What a wonderful wooly 2015 is has been! Join us as we look back over our highlights of the past year and the exciting things we have planned for 2016.
Most notably this year we have celebrated ten years of Loop! We commemorated our anniversary with our book Loop’s 10, a collection of patterns from designers close to our heart, all knit with exclusive colours hand-dyed just for us.
The Uncommon Thread ‘Turbillion’ / Viola ‘Speckled Mist’ / Shilasdair ‘Highland Twylight’ / Shalimar Breathless ‘Parma Violet’ / Old Maiden Aunt ‘Angel Islington’ / DyeforYarn ‘Golden Beehive / Jade Sapphire ‘Oh Sweetie Pie’ / Madelinetosh ‘London Cosmopolitan’ and Orkney Angora ‘Ghost’ / Koigu PPPM P756 ‘Vintage Angel’ / Quince & Co. Lark ‘London Rose’
We also launched a Loop’s 10 Knit Along which is taking place on our group on Ravelry. The KAL will finish on 10th January so enjoy the festive period to finish those projects and make sure you upload your photos to the FO Thread to be in with a chance of winning a £25 gift voucher to spend at Loop!
Loop’s 10 will also be available to purchase as an Ebook from 26th December at the reduced price of £18. Keep an eye on our Instagram account LoopLondonLoves to keep up to date.
We also celebrated with a special anniversary window, decorated for us by artist Nathalie Lete, Nathalie lives and works in Paris, her work ranging from ceramic sculptures to silkscreen scarves, inspired by her collections of vintage toys and old engravings of flowers and animals. We let her work her magic on our window, painting the glass with her signature quirky illustrations.
If you missed the Saturday when we had Nathalie visit, we have a video of the event coming soon! And if you’ve fallen for Nathalie’s style as much as we have, on the online shop we stock her prints, bags and postcards as well as signed copies of her book.
2015 was also the chance to learn something new and meet many talented folks. Many of you enjoyed classes with knitting experts Stephen West and Helene Magnusson, plus embroidery workshops with Adriana from Miga De Pan and the Japanese craft of Temari with experts Rika and Naho. Plus we even had time to squeeze in a reading from the yarn whisperer herself Clara Parkes.
For 2016 we have Bristol Ivy coming to visit! Bristol will be teaching three classes, an Introduction to Brioche Saturday 12th March Saturday 10am – 1pm,Shawl Shapes Saturday 12th March 2 – 5pm and Knitting Outside The Box Sunday 13th March 11am – 4pm, an experimental class focusing on inspiration and design.
Our class list will be updated throughout the year and as always, please call the shop if you would like to book onto any course – +44 (0)20 7288 1160
Two new free patterns were also added to the blog. The pretty Spring Bloom Mitts knitted in The Uncommon Thread Lush Worsted and the chunky scarf Alvaro which uses Illimani Cadena.
Of course it’s also been a wonderful yarn for new yarns. We’ve welcomed Mrs Moon Plump, Woolfolk Tynd, Sno, Far and Hygge, Shibui Silk Cloud, Brooklyn Tweed Quarry, Illimani Cadena, Freia Super Bulky Ombre, Shalimar Cush, Isager Cotton, Quince & Co. Owl, Cowlgirlblues Lace and DK.
If you haven’t tried any of these beauties yet then we highly recommend finding the time to indulge in some selfish knitting as an early Christmas present!
Just in time to round off the year we’ve had some amazing books arrive this month to inspire our new projects for 2016.
Firstly two Loopettes who are taking publishing world by storm! We are very proud of Anna Maltz and her book Penguin, full of playful, clever and contemporary designs all inspired by said bird (who we can certainly all take tips from about withstanding the cold!) We are also thrilled to introduce Fiona Alice’s Take Heart, a thoughtful collection of accessories inspired by Fiona’s travels from Canada to London. The book was also photographed by our resident knit night host Juju Vail!
We’re also swooning over the aptly named ‘Swoon Maine‘ by Carrie Bostick Hodge, which features a stunning collection of photography and knitwear. With almost 200 photos, this a book to savour and be inspired by again and again (all while wearing a cosy handknit!)
And finally the latest issue of Amirisu, which captures a Scandinavian style of winter – warm and cozy knitwear in deep blue and warm yellow colours.
You may remember our survey earlier in the year when we asked you all for feedback about the Loop website as we were planning a new look. We are very happy to announce that all the plans are finally coming together and the big reveal will be 12th January 2016. The new look website will still have all the great yarns and products you love, but will be easier to use – we can’t wait to show you!
Our blog will be taking a short break over the festive period so we wish you a very Merry Christmas!
Thank you to all you lovely knitters and crocheters from all over the world for your support.
All the best for a wonderful 2016 and we look forward to welcoming you in the new year!