Gotta have it.

We've all gotta have it. Whether or not we have time to knit it all, we've just gotta have it all.

Yarn, yarn, yarn!

I've gotta have it so bad, I'll conquer my fears to climb on an airplane and fly all the way to market in Long Beach, CA for it.

This apropos ad greeted us when we arrived:


And of course, it was all worth it when we saw old friends and fabulous new designs, like Gina Wilde from Alchemy with new projects that had us simultaneously drooling and begging, "I have to cast it on NOW!"


A full day of market shopping completely exhausts the average woman...but then there is Gina, Supershopper, Superwoman, and Vampire knitter extraordinaire. So naturally, she quickly located the closest and most expensive mall:




And Cali was not without her other perks. Such as the view from our room:


And sunrise on the beach:



Also I got tons of knitting done, including this Anthropologie Inspired Wrap in Three Irish Girls Springvale Worsted. One of my favorite pieces in quite some time. By the way, I did not go all California on you all and lose a lot of weight. We just employed Gina's favorite photographer-on-a-ladder trick for this shot. Instantly shaves off 15 pounds haha!

Now, I need to share with you a couple more examples of people who've just gotta have their yarn.

First, there is Becky, who had to have eye surgery and was told she would have to sit in this torture chair, looking down, for 5 days straight. Was Becky concerned? NO! She had her knitting!

Here is what Becky looks like on a non-torture-chair day. She is modeling a cowl she just made from new "Dare" yarn. And now she can see better to knit. Hooray!


And then there is Miss Cassidy, who delivered her third baby 6 weeks early. Most moms would be a bit stressed when they are sent to the hospital that early with complications. Not Cassidy! She had her knitting! And beautiful little Cora was born gorgeous and perfect as can be. It's the magic of yarn!


So, since we're all in a celebratory baby mood, I have a little giveaway contest for you. Post a comment about how or why you've gotta have your yarn. We'll draw a winner at random to receive the yarn and pattern for superfast, supercute "New in Town" from Spud & Chloe. The smallest size calls for just two skeins of washable, natural fiber Outer yarn. Ruth is teaching this class at Loops in February. And if you can't wait, you can buy the yarn in our online store - we'll include the pattern free with purchase!


Happy commenting!

- Shelley
shop online at loopsknitting.com

Fruition.

The best part of all that pre-holiday panic, all those frantic 5am knitting sessions, cramming in a row here and there between holiday parties, pageants and pie-making?

The best part is when it all comes together, like this:


And this:


And definitely this:


And you gotta love this:


Beyond the hand-knitted gifts, Lucy was crazy about her pillow pet:


And Cecily is crazy about Lucy:


Here's Lucy saying "Thank you" in lhasa apso:


As for me, I'd like to say thank you to the amazing Loops Troops and all our wonderful customers who made our After-Christmas Sale day our biggest day in the history of Loops! And here's to those, like Gene, who helped get the store looking pretty again after the chaos:


Yet one more thank-you to our on-staff designers who continue to come up with brilliant Loops original patterns. We recently passed a milestone of 100 original patterns! Woot! Here's the latest from Holly called "The King and I." It's a redux of her popular Just a Sek pattern, using new Noro King and Louisa Harding Rosetti (one skein each). New mom-to-be Cassidy is just glowing in it:


You can find this pattern for sale here on Ravelry. The other patterns shown above, in order:

Tabbed Mitts from "Mother-Daughter Knitting" book in Koigu Kersti
Dashing Mitts (free on Ravelry) in Spud & Chloe Sweater
Appleseed Scarf (Loops original, available for purchase on Ravelry) in Rowan Big Wool
Eyelet Cowl (free on Ravelry) in handspun from my stash

Fruition. It rocks.

- Shelley
shop online at loopsknitting.com