Winnings...and a skirt

Now one of the best little pick-me-ups I received towards the end of our 8 week work marathon, was what you see below. These, my friends, are the spoils from the Loopy Ewe's First Anniversary Contest! I'm still shocked I actually won. I tend not to enter contests for the sake of winning because honestly, my track record with contests (or any competitive event for that matter) isn't that great. I enter them more to show support for the host and let them know that I am indeed out there as I tend to be a little quite in the blog-0-sphere. However, in this case, I have to assume my winning was some sort of Loopy Karmic Pull.

As always Sheri outdid herself and the generosity in the prizes was clearly off the charts! I couldn't believe what I pulled out of that box! Not only were the colors beautiful, but they were all from indie dyers who I hadn't been exposed to yet. So, given the beauty of these yarns, I thought they each deserved a little close up of their own.

First up, is from Yarn Love and the colorway is Fondley (It looks like Sheri is currently out of Yarn Love yarn so I linked directly to the Yarn Love site). This is 495 yards of 75% superwash 25% nylon. The greens and the yellows are simply gorgeous.

Next, is from Gypsy Knits in the Circus colorway. Now, I tend not to be drawn to colorways named 'circus' because well, they usually look like a circus ;-) However, the colors here are fabulous, soft and complementary. I would even say more spring bouquet than circus. This hank is 360 yards of BLF superwash.

Finally, I bring you Apple Laine's English Garden. The colors in these hanks are luxurious, deep and rich. Each hank is ~190 yards of a 50% wool, 20% mohair, 20% silk, 10% nylon yarn.

So, thank you Sheri! And congratulations on an amazing first year from one loopy girl to another!

Now, I know that most of you out there already know about the Loopy Ewe, but for those of you who haven't or haven't yet placed your first order, Sheri is a phenomenal business woman. She values customer service and goes above and beyond. I've talked about some of the perks before here, but there are even more now. If you are a sock knitter or lace knitter, check out her shop, you will be amazed!

Finally, I have a finished object of sorts to share. I mentioned last week that I was going to have trouble fitting into my regular work clothes again after too much time behind my desk the last couple months. Well, to solve this dilemma as well as try to introduce a little more femininity into my wardrobe (without having to actually go shopping - and yes, I really don't enjoy shopping, I know! gasp!), I present my latest endeavor: skirts!

I made this simple draw string, A-line skirt using the formula and template drafting in Sew What! Skirts. I used about a yard and a 1/4 of a cotton print (Rufina by Clothworks) that I picked up at Rosie's on sale. With the 1/4 inch grosgrain ribbon I used as my tie, the whole skirt came to about $6. It actually came out a little big, so the one I made last night I was able to take in a bit for a slightly more fitted look. However, that FO will have to wait for another day!