Je t'aime le yarn!

It is February, the month of love and coincidentally, a great month for those who love to knit. The holiday knitting frenzy is becoming a distant memory. You're deep into a sweater or afghan or some other present you gave yourself for the new year - a reward for all those selfless holiday weeks of knitting for others. Now comes February, with lots of lovely snow to put you in the stitching mood, and Valentine's Day - the perfect time to knit something quick and small and decadent for the one you love. It doesn't have to be huge - after all, most people try to get away with a card or some Russell Stoever's from Med-x - but you, YOU are going to put your heart and precious time into it.

Here are a few ideas from your fellow Loops devotees:
Kendall made this hat from the book "220 projects for Cascade 220." Wish I had one of these to wear today. Brrrr..


This creative customer took the pattern for the Sophie Bag and added felted hearts:


We have some other really cute Valentine's patterns in the store...we love the Fibertrends felted heart boxes, the Suss fuzzy heart sweater from "Hollywood Knits," and I just got a new freebie pattern from Plymouth for a red tulip washcloth that would be a great gift, wrapped with a nice bar of hand-milled soap (ask for the pattern when you're in the store!).

Of course, if you want to gift a fellow stitcher with a little something, the best choice is something NEW from Loops! We have a brand-new binder at the front of the store with the latest patterns we've received...this binder will be updated weekly so check it often. We also got a huge shipment from Berroco, with all the new patterns, new colors in Ultra Silk, Ultra Alpaca and Pure Merino, and a giant amount of their new yarn, Love It! Sure, we love it but that's the actually name! We know you will love it too. Click to check out the Love It preview patterns.

A shipment arrived yesterday from SWT with new colors in Bamboo, Karaoake (check out the Karaoake hat book featuring our own Gina Y.), and the smokin' hot new yarn, Tofutsies. This hugely popular new sock yarn is a blend of superwash wool, soy, cotton and chitin. What the heck is chitin? It's a recycled material made from crab and shellfish shells, which makes the yarn naturally antibacterial. Read: less stinky feet! As a mom to a kiddo with shellfish allergies, this stuff scared me at first. But I have been sufficiently convinced by the SWT people that this will not cause a reaction, even in the most sensitive people. So sock lovers, knit on! And check out these 15 amazing colors:


Another fun new item - a new shipment of buttons arrived yesterday (pictured under the sock yarn).


And I will close with one of the little loves of my life, posing (as she so often does) in her Colinette Graffiti coat (a really, easy fast pattern that has lasted 2 seasons of rapid growth spurts!)


Have a happy heart month -
Shelley