Loopy: We love your patterns here at The Loopy Ewe! What was the first thing that you designed, and what gave you the courage to try it?
Monica: I really don’t remember the first thing I designed. I have always tweaked patterns and added something extra to them. After awhile I decided if I could change necklines and add or take away from a written pattern, I could make something from start to finish on my own. Once you get the technical stuff figured out, anyone can do it. And I had a great teacher, which helps.

Loopy: Do you think up designs in your head and knit them, or doodle on paper first, or just start knitting? What is your process?
Monica: I see the stitch patterns in my head. I have been accused of being obsessed with knitting by my family, and it may be true. I dream about yarn and designs all the time. Once I get a pretty good idea of what I want, I usually will write out the stitches and see if the pattern will work in a sock. Sometimes I just start knitting, just depends on how bad I have an urge to start something new. And I suffer terribly from start(itis).

Loopy: I think a lot of knitters can relate to being a bit obsessed with knitting! Have you been a knitter for a long time? Who taught you to knit?
Monica: I don’t remember not knowing how to knit. My mother, whom I think was the best knitter around, taught me. Since I don’t remember actually learning I must have been fairly young. I thought she was a magician; she knit so fast and could fix mistakes in no time flat. I was in awe of how fast she could knit up Aran sweaters, and I think that is where I get my love of all things cable.

Loopy: I hope you inherited her fast knitting skills! Does anyone else in your family knit?
Monica: We are a family of knitters. I think as children we all learned. With some of us it “took” and others it was a while before the knitting fever hit. I have 2 other sisters who are avid knitters, Karen and Marjorie. I have taught all three of my children to knit. My eldest is my knitting daughter. Together we knit fingerless mitts for all of her friends for this past Christmas. They were all different and all original designs. She enjoys knitting with BIG needles and BIG yarn though, she likes the instant gratification. The boy child knows how to knit, but would much rather play the X Box, although he did help one of his teachers with a knitting project this year. And the youngest has been working on the same Madeline bag for the last 2 years. She is a high energy child and just can’t sit longer than a round or two. And the Husband just doesn’t “get it.

Loopy: That’s so fun that you share this with your whole family! (Well, except for the Husband.) What is your favorite thing to knit, and do you have a favorite yarn that you like to knit or design with?
Monica: My favorite thing is by far, socks. I love the portability of them; I love small needles and skinny yarn. And I want to have a different pair for each day of the year, even though I can only wear them for 4 or 5 months out the year. I am so spoiled; I hate to wear commercially made socks. I also like to make children’s clothing. My kids are all getting older now, so it is not as fast to knit for them … and they expect everything yesterday. The older two are adult sized now, so when I get the urge to make something baby or toddler size I will make it for charity or keep it for a baby shower gift. Favorite yarn, Oh my goodness there are too many too choose from. The list of the ones that “aren’t” my favorite is much shorter, but I don’t want to mention names. As far as favorite to design with, I like yarns that don’t have drastic color changes, like the nearly solid yarns. But I do love to knit with the brightly colored ones too. It really just depends on the design.

Loopy: We don’t tell favorites around here, either. How do you find time to knit each week? Any hints for the rest of us?
Monica: I have been accused of knitting in my sleep. Once I knit a set of sleeves together while I was “dozing.”(I knit my sleeves at the same time). As far as finding time, I take knitting with me everywhere I go. I have a pair of socks that live in the van for knitting emergencies, waiting in traffic, waiting for the kids at after school functions, the endless wait in the Allergist office while all three of them are getting there allergy shots. But most of my knitting is done in the evening after the kids have gone to bed. Only working part –time helps too.

Loopy: A knitter should always be prepared with knitting to do. It sounds like you have that down pat. (And we loved the story of you knitting your sleeves together in your dozing…) So - Stash - do you believe in it? If so, do you find you have more sock yarns, lace yarns, sweater yarns? And do you have a good place to store it all?
Monica: Stash ??? Some people worry about retirement funds, I worry about not being able to afford yarn on my pension when the time comes, so I need to be a “Collector” of yarn now, that way I won’t run out in my lifetime. I start to get a bit twitchy if I use up too much yarn from the collection, and don’t have more yarn coming into it. I can never join those “Knit from Your Stash KALS”, they are just not for me. As for the largest amount by type of yarn, by far, sock yarn. I have yarn for several sweaters and a few shawls, but I need 365 pair of socks you know, so the majority is sock yarn. And storage, ahem, that is a sore subject in this house. According to Hubby my storage area is the “entire” house. I don’t see too much wrong with that, but he has other ideas. It is something I plan to work on in the near future.

Loopy: You’re right - not being able to afford yarn in retirement would not be good. Another great reason to collect now. Would you like to tell us about your family? And what do they think of your knitting?
Monica: My husband Tony and I have been married for 19 years this coming June. He tolerates the knitting obsession because he knows it makes me happy. He unfortunately learned years ago, that knitting does not save us any money; I remind him it keeps me sane and that is more important. I think he agrees esp. since the tools of the trade are very sharp, pointy sticks. My children don’t know any different and they think the other moms are different, you know, the ones that don’t knit. We call them “muggles”. Anyway, we have 3 children; 2 girls ages 16 (driving … yikes) and 10 and the boy child is 14 and they are the most wonderful kids around.

Loopy: You have some fun new patterns in a book that just came out on Cables. How did you get patterns in that book?
Monica: Yes, that was very exciting for me. I kept toying with the idea of submitting some designs to magazines and online magazines, but for some reason was just dragging my heels. My #1 cheerleader is my sister Karen, and she encouraged me to send in the designs. I had asked for submission guidelines and editorial calendars from several places, and the one from Vogue just really caught my attention. They were asking for cable patterns for a new “Knitting on the Go” book. I think it was at the end of December 2006 that I submitted them, and then waited and waited and waited and then finally in April I heard back from them. I had submitted 2 designs and they accepted both of them. I was so excited; I think I was smiling for days. It was a wonderful experience that I hope to repeat. The book was released earlier this Spring and is “Cables, Mittens, Hats & Scarves on the go”.

Loopy: We had to buy that book because you were in there! (Well, and we like cables.) Do you have any good movie or book recommendations for us to knit to?
Monica: The last movie I went to see was The Bucket List and I loved it. It is one I will definitely purchase and watch again. As far as books, I really haven’t had much time to read, what with all this knitting I have been doing. I will have to fix that as reading has always been a relaxing thing for me. Can you recommend any good books for me to look into?

Loopy: Oh, I’m sure people will leave some comments with some good book suggestions for you. Anything else you’d like to add?
Monica: I have a story to tell you Loopy. I think I have shared this with the Loopy Lady, but I want to share it with you too. I was taking a box of patterns to the Post Office to mail The Loopy Ewe. Waiting in line, knitting my socks, minding my own business, and a gentlemen behind me asked, “Aren’t ewe’s female sheep?” And I replied “yes they are”, thinking he must have been referring to the mailing label on the box. He didn’t say anything for a few minutes, and then he asked, “Well what exactly is a Loopy Ewe, is that some kind of farm for sheep that have gone crazy or something?” My youngest was with me and she started giggling, she looks at me with tears running down her face from trying not to laugh as I explain about the yarn shop. She whispers to me, “Can you believe he hasn’t heard about The Loopy Ewe, where has he been?” Kids are the greatest. Many thanks to the Loopy Lady for a great yarn shop and for giving me the opportunity to share my patterns with knitters around the world.

Loopy: I think I have to be offended that he called me a female. FPS.

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Today is Web Guy’s Birthday! May 12th has been one of my favorite days of the year for the past 21 years, just because of him. Happy Birthday, Favorite Son!

Sheri didsomespinningovertheweekendandboywasitfun!

Today’s recipe really is called “Yummy Salad”. That’s not a very creative title, but it is a good salad. You can also add in some cooked chicken to make it into a meal.

Yummy Salad

1 head lettuce (bite-sized pieces)
1 head cauliflower (bite-sized pieces)
2 cups Miracle Whip
1/2 to 1 lb. bacon, fried crisp and crumbled
1/2 med. purple onion, chopped
1/2 cup sugar
2/3 cup Parmesan Cheese
1 cup dried cranberries
(next time I think I’ll also add some sliced almonds. It would give this a good crunch. I’ll have to pick up a bag the next time I’m at the store use one of the seven bags in the pantry, FPS.)

Mix the Parmesan Cheese with the Miracle Whip. Layer the lettuce, cauliflower, Miracle Whip mix, bacon, onion and sugar. Cover and refrigerate. Toss just before serving.

Tonight we have “Senior Celebration” for Knitting Daughter. I can’t believe that she is graduating from high school in just over a week. That means that, come Fall, WH and I will be Empty Nesters. Boy, did those 18 years fly by. (I have to keep telling myself that it’s a good thing when they grow up and you’re proud of them and they move on to the next stage in their lives. Right?) I think I’ll head out to the porch and “linger” a bit with Zoe. She likes to linger out there, too.

Sheri
doyouhaveaplaceinyourhouse
thatisperfectforlingering?

I also started a couple of other scarves. Claudia showed us a beautiful scarf that her friend Dani knit up out of one skein of Wollmeise. (Hi Dani!) My friend Janice and I immediately had to cast it on. It’s a very simple Feather and Fan pattern. What’s funny is that when Claudia got home, she asked Dani where the pattern had come from and it’s from Wendy’s blog! (Small world.) So you can find Wendy’s pattern for this beautiful scarf right here. I really like how it’s knitting up and I have a few more of them that I now want to do. This one is the Am Kalten Polar colorway. But I also thought it might be cool to knit this pattern out of the Noro Sock yarn, so I started that over the weekend. (Color S184) I love the color blends and I already know that the Noro softens up when it gets washed, so I think this is going to be a wonderful scarf, too. (I have a deadline for finishing both of these scarves. Good thing.)

My DC-KAL sweater hasn’t been touched since I last photo-ed it for the blog. I’m mindful of the 6/1 deadline. I have some extended car time coming up, and I think I can pull it off just fine. It has been so fun to see all of your KAL photos coming in. Every time another photo comes in, it motivates me. And of course I have a whole bunch of new sweater patterns that I now want to do. Remember that if you finish and add your photo to The Loopy Ewe KAL photo gallery by 6/1, there is a reward for you! (I didn’t really tell you what the reward was, did I? I’ll tell you after June 1st!)

Did you like the Sneak Up this week? We’re working hard to get all of the rest of the Sneak Up orders out today. I have to admit to adding to my own stash this week. Normally, I have already gotten a skein of anything that is going up (for the testing stage of things) and I usually am very good about letting all of you have the rest. Usually. This week I had to take some Creatively Dyed Roving (it’s Seacell, FPS. I spun the sample that Dianne sent me way back a couple of months ago and loved it, so how could I not take a whole braid of this lovely stuff?) I took Forest Path. I really wanted Rosewood, but I seem to be in a Roving Rut and am trying to break into new colors. I also had to get a Pattern Tamer (In my defense, I let all of you buy out the first batch without touching it.) And then there was the Perchance to Knit Pamper Me Sock Yarn. One touch and … I kept one. The Roses, Roses colorway. (But Irises and Glory of the Snow were equally tempting to me.) I also took a braid of The Sanguine Gryphon’s roving (which will go up next week) and more of Josette’s Enchanted Knoll Farm yarn (even though I have a sample from awhile back.) And a couple more water bottles, because I love those water bottles and one can never have too many of them, right? (And didn’t you love the fun Loopy Necklace? I’ve been wearing mine a lot.) So I think I did very well in my shopping spree this week. It was fun. There might be yarn and roving popping out from all areas of my office and home, but I’m happy. I just think it’s important to confess to all of you every once in awhile, so you know that I do almost as much Loopy Ewe shopping as you do. Almost.

It has been wonderful to read about all of the RAKs that you have been doing this month. You’re all so generous, and I know that many of the people you showed kindnesses to, probably went and passed it on to someone else that week. That’s a whole lot of good stuff going on out there! I decided to draw two names to win Goody Bags from The Spring Fling. The randomly drawn winners of this contest were: Tracey in Michigan and Joanne in Pennsylvania. The Goody Bags are on the way! And thanks to ALL of you for participating in our RAK contest in April.

And by the way, Brian and Tina over at GudonyaToo think you all are the BEST. (I agree.) It sounds like a lot of you found some great bath stuff in their shop!

Sheri tryingnottoeatthethreebarsofCadburychocolatethatLBsentme.
Okshesentmefour.Iateonelastweekalready.sigh

Loopy: We’re big fans of your wonderful products over here at Loopy. Everyone loved the Loopy Bath Kisses you did for us! Can you tell us how you got into the business and how long you’ve been doing it?
GudonyaToo: We had such a great opportunity back in July of 2007 when we were glancing through the etsy forums and saw a great B&B shop was for sale. I believe that was on a Friday, and by the next day we were making a 12 hour car trip to buy our new baby. We opened our shop, GudonyaToo, in August, and the rest is history!

Loopy: What a fun business to buy into. What is your favorite product and scent?
GudonyaToo: Oh my gosh!!! Make me choose. My shower would tell you the whole story! But if I had to narrow it down it would be my Cotton Candy Salty Dawg Shapoo. Then of course I have to use my Cotton Candy Whipped Clean, and my Cotton Candy sMOOchie (the new and improved Loopy Kiss product) ….

Loopy: So the “kiss” now comes in the new sMOOchie Bar? We like the looks of those, too. Of course The Loopy Lady’s personal favorite is your Whipped Clean. She says that one fingertip of the stuff on a scrubby makes enough suds for the whole shower. So how do you come up with new products?
GudonyaToo: Customer requests and market demands. Plus Brian comes up with some great stuff for me. That’s how Salty Dawg came to be. We had a big mishap with a shampoo bar, and let’s just say I had the best oil treatment ever for my hair. But I couldn’t get it clean! It was horrible. I used my shampoo twice, Dawn Dish Soap twice, and I still looked like I hadn’t washed my hair in a week! LOL! So Brian came up with the Dawg in hopes that I could one day leave the house again. Thank goodness it worked.

Loopy: I don’t think us ewes can use “Dawg” shampoo, but The Loopy Lady might need to try that. What are some challenges you have had in building your business?
GudonyaToo: Not having enough time in the day. We usually work 12-16 hours a day, shipping, producing, customer service, and sometimes to experiment with the new guudies! I always joke and say it’s a good thing we don’t have toddlers because I’m afraid they wouldn’t get fed.

Loopy: Never enough time in the day to get everything done. Boy, we can relate to that! What is your favorite thing about the business?
GudonyaToo: Being my own boss and setting my own hours. It is so cool to also dream about how far we can take GudonyaToo.

Loopy: Do you have help, or is it just the two of you? And is this a full-time job, or do you also do other things?
GudonyaToo: Just the two of us. And it is my full time job and it’s Brian’s second job. He is an electronic engineer by day, and a B&B guru by night.

Loopy: Of course we need to know if you knit?? Or do you have other fun things that you like to do to relax?
GudonyaToo: I chose to learn how to crochet, due to the simple fact that I’m SCARED to death of knitting needles! There is something about long pointy sharp sticks that gives me the heebie jeebies!

Loopy: Awww. They’re fairly harmless. I think you’d like it! We’re always looking for good book and movie recommendations to knit (or crochet) to - do you have any for us?
GudonyaToo: I would love to recommend something, but we don’t have much time for that. I did see Alvin and the Chipmunks on Christmas Day and I loved it! I guess we never really grow up.

Loopy: Will we ever see GudonyaToo in stores near us?
GudonyaToo: Hopefully in the future, if we dream big enough!

Loopy: Well we’ll watch for that. In the meantime, we’ll catch you in your etsy shop. Anything else you’d like to add today?
GudonyaToo: Don’t ever be afraid to live your dreams. Like my sister likes to say, “Life isn’t a dress rehearsal, you only get one chance to live it.”

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I hope you had fun learning more about Tina and Brian and their shop. (Seriously - check out my personal favorite, Whipped Clean, and the new sMOOchie Bar. They have figured out a way to ship sMOOchie Bars in the hot summer temperatures. I wish we could do the same for Loopy Kisses….)

Sheri scarfphotosonWednesdayandfunstuffgoingupintheshopthisweek-woohoo!

Those aren’t the only flowers cheering us up here at The Loopy Ewe. This amazing “Edible Arrangement” arrived yesterday, along with a jar of chocolate for the cute strawberry dish that came with it. We have tried everything and it is wonderful. (We keep eating fruit from the back so that the front stays cute. There is a lot of fruit in there, including the “daisy” pineapple slices on the front!) Some people (and I’m not mentioning names) have the idea that chocolate lathered fruit slices make a perfectly acceptable lunch. This arrived with a note that it was a RAK for all of us here at Loopy Central. Wow!! We don’t know who to thank, but YOU know who you are and we just want to send you big hugs and kisses because we are totally enjoying it and it was an awfully nice thing to do. (Also keeping us smiling, but not in the “flower” category, are the basket of cookies from Sharon that arrived yesterday afternoon. This is a fun place to be this week!)

I love reading all of your RAK comments on Wednesday’s blog. Keep adding to them - you have until next Wednesday before I draw for the doorprize. It’s so inspiring to see how many people are being helped, and I’m getting lots of great ideas for future RAKs that I can do.

Today’s recipe is so quick and easy, and loved by all. (What’s not to love about any recipe that has the word “pizza” in it?) I hope you and your families enjoy it.

Pizza Casserole

2 cups spiral noodles
1 lb. ground beef
1 jar pizza sauce
3 cups shredded mozzarella
Sliced pepperoni

Cook and drain the noodles, according to package directions. Brown the ground beef and drain. Stir the jar of pizza sauce into the beef. Spread the noodles out in the bottom of a 9 x 13 dish. Add in layers: beef, cheese and pepperoni. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes.

(Sheri’s note: I’m not very good at following quantities in recipes. If I think there should be more of something, I just drop it in. Therefore, I’m sure that my photo has more noodles than the required amount above. I also like it fairly moist, so I used a big jar of pizza sauce, and topped it all with cheese. Someday I’ll learn to follow directions and leave things alone. Maybe.)

So glad it’s the weekend. I’m working on my Wollmeise Scarf (started during the Fling) and will show photos next week. It’s a bit addictive and very very simple, and I have already decided on my next three colorways that I will knit up into this same pattern. What fun things are you doing this weekend? Any knitting going on?

Sheri nowgoingtohaveanotherchocolatecoveredstrawberry.Forlunch,youknow.

Here is a picture of the Goody Bags that we gave to everyone when they checked in. It includes the red/black backpack (which I liked a lot because it has pockets and straps and is designed vertically instead of being a horizontal carrying bag). Inside was a skein of Wollmeise which Claudia dyed up for me just for the Spring Fling. (This is the first time she has done more muted colors - it almost looks like a watercolor painting of meadows and sea - which makes it a very special colorway, indeed.) We also included a pattern and samples from Cherry Tree Hill and Claudia Hand Painted (enough to make some sock blocker keychains or mini socks), some wonderful “Everything Balm” from Goodies Unlimited, a brand new pattern from Wendy and one from Cookie A (along with my favorite new heavy vinyl “pattern holder” - I use these all the time when I knit), a Loopy Ewe coffee mug (no, we can’t sell them because we don’t want to ship them, but they were perfect for giving away in person!) and of course some Loopy Kisses. We had a great time putting these together for everyone. And now, you have a chance to win one! Remember when I told you about April’s blog contest and gave you all month to do three random acts of kindness? Today is the day to report in and leave your comments as to what you found to do for others this month! You need to have done three RAKs to be entered into the random drawing, and I will draw the name a week from today. If we have a lot of entries, I’m happy to draw for 2 or 3 Goodie Bags. We love giving away prizes. So leave a comment with your RAKs and inspire all the rest of us to get out there and do the same!

No Sneak Up this week, but we have wonderful things in store for you next week. All of the shirts, hats, and sweatshirts will go up. (Don’t worry - we ordered a lot and still have multiplies in all sizes. The Flingers didn’t clear us out!) We also have more Pattern Tamers, a fun Loopy Necklace, Lawre’s Laine BigBags (ohsogorgeous), Duets, Schaefer Anne, Yarn Love, Seawool Fiber Roving from Creatively Dyed, Cashmere Sock Yarn from Perchance to Knit, and possibly (depending on how much time we have to get photos done) two new indie dyers - Beyond Basic Knits and Enchanted Knoll Farms.

Guess what? It’s time to Take Loopy on Vacation again! He had such a wonderful mix of adventures last summer and he has been bugging us about it all winter long. He’s ready to go again! Beginning with orders placed on May 1st, we’ll be including a Loopy Postcard in your order while supplies last. (We will plan to send one postcard with your first order in May. If for some reason you need a second postcard with your next May order, just leave us an order note.) I know that a lot of you have your very own Little Loopy, and it’s perfectly acceptable to pose and photo Little Loopy on your vacation, instead of the postcards. We’ll leave it up to you as to which you prefer. We’ll start a new ‘08 edition of Loopy’s Summer Photo Gallery next week so that you can start sharing his adventures. We will have prizes at the end of the summer again, and will have you vote in several categories, so get photo-ing. Last year we had prizes for: Best faraway place that Loopy visited, most famous person that he met, most creative photo with Loopy, and most unusual place he visited. If you have any more fun ideas for additional categories, email me and I’ll share them on a future blog post.

Winners of the Q1-08 Challenge - for “randomly drawn from all entries” the winner is: Juli’s skirt. For the Reader’s Choice award from those who voted: Jennifer’s Venezia. Each wins a $25 gift certificate to The Loopy Ewe. Congratulations to you both! Don’t forget our Q2-08 Challenge that runs between now and the end of June.

I had an email from Claudia this morning and she has arrived safely back in Germany. Her family is glad to have her back, but I miss her!

Sheri stillwaaaaybehindonemailsbutIpromiseI’mpluggingawayonthem!

We started on Thursday afternoon with registrations and goody bag handouts. (I’ll photo the goody bag for Wednesday’s blog. Remember, I’m giving one away to the randomly selected winner of the April Blog contest. Did you do your 3 random acts of kindness this month? I’ll have you post them on Wednesday’s blog for a chance to win.) We had knitters knitting all over the hotel lobby, confounding the other hotel guests as they wandered by and wondered about all of the people laughing and talking with sticks in their hands.

Then Leslie arrived with cupcakes from an amazing cupcake place here in St. Louis and pandemonium broke out. Don’t mess with knitters trying to get at their cupcakes.

That night, we started with a Dessert Reception and there were many wonderful choices to select from. (Because, you know, the cupcakes didn’t fully meet our “dessert quota” for the day. And besides, that was hours ago.) Here you see Claudia talking with Adrienne. Claudia doesn’t like to be in pictures (that was her in the group photo behind the Spring Fling sign) but she’s ok with people taking her backside.

We had a large room with comfy chairs, tables and room to spread out and knit. One of the things I loved was that most people moved from table to table at different times of the day, so that everyone got to know everyone else.

Capi brought Crocs for Claudia. I think Claudia has worn them every day since then, and we’re off to shop for more today. (I asked her if she’d rather do some sightseeing or some shopping and she quickly voted for shopping!) Remember Capi’s Limelight Interview where we had a photo of her Croc collection?

There were classes going on all day Friday and Saturday, as well as scheduled trips to Loopy Central. I went on the trips to Loopy with the shuttle bus and it was so fun having everyone here in person! The last group in on Saturday afternoon was so worried that there would be nothing left for them to shop from and they soon discovered that the shop stays well-stocked, even after lots of dedicated Loopy Groupies have been there in person.

After they finished shopping, people sat on the red couches or in our entryway, knitting while everyone else checked out. One thing about knitters, you can always count on them to entertain themselves with their knitting if there is ever wait-time.

Everyone had a great time shopping and went back to the hotel with full bags at the end of their trip. They all wanted to know which group spent the most money at Loopy - are they competitive, or what? I’m not telling!

Even though we have switched to Loopy Peppermints for orders now that the weather is warm again, we still keep a full bowl of chocolate kisses at the shop. (In fact, Little Loopy likes to swim in them.) I thought you might also like to see Claudia’s socks. She likes to wear mis-matched pairs. With this pair, she carried over a little color from one to the other. We loved her socks!

On Saturday’s Loopy Central visits, we had these cute cupcakes for the shoppers! Susan-the-awesome-assistant’s sister and niece made these for us.

One evening, a few of us went to the Japanese Steak House for dinner and were entertained by the waiters/chefs who prepare your meal at your table. Here you see (left to right) Kelli who was here all the way from New Zealand, Cookie A from CA, Capi from AZ, Wendy from VA and Sharon from CA. (Claudia and Janice are hiding….)

Because knitters are all alike, we wondered what size needle the chopsticks might be, so Wendy got out a needle gauge to check it out. There was a gal at the next table who noticed this odd behaviour, and said, “Hey are you knitters? I am too!”

Back at the Knitting Lounge, there was lots of fun going on. Adrienne shared spinning with several people. Here she’s giving a demo to Kelli. Stacy, of Tempted Yarns, also brought her wheel and inspired us with her spinning.(I didn’t take nearly enough photos this weekend. I missed several opportunities. Next year I must do better.)

Leslie got a group of knitters together before the Fling and 16 of them made squares for an afghan for Claudia. It turned out beautifully and Claudia was so touched. I have offered to ship it to her, but she won’t give it up. I’m not sure she trusts me not to keep it …..

Another group, led by Tammy’s beautiful voice, wrote a song and sang it the last night we were there. Guess what? You can hear it on Flickr right here. It was so funny!

All too soon our long week-end was over and we had to say our good-byes. (Kelli and Claudia were roomies, so you get another backside photo of Claudia in her very cute Wicked Sweater made from her own Peppermint Prince colorway.) We left with fuller suitcases, more projects on our “must knit” list, more yarn for our stashes, less sleep, more food, and more friends than when we arrived. And we all want to do it again. Next year, y’all have to join us. (Allen - it ought to be “all y’all”, right? I had some southern-speaking lessons from Allen of Numma Numma this weekend.)

Special thanks go out to Janice, my dear friend from Iowa who held down the fort at the hotel while I was back and forth to Loopy, to Cookie A and Wendy for classes that everyone raved about, to Claudia for making her first trip to the US, to Web Guy for driving down from college to help out and meet everyone, to Wonder Husband who made a gigantic sock blocker for everyone to sign (I’ll show you on Wednesday), to Knitting Daughter who helped here at Loopy Central, to the Elves who put in a lot of overtime last week and over the weekend, to my mom for making brownies for us, and to all of the rest of you for such a fun weekend. We miss you already!

(And Claudia wanted to add a few sentences - see below.)

Sheri nowheadingofftoshopbecauseClaudia’ssuitcaseisn’tquiteover-stuffedenough,apparently

From Claudia: Hi Ladies it was a pleasure and great honour to meet you all. Next year, same place, same fun, wouldn’t that be cool? Thanks for all and I didn’t expect to get such a warm welcome. Love you all, American knitters, American beef and your comfy beds (not your swimming pool toilets with too much water, it scares me)

Claudia

We have a foyer when you first come through the door. This is what part of it looks like right now, but we’ll be changing it. We’re going to add diagonal wooden cubbies along the Red Cupboard wall, for additional space. (And then the Red Cupboard will go where the spinning chairs are.)

This is where we eat lunch. The counter is to the right as you walk in the doorway from the foyer. Do you like the red stools? They’re so comfortable.

And of course you’ve seen the Loopy kitchenette before. This is an important area because it’s where we keep the M&M’s and drinks in the fridge.

WH made this red island just this month. We love the added space, and the engraved Loopy title in the top of it. It’s actually redder in person than it looks here. Don’t all of the Little Loopies look like they’re having a great time? (You know you can click on any of these photos to make them bigger, right?)

It’s hard to get everything into one big photo, so I just took different views for you. Here are some of the aisles of yarn.

And the peg wall with sock blockers and bags and patterns.

This is our back winding table area (with the door to my office in the background.)

And this is the view from my office door, looking back into the main area of Loopy.

Here is our Red Couch Area. We sit here to make up Loopy Kisses, which is what Janice is sitting there doing at the moment (did you notice that we’re back to peppermints for the warm months? Bummer. Of course we still keep a huge bowl of kisses here for us. We can’t imagine not having our wooden bowl of Loopy Kisses at all times.) When any of our kids come to visit us here, they usually end up hanging out on the couches as well. Today Web Guy is working on the computer there. I wish I could say that knitting takes place there, but we don’t knit much here. Just at home. (Susan is in the background, printing your order labels and talking to one of you on the phone!)

Of course I wanted to show you a photo of some of the Elves who are working today. You can see Mary and Marianne in the foreground. Janice in the denim jacket (she’s an Honorary Elf today.) In the back we have Anna, Sue and Donna. Also here, but hiding - Claudia. (Claudia won’t let me take her photo. We are going to have to make a sign to hang around her neck at the Fling … “No photos!” But she’s bent down behind the island, hiding next to Janice.)

And this is what the front area looks like as of 10 minutes ago, when our day’s worth of UPS deliveries arrived. Sigh. (The UPS guys don’t get “the whole yarn thing”.)

I had better get back to work up front. The Elves don’t believe me when I tell them I’m working back here in my office. They think I’m snoozing or something, FPS.

No blog post on Friday, as we’ll be mid-Fling, but I’ll check back in on Monday with Fling Photos for you! Have a great rest of the week. (And come Fling with us the next time!)

Sheri notsurewherewe’regoingtoputallofthefunthingsthatarrivedtodayinallofthoseboxes

Loopy: Hi L-B! Well you’re a Loopy Legend, and you’re a Wendy Legend, right? (Which is better than being an Urban Legend, we think. Or maybe you’re that, too?) Thanks for agreeing to be interviewed today.
L-B: L-B in the Loopy Limelight? But haven’t you already interviewed Wendy? It’s commonly thought that I am Wendy’s imaginary friend. But, I’ll be happy to answer your questions and let your readers decide if I am real or not!

Loopy: We’ll read your answers verrry carefully, with all of that in mind. So when did you begin knitting, and who taught you:
L-B: I began knitting around the age of 9, teaching myself from an old book that had pictures of a baby tangled up in yarn. I began knitting doll clothes, especially dramatic, multi-color and lace hooded capes for my trolls (I remember learning yarnovers and pulling the long troll hair out from the holes!) and cabled hats for myself and freeform wall-hangings!

Loopy: Do you have a favorite thing to knit?
L-B: I love all forms of knitting now, but if I had to choose only one style, it would be Aran. I began spinning in the mid-seventies when acrylic was rampant and I wanted to knit with wool. I don’t spin as much now, but a beautiful handpainted roving or a fleece fresh off the back of a sheep at the State Fair never fails to lure me back!

Loopy: Since none of us feel like we ever have enough time in the day to knit, do you have any tips for us:
L-B: Time? I would trade much of my stash (please don’t ask) for more knitting hours in the day! My knitting goes everywhere I do–I knit on breaks at work, in restaurants, standing in the grocery line and even at stop lights (dare I admit that?). I enjoy knitting while mall-walking and one day felt a tug on my yarn. I turned to find one of the senior mall-walkers holding my yarn. The ball had fallen out of my bag as I walked and he had picked it up nearly on the other
side of the mall! He said he started rolling up the ball wondering what he’d find at the other end! Now, my challenge is to find knitting time with a puppy in my life. I’m getting good at tossing the ball a long way and knitting until Rose returns with the ball.

Loopy: We know you love animals, and they seem to love you, too. Tell us about your pets.
L-B: Rose is the most recent of my furry friends. She is a 6 month old Australian Shepherd who was unfortunately bred with double-merle genes, resulting in total deafness and some visual impairment. She was rescued by a wonderful woman with Aussie Rescue (ARPH) and I adopted her in March. She is an amazing dog who doesn’t seem to know she has any limitations. When she can’t see or hear me, she can scent me out. I’m training her with hand signals which she picks up quickly, but I have to be creative to get her attention to actually see the signs. A stick with peanut butter on the end has been a fantastic training tool! Lucky cat is well-known at Wendyknits for wooing Lucy, but they have yet to actually meet. Still, he “wears” his tuxedo at all times in the event he ever meets Lucy. Clancy, the beagle, and Molly, the tortoiseshell cat, round out the group, all of them with special challenges that constantly inspire me.

Loopy: They’re all very beautiful animals! And speaking of Lucy and Wendy, how did you and Wendy get to become such good friends. (If, indeed, you are two different people….)
L-B: Wendy and I met via her blog as we have the same passion for traditional knitting, then later in person since we both live in Virginia. Wendy is focused and prolific in her knitting while I can be perfectly satisfied knitting “nothing” with two swizzle sticks and embroidery floss as I did years ago on an airplane when my knitting needles were taken away at security. The process of knitting, manipulating the stitches, playing with color, fascinates me, which helped lead me into doing test and sample knitting for Apple Laine, Blue Moon Fiber Arts, Clara Parkes’ book, The Knitter’s Book of Yarn and , of course Wendy’s book and patterns. We are best of friends and possibly alter-egos. Wendy calls me Hippy Crunchy (I call her Bag Ho) and I boast 34 years as a vegetarian and nearly as long as an avid New England Contra dancer, whereas Wendy enjoys omnivorous gourmet cooking and has graphed Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon album and knitted it into a sweater!

Loopy: So are there any tales you’d like to tell about Wendy? Now’s your chance, you know.
L-B: What do you not know about Wendy? You mean that I can share, right? Well, her generosity is well-known, but did you know she gives her handknitted socks away to the Salvation Army? No telling where you may see her socks on the streets of D.C.!

Loopy: I think you probably just started a run to The Salvation Army. You two invented the phrase “Sock Yarn Doesn’t Count as Stash.” (Which you have graciously lent to us for a few fun products.) How did that come about?
L-B: Our phrase “Sock Yarns Don’t Count as Stash” was born out of our agreement last year to knit from our stash until we met at Stitches East. But, we were addicted to The Loopy Ewe and also wanted to rejoin the BMFA Rockin’ Sock Club, so we decided to amend our “tongue-in-cheek “rules” to agree that sock yarn and spinning fiber did not count as stash. But, man, did the sock yarn stash grow! (again, don’t ask!) I was already hooked on yarn from Apple Laine, Blue Moon Fiber Arts and Claudia, but The Loopy Ewe introduced me to my newest favorites, Tempted, The Sanguine Gryphon and Zen String! I really do need to put the sock knitting down sometimes to knit the aran and lace weight yarns that are being neglected.

Loopy: We like that you’re a bit addicted to sock yarn and we don’t think you need to put it down for a second. But we might be biased…. Thanks for agreeing to be in The Limelight with us today!
————–
The Spring Flingers are coming! We’re so looking forward to having some of you here in just a few short days. (But we really wish that all of you could have come. Next year?) Due to preparations for the Spring Fling, The Loopy Ewe will be closed for in-person shopping this week. However, the online shop never closes and we’ll keep shipping orders, so you can keep shopping online during this time. This week’s Sneak Up will include: Duets, Hand Maiden Casbah, Numma Numma BabyBoo, Scarlet Fleece (more new colors), Noro Sock Yarn (only part of our order came, but we’re happy to share what we have so far), Pattern Tamers, and Gales Art Roving (this is Black BFL, hand-dyed - amazing stuff). So, lots of fun things to look forward to this week.

Sheri sotellme,isL-BafigmentofWendy’simaginationandthephotoissomeimposter?

We have an Adopted Elf today! Keri (Kyrana on Ravelry) lives about 90 miles away and is coming to the Spring Fling next weekend. She called yesterday and said that for one of her Random Acts of Kindness this month, she wanted to offer to drive in and help us for the afternoon because she figured we were “probably going crazy right about now, trying to get everything ready.” How fun is that? She’s doing a top notch job of unpacking t-shirts and folding them up all nice and neat. (And she brought me one of her wonderful bags - woohoo! I’ll have to photo that next week for you.) How is everyone coming along on our April Blog Contest? The contest is to do 3 random acts of kindness for the month, and then we’ll have Reporting Day on Wednesday, April 30th. I hope you’re looking for great opportunities to help others this month.

This week’s recipe is another one that we enjoyed on vacation. It’s a gray, rainy day here today and supposed to get cooler, so soup sounds like a good dinner to me right now. This is thick and delicious - just add some fresh bread and a good salad and you have a great meal.

Cheese and Broccoli Soup

3 carrots, finely chopped
3 stalks celery, finely chopped
1 onion, finely chopped
1/2 stick margarine
2 cans chicken broth
2 cans cream of potato soup
1 1/2 lbs Velveeta Cheese
2 boxes frozen chopped broccoli
sour cream (optional)

Saute finely chopped carrots, celery and onion in margarine. Add chicken broth and simmer for 30 minutes. Add broccoli, potato soup and Velveeta cheese. Simmer 10-15 minutes, or until broccoli is cooked through and cheese is melted. Garnish with sour cream if desired.

Good news - they called to say our Noro Sock order has shipped! As you know, we have been waiting for a long time. (And yes, we do have another order in already.) We hope to have that within days. We also have Boye DPN’s going up soon, as well as Pattern Tamers - did you see those reviewed in the latest issue of Knitty? Great magnetic strips for keeping track of where you are on your pattern (but made to look cute!). What else? Numma Numma’s BabyBoo, Chameleon Colorworks, more Schaefer, more Casbah, more Duets, and some Black BFL roving that has me totally addicted.

Want to know how many steps the average Loopy Elf (oh - none of them are average - they’re all amazing. But you know what I mean) takes on a post Sneak Up day? Donna (one of our newest Elves) wanted to find out, so she came to work with a pedometer on Wednesday. During her day, she pulled orders for 4 hours (so that involves walking around) and she packed orders for 2.5 hours (which means she was mostly standing still while others did the pulling and walking around). She racked up 4110 steps that day. How about that? A fun job with yarn, and exercise too. Life is good.

Sheri whoseofficeisover-runwithspringflinggoodybagcontentsatthemoment
butthatwillbegoingawaysoonbecauseTheFlingersarealmostontheirway!