The Loopy Ewe Blog

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Tag: project

Second Quarter Challenge

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second-quarter-challenge-flocked-mittensWe’re ready to jump into our Second Quarter Challenge! Join us for some knitting fun. This quarter, we’re working on simple colorwork projects.

Project: Use two colors of yarn, 500 yards total or less, for this month’s project. Your pattern needs to mix the colors with stranded work (so just doing solid stripes doesn’t count).

Dates: You can start as soon as you have your yarn. All projects must be completed with photos uploaded to our Loopy Ewe Second Quarter Photo Gallery by July 1st.

Yarn: If you need to buy yarn for your project, we’re offering a 20% discount on the yarn if it’s purchased between today and Wednesday, April 10th. Yarn must be Sport, DK or Worsted Weight, and the discount is valid on two colors, up to 500 yards total for your project. In order to get the discount, you must leave us an order note telling us which two colors you will be using for this project. We’ll apply the discount after your order comes through to us. If you’re going for free shipping in the U.S. (over $75), please make sure your discount won’t take you below that amount.

Need some fun ideas?

Mittens & Mitts: Snowfling Mittens, Northman Mittens, Houndstooth Check Mittens, Flocked Mittens, Bird in Hand, Bird and Vine Mitts, Vanamo Mitts, Rigmor’s Selbu Mittens, Meta Mittens, and Bacon Mittens (ha!).

Hats: Norwegian Star Earflap Hat, Marius Hats, Flora, End of May Hat, Moose in the Woods Hat, Sequence Hat, Double Diamond Argyle Hat, Diamonds on the Mind, Modjeska Hat, Min Ulla Hat, INSULATE! Hat, and Opus Spicatum Hat.

Other: Luvbots, Snowflake Boot Cuffs, Norwegian Star Slippers, Gyre Cowl, Snowflake Christmas Stocking, Easy Fair Isle Headbands, and Japan Cowl.

Yarn possibilities: Cascade 220, Cascade 220 Superwash, Cascade Superwash Sport, Stonehedge Fiber Worsted, Stonehedge Fiber DK, Amy Butler Aran, Amy Butler DK, Blue Sky Worsted Hand Dyes, Spud and Chloe Sweater, and more. Just be sure to use solids or semi-solids so that your colorwork shows up well.

See that mitten up there? That’s my attempt at colorwork, awhile back. There is a reason the mitten is not on a hand. It turned out way too big! I might just re-do that same pattern (Flocked Mittens) for the Challenge. I really want to get this colorwork skill down. There are so many fun things you can do with colorwork. I figured starting out with a two color project is best.

Sheri who,admittedly,didnotdoagaugeswatchforthatmittenupthere

Color Inspiration

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I walk down the worsted aisle at The Loopy Ewe at least 20 times a day. It’s my favorite aisle, just because the colors are so enticing. The Cascade 220 Superwash comes in balls, and it feels like a painter’s palette. I wish I could stand in front of it and take a dab of this and a dab of that, and blend it into a masterpiece! Which …. of course, I could. Not a dab here and there, but a ball of yarn here and there. I’d like to just stay there for a few hours and play with color combinations. There are 140+ colors to choose from.

Beyond the pegs of superwash, you’ll find the cubbies of regular 220 Worsted. 250+ more colors to choose from. See why it’s my favorite aisle?

When you figure that we have four long aisles (each about 65 feet long), and there is yarn on both sides, and we have yarn in other corners and walls in the shop, that adds up to a whole lot of color inspiration.

When people come for their first visit to Loopy, they come in the door and see this and think this is the size of the shop:

And then they round the corner and look down the first aisle that seems to go on forever:

Usually, they say, “This is huge!”, with a big grin on their face. One gal came with her dad. He took one look around the corner and gave her a panicked look and said, “I think we need to set a time deadline.”

All that to say, I can’t really be held responsible for all of the different projects that I start. If you worked here, you’d be doing the same thing. Right? It’s not my fault. It’s a job hazard.

Sheri whobetterhurryupandfinishCampLoopyProjectThree

Camping this Summer!

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Camp-loopy-2012As most of you know, we’re in our second year of Camp Loopy around here, and having a lot of fun with it this summer! Each month the campers are challenged with a new project and today is the day that Project Two needs to be finished and Project Three can be started. It has been great to see all of the photos that have been coming in. And on that note – it’s time to vote for your favorite project from the first month of Camp. You’ll find 768 photos in the Project One Gallery, and we need to award one the “Reader’s Choice” award. YOU are responsible for that! Please take a look through the gallery and email your favorite choice to support@theloopyewe.com. We’ll give it a week or so for voting and will announce the winners soon.

To go along with your camp knitting, I have a new s’mores recipe for you today. We tried it out a couple of weeks ago, and it’s wonderful.

S’Mores-Dessert-PizzaS’Mores Dessert Pizza

1 tube of Pillsbury Sugar Cookie
Slice and Bake dough
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup rolled oats
2 Tbl. softened butter
1/4 cup flour
2 cups mini marshmallows
1 package semi-sweet chocolate chips

Cut the cookie dough into slices and then pat them out on a pizza pan or baking stone, so that it becomes one big cookie base.

S’Mores-Dessert-PizzaMix the brown sugar, oats, butter and flour together and sprinkle this over the cookie crust.

Sprinkle chocolate chips over the crumb mix.

Bake at 375 degrees for 5 minutes. Top with marshmallows and then bake for 10 more minutes, or until marshmallows are golden brown.

I’ll be knitting and watching the Opening Ceremonies tonight. How about you?

Sheri andmabyemakingS’moresPizzaagain

Camp Loopy Project Two: Finished

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I know I was panicking just last week about finishing, but it turns out I ran out of yarn and had to cut 7 rows short. (At 516 stitches per row, that’s a savings of 3612 stitches). I’m glad to be done. I don’t know how it happened, but the pattern called for 800 yards and I used 1100+ yards on this. I used the same needle sizes and didn’t alter it any other way except for deleting 7 rows at the end, so I can’t explain it.

When I was at market, I saw a booth with scarves and shawls that used this color technique. You pick a multi-color for the middle, and then pick two different matching semi-solids for the beginning and the end. What a cool idea! (We do have that line of yarn and patterns on order.) I picked a shawl pattern that would let the color progression show nicely. This is Thin Ice, and I used Mountain Colors Crazyfoot in Meadow (1.5 skeins), Harmony Plum (1 skein), and Cascade Heritage Forest (3/4 skein). Mountain Colors has some really pretty multi-colors to choose from. This would also work well with Lorna’s Laces, Studio June, Sweet Georgia, and Three Irish Girls. And the pattern itself would be beautiful in Kauni, to show the long color changes!

When I blended from the green to the multi, I did one row where I alternated each stitch from the two different skeins. After I got a few rows past that, I realized that you don’t really even need to blend like that, if you’ve picked your colors well. Just jump in with the new color and the multi-color mix will make it look like you blended it. So with the plum color, I just stopped the last row with the multi and did the next with the plum and it blended great. So easy.

I hope you’re all winding up your Project Twos so that you can get ready to cast on Project Three on Friday! I have bunches of photos waiting for approval in the gallery that I’ll be working on this week. You’ve all done such a wonderful job. I can’t wait for you to see all of the photos.

Sheri doingtheRippleRockShawlforProjectThree