Today we’re celebrating our Ninth Loopy-versary! We can hardly believe that it has been nine years. In August of 2006 we put the website online with a handful of yarn companies represented, and crossed our fingers and said a prayer that it would work.
It sure has been fun to share yarn, fabric, projects, ideas and inspiration with you over the past nine years. YOU ALL are our favorite part of The Loopy Ewe and we love being with you on this adventure. We look forward to many more years of sharing beautiful yarn, fabrics and ideas with you. There are always new things to see, do and share!
For today’s Monday Yarn Update, we have two new Loopy things to share, in celebration of our Loopy-versary.
1. Loopy’s Paintbox Sets – We know you love our Loopy Cake Sets, because we have a hard time keeping them in stock! We took the summer off from winding Loopy Cake Sets in order to focus on Loopy’s Paintbox Sets (available just for our anniversary, while supplies last). These sets come with 9 mini-balls of yarn. Each ball is approx. 50 yards (1/4 of a skein from our Loopy Solid Series yarn), so they are smaller than the balls you get in Loopy Cakes.
We have two different patterns that were designed with these sets in mind, and we’ll email you a copy of both patterns with purchase. The sets come in Autumn, Winter, Spring and Summer colors. Shown below: Loopy’s Paintbox Scarf out of 1 1/2 sets of Autumn (shown as scarf, or kitchener the short ends to make an infinity cowl as shown in the last photo). You can also make the Paintbox Scarf/Cowl out of one set – I was just needing to hit the 600 yard mark for my July Camp project, so made it wider! And our SoundWave scarf by Debbie O’Neill, shown below in Winter and Summer colors. Each SoundWave scarf uses one set of Loopy’s Paintbox.
2. Loopy Pattern by Susan B. Anderson – Susan is the best toy-designer we know, and we’ve been working with her for a long time to design a special Loopy toy, just for you! We think it’s her cutest design ever (although we may be a little biased) and we’re excited to share it with you. We have the patterns available for sale now, and we will have kits available soon. The pattern takes one skein each of red and tan and 2 skeins of white in our Loopy Solids Series. We have been waiting on an order of white for oh-so-long, but expect it within the next couple of weeks. Please email us (support@theloopyewe.com) if you’d like us to save you a set of these three skeins to make Loopy. ($48 for just the yarn, or $53 for yarn plus pattern. The pattern is also available on its own.) We are all planning our own little Loopy knitting for the fall. We hope you have fun with him, too!
Loopy-versary Contest: We’re giving away NINE $25 Loopy Ewe Gift Certificates to celebrate our NINE years of being Loopy. (Well, some of us have been loopy a little longer than that, but we don’t count that part.) Leave a comment below and tell us what is the first project you remember knitting, crocheting, quilting or sewing, and we’ll draw the winners next week. The first thing I remember knitting was an ugly yellow sweater when I was in grade school or junior high. I just knit on the front and the back – I don’t remember sleeves, although I think it was supposed to have them ….
Sheri whostillhastroublemakingitallthewaythroughawholesweater
Knitting and crocheting was my bonding time with Nana. Through her patience – and a bunch a pink mohair yarn, I made a V-neck Vest- fashion statement of the .. times long ago
My first knitting project was a sweater which was sadly a fail.
I still have a small garter stitch potholder in gray wool knitted when I was very young.
I knit a brown and cream striped scarf in high school. It was done in stockinette so I folded it in half and stitched the sides together so it would not curl.
I learned to knit from a family friend’s mother, when we were camping one summer when I was 10-11 years old… I knit a doll blanket in leftover yellow yarn she had, in what I now know was garter stitch. It was UGLY. And she was not super helpful… I didn’t knit again for 7-8 years!
The first whole project I remember knitting on my own was Elizabeth Zimmermann’s Tomten jacket, from handspun. In retrospect, it wast too scratchy for my toddler, and I somehow managed to knit the entire thing by knitting into the back loop instead of the front. At least I was consistent.
The first thing I crocheted was a granny square pillow for my grandma. I think I was 8.
I distinctly remember my first knitted project when I was in third grade. It was just a swatch and just knitting – as I hadn’t learned to purl yet. I was fascinated by all the interconnecting loops… but couldn’t figure out why it kept getting wider and wider! I finally figured it out later, knitting a pattern that required purposeful increases. Who knew that was an actual technique!
The first thing I ever knitted was a pair of bright red mittens to fend off the cold of a Wisconsin winter!
The first thing I remember knitting was a sweater out of red yarn, probably acrylic. I remember the feeling so much of knitting and knitting AND knitting. It seemed to take forever. I probably knitted for two or three HOURS before I finished the back. And I still had the two fronts and two sleeves to go. Did I mention that this was a doll sweater? I was probably nine or ten years old. I finished it and my 12″ doll wore it proudly for years.
I learned to knit in 4- H , when I was very young. My first
project was house slippers.
My first sewing project was in 7th grade home economics class. The teacher had helped us with measurements to purchase a pattern. When the pants were sewn, I could fit both of my legs into one pant leg!! My first knitting project wasn’t much better. I was knitting a headband for my preschool age son. After casting on and knitting a few rows I showed my friend, who was teaching me how to knit, that I could barely get the needle tip into the stitch. She took one look and said, “You’re knitting too tight. Rip it out and start over.”
The first thing I ever knitted was a pattern called The Mistake Rb scarf. A coworker now friend taught me how to knit just before I started chemo way back in 2007. I have gotten much better at knitting and since moved on to sweaters and more complicated patterns.
I remember learning from several sources at once, because my grandmothers were having a hard time teaching me, a leftie. At the local Girls Club, your first sewing project was always an apron and a potholder set. Your first knitting project was always mittens. Mine were VERY lumpy orange mittens!
My first knitting project was a scarf. My grandmother taught me how to knit, and gave me the yarn. It was an off-white wool that she used to knit bandages from (I think they were for lepers in Africa! This was in Luxembourg in the 70’s). I still have the scarf. My mother embroidered flowers over the holes in the knitting (from the accidental yarn-overs) and the edges are a bit wavy!
Time flies when you are having fun! Congratulations Loopy for keeping us knitters on point and having fun!
I forgot to say that my first knitting project was a square sort of pot holder Old Mrs Barnes, there was a young Mrs Barnes, helped me knit. I don’t think it was ever used.
I came home from college with a pattern I got from a classmate who was always knitting during Student Government Association Senate meetings. It was for a pullover with rolled neck and cuffs and ribbing. I asked my mom to knit it for me and she said, ” no, you’re going to learn how to knit and make it yourself, but I won’t teach you because the way I knit is a hybrid of English and Continental so you’re going to learn from Vicki Square.” (Or some such comment-it was a few…ahem…years ago so that quote is probably not verbatim). So I knit a few rows of a yellow washcloth that I never finished and made that sweater. Mine was red and blue and made out of a Encore yarn. Thanks mom.
My first project was a dozen mini face cloths for the daycare I worked at.
It wasn’t my first project, but I remember crocheting a hat from yarn I had available, without a pattern. It was yellow on the sides and brown on the top.
Because of the way the top was shaped, my friend called it a tit hat.
A candy pink cat, beginner project knit in garter stitch.
It was quite horrid, but I learned the basics! 43 years ago!
Self taught!
I knit a pair of mittens with a variegated acrylic yarn. Think they lasted only one winter, as I wore them constantly. And don’t ask if I was proud of myself for making them. Happy Loopy-versary!! M
I am left handed and while my family knits, they could not teach me. The kind tailor took the time and patience to teach me to knit and crochet. I spent lots of time in her shop making oodles of clothes for my “bootleg” Barbie.
A chain. A very, very long chain. My grandmother tried to convince me that there were other stitches, but I was far too invested in my chain to pay attention.
I crocheted an ugly green pullover that was so tight that it took 2 people to get the person I crocheted it for out of it!
My very first crochet project was a plain red square of single crochet rows that I made as a baby blanket for my dolls. My first knitting project was a headband made from coral colored bamboo yarn. I still have and wear it sometimes! 😀
I wanted to knit a gnome when I was little. Mum taught me but I broke so many wooden needles, needless to say she ‘rescued’ many times and I ended up using pencils to knit with. There were a few holes, many dropped stitches but I was inspired and haven’t stopped since!
I remember that my mom started me on sweaters. So I remember that purple sweater that took forever because everytime I lost a stitch I had to hand it to her. She ended up finishing it. I picked up the needles 20 ywars later after that.
Oh dear, certainly, I remember and it’s a near wonder that it didn’t turn me off knitting for good:
it was a 3rd grade school project, a stuffed animal, an owl navy blue with orange stripes. I did it with an acrylic yarn and I can still hear it squeaking on the needles, especially since I made darn shure that I pulled those stitches veeery tight for fear of loosing them. Made it extremely hard to put a needle through them at all. Progress was slow, as expected.
But then using US 6 size DPNs(!) for a beginners project wasn’t quite the smartetst idea the crafting teacher had. Those short, thick fiddeley sticks!
But I managed, finished and even got a nice plushy owl out of it.
After years of recuperating from that experience I returned to knitting during my senior high school years and made a sweater I loved.
Since I’ve only been knitting seven years, my first project is easy to remember! A garter stitch red scarf my son, Patrick, still has buried in his room someplace.
In grade school Home Economics, the first sewing project was a white gym bag with a double draw string. I used it to take my gym clothes home to wash over the weekend.
The first thing I remember knitting was a pink garter stitch headband from a leftover ball of yarn my aunt gave me when visiting us from PA. When I finished the headband, I had no means to buy more yarn, but I was itching to knit so I kept frogging it and re-knitting it. That yarn got pretty ragged, but the urge to knit was stronger than the urge to wear the headband. Happy Anniversary!
My first knitted project was a scarf, One of my girls took it because she loved it, but I don’t know what happened to it LOL. It wasn’t much to look at, and was in some awful acrylis red heart yarn I purchased at JoAnn’s along with a how to knit DVD. My second project was a dish cloth.
I knit several garter stitch scarves as my first project. It took forever and my edges were all wobbly.
The first item I ever knitted was a pincushion with left over yarn from pillows my mother had knitted. I’m still using it more than 60 years later! The next thing I knitted was a red mohair scarf for which I earned my first Girl Scout badge – unlike the pincushion, I have absolutely no idea what happened to it!
The first thing I remember knitting was a Cath Kidson “easy” striped scarf. The pattern and yarn and needles came in a nice metal tin. My tension was too tight and the stripes ran vertically. It was a challenging and frustrating immersion into knitting. Nonetheless, I persevered to the finish convinced I would never get any better. It was a “trial by fire”, but I went on to other projects and to continue to learn and progress my skills. I keep the scarf in the tin as a reminder of where I started and to not give up when I am learning some new knitting skill or pattern!
The first project I remember knitting was a baby blanket. I never finished it though my nephew is now 43. My second project was a prayer shawl for my sister diagnosed with cancer, I didn’t get to finish that either because she passed away before it was done. I was able to bury her with a shorter version though and I am grateful for that.
I taught myself to knit and the first project was a scarf.
the first project i knit was a typical garter stitch scarf. it took me over two years to finish, because it was so tedious, and as soon as i finished the bind off i began to knit hats, just to relieve the monotony.
I remember the first thing I knit was a slip stitch scarf using some Misti Alpaca. The scarf was unbelievably warm, and I’ve been hooked ever since.
The first thing I remember knitting was a scarf, full of imperfections and holes. My Mother, a very accomplished knitter, helped me become a good knitter, and may have burned that first scarf when I wasn’t looking, it was so embarrassing!
I remember the first sweater I ever knit was for my boyfriend (now husband), and 49 years later I can say he has never worn it! I had used a popular acrylic yarn called thick n thin and it made a very very heavy and warm sweater…too warm for him he said!
You are the LYS for the world.
The first thing I crocheted was a hair dooly when I was young.
About 40 or more years ago I purchased a kit with the yarn to make a chevron afghan. I had never crocheted before but thought surely I could do it. Internet was not available at that time so when I would get to the end of a row, I wouldn’t know what to do. Not understanding the directions, my afghan just got wider and wider! I finally gave up. But I still have the that pitiful start of an afghan and the yarn! Maybe I’ll frog it and start over one day….
I don’t recall my age…probably before middle school. I knit a stockinette scarf. I finished it and still have it!
I remember knitting a brown vest with a cable down the front in high school. I’m sure this wasn’t my first project, but it is the first one I remember…
I first tried to knit a raglan sweater out of bubble gum pink stiff acrylic yarn in grade school. After college I tried a basic hat – I did finish it! Thank you! Congratulations! Stephanie
The first thing I remember knitting was a pair of slippers – garter stitch with a huge pompom
My first project was knitting cable scarfs for my sisters for Christmas.
My first attempt at knitting didn’t go well. I was a teenager & knew no one who knitted, but I loved sweaters (still do) & wanted to knit one. My mother had an old how-to book for various crafts, one of which was knitting … & there was a pattern for a sweater. I somehow got some yellow yarn & gave it a try, but I couldn’t make heads or tails out of the directions. I convinced myself that I couldn’t knit. I always admired knitted items though, & in my 40s I became online friends with someone whose MIL lived in my town, & she was coming to visit her. We met at her MIL’s house & she was knitting a sweater for her husband. I told her how I couldn’t knit, & she said “of course you can!” She didn’t have time to show me, but she encouraged me to find a knitting group … which I did. The gal who organized the group started me off learning to knit a baby blanket. I sat for hours trying to knit that thing, tears streaming down my face all the while, but I finally got it! But by that time I didn’t like knitting the baby blanket (didn’t need one, didn’t know anyone who did) so I got a video on how to knit socks & knit one of those & was finishing up the second when I went to the next group meeting. The organizer was flabbergasted that I was knitting socks because “they are so hard!” Lol! Well, this was a very long description of my first knitting project, but there you go. I tend to ramble : )
I remember my mom teaching me how to knit cables. I think it was a scarf. very scratchy off-white wool. i still hate cables. but I relearned to love knitting.