You all have made it a very very (very very) busy month for us here at The Loopy Ewe. And we SO appreciate it! We’ve had fun packing up your orders. You might notice that we’ve sent out some of the sale orders sans tissue paper. It was either that, or take an extra 2 days to get all of the orders out. We figured you’d just as soon have the yarn quicker. Once these anniversary sales are over, we’ll get back to orders as usual around here. Although if you want to keep up this pace, I can always hire more Elves. We’re up for it!
Wow – 1800+ comments on last week’s contest blog. How fun is that? It was interesting to see where you heard about us. Yes, we DO love and appreciate Wendy an awful lot. And Lime & Violet. And the Yarn Harlot. And … well every single one of you who have ever passed our website on to your friends and knitting groups via podcasts, blogs, emails, Ravelry posts, and word of mouth. Our goal is to always live up to the positive things that you have said about us, and we promise to take good care of your friends, here, too. 🙂 We are sending out 8 prize packages, from randomly selected comments off of last week’s blog. The winner’s are: Janice in VA, Laura in UT, Maria in MN, Natasha in VA, Meredith in MI, Ann in OH, Melissa in UT, and Rachel in VA. (I think that Virginia and Utah were well represented this time.) I’ve sent emails to the 8 of you, so check your email in-box if you think it might be you. We’ll pick the last round of winners from this post, and we’ll announce them next week.
Today’s Anniversary Sale (our last one) includes 20% off all Fiesta Yarns, 20% off all Monica Knits Patterns, and 20% off all Loopy Ewe Accessories. (In stock items only.) We hope you have fun picking out some new things. We’ll be including a free sock pattern if you purchase 2 skeins of Baby Boom (the sock is shown here), and a free scarf pattern if you purchase a skein of Ballet. All free patterns are while supplies last.
In addition to the Sale, we’ve also added in a whole bunch of stuff for the regular weekly update. Just in, you’ll find:
Polar Knits Worsted Weight
Dream in Color Classy re-stocked (including our exclusive Don’t Be Blue colorway)
Dream in Color Smooshy re-stocked
Dream in Color Smooshy Sock Summit Exclusives
Lorna’s Laces Whidbey Island (exclusive Sock Summit Colorway)
Ella Rae Lace Merino
String Theory Caper Sock
Hand Maiden Casbah (so many great colors in stock)
Tempted Luxe Girl (new cashmere line)
Opal Rainforest Five
Addi Lace Turbo 16″ circulars
Addi Click Tips and Connectors
Fiesta Baby Boom in new colors
So hop over to shop! But before you go, answer this question in the comments for your chance to win a prize package in our last anniversary contest. (Of course we’ll be back with our September Blog Contest before you know it.) Question: Who has had the biggest influence on your knitting? It might be a pattern designer, or a blogger, or a friend, or a group on Ravelry, or a podcaster or … even yourself. Maybe you’re good at poking around and inspiring yourself to learn new things and branch out. Food for thought. And then for a blog comment. 🙂
We’re taking pre-orders on the new Namaste bag colors, which we expect in within the next week or two. If you’d like a RED Hermosa, or a BLACK Zuma, or a BLACK Laguna, simply send us an email (support AT theloopyewe DOT com) and we’ll reserve one for you. The Hermosa’s are $75 and the Zuma’s and Laguna’s are $69.
We’re heading up to Indiana to take Knitting Daughter back to college this week, so I won’t be blogging again until next Monday. Maybe I can get some of these half-finished socks done enroute so that I’ll have photos to share by then. Or maybe I’ll be too busy shedding tears. You know how that goes. I’m hopeless.
Sheri thinkingthatfallisintheair
eventhoughLaborDayisstill
twoweeksaway
My mom- She taught me how to crochet when I was in middle school. Okay she handed me a book, a hook and some yarn and let me futz around with it. But it was inspiring.
My great aunt Satchie- She may have been my great, great aunt. She was OLD, and she lived with my grandparents the year I went to NY to visit them on my own. I think I was 8 or 9. She taught me how to knit on a little spindle.
Lea- She inspired me to make the jump to knitting. Now she’s irritated that I’m better than she is. I don’t think it’s true, I’m just faster.
Adam- for always complimenting my work and encouraging me to splurge on nice yarn, because according to him, “Life is too short to knit with cheap wool.”
My mom taught me to knit when I was little, but I didn’t pick it up again unitl 15 years ago when I was visiting my grandma, who I consider my knittting inspiration. She knit child-sized cardigans for a local charity and she would finish 2 or 3 every month right up until she passed away about 5 years ago. I have her cardigan pattern, one that had you put in all the numbers to make a custom size, with all her written numbers for the different ages of children and adults she used it for. I have used it to knit cardigans for my family, but want to continue her legacy and knit for kids in need.
My biggest influence has been my husband. Not just that he has a great sense of style, but he’s encouraged me to try new things. Even got me a floor loom for Christmas a couple years back. 🙂 Of course, he doesn’t want to know how much $$ I spend on yarn each month, but we’ll keep that our little secret!
Sheri, I’m glad your anniversary month was a success, and I think you all need a rest! I’m influenced by patterns…and yarn to go with it. Ravelry is a great resource for this. If I see a pattern enough it keeps speaking to me!
My biggest influence has been Brandy (pixiepurls), who was always knitting cool stuff and got me into it as well.
The owner of my LYS has definitely had the biggest influence on my knitting. She took me from a dishcloth knitter to a knitting instructor. I owe so much to her!
My LYS Clickity Sticks (sadly now closed), it’s owner Tamara, and the great knitting friends I made at the weekly Knit Nite. i was an occasional knitter, doing simple baby afghans and such when I needed a gift, by with the encouragement from the shop, staff and knitters, I’ve blossomed as a knitter, expanded my horizans and skills and am now a true fiber fanatic. I always have multiple projects going which includes at least one pair of socks. I even entered our State Fair this year for the first time, but did not win – but there’s always next year!
Annie Modesitt – I knit in the combo style like she does. I don’t knit “wrong” I simply knit differently.
My mom and my husband. My mom because she taught me how to crochet when I was a kid and that started me down the crafty path. My husband because he’s never given me a hard time about taking (more) knitting classes or attending events such at Stitches or SAFF.
I’d have to say the biggest influence on my knitting has to come from my Grandma. She taught me to knit when I was a little little girl and it just did not stick. But ten years ago when I decided to give it another go, my hands just remembered what to do! Since then I’ve knit a lot for her, whatever she wants… she gets! You see, she’s got arthritis really bad in her hands and had to give up knitting sewing and playing the organ about fifteen years ago. So now my hands are her hands, and I wouldn’t have it any other way!
Thanks so much for this great blog, this great question and more importantly all the great yarn! Have a great day :o)
God Bless,
Milly
Who has had the biggest influence on your knitting?
Ooo, that is a good question.
I would have to say CosmicPluto… I remember when I found her blog ages ago… it made me feel that, knitting and knitting well is do-able.
Her photos of her knitting, her patterns, her wips, kind of inspired me.
Plus, it made me feel that ‘If she can do this beautiful work… why can’t I!?’ in a good way.
I especially loved when she came out with her Sock Knitting book, that kind of made me even more in loved with the concept of a hobby becoming something more of a ‘side’ job. I may be a be envious, but in the most positive way it could be. Mostly because, ‘I want to be like that’. ;D
I really don’t have a greatest influence on any of my crafts. I just do what I like. I taught myself how to knit, crochet, cross-stitch, tat, quilt, etc. when I was very young. So I feel that ultimately, I’m responsible for choosing what to make and how to go about doing it. I guess I’m my own greatest influence and tend to be a lone wolf about it. I really dislike knit-a-longs and crochet-a-longs or anything “a-long.” I prefer snooping around by myself for a project and almost never work on my crafts in public. That’s probably the complete opposite of most people, but it takes all types of people.
My mother!
My thanks go to my Tante Trudy, a left-hander like me, who had the patience to teach to knit that my mother lacked! Tante Trudy got me started with the basics, and I went forth and experimented. This was in France in the ’80s, so my experiments were pretty tame. I knitted for a few years, then stopped when the babies came. I picked up the needles again three years ago when I wanted to handknit a baby gift for a special mother-to-be, then click led to shove and the Yarn Harlot… and eventually Ravelry. It’s lovely to know there are so many of us scattered throughout the world, and that no matter what knitting difficulty I might encounter, I will be able to find an answer there. So my ultimate influence is all of you!
My children are the biggest influence on my knitting. I love to knit for them and teach them the art of knitting.
I must credit Elizabeth Zimmerman as my biggest knitting influence. I bought “Knitting Without Tears” as I was learning to knit, and it gave me the confidence I needed to “be the boss of my knitting”. I have since bought most of her books, and love her simple, yet mathematically elegant style of knitting design. I am never afraid to alter knitting patterns to suit me, thanks to her. Thank you Elizabeth!
Gosh! How to narrow that down….? I think I’d have to say that my biggest influence has to be the designers who create all the wonderful patterns that I just have to try. Because I just had to have that (sock, shawl, cardi, etc.) I’ve had to learn to be a little fearless (although strandwork still scares me too much to try – for now) and trust that the designer won’t steer me wrong! Thanks to them all for making me a better knitter!
Other knitters in general – seeing what they are doing, what they have done.
Other knitters in general – seeing what they are doing, what they have done.
Oh, my! So many inspirational influences that it seems impossible to choose one over the others. My LYS, The Rainey Sisters blog, Cat Bordhi’s workshop, Ravelry knit-alongs, knitting magazines and books, appreciative recipients of my knitting efforts, the pure joy of knitting and learning new techniques as well as the guilty pleasure of web surfing for yarns and patterns. Where would my knitting be without any one of these terrific influences?
Ella in the Rockies
Hmmmmmmmmmm. My first knitting lesson was from my sister. My mom helped quite a bit too. She was a very good knitter. As I got older I relied on (and still do) my friend Cheryl who is a TRUE fiber artist. Also my current muse is Wendy Johnson (Wendy Knits!) – she is SUCH an inspiration, as is her beautiful kittah – Lucy!
My grandmother taught me to knit when I was a child. My mother taught me to PURL when I was in college and came to her asking, “how do you make that nice, flat knitting?” But the lady that influenced me the most was my friend Mrs. C. She’s the mother of some friends I had (still have) in High School. My kids call her Gramma C. She knits and knits and wins at the fair and sells her knitting and has a stash that would make you drool! Truly an inspiration to all that know her.
I’m not sure if this is a good thing, but Debbie Stoller had a huge influence on my knitting. I started knitting again when I saw how fun her first Stitch and Bitch book was. Before that, I hadn’t done any knitting since high school, and had been concentrating on cross-stitch and a little bit of tatting. I loved looking in this book and seeing simple explanations for how to do things. It was great to have the walk through before I found people who could do the little bit of hand holding I would need.
Nowadays, I find that my biggest influence are other bloggers. It’s great to see a pattern all done up by a real person (not that the designers or test knitters aren’t real people, but seeing something knit up by someone who has shown their own knitting failures makes me feel better about tackling some of the harder projects) and know what kind of modifications worked best for a short waist or narrower shoulders.
My biggest knitting influence probably was my first roommate in college (very many years ago). You could say she got me hooked.
So many people… Probably the biggest influence was my Grandmother…who taught me to knit and crochet when I was 4 years old. She also taught me to sew, embroider, needlepoint, make hairpin lace, and bake. She firmly believed in “the womanly arts”. While she would not have approved of all my years of education (in her day and her culture women were NOT educated…), she most certainly would approve of my knitting!
I learned to knit from my mom forever ago. I have to say say though that the most inspiration today comes from all the wonderful indy dyers who have made yarn into pieces of art. Colour in all aspects of my life is what presents wonderful opportunities to create. I look at all the beautiful yarn and immediantly I feel a pull to create the perfect item from a beautiful medium!
Stephanie Pearl-McPhee has been a big influence on my knitting. Her Knitting Rules book is the one I return to most often. It’s also the reason I learned how to knit socks. I love how she encourages us all not to be afraid to try new things. She has inspired me to take on more challenging projects.
I would have to say my Grandma, although she mostly did crochet. She taught me to crochet when I was in grade school. I didn’t crochet for many years and then when I picked it back up about 10 yrs. ago I also taught myself how to knit. At that time and still the internet and knitting magazines are my main source of inspiration.
Sheri in KY
Happy Anniversary again! 🙂 I would say I’m highly influenced by the magazines Knit.1 and Knitscene. I’m also inspired by movies I see. Recently, I was watching New in Town (it’s very funny!) and I noticed everyone was wearing berets. I have been trying over and over again to get a hat pattern I found to work and it just clicked for me. I frogged the hat and made my beret in just two short days! 🙂 I love it when things like that happen. Now if only it would get cold….
I can’t pick just one! Either my mother (because I doubt I would have ever learned if not from her) or Elizabeth Zimmerman (because of the way her patterns are written, encouraging the knitter to step beyond being a blind follower).
The biggest influence has been the internet. It has allowed me to see so many different patterns – and finished items than I would otherwise have seen! And altho I much prefer to pet and pat yarns, it has also allowed me to be introduced to so many different yarns than any concrete store could! Also, allowing me to meet many famous and not-so-famous designers up close and personal! And where else could you get an immediate answer to any question – any time of the day or week????
I can’t say if any one person has had more influence on my knitting than another – I think my choice of projects is more driven by a combination of color and fiber. I’ll typically buy a yarn for its feel and/or color and then find a project to match, and then go! I probably get that from my mom 🙂
I get ideas from knitting magazines, blogs, and seeing what other people are
making. Sometimes, I even come up with my own ideas. Doesn’t always work out,
but I try. I also listen to my grandchildren and find out what they would wear
if I knit it for them.
The women at my LYS have been wonderfully supportive and encouraging!
My mom was probably the biggest influence in really getting me started knitting. She was always an avid crafter of all kinds & taught me a lot of it when I was younger, even though I didn’t keep up with knitting then.
When I really started knitting, it’s been friends & other knitters who inspired me to take the plunge into “harder” things. I remember that I finally decided to knit socks when a friend in Germany cracked it. Once she posted pictures of her finished socks, I was determined to figure it out for myself and now I LOVE hand knit socks. 🙂
I am a self taught knitter, so authors have been my bigest knitting influence. Maggie Righetti and Anna Ziboorg showed me that I can be fearless in my knitting. Try it out and see what happens.
My biggest influence was a secret pal, who took the time to not only send me several different ‘how to’ knit kits, but also included links to helpful online sites, and provided massive encouragement along the way…..and it worked! I’ve now been successfully knitting since December 08!
Hi Sheri and all the elves…
I have been knitting forever! I recently turned 60 and I started to knit when I was 5…I used to think it was because of a girl scout badge, but, I was too young for that. I do remember that it was our neighbor who actually taught me. And the rest is history! I used to take my knitting to the show when I was a kid. I was the oldest of 5 and it was routine to take my 2 brothers and 2 sisters to the show on Saturday afternoons…gave mom & dad time to “relax”…you know what I mean!!! Dad used to say that he bet he could put knitting needles in my hands when I was asleep and I could knit something! It’s been a wonderful voyage and fantastic that it has come into it’s own, again!!!
Elizabeth Zimmermann, hands down. My mother taught me the stitches, but EZ set me free.
I would say Ravelry makes a huge impact on my knitting. Being on ravelry gives me great ideas for new projects, and I find new yarn I wish to try out.
I learned to crochet as a child from my grandma, but taught myself to knit a few years ago. I love it! Now I’m taking classes, reading knitting blogs, attending knitting groups……..I have a lot to learn, but can’t wait to start doing more than scarves and socks……..thank you, Loopy Ewe, for motivating me even more!
My biggest influence? Maybe Debbie Stoller because she taught me to knit through her Stitch ‘n Bitch book, or perhaps the wonderful teachers I have since had at my LYS, or maybe it’s been the wonderful knitting communities I’ve found out here in cyberspace. I do have to give props though to my wonderful partner who has been so encouraging about my knitting and relatively patient in regards to yarn purchases!
Oh! man! that’s a tough one……I think that the biggest influence would be…..the Internet! Way back when in the early to mid 90’s, most of the help I found in relearning to knit after a hiatus of too many years, was searching the internet: AOL, Yahoo, and various listserv’s(for example) that catered to knitting groups. Between the groups and my public library, I was able to gain access to the techniques and styles that interested me and fed my thirst for fiber.
No question about it…my friends. Be they live and in person or spread through out the interwebs, they are a constant source of inspiration, support and motivation. (not to mention yarn, patterns, fiber and tools. I have me some good friends, yep I do.)
Cookie A is the reason I got into knitting “fancy” socks.
I think for me it would have to be the collective influence of what I have found on the internet. Reading blogs, learning about different designs and designers. It is amazing how many different and new ideas/patterns/techniques I have learned about though my time on the internet.
Wow, thank you! I can hardly believe I won!
Congrats to the other winners, and good luck to the new contestants, I’ll sit this one out. 😉
My biggest influence? Without a doubt, Knitty and Interweave. Of course, I wouldn’t even be a knitter if it weren’t for three very special friends. Most recently, my desire was to learn to knit as a way of continuing something that my grandmother did. She made the most basic of blankets, but there is so much love entwined in the stitches! If I all I ever do is pass that love on, I will have accomplished much.
Like a lot of people, my biggest influence was my mother. While she doesn’t knit anymore, she knit for me and herself when I was little. She taught me how to knit and gave me the confidence to know I could do it. I didn’t take it up again until the last couple of years but her lessons stuck with me.
I have been my own biggest influence – learning to listen to my own instincts about the fibers I love, the patterns I want to try, my skill level, and how I want to spend my knitting time.
Second biggest influence – Ravelry – I had no idea there were so many free patterns in the world, and fellow knitters who wanted to offer support and advice, and just all around knitting inspiration.
I’d have to say Cookie A and Cat Bordhi. Amazing sock designs!