The Loopy Ewe

This past week, my family went to Missouri for a work-cation. Rob's mom and brother live in central MO, so we extended our trip to be able to spend some good QT with them, and we also made it a point to visit The Loopy Ewe in St. Louis. TLE is a wonderful yarn shop there, and although it conducts the vast majority of its business online (which I have done several times), there is also a well-equipped storefront for locals and visitors. More will come later about the rest of our MO trip, but since several of y'all have been chomping at the bit to see what yarn deliciousness I picked up at Loopy, I'm going to work backwards and share this piece of our trip first! 

Initially, I had a disappointment as our expected tax refund didn't come in before we left home, so I didn't expect to be able to shop there at all. And then, when it did come in mid-visit with Mom, I learned they weren't open the day I wanted to visit: this past Monday! The owner, Sheri, accepts appointments, but that day was her birthday, so I was very grateful when she decided to open up her store to me on Monday afternoon after all. Thank you, Sheri!

I had my camera at the ready when Chloë, my own personal Loopy Elf, and I entered the store on Monday afternoon. I didn't know exactly what the store would look like on the inside, but it was much bigger (and cuter!) than I expected. Here's my first view. Look! Yarns!

'Round the corner, there were sock yarns upon sock yarns, the mainstay of TLE's business. Each was prettier and softer than the last; Chloë and I did a lot of petting, and a lot more "ooh" and "ahhing."

There was a whole wall of Cascade 220 worsted wool in every shade imaginable; this is just a fraction of it! I needed a wider-angle lens to capture the whole thing, but such was not available to me, so you get just a glimpse. 

After Chloë and I finished our rather mad-dash shopping spree (since it was a regular stock-and-ship day for Sheri and the Loopy Elves, and I didn't want to be in their way for too long), I begged a picture with the Birthday Girl. She HATES pictures, but she relented and bent down for a snap with the kiddo and me. Sheri's muy tall and towers about a foot over me, so she probably wasn't very comfortable here, but she's gorgeous! She really shouldn't hate being photographed so much, as lovely and statuesque as she is.

We also got photographed via their webcam gallery for the store site. Can you find us here?

All right, all right, so you want to know what I bought already, huh?  Why, of course, let me show the selves:

For the Sagebrush Shrug that I want to make myself, I chose three skeins of Artyarns' Beaded Silk. Oh, it is beyond beautiful. I'm a huge fan of Artyarns, and though I've used several of their other lines before, I still wanted to try this one. I can't get enough of it. Delicious. Like to see a closer-up?

Does that not just look scrumptious? Mmm. Take a nibble.

 

For the Meret (Mystery Beret; RavLink) that I'm going to make myself, I chose Araucania Panguipulli. She's a tweedy little thing, and my hope is that she'll be just perfect for this project.

 

This dress is going to look so HOT on me. I mean, it better, because it's going to be a LOT of work. Oh, my. I can't wait to get started, though I have to finish other projects first! I originally wanted Madeline Tosh DK (former Worsted) yarn for this, but it wasn't available in colors I wanted. Kind of unbelieveably, since it's rather a mainstay of LYS' business, I've never used Cascade 220, so I decided to make the switch then and there. I saved myself beaucoup bucks in the process, too, which meant I could pick up a few more unplanned goodies!

 

I found this copper-colored yarn by Prism on the clearance rack, and I bought it simply because it came from St. Petersburg, Florida, where Rob and I got married (twice, no less!) So it's now "the wedding yarn," and I'm going to make something for him with it. But what? I'm thinking scarf, but I'm not, uh, married to the idea. Heh.

Here's the next five balls of yarn I bought. Do you think those colors look good together? I hope so, because I do. I think I'm going to make a patchwork quilt-like blanket with this good stuff. What is it?

 

It's Rowan by Amy Butler Belle Organic DK, and it's just delightful. Go on, give it a squeeze. I have a book, X# of Squares to knit, and I'm going to work on one or two here and there when I get a chance. Then I'll stitch the squares together and voilà! Blankie!

Ah, so I did get some Madeline Tosh sock yarn, after all. Chloë helped me choose this luscious color. Mmm. Socks. I will have me some socks. Hopefully something dizzyingly intricate that makes me throw my needles down in frustration 10 times in an hour. That's just the sort of project I like!

 

I really didn't need this yarn, but it sort of screamed, "Take me home!" and leapt into my bag. How do you say no to nearly 900 yards (!!) of Alpaca with a Twist Fino in such a delightful, light shade of blue? Well, you don't, that's how. I don't have the first clue what I'm going to do with a single yard of that yarn. I'll have to think on it and pet it a while, and one day, it will speak to me.

  

For all the socks I plan on knitting this year, I had to get some of these red (love red!) sock blockers. In small, of course. I have itty-bitty feeties. 

Sheri decided that Chloë needed a Loopy Ewe of her own for a take-away gift, and of course I had to warn Curls that she might want to hide it before Mommy decided to abscond with it! I'm still searching for that guy...

So all-in-all, it was a fab trip, and I took pictures right away during lunch so that I would have them to look at for the whole drive home while they were packed away in the back of the van. And that I did.

If you're going to visit The Loopy Ewe, either online or in person (do! oh yes, do!), please tell them I sent you. I might get a little goody if you do. And that would be terrific. Hee. (Plus, you get goodies in your orders, too!)

Another thing I learned: when your purchases at TLE total over $250, they give you a $25 credit for your next order! What! Sweet! I did not know that. So my credit was waiting for me when we got home on Tuesday night, and the first thing I did was snap up some of this:

 

which is Claudia Hand-Painted in the Circus Dancer colorway. At least, I think I chose CD, but maybe I didn't? In any event, I'll find out soon and let you know. 

Thanks for reading about my yarn-ventures, and stay tuned for more tonight about the rest of our trip to Missouri!

Fin.