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
I learned to knit from a lady at my church. She taught quite a few o girls one summer. The first thing she had us knit was house slippers. Knit and purl until we had 9-10 inches and then we sewed each of the ends! Even made pompoms for them. It was a lot of fun!.
First project was a hat with Malabrigo Rios ( the addication started early), went straight on to lace and have never looked back!
The very first thing I knitted was a pair of socks in October 2005! The yarn was something scratchy, and it was just a k2p2 leg, but I was so proud of them!
My first ever crochet project was a granny square tank. Don’t judge it was the 70s and I was a pre-teen.
The first thing I remember knitting was a tank top knit out of a peach-colored cotton yarn made by Bernat. I remember wearing it quite a bit back in the later 80s. I’d never wear that color now. Lol
My first project was a vest for my mom which she still wears 13 years later.
Thanks loopy for everything.you do and here is to many more years to come. You guys are simply outstanding.
Kim
I made pin cushions for both my grandmas for Christmas when I was in 4th or 5th grade. They were graduated knit strips sewn into circles and nested togetber.
The first thing I knit was a sock. And I couldn’t remember how to purl the next week. My teacher at my LYS was so patient! I give her a lot of credit for not giving up on me.
My first project was a god-awful sweater for my then 2-yr old. I was so proud of that sweater and she would have none of it.
My first knitting project was just after I graduated from college and I still wear it. It is a Nordic Sweater, knit off a Danish pattern, size 4, DK Lambs Pride wool yarn. I’d never knit. I didn’t know Danish. And steeking was something I couldn’t even fathom. I love my sweater, even though it took 4 years for me to complete because of the steeking required. But it’s served me well for 25 years. I’ve knit many sweaters, socks, scarfs, hats and mittens since; but the first sweater will always hold a special place in my heart and wardrobe.
The first thing I remember knitting was a pair of slippers. I took a beginning knitting class at the local technical college. I suspect that wasn’t the first thing I really knit, but it is the first thing I remember knitting!
My first project was a pink hat taught to me by a wonderful German lady, who was patient most of the time but would yell occasionally if I did something wrong, fortunately she yelled in German so I didn’t get too offended, still have that hat.
Congratulations so glad I found You!!
I learned to knit when I was in college.(52 years ago) I was taught by the lady of the house that I stayed with while going to college.(The family became my 2nd family.) She had me go the yarn store and pick out a pattern and the yarn for it; there were not stipulations on what I was to pick. So I picked a sweater with a big cowl collar with a cable trim. I frogged it about a year ago, as I knew I was not going to wear it anymore. Still have the yarn and will incorporate it with something else.
I taught myself to knit at 18. My first knitting project was a sweater for my sis. It turned out so big we could both fit in it! I only knew about cheap yarn, so it was not even wool and had no hope of shrinkage!
A yucky scarf….
the first thing was a sweater–all knit stitch and way tooooo big so I think I just threw it away.
Self-taught to deal with chronic pain (which is gone now, thank goodness), and my first completed ‘project’ was an ugly acrylic striped scarf I made from a pattern in Stitch ‘n Bitch in 2006. It’s around here somewhere still.
I bought Fisherman’s Wool at Hobby Lobby to learn to knit with. It was terrible. The yarn was splitty. I wanted to make a scarf. I stopped at about 2 feet and moved on to better yarn. I was cleaning house about a year later and threw it away, clover needles and all. The first project I finished was a garter stitch scarf in sparkly yarn.
A very long scarf from all the scraps of yarn my Mom and Dad had left over from their projects. They were learning to knit on a knitting machine in Tokoyo around 1953!
I remember my first project was a simple garter stitch scarf. My mom taught me after I had my daughter. It was light blue super fuzzy acrylic yarn. The best part is that the scarf ended up twice as wide as what I had cast on because I didn’t count stitches and the yarn was so fuzzy I could not tell what I had or had not stitched. LOL
Flash back to when I was 7 years old, when the knitting bug struck. The first thing I ever made was a blanket that I started out working on size 7 needles. As it was taking too long with that small a gage, I changed to a size 9 needle and then eventually a size 13 needle. I was using straight needles and as you can imagine, the blanket was very odd shaped because of the gauge change and the random dropped stitch and yarn over. I think I still have that blanket somewhere.
The first thing that I remember knitting is a sweater (I know). It was a pattern in Vogue knitting & I didn’t check gauge – or really know how to do that. I borrowed some straight needles from my mom & snagged some fuzzy (ie:itchy) yarn from her stash & went for it. I loved it (despite the twisted stitches & gorilla length arms)
The first thing I knit when I learned in 2009 was a very wide scarf in seed stitch that was so dense it would hardly fold onto itself for wrapping. It was also red which is one of my least favorite colors.
The first thing I crocheted was a shawl as a teenager. Acrylic of course. I then took up knitting and tried to make a sweater for my boyfriend and my Mom had to finish it!
The first thing that I knitted was supposed to be a stuffed Gingerbread Man. The original pattern was in stockinette, but since I was very young (6 or 7 years old), I just did garter. My mom also only had green yarn scraps, so he was know as the Jolly Green Shrimp.
A scarf for Barbie 🙂
My first knitting project was a diaper bag for a friend’s daughter’s first baby. It was purple and green and I luckily found a group of knitters to help me interpret the instructions. We still get together weekly nine years later!
I have very clear memories of my mother teaching me to knit baby sweaters (for Church World Service layettes) in the basement of the Murphysboro, IL United Methodist Church. It is a garter stitch only baby sweater and this would have occurred the summer before, during, or the summer after First Grade (that’s when we lived there).
I sewed an outfit for my troll doll when I was 6. I used some of mom’s diamond woven polyester! I sewed a lot of clothes in high school — I wore a size 1 and was 5’8″! I could not find clothes that fit! I crocheted a granny square afghan in high school, and made my first quilt in college. Learned to knit five years ago–dishcloths. Love all crafty things!!
I first learned to knit at 10 years old (many decades ago now) using two pencils and a ball of black cotton that for some unknown reason my mother had squirreled away. My mother didn’t know how to knit, but she had a beginner’s knitting book and taught me from that. I so loved knitting that I continually ripped it out and started again, just so I could keep knitting.
My first project was a scarf I knit when I was around 12 years old. It was three colors that changed every 20 rows or so. It was green, white, and red to match my winter jacket. I remember that it didn’t exactly stay the same size throughout (not on purpose).
I learned to knit in the 4th grade when my class read Ernie and the Mile Long Muffler. So the first thing I ever knit was about one foot of a muffler that our class put together. I remember being very disappointed that it wouldn’t be a mile long. Now that I think about it, the muffler was probably about 30 feet long, which is impressive for a bunch of 4th graders!
When my mom first taught me to knit, she thought a pair of argyle socks would be just the thing. Can you imagine? I know I knit one of them but it has since been lost. I suppose you should expect that over the course of 40 years.
Love The Loopy Ewe and would love to win one of your gift certificates! Jeanneftc on Ravelry
Forgot to list my first knit – – I knit myself a whole sweater back in 10th grade and wore it until there were holes in it. It wasn’t perfect but I loved it.
I knit a bowl which was supposed to be felted which has never been felted. First actual finishes project? A scarf that was only knitting.
My great aunt taught me to crochet when I was pre-school age. The first thing I made was a sweater for a small doll that had curly red hair. The sweater (I still have have it, though it has a couple of holes in it) was from greyish lavender yarn, and I roughly embroidered daisies and leaves on it.It had one pearl button at the neck that closed with a loop. I remember working so laboriously on this tiny sweater that now would take a bout half an hour!
I got a kids knitting machine for Christmas when I was little–maybe 7 or 8? I knit a blue and gold scarf on it as a gift for family friend. I don’t remember ever using it again though!
My first knit project was a scarf when I was about 8 or 9. It started out as a rectangle and turned into a triangle (kind of like a pennant). It was grey on really big needles.
I first learned to knit slippers in high school. Many years later I’ve picked up knitting again. Hope to visit your store in a few weeks and would love to win one of your gift certificates.
the first thing I remember knitting was a kaffe fasset sweater from the book I had bought before learning to knit! I had my mom teach me how to knit and purl, bought a bunch of colored brown sheep, and dove in head-first. (swatch? I had no idea such a thing existed for quite a few years … ) I have learned a bit of refinement over the years 🙂 , but I still retain my enthusiasm for new projects.
The first project I remember was a striped hat. I think it was a 4H project in the 70s.
I love TLE and have been buying yarn from Sheri or almost all of those 9 years! I can’t believe it’s been that long! Congrats TLE!!!! Looking forward to many more years of yarn.
BTW, my first project was a sweater….with cables…I had to go back to the shop to lean how to do them….this was before you ytube!
The first project I knit was a hat for my little boy! I started knitting because crocheting wasn’t helping my morning sickness, and boy am I happy that I did! 🙂
My project was a knitted bright blue sweater which was very tightly knit as I forgot to relax as I went along.
My Mom taught me and my sister to knit. The first thing I made was a skirt and top for my Barbie doll, including increases to make the skirt flare, and doing shoulder straps for the top! I had two shades of blue, navy and aqua, and I ripped and re-knitted that ensemble several times, swapping the colors of top and skirt. I was hooked, and what a good thing that turned out to be!
Congratulations on 9 years (has it really been that long?). Love the on-line shopping and your blog, especially the designer interviews. I love reading or hearing about how designers solve problems and produce a garment. Also, mac and cheese is always a crowd-pleaser.
Meg
The first thing I remember knitting was a scarf in stockinette. It obviously curled horribly so I never wore it but it did teach me that I could stick with knitting a large scarf and how to join a new ball of yarn.
My first knitting project was a scarf
I remember both my first knitting and first crochet project. My grandma had a crochet hook in my hand before I went to kindergarten. I suspect I was an annoyance to her while she was making one of her endless ripple afghans. She finally got a pastel variegated ball of crochet cotton and a size 5 hook and taught me to chain. She told me she’d teach me more once the ball was entirely chained. I honestly never got through that whole ball, but she did eventually teach me more. :o) I taught myself to knit in my teens from that little green book so many people know so well. My first project was a little pink blanket with cables I made for a yarn doll – a DIY pattern. I’m happy to report that my cables look substantially better these days. LOL…