We didn’t talk about our 2013 Resolutions this year. In the past, I’ve shared some of my resolutions with you, although it looks like I haven’t done that in a couple of years (including this year). But here it is, almost the end of January, and I’m wondering how you’re doing so far in 2013? One of my continuing resolutions is to walk several times a week. I got a Fitbit late last spring, and it really has kept me on track. Mostly. (Any days “not on track” are completely my fault. Not the Fitbit’s fault.)

I would like to do my one-hour morning walks 5-6 days a week. I end up averaging about 4 days a week. I’m working on that. Part of the problem is that I hate getting up when it’s dark outside. And it’s especially a bugger when it’s dark AND cold out there. (The treadmill in the basement is just too boring. I tried.) The upside to getting up and going outside when it’s still dark is that I get to see some beautiful sunrises.

And one day last week, I found a heart on the street. That was fun.

Of course it’s always a big plus that I get to see mountains on my walk. I never get tired of that.

So that’s how my walking resolution is going. I also make sure that I write down a few resolutions that might not be such a stretch. Included in that for 2013:

1. Buy more pretty yarn.
2. Never have just one project going at a time.
3. Get a new knitting bag (or three) this year.

I’m happy to report that those three resolutions are going amazingly well. Success!

Did you make resolutions? And are you still successfully working on them at the end of January?

Sheri whowilltryforwalks5daysaweekinFebruary

P.S. I see that if you click to make the photos bigger on Safari it works fine, but if you click to make them bigger on Firefox, they turn upside down. Oh well!

I have a thing for old collectibles. The warm woods, the weathered look, the knowledge that these things have been around for a long time. I like poking around in antique stores and flea markets, seeing what treasures I might find. One thing I look for is old darning eggs. I like that people used to fix their socks, instead of tossing them and picking up another 5-pack at Target. Of course as sock knitters, we all know the value of handknit socks and I would reckon that most of us darn any holes that might show up, right? These old darners work great. Once in awhile I’ll see a darner with a silver handle. Very pretty, but too expensive. And a friend gave me an old glass darner, which is cool. Not really the kind of thing you’d throw into your sewing basket, I don’t think. But mostly I just collect old wooden ones.

Another thing I like is antique sock blockers. I’m always looking for unusual shapes and sizes. I like this single one a lot because it has a 10 at the top, which I assume means that it’s a size 10. That was one long sock, as this measures 34″ from top to toe.

I like them in pairs, too. I think that pair without the holes probably took a lot longer to dry socks than the ones with holes down the middle to help the air circulate better. Maybe they just hung them by the fireplace, like Christmas stockings. Anyway, now they’re fun to put up around the shop.

Do you collect anything old related to knitting/sewing/crocheting/quilting?

Sheri wholikesoldsewingneedlebooks,too

I wish you all could be here for Thursday Night Knit Nights. We have a lot of fun! Last night, we were celebrating Cricket’s first published pattern. The Molly Carpetbag is in the Interweave Knits Winter 2012 issue, available on the Interweave website, and at bookstores on 11/20.

You might remember Cricket from the post I did about her demo-ing steeks at one of our Knit Nights. Cricket’s mind overflows with pattern ideas, and she is particularly gifted at designing cool felted bags. The Molly Carpetbag is done with two colors of felt-able worsted weight (like Cascade 220) and measures about 11″ wide and 10″ tall (depending on the felting). The top picture shows the bag that she knit up for the magazine photo shoot. The second photo is the bag that Cricket made for me last spring, which I absolutely love. She has more beautiful styles and designs in the works. We get a sneak peak at them when she brings them to Knit Night to work on. As she puts out more patterns, I’ll be sure to show them to you. Her patterns make me want to knit felted bags again. Her next pattern would make the coolest knitting bag. (And you know how I feel about knitting bags.) It’s big and beautiful and will be a perfect next-pattern, after you’ve tried your hand at the Molly Bag.

We’re supposed to get some snow this weekend. I can’t wait. I have my knitting projects all picked out. Actually, my list will take me clear through Thanksgiving and on into Christmas. Do you need us to send you a new project before the upcoming holidays? We can do that. You’d hate to run out of yarn and projects in the middle of the holiday season, right?

Sheri gladit’sFriday,lookingforwardtotheweekend

P.S. Monday is a holiday – Veteran’s Day – here in the States. We won’t be here at the shop to ship orders since there is no mail delivery. However, we’ll be sure to do a Monday Update for you, so watch for that sometime Monday evening.

Today is a No Mail Monday (Happy Columbus Day here in the U.S., Happy Thanksgiving in Canada!). That means we’re closed at the shop today and that is a nice way to start back to work, after being on vacation for several days last week and through the weekend. I’m putting in a short day here at Loopy and then heading home to unpack and do laundry.

I had a great Girls Trip last week – thanks for your well wishes! We rented a house on Smith Lake (near Birmingham, AL) and had the best time catching up and relaxing. There are 12 of us, and it’s hard to get all 12 there each year, but it’s always fun with the people who are able to attend. We all met as scrapbooking consultants back in the 90′s and have had many fun weekends and trips together over the years. It was so fun to get away and spend time with them last week.

Here is part of the group, hanging out on the deck:

The house we rented was beautiful, and right on the lake.

Here’s the view from the deck:

We spent time chatting on the deck, as well as inside the house:

On one of the days, we went into Birmingham for shopping and checked out the Botanical Garden, too.

Now I’m back into Loopy mode, ready for a fun week! We don’t have a Monday Update tonight, but we’ve been collecting shipments of new things for next week’s update. Check in on Wednesday’s blog where I’ll be doing a contest to win a free skein of yarn from a brand new indie dyer line that we’re adding in.

Sheri prettysureadietisinorderthisweek.
NocaloriescountedduringGirlsTrips.

I’ve been out of town for a week, but am now back in Colorado. We all went to Knitting Daughter’s college graduation in Indiana last weekend! Here’s a photo of her being congratulated by her brother (aka: Web Guy). I cannot believe how quickly those four years flew by. It seems like I was just talking about her going off to school and now she has diploma in hand.

She’s back here in Colorado with us for a little bit, while she job hunts for something in her field (marketing and media communications). I have a long list of projects for her at Loopy in the meantime.

We drove her car down to St. Louis after graduation and spent a couple of days there, seeing friends. I had lunch with the St. Louis Elves. It was so great to see all of them. I miss them! Here’s a picture of Susan (my St. Louis Office Manager) with her cute grandson Carter. Susan gets to watch him and his sister Lulu 3 days a week and is loving the time with them.

After a couple of days in St. Louis, we headed west to Colorado. We were waylaid in Lawrence, Kansas by a faulty hose that leaked all of the coolant out of the engine area, causing overheating. We were a day late getting home, but everything ran smoothly after we had that dumb hose replaced.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. Sunday is Starting Day for Project One of Camp Loopy! I can’t wait to work on my new Color Affection Shawl. I’ll show you the first one I finished, next week. I have to wash and block it.  We’ll be closed on Monday for Memorial Day, but we’ll have a regular Monday Update for you, so watch for it!

Are there more great three color shawl patterns out there? I thought that picking two color shawls was fun, but three is even better.

Sheri whosemomsentWilbur’sChocolateBudsalongforthecarridehome.
Imayhavejusteatenonewhilewritingthispost.Orfive.

Last week I took the afternoon off for my birthday and went antiquing with my dear friend Meda. We have been antiquing buddies for years, and always have fun hunting for treasures. She is the one who got me into cloche-ing. The bottom two photos in that post are from her house.

One of the things I picked up last week – a stash of old McCall’s Needlework magazines from the early 1950′s. I thought I might make some more mannequins for the shop with some of the color print ads and articles in these magazines. I had fun going through them and seeing that, although the names and styles change, you can always count on certain things with knitting:

Knitters still want their yarn to match well for each project:

People are still knitting socks:

and using sock blockers:

Colorwork is still popular:

There are always “new” techinques which will “revolutionize your knitting”:

People are still wearing needle bracelets (although back then it was a symbol of achievement on a sales person or a knitting instructor):

There are patterns and projects that still make us ask, “What were they thinking?” Like this petal hat:

Or the broken eggshell hat (not to mention those scary stuffed poodles):

Or these attractive belts:

Or these “at-home” shoes:

But the most important thing remains exactly the same, from 1952 to 2012 – always check your gauge:

It makes me wonder which 2012 patterns, techniques and accessories will cause laughter to the knitters in 2072?

Sheri lovingthecostofyarn&patternsbackthen,though