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.

Happy Monday, everyone. We have re-stocks of two of my favorite yarns up tonight, and I know you like them, too! First up is Mountain Colors. I knit my second-ever pair of socks out of Mountain Colors and they were at the top of my list to carry here at The Loopy Ewe. (We had to wait a year to get them, but it was totally worth it.) We have added in many beautiful colors of Crazyfoot tonight. Crazyfoot is 90% Superwash Merino and 10% Nylon. It has a great bouncy twist to it, which makes patterns pop (and makes socks, cowls, hats and mitts very comfortable to wear.) It would also be beautiful in shawls. I used Crazyfoot (in a Shells pattern) to make this:

And I used two colors of Crazyfoot and a Cascade Heritage Sock Solid to make this Thin Ice Shawl for Camp Loopy last summer.

The theory behind the way I knit this shawl is to pick a multi-color yarn for the middle section, and then two different matching semi-solids – one for the top and one for the bottom. Mountain Colors has some really pretty multi-colors to choose from. (I know a lot of you already know this because I’ve mentioned it before and we get lots of calls, but remember that you’re always welcome to call in for color consultations if you need us to help you pick a second or third color for something. Roberta walks around the shop with headphones on, just so she can talk to you on the phone but still have both hands free to pick up yarn and try different color combinations!)

The other line we re-stocked tonight is Shalimar Breathless. I just love knitting with this yarn. At 75% Superwash Merino, 15% Cashmere and 10% Silk, it’s a dream to work with and wear. I used Shalimar for one of the Color Affection shawls I made last summer:

As well as one of the Derecho Shawls I made.

Breathless is usually dyed up as a semi-solid, so it’s perfect for these multi-color shawls where you get to pick colors to go together, as well as great for one-color shawls.

We also have a new line of project and accessory bags up for you tonight. I came across Blue Q bags in January and have been using one of the Handy Tote bags as a project bag ever since. (Shown here in Happy Food Town.) The illustrations are fun and the laminated, recycled material they use is durable and easy to keep clean. This Handy Tote size is great for sock/hat/cowl/gloves/shawl projects. The Shoulder Totes are great for larger projects (sweaters, vests, blankets), and the small and large zippered pouches all work well for knitting accessories, needles, and other gadgets.

Enjoy the new things, and we’ll get your orders packed up and shipped out asap, as always!

Sheri workingonascarfwithbeads,havinglotsoffun!

Loopy is well dressed and ready for March! (Elf Roberta designs all of Loopy’s holiday costumes and has a lot of fun with it. This month, she crocheted his leprechaun outfit to celebrate National Crochet Month.) I especially like his orange, very Irish-looking beard this month. You can catch Loopy and his outfits in the top corner of the webcam. He gets a new outfit every time there’s something new to celebrate.

In honor of March (and green leprechauns, and green grass and green trees coming soon), I let Mischievous Loopy play in some green yarn this morning. (You might remember Mischievous Loopy from another post. He’s always getting into something. Don’t confuse him with Webcam Loopy. Webcam Loopy is as sweet as can be, which is why he gets to wear the costumes.)

With Kauni EK:

and Lorna’s Laces Sportmate Ascot.

With Juliespins Silky 435 in Peepers:

and String Theory DK in Grove.

With The Fibre Co. Road to China Light in Abalone:

and Cascade Heritage Silk in #5608 Pine.

With Stonehedge Shepherd’s Wool DK in Spring Green:

and Jade Sapphire’s Cashmere 4 ply in Elysian Fields.

He had a fun morning. Now I have to figure out how to train him to put all that yarn back. He hightailed it into the kitchen for M&M’s, once the photography session was over. (I’m pretty sure Webcam Loopy would have stayed around to help. He’s much nicer that way.)

Sheri hopingyouhaveagreatweekend!

Did any of you get snow yesterday like we did? We had about 12″ of that beautiful stuff at our house. It was a perfect knitting day! I took some pictures that I’ll post on Wednesday’s blog. Monday blogs are all about new stuff going up, and we have some fun things tonight! Just up:

Biscotte & Cie – not only do we have lots of pretty self-striping colors in their sock yarn, but we also added in some colors and skeins of their wosted weight self-striping yarn, too! The sock/fingering weight is great for socks and things like the Sockhead hat (here’s the one that I made with Biscotte & Cie – so fun), mitts, gloves, and scarves. The worsted weight is great for those same things, only it knits up faster and is bulkier. Shown here – the worsted weight hat I made last week in the A Moi le Coco colorway, after this order came in. I just couldn’t help balling up a skein and trying it out.

Stonehedge Fibers – we’ve re-stocked all of the colors of Shepherd’s Wool. This yarn is popular for sweater and vest knitting, as it’s very soft and comes in great colors. Of course it also works well for scarves, hats and mittens, as well as colorwork.

Soakboxes – these make great gifts, but they’re also nice to gift to yourself. In each box you get Soak Wash, Soak Handmaid Lotion, a skein of Lorna’s Laces, matching nail polish, and a pattern to make a cute pair of fingerless mitts. We have re-stocked the ones we were out of, and added a new one: Elvis Paisley. This features the new Yuzu scent. (Shown here in Elvis.)

Soak Wash – you can also find the new Yuzu scent available seperately as a wash or a lotion. Yuzu combines tart citrus and crushed eucalyptus for a refreshing scent.

Soak Heel - Heel has been re-stocked in Cucumber, Spearmint and Scentless. This is the best stuff for your feet. Seriously, if you haven’t tried it, try some. I use it every day. (And if you’re giving socks as a gift, it’s nice to include a tub of this with the socks. The label on the container says “For feet worthy of hand-knit socks.” It’s a good way to remind the recipient that hand-knit socks are special!)

HiyaHiya Notions – we have re-stocked the Knitter’s Safety pins (I love these), cable needles, and point protectors. We’ve also added in Panda Pewter Stitch Markers, Socknitters Stitch Markers, and Panda Point Protectors.

HiyaHiya Needles – re-stocked.

Jordana Paige – the new Cezanne bags are in. We have them in Stone Grey, Bordeaux, Mediterranean Teal, and Orange Poppy. You should have seen all of us standing in the stockroom when they came in. We all wanted one and had a hard time picking which color we wanted. We  had quite the conversation. They are all beautiful. I still haven’t made my final decision on color. (Shown here in the Mediterranean Teal color.) You can get a peek into part of the inside on our website.

Thanks for alllll of your comments on the Spring Fling giveaway! I am so glad that this was based on a random drawing from all of the entries, because if I had had to pick a “most deserving” winner, I would not be able to do it. I wish I could give spots to all of you. We ran the randomizer this afternoon, and the winner is: Margaret from AL, who says she’d like to bring her best knitting buddy Amy with her.

Sheri lotsofpocketsinthatJordanabag.Ilikepockets.Andbagsingeneral.

If you have ordered from us in the past year and a half, you know we like to put little drawings on your order sheets. (Loopy is busy. We figure you like to know some of the things he gets himself into around here.) In all the times that we’ve been sending drawings out, no one has ever sent us a drawing back, until this week.

Judy in TX has a great blog, which I have enjoyed reading for quite awhile now. She writes in a way that makes you feel like you know her – and her husband Vince as well. (Besides being a knitter, she’s also an awesome quilter and quilt book author.) After I added a hello to Vince on one of Judy’s order forms, she emailed to say he was sending me a drawing. And his drawing cracked me up! (Hee – husbands. I think they sometimes forget how much money they spend on their own hobbies, don’t they? I’m betting that Judy could come up with a similar drawing relating to Vince’s hobbies.) The only problem I have with it is that he looks unhappy about being Loopy Ewed, and I tend to think it’s a very positive thing.

So thanks for the great drawing, Vince. I hope Judy keeps you “Loopy Ewed” for a long time to come!

Sheri whoalwaysappreciatespeoplewithagoodsenseofhumor

Happy President’s Day! We had a nice day off today (since it’s a no-mail Monday), but we’re ready to get back in the shop tomorrow to play with the yarn get your orders packed up and shipped out. In tonight’s Monday Update we added in:

Lorna’s Laces - Christmas at Downton is back in stock in Solemate, Shepherd Sock, Sportmate and Pearl. (Fitting, considering the season finale of Downton Abbey was last night. Did you see it? Oh my.)

Lorna’s Laces - We’ve also re-stocked Shepherd Sock, Shepherd Sport and Worsted. We get orders from Lorna’s almost every week. We always have a big list of colors and bases on order with them and they add them to their weekly dye rotation and send us the colors as they come up on the dye schedule. That’s why it seems like you see Lorna’s Laces on the What’s New page two or three Mondays a month! In tonight’s Update, we have their new spring colors as well. (Daley, Harrison, Mason, Medill – shown above, Ogden, Washing, and Byrne).

Cascade - two bits of good news on Cascade. 1) We have re-stocked almost everything, so the shelves are full up! 2) The price has gone down on several of the Cascade bases, which is always a welcome (and rare) turn of events. We’ve lowered the price on 220, 220 Superwash, Superwash Sport, Ultra Pima, and Ultra Pima Fine. Now is a good time to stock up and get some sweater quantities.

Cascade - in addition to the re-stocks, we’ve also added in Ultra Pima Paints (their beautiful Pima cotton in multi-colors – these would make a cute summer sweater) and Cascade 220 Superwash Paints (fun for easy-care baby and kid clothes). Shown here in Ultra Pima Paints Blues Mix.

The Fibre Company - we’ve re-stocked Tundra (their beautiful bulky weight yarn, perfect for quick-to-knit cowls, scarves, sweaters and mittens) and Road to China Light (their luxurious Alpaca/Cashmere/Camel/Silk sportweight yarn, great for drapey scarves, cowls and shawls – shown here in Malachite).

Dream in Color February Dream Club – we put up the last of our skeins of the February color – a gorgeous hot pink in their DK Everlasting yarn base. Your yarn purchase includes a free pattern for the Trinity Scarf, but it would also make a really fun pair of happy socks. This is the last installment of this round of Dream Club. We hope they offer another round again this fall. We’ll be sure to keep you posted.

If you haven’t yet had a chance to enter our Spring Fling Contest on last Friday’s blog, be sure to throw your name in the hat (or, rather, your comment in the comment section). We’re giving away a spot for you and a friend, and I know you could use a fun knitting weekend getaway this spring, right? We’ll announce the randomly drawn winner at the end of the week!

Sheri whohadfundoingalotofknittingwithKnittingDaughterthispastweekend