Queen of Bling.

Of all of the Loops Troops, Terrie has to be the undisputed Bling Queen. This is a woman for whom "dressing down" means "heels lower than 2 inches." In fact, legend has it that she once went through ROTC training in high heels. She always looks abfab, whether she's modeling one of her own knitwear designs, or hiking up her designer duds to climb a ladder and help paint the Loops storefront.

So it came as no surprise when Terrie whipped up this uber-cool Cowl in the new Bling, a hand-painted, super-bulky mohair blend from Pagewood Farms.

Bling comes in an 80-yard hank, which is generous for a super-bulky...and the resulting cowl is also generous - enough to pull up and wear as a "snood":

Terri's simple pattern for the Bling Cowl is free with yarn purchase - just ask (or let us know you need the pattern when checking out online.)

- Shelley
shop online at loopsknitting.com

Cashmere, camels and cheesewax.

It's two days later, Sam is over the flu and back at school, but I am still recovering from the cashmere crazies! The One-Day Cashmere Sale this past Saturday was a wild ride! Thank you so much to our Loops customers near and far who responded in a huge way. It was so fun to watch everyone scoop up the yummy cashmere to be stitched into treasured holiday gifts (or, let's be honest...into something pretty for yourself ;-)

One customer wrote to thank us for the sale - she had purchased some red Lobster Pot cashmere that she had been petting and coveting for two years!

New colors of Jade Cashmere 6-Ply and Cashmere Scarf Kits will be arriving this week. Can't wait! Meanwhile, here are some ideas for cashmere projects. I love this Zigzag Cowl pattern by Mandy Powers that Annie Simpson is making (it's a free download at ravelry.com). Or how about this Neck-Down Bolero, made by Billie Anne, and modeled by her Ever Coquettish Lily?



The bolero pattern is available in-store and also here on our website. It took 3 skeins of Jade Cashmere in (color). There's also a Mommy version of the pattern, here.

The day after the sale, we finally indulged Sam's request (ok, demand) to make our annual trip to the Pumpkin Patch. My favorite part was the camel ride. I kept reaching down to pet the camel's fur - sooooo soft. No wonder they make yarn out of this stuff! And I got this great shot of Brent and Cec:

Speaking of Cec, I got the coolest email this morning. Remember when I blogged about the skatepark that Cec molded from cheesewax? A woman named Alyson commented on that old blog entry. She has an entire blog dedicated to cheesewax. I. Am. Not. Kidding. Check it out here. She even linked to Cec's cheesewax on our blog! How cool is that??? Now Cec will think she's really the Big Cheese.

- Shelley
shop online at loopsknitting.com

Fox in socks? Or brat in hat?

The great Dr. Suess comes to mind this morning as I log today's blog entry. I received a photo of Lindsay Lohan from a stitching friend, who would like to make (or buy) Lindsay's hat, as seen on people.com:

At any rate, the hat is cute, and I found a link to this free pattern that is pretty close, as far as I can tell from the grainy photo. Working it in Cascade Eco Alpaca would give it the slight halo and softness that Lindsay's hat seems to have. Also, I would start on a smaller needle (#6 or #7) and do 4 rounds of garter stitch instead of ribbing, then switch up to a #8 for the seed stitch section.

And if you really want to feel like a Hollywood starlet, check out the new yarn that arrived yesterday - "Bling" from Pagewood Farms:



It's subtle in the photo, but this super-bulky thick-and-thin yarn has just the right amount of Bling. Here's a recipe for a cute and quick one-skein hat:

Using #17 24" circular and Pagewood Farm "Bling," cast on 38 stitches. Join and place marker. Knit every round until hat measures 9.75" from cast-on edge. Cut yarn, leaving a tail. Thread through tapestry needle, then through live stitches on the needle. Pull, bringing yarn to wrong side, and weave in ends. Instant bling!

Enjoy! Bling is not in our online store quite yet, but you can call us toll-free to order: 1-877-LOOPSOK. I'm off to watch the Parent Trap. Ahh, for the good ol' days.

- Shelley
shop online at loopsknitting.com

Caption contest winner.

Thanks so much to all of you who entered our most recent Caption Contest! We had 76 entries!!! I laughed and laughed as the entries rolled in...you were all quite creative. I asked the fabulous Trish of Tanglewood Fiber Creations, who donated one of our prizes, to pick her favorite caption. And get this - out of 76 entries - she picked the exact one that was my favorite too! So without further ado...the winner is...

Jo Ann! For the following caption:
"I think I just found your missing needle..."


Jo Ann wins a Rose Knits tote and a beauteous skein of Tanglewood handspun yarn.

And if you didn't win, take heart...we have a couple more of the bags and many precious skeins of Tanglewood in stock. Plus, Trish is coming back to Tulsa on December 10 for a trunk show (just in time for those desperate husbands looking for holiday gifts) and she also has a date with Sam to look at holiday lights :)

Look for another contest on the blog soon.

- Shelley
shop online at loopsknitting.com

Snooty Snood!

We knew this cowl trend was going to be big when we saw a Burberry "snood" on the catwalk for $750. Gina Marie designed this generously sized, cable-y, cuddly, squishy version out of 100% baby alpaca - just as snooty-chic as the original, and out of even nicer yarn! You can wear it "puddled" across your shoulders, as Debbie is wearing it in the photo, or pull it up over your head like a hood.

This version took 3 skeins of Plymouth Baby Alpaca Grande Tweed in color #202 (here's a link where you can shop all of our Baby Alpaca Grande - we have solids, paints, hand-dyes and tweeds). Now through Halloween, we're offering a free pattern with purchase of your Snood yarn - just ask.

- Shelley
shop online at loopsknitting.com
P.S. Check out our new loops homepage and shopping page - you'll find a new freebie at the bottom of the homepage!

Something wicked this way comes.

Emily, daughter of Gina Y., popped into the store recently. The sweet, angelic Emily was wearing a Wickedly hot sweater made by her mom.


Gina used one of my favorite sweater yarns, Toconao from Araucania, to make the Wicked pattern (available as a hard copy at Loops or downloadable at zephyrstyle.com). The small only requires 6 skeins. And the pattern has sizing from 28"-55" bust! Wicked also looks cute layered over a long-sleeve top:

Start one now, and be ready for a Wicked romp in the snow this winter!

- Shelley
shop online at loopsknitting.com

Easy as Pi.

Just finished a Pi Topper hat for my friend who has just begun chemo for breast cancer. She is doing great - surgery removed all signs of cancer, no mets - but her long beautiful hair is coming out quickly now. We searched through Ravelry together and found the Pi Topper - a chic beret with a little pouf to the top "so it looks like there could still be some hair under there."

I know the pic is dark - click on it and you can see the cute button closure (my friend wanted basic black with a button that blends in but you can have fun with your button box - go crazy!). If she likes it, I'll gladly make more. It was a fun pattern that only took one ball of Calmer (although I used all but about 12" of that ball!). The pattern is free here, and while it starts out a bit awkwardly, it quickly becomes easy TV knitting. I decreased the "tab" on the side a little faster than the pattern indicates, so as not to run out of yarn.

Remember, Loops is running a "Yarn Bedlam" contest - make a chemo cap and put it in the OU or OSU basket - each cap counts as one "vote." Calmer is a great yarn for chemo caps - super soft and itch-free.

And, on the subject of health (but not quite so serious), Nurse Janice has offered to give free flu shots at Loops this Saturday, October 10 from 10:00am-1:30pm. Why spend $25-35 on a shot when you could spend it on yarn instead? :)

- Shelley
shop online at loopsknitting.com

Paguipulli-ng my leg?

Honestly, I don't know where they come up with these names. I picture these yarn execs sitting around in a room saying, "What can we name this yarn that no one in the universe, not even someone with an advanced degree in etymology, can pronounce? Let's just throw together a random assortment of consonants and vowels, toss in a few extras, and see what happens..." You can almost hear them laughing at us hapless, middle-America yarn store owners.

But that's ok. I'll play along...especially when the Yarn With The Funny Name is as scrumptious and remarkable as Panguipulli, the latest offering from Araucania yarns.


The Araucania line, which I featured in our latest e-newsletter, hails from Chile, where each yarn is dyed using ancient handcrafted techniques. Panguipulli is 100% merino, a generous 193 yards per skein in an aran weight, and has a Noro-eque slow color change coupled with a subtle tweed effect. I fell for this yarn so hard, I bought the full range of 10 colors!

Barbara made up a quick scarf in a simple 3x1 rib and raved about the feel and beauty of the yarn. One skein yielded a scarf that is the perfect length to warm the neck and tuck into an overcoat, without a lot of bulk. Doesn't Brent look dashing yet woodsy?


But I always know when he tires of having his photo taken. Or maybe he's meaning to say, "Hurry and get your Panguipulli before they run out! Aieee!"

You'll find Panguipulli in our online store - just click here.

- Shelley
shop online at loopsknitting.com

Caption contest!

Whoa Nellie, hold the phone...we've got a really big caption contest for you this time. I asked ya'll in our loopalicious group on ravelry.com...What would you like most for a caption contest prize? Bag or yarn? And of course, your answer was...both!

Then fabulous Trish of Tanglewood Fiber Creations offered to donate a skein of sinful hand-dyed, handspun yarn, and we decided to pair said yarn with one of the bags from RoseKnits, made by our own Annie Saltsman (did you see the new Vogue Holiday magazine yet? RoseKnits is featured!). Here's a pic of the bag:

The yarn will be a surprise from Trish and trust us, there is no such thing as fugly Tanglewood. The total value of this prize is sure to be over $200...

Now, here's all you have to do. Post a comment with a caption for the following photo:

Enter as many times as you like. Sorry, employees are not eligible but are welcome to post comments of course! There is no really random way to judge this, so the winner will basically be determined by how hard you make me laugh. Keep in mind this is my kiddo who is otherwise quite handsome, so nothing too mean please ;-) Also, remember your comment will not post right away because I screen them for spam. Winner will be announced October 18th.

Happy captioning!

- Shelley

P.S. The scarf in the photo is "Campus Scarf" from the book Scarf Style. I used Kathmandu Aran Tweed. This pattern took 2 skeins each of 3 colors, plus 1 skein each of 3 more colors - and is super fun and easy.