It’s back to school time! The summer is over, the fall sights and smells are making their way back into our lives, and it’s time to start something new. And we have it for you.
This school year, we’re starting Loopy Academy, and we invite you to participate with us!
What is it? A virtual program for trying new things, developing new skills, making new friends, participating in contests and specials, and having fun!
How does it work? We’re starting with Freshman Year, First Semester. We’ll give you 3 project assignments. You can do all three at once, or one every month, or do them all at the end of the semester. As long as you get them all done within the semester, you get credit for completing it.
We’ll take a Winter break in January. (There might be some Academy shenanigans going on that month.) And then we’ll announce our Freshman Year, Second Semester projects in February. Each time you finish a full year (both semesters), we’ll have a fun celebration gift for you. We have a great custom-designed product already in the works for Freshman year finishers!
Just like college, you can jump in any time. Busy this fall? You can start in February. Or next fall. We have planned out projects/skills/challenges for Freshman, Sophomore, Junior and Senior years, and we’ll roll them out one semester at a time. Again, just like college, the projects get a little more challenging as you go along and build upon your skills. You can take a semester off any time that you need to. Just start back up with us when our next semester starts.
We have been doing quarterly challenges for years, and we know that many of you like being challenged to try something new or learn something different. We think Loopy Academy will be a fun new way to build on skills over time. We have combined the fun of Camp Loopy (Rav groups, contests, pattern and project sharing) with the fun of Quarterly Challenges (learning new things that build year to year), all rolled up into Loopy Academy!
Are you ready to enroll? (Or course there is no enrollment fee – just jump in and join us.) Here are the things you need to know:
Freshman Year, First Semester Assignments (each project needs to use at least 175 yards):
1. Cowl in a multi-colored (defined as 2 or more distinct colors in the same skein) or self-striping Fingering weight colorway
2. Hat from a designer new to you, in a Sport or DK weight
3. Mittens in a solid or semi-solid colorway in a Worsted weight (extra credit for using a new-to-you cast on or bind off).
(Hey – this is also a fun way to get more of your gift knitting done this fall….)
Individual photos of each of the three assignments must be uploaded to the Freshman Year, First Semester Photo Gallery on our website by the end of the semester, in order to get credit for finishing. In this case, December 31, 2014.
Yarn for all Loopy Academy projects needs to be purchased from The Loopy Ewe during the semester in which you’re participating, but they don’t need to all be purchased at the same time. For this semester that means September 3, 2014 through December.
And remember – when you have finished two semesters (completing one of your school years), we’ll be sending you a cool celebration gift! Plus, if you leave us an order note that you’re ordering for your Academy projects, we’ll include a Loopy Academy button for your project tote, in your first school order from us, while supplies last!
Need some pattern ideas? Here are just a few to get you started. (Be sure to watch sizes to make sure you’ll be using 175 yards. Some of these patterns have smaller sizes that won’t use the amount of yardage you need to use.)
Cowls: Willow Cowl, Irish Mesh Cowl, Slipstream Cowl, Mira’s Cowl, Father Time Cowl, To Infinity and Beyond, Summer Wind, Dateline Cowl, Rose Vine Cowl, Brighton, Benton, Jet Set Cowl, Under the Wire Cowl, and Weeble Wobble Cowl.
Hats: Wurm, Sunup, Dewdrop Hat, Mainland, Whitman, Muriwai, Quail Run, Cabernet Hat, Knotted Pine, Frais, Yarnster, Gather, Golden Autumn, Honey Hat, Grace Lace Beret, Squish Me Cap, Michele, and Dem Bow Hat.
Mittens: Eugenia’s Mittens, Wood Hollow Mittens, Easy Mittens, Maplewood, Grove, Irish Hiking Mittens, Little Garter Checks, Celtic Moonrise Mittens, Dwarven Mittens, Cafe au Lait Mittens, Almond Mittens, and Sarastro.
We also have a Loopy Academy thread going up on the Loopy Groupie board on Ravelry later today, to talk patterns and projects. Come join us over there!
Would you like to win a Loopy Academy Scholarship? Leave a comment below to tell us you’re IN for Freshman Year, First Semester, and we’ll randomly pick one person to win a $75 Loopy Gift Certificate to help pay for your first semester yarn (or for future yarn purchases, as we know a lot of you will have already purchased yarn for Loopy Academy by the time we announce the winner next week!)
We’ve had a lot of fun planning this out for you, and we hope you have a good time going back to (virtual) school with us. (Quilters and Sewists – we’re looking into starting a fabric version of Loopy Academy next year. Stay tuned for more fun and opportunities ahead!)
Sheri lookingforwardtobeingafreshmanagain
P.S. Congratulations to Geraldine S in CA, the winner of our Blog Contest #8! We are sending off two beautiful skeins of Mrs. Crosby – Hat Box in blue and Train Case in tan!