (just in time to start in on some summer socks). The bins and shelves are overflowing with colors!

- Shalimar Breathless DK – you’re heard me say (often, I know) that Shalimar Breathless is one of my very favorite fingering weight yarns. Now I’m happy to tell you that we can offer it to you in a DK weight as well! Same gorgeous colors, same wonderful feel, same beautiful fabric knit up – just a bit heavier. Perfect for warmer shawls and of course you should make a sweater out of it, too. Shown here in Asilomar.

- Christmas at Downton - we’re re-stocked this very popular colorway from Lorna’s Laces again. We have it for you in Shepherd Sport, Shepherd Worsted, Shepherd Sock, Solemate, and Sportmate. (Do we really have to wait until next January for the next season of Downton??)

- Knitter’s Pride Needles and Addi needles were re-stocked a few days ago, in case you’ve been waiting for a certain size.

- Wooden Yarn Caddies – George also brought down more small and large yarn caddies, in time for our Spring Fling this past weekend, so those are up on the website as well. We have them in Ash, Cherry, Oak, Walnut and Red Cedar in the large size, and Cherry, Oak, Walnut and Red Cedar in the small size.

Enjoy the new stuff and we’ll get your orders packed up and shipped off asap!

Sheri needingabout12straighthoursofsleep,post-SpringFling