Miyuki Beads Archives - The Loopy Ewe Blog

Fibernymph, Into the Whirled, Beads, Buttons and More!

by Sheri BergerMarch 18, 2013March 19, 20136 Comments

Happy Monday to you! I’ve been playing with beads all day. (Ok, not playing. Working. It’s all work ….) We have some beautiful new colors of beads that went up tonight, in both the 6/0 and 8/0 sizes. Adding beads to projects just seems a little magical to me. Not much work to it, but it adds so much to the project. I’ll talk more about beads in a future post. For now, I know you popped over here to see What’s New in the Monday Update.

Miyuki Beads from Caravan – Miyuki Japanese Seed Beads are renowned for being some of the best on the market. They are extremely uniform and consistent in both size and color, and they also have slightly larger holes than Czech beads, making them easier to use. We re-stocked the colors we were low on and added in 8 more colors of the 8/0 beads (typically used on laceweight yarn) and 20 more colors of the 6/0 beads (typically used on fingering weight yarn).

Into the Whirled – We have our first batch of Roving from Into the Whirled, and it’s just as gorgeous as the yarn colors were! (But this time you get to spin it the way you’d like the colors to work together.) This Polwarth Combed Top takes the dye beautifully and the slight coarseness of the fiber makes it easy to spin. (Shown here in Walla Walla.)

Buttons – Lots more buttons and re-stocks from JHB and Buttons, Etc. You’ll find silver, gold, wooden, pewter, and coconut in all colors and sizes.

Fibernymph Dye Works – Hand-dyed by Lisa in her Bounce yarn base, which is 80% Superwash Merino and 20% Nylon (perfect for socks, although these colors are also beautiful as shawls and scarves, too.) Shown here in Primordial Sea.

The Loopy Ewe Totes – more of our clear plastic totes in the Accessories size (for your scissors, stitchmarkers, point protectors, tape measures and darning needles), the Project Keeper size (big enough for yarn plus pattern – a great way to store future projects so you can remember what pattern you had in mind when you bought that yarn), and Red Project Totes (great for one-skein projects like socks, mitts, hats and small shawls).

Have fun checking out the new things, and we’ll be on the webcam tomorrow, packing your orders up!

Sheri countrymusicplayingonthein-storespeakers.
NotsurehowIfeelaboutthat.

Learning Something New?

by Sheri BergerMarch 8, 2013March 20, 201319 Comments

Sometimes knitting seems pretty simple. After all, there are just two stitches (with many variations) and it’s all about making loops with string and sticks. But it amazes me how many different looks you can come up with using those ingredients. Endless possibilities. One of the in-store classes we had this semester was Double Knitting, taught by Cricket (whose awesome felted bag pattern was published in Interweave Knits last fall.) Here are some of the scarves in-progress from the class participants. Aren’t they beautiful? Sometime I’m going to need to try double knitting. The scarves have the pattern on both sides and are thick and warm.

When is the last time you tried something new with your knitting? I have a lot still to learn. Right now, I’m working on my first true beaded shawl. It is easier than I thought it would be, but it does slow down my knitting a bit. This is Storm Warning, done in Hand Maiden Casbah with Miyuki Beads. The skein of Casbah has a little less yardage than the pattern calls for, but there are directions on weighing your yarn and knitting to the middle with the first half. I like patterns like that that let you make good use of all yardage. These kinds of patterns are also great for handspun, where you’re not sure exactly how many yards you have, but you sure want to use every inch of it. Speaking of beading, have you seen the Celestarium pattern? The beads are positioned to replicate the view of the night sky from the North Pole. Amazing.

So – are you wanting to learn anything new or try new techniques? What’s on your list?

Sheri hopingyouhaveagreatweekend!

Malabrigo, Shibui, Kauni, Beads, and More

by Sheri BergerFebruary 4, 2013March 4, 201312 Comments

It’s February! February means all diets are off, right? (Food diets, yarn diets, etc.) February is Celebration Month because it’s the shortest month of the year and moves us right on into March, which means Spring is just around the corner. See? Lots to celebrate. And we have plenty of new things up on the website tonight, to help you get your celebration off to the right start. Just up, you’ll find:

Malabrigo Rios – this worsted weight is 100% Superwash Merino, making it great for sweaters, blankets, baby items, and anything else you want to be able to toss in the washer. (Shown here in Primavera.)

Malabrigo Silkpaca – a lighter-than-clouds laceweight that is 70% Baby Alpaca and 30% Silk. 420 yards in the skein make it great for many simple one-skein shawl patterns. You might think of picking one that you can add beads to as well.

Kauni Multi Colors and Solids – a sportweight yarn that is 100% wool and is nice for sweaters and shawls. The multi-color balls are sold by weight (120 grams up to 180 grams). We weigh the balls when they arrive to insure that you’re getting the correct weight/yaradage. Try a multi-color shawl with a solid edging. Beautiful. (Shown here in E-EQ).

Shibui Baby Alpaca – this DK weight is 100% Baby Alpaca and so wonderful to knit with. I’m currently making the a wrap that is knit holding 1 skein of the Alpaca and 1 skein of the Silk. I love working on it.

Shibui Silk Cloud – a laceweight yarn made of 60% Kid Mohair and 40% Silk. I’m a little anti-mohair, just because sometimes I find it itchy. But I love this particular yarn and don’t find it itchy at all. And it’s fun to combine with other yarn options for a little extra warmth and texture. (Shown here in Apple).

Shibui Staccato – a fingering weight that is 70% Superwash Merino and 30% Silk. Great for socks (you’ll need 2 skeins for a pair) or shawls. The silk gives it a little extra strength and shine.

Shibui Cima – a new (to us) laceweight that is 70% BabyAlpaca and 30% Merino Wool. This yarn gives great stitch definition and is perfect for shawls, cowls, and scarves, as well as a great carry-along yarn for knitting double.

Shalimar Missy – more colors to add to the ones we put up a few weeks ago. Missy is 100% Superwash Merino in a Bulky weight and comes 120 yards to the skein. You’ll find hats, scarves, cowls and mitts knit up quickly with Missy. (Shown here in Thistle).

Stitch Savers – You have one of these in each of your project bags, right? For all those times when stitches just jump right off the end of the needles (through no fault of your own) and you need to wrangle them back into place. Or does that just happen to me?

Sajou Scissors – Oh, these are gorgeous. A bit pricey, but you might feel like splurging on yourself. (Remember – it’s Celebration Month.) They’d also make a great Valentine gift, in case you want to hint to someone who loves you. Why so expensive? These are made in France and the blades are hand matched for a perfect adjustment. Each pair takes a dozen qualified people to make them. Hide these in your project bag so no one borrows them. (Shown here in Veined (faux) Ivory.)

Miyuki Beads in 6/0 and 8/0 sizes – Beads, beads, beads! If you don’t yet knit with beads, you’ll want to after you see all of these fun colors. Size 6/0 is great for fingering weight yarns, and 8/0 is great for laceweight yarns. (The bigger the size number, the smaller the bead. That’s a bit confusing.) These come in tubes (thanks to your great feedback on our Facebook page, when we asked which you preferred). The 8/0 tubes contain approx. 10 grams/400 beads. The 6/0 tubes contain approx. 20 grams/220 beads. Beads are fun in shawls, edgings, mitts, cowls, and more. Jump in and give them a try.

Have fun checking out the new things, and we’ll get your orders out asap. We love seeing what you pick out!

Sheri whoislookingforwardtoaddingbeadstoherknitting