Summer reading.

I don't know about ya'll, but my "regular" reading has gone down the tubes. I still buy novels, have a daily subscription to the paper, and my husband is a magazine junkie so we have, like, 10 mag subscriptions at least. But the reading inevitably falls prey to the knitting.

I did manage to read "The Appeal" by John Grisham on my beach trip, but only after 16 hours of knitting on the drive down. And heck, I didn't know about the national tomato/salmonella panic (which has been all over the papers) until I was standing in line at a sandwich place and read their sign! Barely spared my family in time, since I was all set to make gazpacho last night.

Anyway, if you're like me, then this is your kind of Summer Reading: A whole new slew of stitching books arrived at Loops yesterday:

There's something for everyone in this batch of new releases: Amurgurimi World (crocheted toys), Knitted Critters (adorable knits for tots), Little Box of Socks (great portable format of single cards for each pattern, co-authored by the awesome Charlene Schurch), Ocean Breezes (fun summer scarves), and Nicky Epstein's Signature Scarves (the title speaks for itself - start one now, and you'll be stylin' come fall).

And from Rowan, a big surprise for Kim Hargreaves fans:

That's right, Kim is back with Rowan, doing her own in-house designer line, and two amazing new books! Each book is loaded with 21 of Kim's signature clean, contemporary designs: "Nectar" for spring/summer and "Heartfelt" for fall. All use popular Rowan yarns, and Kim will have her own line of colors within these existing Rowan lines for fall. These came in yesterday and Nectar is already almost sold out! If you've been looking for summer inspiration, this is where to start.

Three-Way Wha????
The fabulous Ronni is never content to knit a project as written. She's always branching out with her own spin on designs. So when she came in wanting to make Ingrid's 3-Way Wrap, but in "something different," we worked out a version using Colinette Giotto. The result is perfect for summer parties and oh-so-stunning in person:


Web customers, if you want to buy Giotto for your own version, you'll need 3 skeins and size 10.5 or 11 needles. We'll include a free pattern with your order!

This just in: Loops was graced with a visit this morning by the famous, funny and fabulous Maggie Sefton, author of five bestselling knitting/murder mysteries! Maggie will be at Barnes & Noble at 41st & Yale, 7pm tonight (Wednesday), signing copies of her newest novel, "Dyer Consequences." We don't have copies yet, but I'm ordering them today! Look for photos with Maggie in the next blog post.

- Shelley
shop online at loopsknitting.com