Bustling Camden Passage! Photo © http://mycreativephotography.co.uk/

Now that we’ve oriented ourselves, let’s check in with today’s interviewee: Loop, London’s owner, Susan Cropper!

Susan Cropper. Photo © Loop, London

Jillian: Hi, Susan! Thank you so much for talking with me today and for being our first international shop interview! Your shop has been open for almost eight years, but let’s go back to the beginning. Can you tell me how you came up with the name for your shop?

Loop’s logo. Photo © Loop, London

Susan: I came up with the name of my shop after weeks of brainstorming with family and friends. I wanted something short and “loop” was perfect in that it reflected what the yarn was doing in a sense—a series of loops.

Jillian: Indeed, loops are important in knitting, crochet, weaving… almost all fiber arts. And it’s hard to get much shorter than four letters!

Front window display. Photo © Loop, London

Susan: Haha, true! Funnily enough, Craig from Loop in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania must have had the same idea, as we opened around the same time and have the same name. I like his shop and he’s a lovely guy, but our shops are actually very different! Both great shops, but in their own ways!

Super-cute display of baby sweaters in the front window! Photo © Loop, London

Jillian:  Absolutely. Now, let’s go back even farther! How did your love for all things textile evolve?

Susan: When I was young, my mom went back to art school to study Interior Design and there were always mood boards strewn around our apartment and stacks of design magazines. I was dragged around the Museum of Modern Art and the Decorative & Design Building in NYC on weekends.

Colors and textures everywhere! Photo © Loop, London

Susan: My mom saved up to get a pair of Mies van der Rohe Barcelona chairs and then started weaving. Suddenly, there was a huge wooden loom in our living room and hanks of yarn drying in the bathroom, which she had dyed with cochineal and plants that she sent off for. I think I must have become a designer and textile junkie by osmosis. I knit. I love to knit lacy shawls most of all.

Jillian: I am still practicing many techniques in knitting, and lacy shawls are still something I have to master! Clearly, this interest in textiles and design followed you into adult life.

Susan: Oh, yes. I studied both Textile Design and Graphic Design, and, before Loop, while raising my three children, I was a designer and director for lifestyle magazines in London. I love to go to design fairs, vintage fairs, and flea markets wherever I am.

Jillian: It is no surprise, then, that this love of texture, design, color, and textiles led you to opening a shop! How was the response?

Such an inviting interior! Photo © Loop, London

Susan: Enormous, from both press and customers! It has been so much fun to teach so many hundreds of people to knit, watching their excitement grow as they see what they can do. And, it is gratifying to hear the exclamations of delight as people come into the shop—I want people to find joy in colour, texture, and design as much as I do. I feel proud of the contribution we make to the knitting community.

Jillian: It certainly sounds delightful. What types of activities do you have at your shop?

Susan: We have a huge range of classes from beginners to advanced and lots of technique workshops. We also have special visiting teachers who are masters at their craft, such as Stephen West, Franklin Habit, Cecile Balladino, Cecille Franconie, Julie Arkell, and Brandon Mably. We also have KnitNight every Thursday night and book launches at the shop.

So pretty, all arranged in a rainbow! Photo © Loop, London

Jillian: There seems to be a real sense of community surrounding your shop and yarn crafts in general.

Susan: Absolutely. Sharing interests and learning new skills helps you feel connected with your wider community.

Jillian: Before we end for today, I just want to go back for a second. You mentioned earlier that you grew up in NYC. How did you end up in England? I thought you were from England!

Susan: *smiles* I wound up in London because I married an English guy who was living in NYC. He grew homesick, so we moved here in 1985.

Susan’s third book! Photo © Loop, London

Speaking of Loop, London’s blog, be sure to stop by today and read the reciprocal interview they did with us here at Blue Sky Alpacas! Even better, in honor of Loop, London’s favorite Blue Sky Alpacas yarn and the release of The Great Gatsby, we are hosting a simultaneous giveaway, in which one winner chosen on each blog will receive one of our new 1920s-inspired Metalico wrap patterns of their choice (Daisy, Frances, or Zelda) and enough Metalico in their color choice to complete the project. To enter, leave a comment telling us why you love Metalico and we’ll announce the winner next week! And don’t forget to head over to Loop, London’s blog to check out their interview with us and enter their contest!

Remember, if you own or visit a shop that carries Blue Sky Alpacas yarn or is hosting a special class or activity with Blue Sky Alpacas patterns or yarns, drop us a line at info@blueskyalpacas.com! Also let us know if there are questions you’d like answered by our shop owners that we aren’t touching on, and we can look into adding them to our repertoire.

It’s all in the details. Photo © Loop, London

Buckingham Hat

The Buckingham Hat is the perfect, uncomplicated gateway to indulging in this decadent fiber.

The Details

Pattern: Buckingham Hat
Designer: Bobbi IntVeld
Size: Circumference: 18″, unstretched
• Height: 7½”
Needles: Size 2 (2.75mm) 16″ circular needle, or size needed to obtain gauge
• Size 2 (2.75mm) double pointed needles, or size needed to obtain gauge
Yarn: Blue Sky Alpacas Royal Petites, shown in Antique Black #1705
Pocket Pattern available at Blue Sky Alpacas Stockists
Digital Pattern available in the Blue Sky Alpacas Pattern Store

Westminster Hat

The Westminster Hat, with its sophisticated, all-over texture, is one of my favorites! With this hat, you can learn to cable without a cable needle, like I did.

The Details

Pattern: Westminster Hat
Designer: Bobbi IntVeld
Size: Circumference: 18″, unstretched
• Height: 7″
Needles: Size 3 (3.25mm) 16″ circular needle, or size needed to obtain gauge
• Size 3 (3.25mm) double pointed needles, or size needed to obtain gauge
Yarn: Blue Sky Alpacas Royal Petites, shown in Cameo #1704
Pocket Pattern available at Blue Sky Alpacas Stockists
Digital Pattern available in the Blue Sky Alpacas Pattern Store

Two cable rounds.

I’ve cabled before, but never so repetitively. Usually, it seems that there is one large cable in the front of a sweater, and one cable doesn’t really make for good practicing of this technique… it’s not a good way to retain the skill of cabling without a cable needle. However, the Westminster Hat features two distinct cable rounds. One round with right twist cables and the other round with left twist cables. To achieve the all-over texture, the cables are worked across the entire round for the entire hat, making this a great project to master cabling without a cable needle. And boy… do my cable projects fly off the needles now!

Slouchy-Style Westminster

This is the tutorial I used to learn to cable without the cable needle. I liked it so much I just kept knitting my Westminster for many additional rounds to get a slouch-factor. (That’s really the only thing you have to do to make a hat slouch, just keep knitting.) How do you prefer to knit cables? Do you like a beanie-style hat or do you prefer hats with slouch?

Photo © Barney Sellers

Even the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll knows his way around a ball of yarn!

Royal Petite Boxed Knit Kits

These kits, available at your LYS, include two Royal Petite balls and a Royal Petite Pattern… everything mom needs to get knitting!

Well, only a few short weeks after I fed him a bottle, he was completely off bottles altogether! (I am so glad I got to feed him when I did!) Although he still got a little milk from Duchess, Ollie was mostly eating with the other alpacas, having hay and some grain. (This was all perfectly normal, and meant that he was growing up like any other little alpaca!) Part of the early stages of weaning is when the crias can eat in the “cria creep,” which is a little fenced-off area that only the crias are small enough to fit into.

A cria creep is an enclosed area that is big enough for crias to get into but small enough to keep adults out. It helps to begin the weaning process and teaches crias to eat with other alpacas.

That way, the crias can eat like the adults and be near them, but they also start being more of a “mini herd” with each other and learn independence.

Ollie and Tiva eat inside the cria creep together.

On February 5, I got an email from Sara saying that Ollie began weaning! *proud* This is because Foggy Bottom begins weaning either at 6 months or 60 pounds, and Ollie hit 62.6 pounds.

This is the general guideline for weaning, but it is still best to look at the cria as an individual and make a judgment based on its own merits, while using the guidelines as… well… guidelines.  This means that Sara and her parents did not decide to wean Ollie based solely on his weight, but also on other factors that they observed about him, such as his independence, how well he eats on his own already, his interaction with Duchess, his interaction with other alpacas, and more. In particular, here is what Sara had to say about Ollie:

Some crias hit the 60 pound mark really early, but they aren’t “mature” enough to be weaned from mom. Since [Ollie] is so independent naturally, we knew he would be okay because he is 4.5 months old already.

This was an exciting time for me as his adoptive mom since it meant that he was that much closer to living at Linda’s (and thusly right near me!). But, I also had to be patient, as the first and most important thing to know about weaning is that it is a process, not an event, which means that it takes time and should not be rushed. Typically, weaning takes about a month, but it depends on the cria. (I suspected Ollie’s would be pretty speedy, and I was right! It took about three weeks.) As a bonus, the weaning process was pretty comical thanks to the individual personalities of the alpacas. Let’s take a closer look at how it all worked and the antics behind it!

In the beginning, Ollie was first separated from Duchess only for a few hours during the day in a fenced-in area that is right next to where Duchess spends her time. This way, he could still see her, but did not have direct access to her. Gradually, Ollie’s time with the other weanlings was increased until, after a couple weeks, Sara and her parents kept him overnight with them to see how he did. With Ollie still thriving, he spent more and more nights with them. Eventually, it was clear the weaning was successful, so they gave Duchess a couple more weeks near the weanlings before she was moved to the barn that houses the females. At this point, Ollie’s weaning was complete, and he now spends all of his time in the weanling area, having adventures during the day and sleeping with his friends at night. According to Sara, he fits right in, and they are one big happy group!

First, let’s see how Duchess took the separation…

Sara: “I told Duchess that Ollie was not here anymore and she just stared at me.” Photo © Foggy Bottom Alpacas

True to her casualness as a mom, she didn’t even notice Ollie was gone. This is just another way that Duchess is a good mom—she practically weaned Ollie herself!

As for Ollie, he was not weaned alone and shared a pen with about a dozen other crias who were undergoing various stages of the weaning process themselves. Alpacas are herd animals and don’t like to be alone, anyway, but going through a process like weaning all by yourself, well… that’s no fun! The weanlings got all the food and water they wanted, and extra attention from Sara and her parents to help ease the transition. Ollie did so well that when it was time for him to go back to Duchess after his first four-hour stint with the other weanlings, he did not want to leave the weanling area… Sara had to physically carry him back to Duchess (no small feat with a sixty-pound alpaca!)! Ollie began to wait at the entrance to the weanling area in the mornings, ready to go back and be with his friends (though Sara suspected it may also be because he gets breakfast over there!).

About a week in, I went to visit Ollie to see how he was getting on. First, the weanlings ate…

Ollie eats with the other weanlings at the trough. RainMan is eating with Ollie, then the little white one on the left is Tiva, Rupert is behind her, and Magnus is in the back. Duchess was kept on the other side of the fence that Magnus is next to, and that is where Ollie was returned at night time before he was completely weaned. (Evie is the very curious one in the lower right!)

(Apparently, eating is really hard work because later Ollie was sitting next to the trough, cozying up to it like he was ready to take a nap.)

Ollie seems to really like the trough… (Incidentally, when alpacas sit like that, it is called “kushing”!)

After mealtime, the weanlings went exploring…

Ollie and Magnus are half-brothers, and Magnus is actually a full brother to Linda’s Mr. Jones! All three boys have Kingscliff as their dad. Photo © Foggy Bottom Alpacas

At one point, Ollie wandered over to a gate that was open…

“I am so glad you’re here! Come on, I want to show you where I play! This gate wasn’t open yesterday, so it is new and exciting!”

He then went about exploring the snow, as you can see…

Ollie got snow on his face while he was exploring the ground for edibles.

I told him he had snow on his face and so he came closer so I could get a better picture.

“What? Did you say I have snow on my face? That’s okay, it’s what all the fashionable crias are wearing this season!”

See how his ears are flattened? He is uncertain about me, so he is being a little cautious.

Then he went to go contemplate deep cria thoughts by the fenceline…

“I am a free spirit that cannot be caged! Mr. Independent! *sigh*”

Throughout the weaning process, Sara and her parents observed Ollie closely, checking that he was gaining weight steadily and was overall still healthy and adjusting well.

Ollie comes to visit Barb as she checks on how the weanlings are doing.

So, as we can see, little Ollie did just fine during the weaning process! Sara and her parents took great care of him, and now he spends his days with his friends in the weanling pen, plotting adventures and seeking fun! Duchess is back with the other females, awaiting the next time she will become a mom. Let’s check back in with her once more as we sign off for today…

“Ollie who?”

If you can believe it, the next installment in the Ollie series will be when he comes home and begins life with me and Linda’s alpacas! (I think someone else will have to take pictures that day because I will be too busy flailing in excitement.)

My Forest Floor in Dusk #418

I wish I could knit as fast as I dream about projects…

I had to make this dream a reality with Forest Floor, a project I could not stop thinking about after writing a review of Alana Dakos’s new book Botanical Knits. I kept thinking about how this one-hank wonder must be a quick knit since it was less than 164 yards of yarn. So, over a weekend I cast on and bound off, and it was exactly what I was looking for: a quick knit I could dream about and finish quickly, and that had great results!

For those among you who are process knitters, Suri Merino has a gentle halo and feels lovely while you’re knitting. Watching the leaves form kept me knitting, as I thought about how “just one more round!” would get me closer to another completed leaf!

For those among you who are product knitters, I cannot stop wearing this hat! [Jillian interjects: "I can vouch for that!"] It is the “Baby Bear” of hats–always just right! The Dusk color looks great with just about everything, the hat isn’t too tight or too slouchy, and it never messes up my hair (even though I wear it all day long, even indoors!).

Plus, this hat was even faster for me to knit since I finally started knitting from charts. The Zelda Wrap is what converted me (check it out here) and I’ve been a speed-knitting chart reader ever since!

What pattern is calling to you? What do you want to drop everything for and just knit?

Introducing the Spring/Summer 2013 Organic Cotton Pocket Pattern Collection for Simple Kids Knits

Blue Sky Alpacas would like to share our four new and easy patterns featuring organic Skinny Cotton and organic Worsted Cotton. This collectible pattern set features tender illustrations and tactile packaging with designs that allow children to “just be”! Relaxed, simple heirloom pieces to be worn with discovery in mind. You are sure to treasure these items just as much as the memories made while wearing them.

Beatrice steps gingerly into the chilly water as she guides her bright red sailboat away from the shore.

The Beatrice Top encourages long, carefree days at the beach. As with all of the items in this collection, this top is named after a Minnesota lake. (We are, after all, the Land of 10,000 Lakes!)

The Details

Pattern: Beatrice Top
Designer: Erika Flory
Size: 6 months (12-18 months, 2T-3T, 4T-5T)
Needles: Size 5 (3.75mm) needles, or size needed to obtain gauge
• Size 5 (3.75mm) double pointed needles, or size needed to obtain gauge
Yarn: Blue Sky Alpacas Skinny Cotton, shown in Gravel #314
Pocket Pattern available at Blue Sky Alpacas Stockists
Digital Pattern available in the Blue Sky Alpacas Pattern Store

Ready for a picnic after a morning of discoveries, Cameron tiptoes across the sandy beach in search of the perfect location.

The cool breezes of early spring are no match for this comfy hooded vest.

The Details

Pattern: Cameron Hoodie
Designer: Bobbi IntVeld
Size: 6 months (12-18 months, 2T-3T, 4T-5T)
Needles: Size 7 (4.5mm) needles, or size needed to obtain gauge
• Size 8 (5mm) needles, or size needed to obtain gauge
Yarn: Blue Sky Alpacas Worsted Cotton, shown in Sleet #635
Pocket Pattern available at Blue Sky Alpacas Stockists
Digital Pattern available in the Blue Sky Alpacas Pattern Store

Gazing at the expanse of the lake, Georgie takes in the blue depths of the water while wriggling toes in the warmth of the golden sand.

This organic cotton blanket wraps your little one in handknit love—it’s just right for drying off or falling off to dreamland!

The Details

Pattern: Georgie Blanket
Designer: Cheryl Nelson
Size: S (L)
Needles: Size 8 (5mm) needles, or size needed to obtain gauge
• Size H (5mm) hook, or size needed to obtain gauge
Yarn: Blue Sky Alpacas Worsted Cotton, shown in Shell #606 and Stone #626
Pocket Pattern available at Blue Sky Alpacas Stockists
Digital Pattern available in the Blue Sky Alpacas Pattern Store

As she enjoys a visit to the lakeshore, Harriet pauses in her exploration of the shoreline to listen to the lap of the waves and the cry of the gulls.

This simple handknit dress is soft and swingy—perfect for playing along the water’s edge!

The Details

Pattern: Harriet Dress
Designer: Cheryl Nelson
Size: 6 months (12-18 months, 2T-3T, 4T-5T)
Needles: Size 7 (4.5mm) needles, or size needed to obtain gauge
• Size 7 (4.5mm) double pointed needles, or size needed to obtain gauge
Yarn: Blue Sky Alpacas Skinny Cotton, shown in Zinc #304
Pocket Pattern available at Blue Sky Alpacas Stockists
Digital Pattern available in the Blue Sky Alpacas Pattern Store

The “look”!

I’ve been enamored with the Zelda Wrap since its release. The look, all the places I would wear it, and how lovely it would be to knit.

Peridot perfection

I have also been enamored with Blue Sky Alpacas Alpaca Silk in Peridot for ages.

When I realized that Alpaca Silk is completely interchangeable with Metalico (both the fiber content and the gauge are exactly the same), it was a total “Eureka!” moment:

Violà! Zelda Wrap meets Alpaca Silk, for results I love!

But the finished wrap wasn’t even the best part of knitting Zelda for me, as I have now been officially converted into a chart-loving knitter! I have been knitting for a long time, but for some reason I just completely disregarded charts. I didn’t need them or want to use them, preferring the written directions. But… on the other hand, how could I have a “preference,” if I never, ever even tried to use charts?!?! So, I gave charts a go with Zelda. Instead of reading pattern lines multiple times, spending long minutes counting as I worked across a row, I simply looked at the logical chart with the repetitive tessellations, saw how the stitches moved in predictable ways, and realized how much more efficient charts are at relaying this type of information than the written pattern.

The stitches started to move in predictable ways.

Zelda is an intermediate-level pattern because it is worked on the bias and has three charts to work from, but if you have always wanted to master charts I would strongly recommend trying this pattern. A chart illustrates knitting on a grid, as a whole, instead of individual line-by-line components and does take some getting used to, but once you get the hang of it, you can work more quickly and with fewer errors! I’m so glad to be a convert, I wish I would have given charts a real chance a lot sooner.

Photo © Knit.Wear Spring 2013

Laura Zukaite’s Diamond Rib dress–what a wonder! The dress takes advantage of the marvelous stitch definition of Metalico with a subtle-but-impactful faux bois look. But then again, this body skimming dress was always going to make an impact!

The Details

Pattern: Diamond Rib Dress
Designer: Laura Zukaite
Size: 26¾ (32, 37¼)”
Needles: Size 6 (4mm) 24″ circular needle, or size needed to obtain gauge
• Size 6 (4mm) double pointed needles, or size needed to obtain gauge
• Size 4 (3.5mm) 32″ circular needle, or size needed to obtain gauge
Yarn: Blue Sky Alpacas Metalico, shown in Platinum #1612
Pattern available in Knit.Wear, Spring 2013

Photo © Knitscene, Summer 2013

The Love Braid Cardigan looks like just another simple, swingy cardigan from the front, but the back holds a surprise that is anything but ordinary! The designer really pushed her techniques into sculptural elements. Smooth stockinette in shining Metalico paired with the textural braid–high contrast!

The Details

Pattern: Love Braid Cardigan
Designer: Melissa Wehrle
Size: 36 (38, 40, 41½, 45½, 50)”
Needles: Size 6 (4mm) 32″ circular needle, or size needed to obtain gauge
• Size 6 (4mm) double pointed needles, or size needed to obtain gauge
Yarn: Blue Sky Alpacas Metalico, shown in Platinum #1612
Pattern available in Knitscene, Summer 2013

Since starting here at Blue Sky Alpacas, I’ve come to find that perhaps I look at the world in more of a crafterly (is that a word? well, it is now…), out-of-the-box way than I had previously thought.

This is perhaps most exemplified by my Market Tote, one of the first Blue Sky Alpacas patterns that caught my eye, largely due to the fact that it is a crochet pattern and six months ago I wasn’t nearly as confident a knitter, so I focused on crochet. But, if I’m honest, I would say it was even more largely due to the fact that, when I looked at it, I didn’t see this…

A super-handy tote for groceries, workout clothes, yarn projects, or as an airplane carry-on!

I saw this…

A super-handy INSANELY COLORFUL tote for groceries, workout clothes, yarn projects, or as an airplane carry-on!

And then it had to be made. The vision had to be realized! And so it was. The Market Tote to end all Market Totes… the patchwork Market Tote… where every panel on all four sides (including the bottom) is a different color. It is crazy color awesome!

So, next time you have a vision, make it reality! Don’t be afraid to experiment and go outside the box. Run with your imagination and make the crazy-awesome-impossible into crazy-awesome-reality!

The Details

Pattern: Market Tote
Designer: Valerie Teppo
Size: one size, 15¼” x 12½” x 5½”
Hook: Size G (4mm) hook, or size needed to obtain gauge
Yarn: Blue Sky Alpacas Skinny Cotton in Zinc #304 (or, if you’re me: Zinc #304, Squash #306, Maize #307, Mallard #308, Pear #312, Gravel #314, Coral #317)
Pattern available in the Blue Sky Alpacas Pattern Store