...knit your hearts with an unslipping knot ...Shakespeare

The sale is almost over - only a few more days left and we are well into the re-stocking of all the empty spaces!  And new yarn coming in all the time - I can hardly wait to try them out. Because of lack of time I have borrowed some of the text from Lopi, so forgive me, but I did want to get this out and I am enjoying the beauty of this yarn - although a little 'rough' - it has guts!!!

There seems to be a resurrgence of interest in Lopi yarns. Most new knitters are not aware of Lopi  which fueled our knitting passion years ago, with lots of colours and patterns. Lopi is an interesting fibre and is unique in its composition, Icelandic wool consists of two types of fibres - an inner fibre which is insulating and the outer fibres which are water-repellent. Together, these two distinctive fibres create a wool that is: lighter than most other wools, keeps you warm and comfortable, repels rain and stays feeling dry and the moisture passes through the fibres away from the skin, keeping you dry and comfortable. When washed the wool becomes softer and softer.The Loom carries Alafoss, a bulky weight, Lopi Lite, a worsted weight, and Einband, a lace weight.

...without sheep, Iceland would have been uninhabitable...

Istex is buying the wool directly from the farmers in Iceland and then process it to yarn. The wool scouring is located in the town of Blonduos in the north and the spinning mill in the town Mosfellsbaer nearReykjavik.

A small sample knit with Einband, washed twice and it is much softer with washing.

...only natural energy sources such as geo-thermal and hydroelectric power are used in the production of Icelandic wool...

Our little Valentine gift is for you - a very simple pattern that a beloved customer gave us...

Cozy Cowl

The pattern would be great using Alafoss, I call it a Shoulder Shawl and it takes about 200 yards, using a bulky yarn, such as Crystal Palace, Iceland, Lopi Alafoss, Nova or Mochi Chunky or blend some of your stash...
Cast on on 40 stitches on  6 mm needles
k2 p2 until all the yarn is used, twist and join

There are Iceland sheep in the valley I believe and I now want to spin it!!!

Telephone: 250 746-5250
Interesting sites:
 http://www.ilovetheloom.blogspot.com/
http://www.leolasstudio.blogspot.com/
http://www.ravelry.com/
http://www.skacelknitting.com/
http://www.straw.com/
http://www.knitty.com/
http://www.istex.is/



Tribute to Trudi Westerman!

I first visited The Loom in 1974 when it was upstairs in the Wickertree and I was delighted to find a weaving store so close. Glen, my husband to be, took me there as a surprise and I became an "I Love the Loom" groupie. I learned later that Trudi started it by being encouraged by Dorothy Field (one of my mentors) who felt that there was a need for a supply store for weavers and fibre artists in this valley. Trudi was then a student of Henny Mook from Thetis Island and was a convert to the weaving world and thought it was a great idea. So 38 years later it is still going strong. Trudi continued expanding and changing the store to suit the needs of we that needed! Another friend of mine, Helen Washington also shared the store at one time with collectibles and she and I became friends later through the Shawnigan Library. I owe Trudi a lot for believing in me and 'carrying' me when I started teaching spinning and weaving. She brought in looms from New Zealand which I still use today for my weaving students and supplied me with fleece and spindles for teaching spinning. We became friends and shared many a dinner with her and her husband Lou (and Pickle the dog!). Trudi still weaves and she is in her 90s and getting younger everyday.

I believe that this is about 1977 and The Loom still uses some of the storage bins. And Condon's was the wool most of us were using. The variety of yarns today astounds me.

Pottery was also something you could also purchase and I still have some mugs I bought all those years ago.

The mugs on the top left are the mugs I still have!

Trudy and I at Leola's Studio Open House, November 2011. She is just as lovely and lively. Thank you so very much Trudy for all your generosity and kindness.

And now 2012 begins and so does the January sale at The Loom. Happy New Year everyone!! See you at the sale.