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
I’m a “Social knitter” – I love knitting, but I get bored with a project quickly, so I need to watch something or talk to someone as I go.The biggest influence on my knitting was discovering the ladies at a local knit night.
For new projects Ravelry is my biggest influence….I inspire myself thought to always learn something new. This has been a big year for me …my goal was to learn to drop spindle which turned into a love for spinning and a wheel 🙂 another was colorwork which I bought a kit from She-Knits. Love doing and trying new things!
My Great-Anut Clara and myself.
My crazy, crocheting mother. She can make anything with a hook and a bit of yarn.
I would have to say the biggest influence on my knitting is the owner of my LYS. Joyce. She not only encourages me to try new things, but enables my yarn habit. with both Joyce and Sherri enabling me, I’m doomed! Oh well, it’s a great way to go. My friend Angie has challenged me to count the pairs of socks that I culd make from my stash. I bet she wins!
My father was my greatest influence in all the knitting and handiwork that I have learned over the years. He taught me to knit when I was 6 on needles that belonged to his mother. As a young boy, they lived high on a mountain and one winter he broke his leg and couldn’t go to school for about 8 weeks. According to my grandmother, he was driving her crazy (pre-tv days) so she taught him how to knit. My mother didn’t know how to knit and I wanted to learn but there was no one else to teach me. My father produced knitting needles that belonged to his mother and that night he taught me how to knit using twine that he used to bundle papers. As soon as we could make a trip into town I bought yarn which started a love for fibers that has spanned decades. My father has given me much over the years and most importantly, his time and appreciation for all things handmade.
My Mom has been my greatest influence on my knitting which might seem a little unusual to some since I lost Mom to Ovarian Cancer when I was 22 and I didn’t learn to knit until I was 50.
My Mom learned to sew when I was born because I couldn’t wear my brothers’ hand-me-downs. She first went to her Mother and asked if she would teach her to sew. She was told, “you’re too stupid to learn to sew”. Mom didn’t like that answer and so went across the street and asked her Grandmother if she could use her treadle sewing machine to learn to sew and was told, “of course”. So with a treadle sewing machine and a sheet destined for the rag bin my Mom learned to sew and went on to sew anything from the most simple baby clothes to men’s tailored suits to wedding dresses. She could also cook and bake anything from scratch including numerous wedding cakes and crocheted from before my oldest brother was born.
When I was 9, I wanted Mom to teach me to crochet, but it didn’t work with her being right-handed and me being left-handed. I therefore went out and bought a “How To” book for a dime and taught myself to crochet that way and did so for the next 41 years. When I was 50 I decided I wanted to learn to knit, so I took one lesson and have never looked back other than to smile when I remember my Mom learning to sew. By the way, I am now 55 and still knitting and expanding my stash.
Stephanie Pearl McPhee.
I can’t quite name a name. Certainly, one could say that my grandmother (who taught me the basics) had a significant influence — but it was joining the KnitList back in 1995 that made the big difference. They introduced me to glorious yarns (Top of the Lamb), to amazing designers and teachers (Elizabeth Zimmerman, Ann Feitelson, (and yes, A.S.), to the concept of knitting socks, to meeting far away knitting friends… to conventions (but for them, I’d never have gone to that first TKGA Conference, or stitches), and to the wonderful world of making your knitting your own — changing patterns to fit YOU, designing … etc.
But for the Knit List, I’d still be blindly following the patterns you can buy at Walmart, and using the yarn you get in the same place.
Even though I’m no longer on that list, I’m forever grateful to them …. Thanks!
My mother of course! She taught me to knit when I was 12, and we’ve knit together ever since (she’s 89 now, and going strong!). She can knit anything. In fact, she can do anything fiber. Her forte is crewel, and she is one of the best in the country. She’s done two original 4-panel screens (Tree of Life, and 12 Days of Christmas), and so many other original pieces. She’s doing an authentic Chinese story wing chair right now. She quilts (by hand – piecing and quilting) the most beautiful bed quilts. She used to sew the most beautiful clothing for herself and her three daughters. And her needlepoint stockings! Unbelievable! The detail, creative stitches, yarns, colors! I think she’s done 9 or 10 so far. Definitely my mother!
An easier question would be who is your greatest enabler… that would be you Sheri 😛
Seriously my wishlist keeps growing.
But to answer this week’s question i would have to say The Pattern Tab on Ravelry is my biggest influence and my own “what if’s”. My mother taught me to knit when i was very young but now she can no longer knit ( and hasn’t for many years) but she was a plain vanilla knitter .. i do not recall her ever knitting a lace pattern. So any lace has been purely self taught.
For the second week in a row, I’d have to say, Lime and Violet. Their podcast has introduced me to The Loopy Ewe, etsy.com, Ravelry, and other podcasts. Their messageboard, pre-Ravelry, introduced me to swaps and many other knitters and their ideas. Their Daily Chum site introduced me to many products, designs, designers, etc. They are totally responsible for my having a stash, having started sock knitting, and supporting indy dyers and other knitting product creations.
Totally off topic – what the heck was I thinking yesterday working while so many others thought to come here and then go shopping and clean the Fiesta Baby Boom down to one skein per color? I had to get creative this morning and find colors to combine for my socks.
The biggest influence on my knitting was the person who taught me how to knit – a dear friend of mine whom I met at a job that was… well… less than dear! I’m so thankful she reached out to me and gave me this very addicting hobby!
The biggest influence on my knitting would be my friends and myself. My friends for peaking my interest and myself for pushing the envelope to see what i can really do. I find projects that I want to make and my friends share their knowledge and expertise to help me accomplish my goal. I have wonderful friends!
I would have to say my friend Linda. We worked together for 28 years. And we got to know the lady at our yarn shop. And now is a knitting group. Inspiration coming from them and sites like Ravelry and the Loopy Ewe….your blogs I just love. You got me doing the Girasole. And it is turning out good. I never thought of doing something round and lacy. But my favorite thing is knitting SOCKS!
I’d have to say the biggest influence is Stephanie Pearl-McPhee of Yarn Harlot fame. She made me realize how much fun knitting is again. Also, that it is okay to make mistakes. I also found Elizabeth Zimmerman’s books late in my knitting experience, but have found them invaluable. I wish I had known about them earlier. Back to knitting in SW La.
I’d like to say something sentimental, like I learned from my Mom, but seriously she would just poke her eye out with the needles (Mom if you read this I’m right – yes?) But I am a self taught knitter of many years, and I get so much inspiration from Ravelry, Knitty & the great new yarns. Knitting has come a long way & is finally considered the cool, fun hobby that I’ve always known it to be. Knit daily…
My mother was the biggest influence on my knitting as she is the one who taught me when I was a child. She died when I was 19 and I didn’t knit for decades but picked it up again a couple of years ago. If she had never taught me, I probably wouldn’t be enjoying knitting now.
I think my friend Ivy influenced my knitting the most, she is the person who helped me knit my first pair of mittens and went with me to my first, second and third Rhinebeck and taught me to spin. Plus she is an excellent enabler.
my knitting group. seeing all the beautiful things they knit up is definitely inspiring.
My mom has influenced me the most, she has been knitting for almost 70 years.
I think my mom, my sister and my friend Stacy have been huge influences for me. My mom for picking out mags, patterns and little notions, my sister for just loving the stuff I make, and Stacy for always knitting with me and wanting us to try new things.
Ravelry has had the biggest influence on my knitting by a long shot. So many pretty things, so easy to find, so little time. The Internet in general would run a close second, followed by my friends from my Thursday night knit group.
My two aunts who are twins taught me to knit. Or maybe I should say that one of tried to teach me and the other one translated into left-handed-ness. They have both encouraged me along the way. They have seen me through stash and patterns. They have supported me while others thought I was crazy for taking vacation days to go to Maryland Sheep and Wool, John C Campbell Folk School, and Camp Stitches. They also laugh at me that I spend way too much time on Ravelry.
My neighbor from home is my biggest knitting influence. I was in between jobs, and had to move back in with my parents to save money. I hated that I had to do it – I was 25 and had a master’s degree! Karen, the neighbor, took pity on me and taught me to knit to pass the time. I consider that the greatest gift anyone has given me, and now that I’ve got a good job I still find the time to knit.
I read a fair amount on Ravelry and other places, so I get input from a lot of places on my knitting.
I am influenced by the experienced knitters who keep telling me that I can do it. Some of these people are online, some at an online shop, and others at the LYS.
The Yarn Harlot got me started but mostly I think it’s the yarn itself. Beautiful yarn makes me want to make things!
My Grandmother has had the biggest influence on my knitting. In addition to knitting, she also taught me how to crochet and piece quilts, but only after I begged her to teach me how to do it – she wanted to be sure it wasn’t some passing whim, but that I really wanted to learn. What she taught me about knitting, crocheting and piecing quilts was like a stepping stone, because she taught me basics, but encouraged me to learn new techniques on my own and then share them with her.
Vogue Knitting magazine inspired me years ago. I use the Vogue Knitting book as a reference tool all the time. I have found other books and learned a lot from other knitting mags but I always know I can find what I need in that book!
I remember being about 4 yrs old and wanting to knit. Since I lived with my grandmother at that time, I guess it had to be because of her that I wanted to learn. I couldn’t wait to learn how to transform yarn into mittens, scarves, hats, whatever. Now my daughter and my best friend continually amaze me with their skills and their creativity. I appreciate Elizabeth Zimmerman’s technical and practical genius. There are so many talented and fearless designers whose ideas continue to impress and challenge.
i can’t say my influences are from one specific source. my husband is always pushing me to try something new. my mother is the one person that i really try to impress. i think the one designer that i get the most inspiration from is norah gaughan. and i completely agree with samoofish- beautiful yarns are the beginning of a lot of beautiful knitting!
The person who hasd the biggest influence on my knitting is my friend known as Ragged Around the Edges. She does excellent work and really has a love for the craft. She’s not afraid to try something new in the craft. She taught me to knit and we get together for knitting time to enjoy each other’s friendship. I’m certainly not as accomplished at knitting as she. She does excellent work and loves to knit socks, which I have yet to master. I owe my passion for it to her. She introduced me to this wonderful craft.
My mom. She hasn’t knit in years, but she used to knit all of us scarves when my siblings and I were younger. I “helped.” The reason I graduated from scarves was that I wanted to make her a sweater. Since then, she has been the recipient of many of my knitted items. She loves warm woolly socks, or really, warm woolly anything, and wears anything I make for her.
I am a self-taught knitter so I would have to say God gave me the talent to read and push myself and not give up so I could learn! All the people I have taught have influenced my knitting as well, pushing me to teach them something that I had not yet done!
My influence? I really think it is the yarn (I know so sad…but what can I say?) and of course my best knitting friend Shelley!
I love creating and knitting is so soothingly frustrating!
My own indefatigable curiousity and fearlessness, actually… but also augmented by YarnHarlot, Cat Bordhi, and b r o o k l y n t w e e d
In all honesty…..color and LOVE are the biggest influences on my knitting. I like color….and the best reason TO knit is LOVE! So pairing the two makes all sorts of things from hedgehogs to lace shawls to everyday sweaters…..recycling….or chic…..color…..and making things for people you love…..what is a better use for needles?
Thanks for helping me get yarns with GREAT colors!
Stephanie
Hi!
I think the biggest influence on my knitting is the yarn. Does that make sense? The yarns dictate what projects I take on and how they unfold. If the project is not honouring the yarn, I redo until it does.
Loopy has some awesome influences. 🙂
It would have to be Elizabeth Zimmerman – reading her books has taught me to think more “outside the box” as far as garment knitting is concerned!
I have been knitting on and off for many years. When I was retricted to bedrest in 2002, I started knitting full force again. I started reading blogs and was introduced to a whole world of yarn and projects I had never been expsed to. And Now with Ravelry, the influence is even stronger. So my biggest influence… the internet. 🙂
The fact that I joined a knitting group has influenced my knitting greatly. While my grandmother taught me so many years ago I can’t remember, I retired 5 years ago and needed a hobby. So when the local rural library started hosting a knitting (craft) group I joined and have gotten up the nerve to try socks, cables and an afghan with the Texas A&M logo in it. Knitting thus has become my addiction!
Many influences – my mom who doesn’t knit, but is creative in so many ways. My grandmother who was a master of all things handmade. My niece who, one Thanksgiving a couple of years ago, wanted to learn how to knit so we went to the bookstore for books and yarn store for supplies. By Christmas, the girl was knitting up a storm (she is creative like her grandmother and can make anything like her great-grandmother!!). Blogland and internet for the inspiration and encouragement to keep trying, learning, and growing 🙂
What an interesting question! I first knit in college because I wanted to make an afghan that my aunt had made and then I didn’t knit again until a few years ago when friends and I were at the beach and one of them was knitting a purse. Now, as others have mentioned, blogs, Ravelry and knitting groups/friends are a continuing influence.
I was influenced by my knitting group when I first started knitting. They really guided me and helped me to learn a lot of things, and showed me resources to continue learning!
Hmmm, that’s a tough one. I would have to say that Ravelry in general has had the biggest influence on my knitting. It’s not really any one particular group or person, just the whole community overall. It’s always interesting to read and see what yarns people are using and what patterns they’re working on. I find myself trying to yarns and projects because of something I read or saw on Ravelry.
my biggest influence is elizabeth zimmerman–love her! I don’t knit (or haven’t knit) everything that she has “un-vented” but her adventurous, humorous, enquiring spirit is ever present … I know I am going to have to knit a pair of schaefer yarn socks in the EZ colorway soon …
My good friend got me started, but my Mom’s best friend was a great teacher and she was more a Grandma to our family .i learned so much from her,hand work,sewing,tating,but we never got around to knittig.She had one son but no grandkids,we were her’s.So the time came and the good Lord took her,her son said I was the only one that would know what to do with all of her needles,books,yarn,thread,etc…So I had a hard time knowing I had all these needles and not knowing how to knit. So I worked with a friend and she took time to help me learn… Now i have friends come to me for help…It is a good feeling i can help…I have many friends wanting me to teach socks….they call me the sock-alolick….i have made over 80 pair..and still going…I have a friend that loves christmas & b-day…she knows she is getting socks..loves them…My older sister has a restaront in OR,portland…they have asked to buy them off her feet…so I would say My Mom and her best friend…but you have to enjoy what you do…and i do…thanks
My biggest influence is a toss-up – the Yarn Harlot, of my friend Sarah. Sarah taught me to knit – she once told me (long after I was hooked!) that she wanted me to try it because she knew I’d love it, and then, being the creative one, would get “better at it than her” and then she’d have someone to ask questions when she needed help! *L* Even though she lives in Maryland and I in Illinois, we still swap knitting triumphs, failures, and help. Plus, since she lives so near the Maryland Sheep and Wool festival, it gives me a couch to sleep on and someone to go with! 🙂 The Harlot? She made me want to knit socks. *L*
The Yarn Harlot has kept me in the loop plus our local yarn shop and Thursday knitting. There is always a pair of socks on the needles and now that great-grandchildren are appearing, baby blankets. ; >)