Ketchup.

Well, I'm back from the beach and the denial is wearing off along with my tan. There is so much to catch up on. Not even counting the laundry. (Someone please 'splain to me how you can do all the laundry before you leave, do 8 loads of laundry while at the beach, and STILL have double the usual week's laundry to do upon your return???).

The fun part of catching up (yes, there is a fun part) is filling ya'll in on some of the new stuff going on at the store. First, we got a truly gorgeous sample in the new Louisa Harding Mulberry 100% Silk, modeled by the always-lovely Emily:

This is from the newest book, Summer Classics, and is also available in a 3/4 sleeve version, which Louisa herself wore when she visited Loops back in January. You can cinch the waist with the little ribbon or, if having a puffy day (like I am having today after one too many stops at Sonic on the return drive home), you can just let it hang all loose.

We also got another Rowan mini-trunk show. I asked Ellen to model and at first she refused ("I don't have makeup on!"), but then she saw this Cashsoft DK cardi and the next thing you know, she was ready for her close-up:

And in the same trunk show, a belted cardi in Rowan Cotton Glace:

Other new goodies include a big batch of coveted Habu kits, for the Kusha Kusha Scarf and other fabulous garments (I have one in my stash):

And here's your reward for reading to the end. Today I put our copious supply of Araucania Atacama on sale, both in-store and online, here:

This 100% alpaca hand-dye is a versatile worsted weight and works for all types of projects where you want a little luxury, including this cute long-sleeve T.

So, that's my "ketchup" for now. Next entry, I'll be catching you up on "music to knit by" plus hopefully some pics of what I did on my summer vacation (the knittin', not the bikini wearin'!).

- Shelley
shop online at loopsknitting.com

Bloggin' can be a beach.

In case you've been wondering where I am: The last few times I've tried to blog, I've had trouble getting photos to load. And now, I am here:

On the way here, I almost finished this:

This skirt completely ROCKS. So fun to knit. Thank you, Annie Modesitt and also Berroco for making the perfect yarn - Love It, a cotton blend with sexy stretch - in the perfect shade of red. My only regret is that I forgot to pack my sewing kit and elastic for the waist, so the first fitting will have to wait until I'm back home. But at least I'll have tan legs by then, so the skirt will be better in the photos. Next, I'm casting on for this:

I'm using Louisa Harding Mulberry silk, in black, and Tilli Tomas Rockstar for the flowers, in off-white. Let's hope this goes better than my last adventure in black silk, the dress-from-you-know-where. This time I'm armed with the designer's email address (thanks, Kristin!) and an ott-lite.
I'm also gonna swatch for this Mock-Smock Swing Top using Plymouth Jeannee:

It's from a new vendor for us, Heirloom Stitches. Super-cute patterns with a simple, deep-south appeal. I'm in the deep south at the moment (doesn't get much deeper than the corner of Mississippi/Alabama/Florida) and I have to say, these people know how to dress their kids. Plus, they are so cute with their manners and their southern accents. Just so long as they don't call me ma'am. ;-)

- Shelley
P.S. In case you're wondering, Sandy and Lucy are in good hands with our house-sitters. Although right now, they may be having a dog party in the pantry with the Pepperidge Farm cookies. Who knows?
shop online at loopsknitting.com

3rd Birthday Sale!

I'm writing this from my daughter's big "Reptile play" so I hope this works! It'll be short...

Today, Loops is 3 years old! Can you believe it? To celebrate, we're having a crazy 3-hour Cashmere Sale today (Friday) only. From 1-4pm, all 100 percent cashmere yarns are 40 percent off!

Then there are other specials all weekend:
- BIG select group of single patterns are 99 cents (values to $15!). Look for the green bins on the back table.
- Select other yarns from Rowan, Suss and Soutwest Trading 40 percent off
- CAKE from 1pm Saturday

Please drop by and help us par-tay!

Shelley

P.S. Some yarns are also on special online...Check the "specials" at the bottom of the shop page at loopsknitting.com

Puns and Pagewood.

Thanks to everyone who participated in the Loops Pun Contest. This was so fun, we'll have to do a repeat one of these days! Plus it gave me some great headline ideas for future events!

Without further ado, let me get to the winner/s (ladies, please email me with your mailing addresses so I can send your prizes):

Q: What do you call it when you mess up your knitting when you've had too much to drink?
A: A halLOOPSination
Congratulations to Janine! You win a full bag of Debbie Bliss Rialto Aran superwash merino! This one cracked me up because I can't tell you how many times I've fallen asleep, sitting up and knitting (occasionally after a glass of wine, but more often due to just "knitting drowsy") and awoken to a real yarny mess.

Honorable mentions go to Jennifer for:
Q: What happened when Jennifer didn't take the time to check her gauge?
A: Her knitting was Loop-sided!

And Vanessa for:
Q: The little devil on your shoulder encouraging you to spend waaayyy too much money at Loops?
A: Loopscifer

And also to Jessica K. for the Britney pun and for sheer volume!

You three ladies will receive a Lantern Moon birthday cake tape measure...
...because it is Loops' 3-year anniversary this weekend! We will be having the Crazy 3-Hour Cashmere Sale on Friday from 1-4 (40% off ALL 100% cashmere) and some other surprises this weekend.

Here's a surprise that arrived early. It's a beautiful, new line for us called Pagewood Farm. This is Yukon, a hand-dyed merino-bamboo-nylon fingering weight that is just unbelievable. The colors, oh, the colors...







We only got 4 of each color (but 28 colors in all!) so don't wait to check 'em out. The yardage is great - 450 yards makes a generous pair of socks - and the price is excellent for hand-dyed sock yarn. Loretta is out of town but when she returns, I'm sure she will be all over getting this on our website - if there's any left!

- Shelley
shop online at loopsknitting.com

Loop-ism contest!

As I was putting the two older kids to bed tonight, we got on a roll with loops puns. We developed serious giggle fits, to the point that Brent got annoyed and shut the door so he could commence with quiet reading time to our youngest.

Here were the best riddles:
Q: What do you call a knight who knits?
A: Sir Loopsalot.

Q: What do you call when Ingrid gets a new scooter, takes it out for her first practice ride, forgets how to turn and drives straight into a brick wall?
A: Loopsy-daisy.

Q: What do you call a mythical, short, Irish man dressed all in green who spends his whole pot of gold on yarn?
A: Looprechan.

Q: What do you call someone who refuses to learn to knit?
A: Nincomloop.

Q: What did the knitting war hero receive upon his return home?
A: A 21-gun saloop.

Naturally, there was also a plethora of puns that involved the word "poop," but I will spare you those. Anyhoo, I thought it would be fun to have a Loops pun contest! The winner gets a full bag of Debbie Bliss Rialto Aran! (And for those of you who don't win, take note that this lovely superwash merino is currently 30% off on our website, here).

Just leave a comment with your pun, and I'll announce the winner one week from tonight - Monday, May 12th. Happy punning!

- Shelley

Calling all Glam Grrls.

Hey everyone, it's been a wild week at Loops. Downside: Our database crashed and we've resorted to writing tickets the "old fashioned way" while our database is being recovered somewhere in California (if you're a praying sort of person, please add our little tiny black box to your prayer list!).

But on the bright side, we have had an week filled with big surprises of the U.P.S. variety. Friday, Carl brought two huge boxes of the coveted Koigu - KPPPM and Kersti, favorite colors and new ones. It's all laid out on the back table sans price tags (can't print 'em) - but we can still sell the yummy stuff!

Another wonderful surprise was a box from Stacy at Tempted Yarns, with three new colors of her highly coveted Glam Grrl. This is the superwash merino/silk blend sock yarn with the touch of glitz that is selling like yarncakes all over the country - Loopy Ewe sold out of most colors in 24 hours! We are so proud and excited for Stacy!

Our three new Loops exclusive Glam Grrl colors are Enchantment:

Triple Shot:

And my absolute favorite Tempted color ever, ever, ever...Cherry Bomb. As Randy would say on Idol, it IS DA BOMB!


All three colors, along with the very popular Eclipse, are available on our site - click here to shop.

Don't forget we're open 1-5 Sundays - and if you're into Koigu, I highly suggest arriving promptly at 1!

- Shelley
shop online at loopsknitting.com