Loop - Philly Style

Hi Knitters,

I was at Loop yarn shop in Philadelphia last Thursday evening and it was a treat beyond all treats. The beautifully set table included kumquats, chocolate covered ginger and several delicious cheeses. It was so nice and springy to see those tulips on the table.
The event started with a bang. There were kids everywhere playing with the toys and having a great time. The table was bursting with activity right from the start. It was great.
Fruity fingers!
The event was great because there were lots of people in and out of the shop but there was also a core group of about 10 people or so that stayed the entire 3 hours. I loved it. I got to spend so much one on one time with the knitters just chatting, listening to stories, laughing and getting to know them. Nothing is better than that.
This sweet girl brought her own Bunny from Itty-Bitty Toys and it was all ragged and worn and well-loved. That is the best. Her mom is a wonderful knitter. I enjoyed meeting her very much.
This is Julie Bierlein who created the Portsmouth Skating Hat. I did a post on this hat for the Spud & Chloë blog. Click here to see that! It was a joy to meet her in person. Thanks for coming, Julie!This is Linda. She made a sweet little pin for TC but I wore it in the meantime. It is really cute so I'll have to get a better photo later. Linda drove a couple of hours or more to get to the event and stayed over at a hotel that night. She was great fun!
Yvette, on the left in pink, was a toy knitting convert (that's a quote). When she came to the shop she said she thought toy knitting was a waste of time. When she saw the groups of kids enjoying the toys and diving right in to the trunk show it completely sold her. She bought a book and is starting on her first toy right away for an upcoming baby gift. She is making the baby doll. Yvette was fun and entertaining. She made me laugh.
Craig, the owner of Loop, did a demonstration of Portuguese Knitting, which is a style of knitting where you wrap the yarn around your neck for tension or there is some kind of clip you can wear on your clothes to hold the yarn. Here is a great youtube video of this technique. Craig received a nice round of applause. It was a crowd pleaser. It was such a fun, laid-back type of evening. I absolutely loved it.
Yvette was sold on toys. I was sold on Yvette!
I am sorry I can't remember every name but I know that is Margaret sitting on the arm of the couch.
Here's Linda again. She was adorable, sweet and friendly. She has told me how knitting has carried her on through difficult times. I feel the exact same way. I loved meeting Linda.
Beth made a knitted moose (her own pattern) and the moose has on an orange hunting vest and hat. It was so funny. I wish I had a better photo of the moose. You would all love it.
Jaime sat by my side most of the night and knitted a reversible mouse and elephant from the book. She was using a textured yarn and the toys looked so great. She actually finished later that night and posted the finished reversible toy on Ravelry.
That's Laura from Spool on the left. I didn't know that Spool is a c0-store to Loop. I have ordered lots of sewing stuff, mainly fabric bundles, from Spool. Now that I know Craig is the owner of Spool I will be ordering lots more!! I love that. I have lots of photos of Spool that I will share in a separate post. It is gorgeous over there. Loop is gorgeous and slick and there is eye-candy everywhere you turn.

Both Spool and Loop have great blogs and free patterns. Spool blog! Loop blog! I made the bird from Spool and my sister is making the Seeded Rib Scarf free pattern from Loop right now.
This is Cindy. I know her through Ravelry and our Itty-Bitty Knits group (come join us). I was completely thrilled to meet her. She is always so positive on the forum, cheering people on and making the kindest comments. She traveled far, too, to come to Loop. I appreciated her effort. What an honor to meet you, Cindy.

By the way, my sweet sister took all of these photos as she tagged along on my last tour stops.
She came with the sweetest box of gifts for me. I kept pulling things out one after another, each gift sweeter than the last. Thank you, dear friend.

I love the yarn hanging on the wall.
This was the core group I was talking about. I have never had a more relaxed fun time at an event. It was truly awesome. Isn't it a gorgeous shop?
This is Kathy who works at the shop. The shop is known for customer service and they carry all of the Blue Sky Alpacas line AND the Spud & Chloë line. Please hop on their online shop to see more about this. They have lots of other lush yarns and accessories and books and patterns. It is a well-stocked shop to say the least.
Here is the other Loop staff member, another Kathy. The Kathies as Craig called them. She made two Baby Bears from Itty-Bitty Toys. Aren't they cute?
I think this woman's name is Donna and that is her little lovely daughter. They had a great time at the event.
These three met at Loop this night and were like life-long friends sitting on the couch together. There was a warm feeling going on all-around.Little Lovely likes to shop for yarn. I love a little girl in a knit stripey dress, white tights and black patent leathers. Can't beat it. She has a thing for Blue Sky Alpacas yarn for sure:)
This is Nicole. She traveled several hours, too!!! I can't believe all of the traveling this weekend by the knitters to come. That is so fun. Nicole is the mother of 9 kids and she has one more on the way. And she knits. A lot. She is fun and happy and she brought her beautiful mother Annette with her. They stayed for such a long time. I feel like I really got to know her a little more. It was awesome.
Marlon is a joy. She is so enthusiastic and smiling. I adored hanging out with her.
Here is a blurry shot of Nicole and her mother, Annette. They were really fun and easy to be with.
This little guy, Matthew, got his hands on the ducks and it was over for him. He ran around the store pulling the Mama Duck and Ducklings for the rest of the night. His mom couldn't believe how much he liked the duck pull-toy and ended up buying all of the Blue Sky Cotton to make the ducks for him. He cried when he had to leave.
Here is the entire crew at Loop. Craig treated us for a lovely and delicious dinner after the event and we ate and laughed and chatted until really late. Thank you for everything! The event was an enormous success. Craig knows how to put on and host a great event. I would recommend that everyone stop by in Philadelphia to check out Craig's shops or to check out his online shop. Craig is a very talented yarn shop owner and knitter. I promise Loop and Spool won't disappoint.

best, susie

p.s. New York is coming up next. You won't believe all of the cool things I got to do in a short couple of days. I don't want to spoil it so stay tuned.