Are you working on Knighthood in our Knights of the Loopy Table challenge this semester? (It’s never to late to join in! You get points for finishing WIPs, doing new projects, and using Loopy stash. Check this blog post for all the details and then jump in!) We’re also talking about our Knights Projects in our Loopy Groupie group on Ravelry. Pop over and join in on that as well, if you’d like some extra support and encouragement as you work on your projects.
Do you need help figuring out what to knit next? Not because you have no idea, but because you have too many ideas? Get a pair of dice and see what comes up. (No dice? Here’s a site that rolls for you.)
2: WIP
3: New
4: Stash
5: WIP
6: New
7: Stash
8: WIP
9: New
10: Stash
11: WIP
12: New
I got a 9 on the first roll (meaning I should do Fingerless Mitts) and a 10 on the second roll (meaning I should find a skein in my stash for the mitts.)
Now, you can do what the dice tell you to do – knit a pair of Fingerless Mitts with one of your Loopy stash yarns. Or – if you found yourself disappointed (thinking, “Shoot – I wanted to get new yarn and make a sweater”) – then you know what you really want to do, and you can go buy yarn and start a new sweater. 🙂
We have two more books to give away again today!
Leave a comment below and tell me what the dice rolls told you to work on. We’ll randomly pick two winners next Monday for the books above. (Let us know in the comments if you have a preference between the two.) And come be a Loopy Knight with us!
Sheri and The Loopy Ewe Crew
P.S. Last week’s book winners were Amy Schulze and Kathy Blumenstock. Please email us (support@theloopyewe.com) to confirm your addresses so we can get these shipped out to you!
My favorite stuffie/toy designer is Alan Dart. Have you seen his amazing creatures? One is just more wonderful than the next. Of course when I saw that he had a Sir Lancelot, I couldn’t buy the pattern fast enough. I haven’t started it yet, but in light of our Knights of the Loopy Table challenge, I am ready to make my own Sir Lancelot.
Want to knit along? Pop over to Alan’s site and get the pattern (Sir Lancelot) and join in. I am not an experienced toy knitter by any means (although I have purchased several of Alan’s patterns to make one day). So I thought a knit-a-long might be helpful, in case questions come up. I’ve just started a thread on our Loopy Groupie board for anyone wanting to join in. I figure after my Sir Lancelot is done, he will also be a good photo prop for some of my future Knight knitting projects. (The pattern calls for DK yarn. I am going up to a worsted weight because I like the color options in Cascade 220.)
Some of my other favorites of his:
Beattie Herdvyck (I’d totally make her a knitter), Garden Birds (bought, the pattern, next on my list), Green Fingers (love Gnomes), Hansel and Gretel (lederhosen!), Jack O’Lantern & Maisy (bought the pattern, Mr. Jack needs to be knit up), Jultomtar & Teeny Tomte (I love Tomte characters), Nativity Set (would love to do this one someday), Tabby (the look that cat is giving the butterfly!), Noah’s Ark (although I know myself – I’d knit one of each animal and that’s not how Noah’s Ark works. Is there such a thing as Second Animal Syndrome, like Second Sock Syndrome?), Filbert Collins (just because his name is Filbert), Lucky Piskie (I love red mushrooms with white dots on anything), Queen of Hearts (what an elegant costume), and Medieval Mice (also quite appropriate for our Knights).
Really, if I could get good at knitting toys, I’d have fun making most all of his patterns. I guess I’ll start with one. 🙂
We’re putting together our conroi of knitting knights for the Loopy Table. What does that mean? A conroi is a group of knights who trained and fought together. We’re not fighting anyone. We’re just knitting, learning new things, and having fun together with this new fall program. Welcome to The Knights of the Loopy Table!
What is this? A program to encourage and inspire new knitting projects (and/or WIP finishing). Who can participate? Anyone! It’s a virtual program. Is there an entry fee? No. What are the rewards? Completed projects, Loopy Reward Store points, Loopy Credits from your purchases, and knighterly project camaraderie on Ravelry.
First Semester: September 3 – December 31 (photos uploaded to Loopy Photo Galleries by 12/31.) Second Semester: January 1 – April 30. (photos uploaded to Loopy Photo Galleries by 4/30.)
You choose your own quest to Knighthood.
You can make any patterns you like, as long as they are at least 200 yards (singly knit) or more, and as long as you’re using yarn you purchased here. We just want to encourage you to be as productive as you’d like to be over the next 8 months!
We have three different options for yarn supplies:
What-Stasher – Buy your project yarn from The Loopy Ewe September 4 or later, for each of the projects you want to complete this semester. (“What stash? Don’t ask me about my stash, I like it the way it is, I’m buying new yarn for my knightly projects. I like a good excuse to buy more yarn.”)
WIP-erStasher – Use stash yarn or complete some of your current WIP’s. Yarn needs to have been purchased from The Loopy Ewe for both WIP’s or stash-using projects. Yardage points for WIP’s will be based on how much you knit or crochet starting Sept. 4 or later. (“I have some Works In Progress I need to finish. I have some yarn from The Loopy Ewe in my stash that I want to use. I’ll be WIPing and/or Stashing.”)
WhatWip-erStasher – A little bit of everything – buying new, using old, completing some WIP’s. Same rules apply as in #1 and #2. (“I have some WIP’s I need to finish and yarn from The Loopy Ewe in my stash that I want to use. Plus I want to buy some new yarn, too!” )
You can participate by doing any amount of projects you’d like. You’ll earn points for your Fall Semester projects and then more points for your Spring Semester projects. Each project earns a certain point value (see below) based on the yardage completed 9/4 or later in that project for Fall Semester. (1/1 or later for Spring Semester.) At the end of next April, we’ll add the points from all of the projects you have submitted for the program from Fall and Spring Semesters and will see where you landed on your journey to Loopy Knighthood.
Project Points for What-Stashers
(you’re buying the yarn for your projects Sept. 4 or later for Fall Semester, and January 1 or later for Spring Semester):
20 pts for each 200 – 399 yard project
40 pts for each 400 – 599 yard project
60 pts for each 600 – 799 yard project
80 pts for each 800 – 999 yard project
100 pts for each 1000+ yard project
Project Points for WIP-erStashers*
(you’re using stash yarn or completing WIP’s with yarn that you previously purchased from The Loopy Ewe):
WIP-erStashers earn half points in each of the categories above. (10 for 200+ yards, 20 for 400+ yards, 30 for 600+ yards, 40 for 800+ yards, 50 for 1000+ yards.)
*Remember, with WIP’s, you’ll just report how much yardage you did on that WIP from September 4th on, when the program started. So if you have a 600 yard project and 400 was already done, you’d get credit for completing the final 200 yards in that project when you finish that WIP up. You need to have at least 200 yards still to go on your WIP for it to count in this program.
We’ll be awarding the levels of Page, Squire or Loopy Knight (plus your rewards) next May, after the Journey to Loopy Knighthood is complete and all photos have been approved.
There are three levels of Loopy Knighthood. Which one will you earn?
100 points earned = Title of Page
(Pages started their Knighthood training at age 7-14, learned basic skills, and helped with serving, carrying messages and cleaning clothes.) If your Fall and Spring project points add up to 100, we’ll send you the Page button next May, and will add 100 extra points to your Loopy Reward Store total.
200 points earned = Title of Squire
(Squires ranged in age from 14-21. They took care of the knight’s horses, cleaned their armor and weapons, and accompanied the knight to the battlefield.)Â If your Fall and Spring project points add up to 200, we’ll send you the Squire button next May, and will add 200 extra points to your Loopy Reward Store total.
300 points earned – Title of Loopy Knight
(If a squire had proven his bravery and skill, he would become a knight at the age of twenty one.) If your Fall and Spring project points add up to 300 or more, we’ll send you the Loopy Knighthood button next May, will add 300 extra points to your Loopy Reward Store total, and will also reward you with six months of digital coupons for The Loopy Ewe. (One per month added to your Loopy account, from May through October).
Ordering yarn for Knighthood Project Quests?
Add an order note to your order and we’ll include a handy graph to keep track of your points and a Loopy Knight Button for your project bag.
(sewn by uber-talented Loopy Elf Cheryl). The perfect bag combo for your trip to Loopy Knighthood!
We also had Dream in Color dye up four exclusive knightly colorsÂ
that also work together (for Fade-type projects – King Arthur’s purple fades to Sir Lancelots’s blue with some of that purple, which fades to Queen Guinevere’s green with some of the blue, which fades to the multi-colored mix!). Of course they are all beautiful on their own, too!
We can’t wait to see all of the beautiful projects you make for our Great Loopy Knitting Challenge! (We put up the challenges on the January 1 blog post. There is also a Loopy Ewe Challenges link on the right side of the blog.)
One of the challenges for this semester is called Newly Noted, and requires using a pattern that was published in 2017 or 2018. I’ve rounded up a few of my most favorites, as I was looking for options. Maybe you’ll find one you like, too. (All photos used with permission.) As with all patterns for challenges, make sure you’re using the required yardage. I make things longer when I find a pattern I like and it’s short just a little yardage.
Cold Brew Hat/Mitts/Cowl by Adventures Du Jour. I’ll admit – I did the hat over the weekend and am already into the mitts. Cowl to follow. Try this in Cascade 220 Superwash.
Are you working on Knighthood in our Knights of the Loopy Table challenge this semester? (It’s never to late to join in! You get points for finishing WIPs, doing new projects, and using Loopy stash. Check this blog post for all the details and then jump in!) We’re also talking about our Knights Projects in our Loopy Groupie group on Ravelry. Pop over and join in on that as well, if you’d like some extra support and encouragement as you work on your projects.
