| August 13, 2023

🧶An ode to a yarn car

BY SHELLEY BRANDER

car

She was such a good girl.

I got her in May 2010, on a car carrier from California. She only had a few thousand miles on her.

I knitted a swatch with bulky white yarn. Brent scanned it and designed a wrap. And the Loopsmobile was born.

Back Camera

I had never really been a “car person.” If it got me from here to there, I was good. And I’d never really had a desire to own a convertible – they kind of freaked me out. But I had a hunch a Mini Convertible would make a really cute yarn car. And I figured, as long as I was hustling to grow the business and shuttling kids all around Tulsa, I might as well do it in a mobile billboard!

It was love at first drive.

The unexpected power of its little engine. The wind in my hair. The scents in the air. The freedom.

The Loopsmobile became a symbol for everything we were trying to build with Loops and Knit Stars. It was quirky. It was cool. It was adventurous. It was small but mighty. It unapologetically proclaimed “YARN IS AWESOME.”

It was the Loopsmobile we loaded down with hundreds of handmade blankets to warm the souls of the 2013 Moore tornado victims.
And then when we rebranded as Knit Stars, the Loopsmobile morphed into the Star Car. Transporting yarn royalty like Gaye Glasspie, Casapinka and Vincent Williams.

I debated a little about whether to invest in her new Knit Stars wrap, knowing she was starting to require more maintenance. I replaced her AC three times (!!!) in a single year, and finally gave up on air conditioning. I just got good at planning my drives at cooler times of day or on streets with lots of shade…

When I moved to Florida last year, the Mini stayed back in Tulsa for awhile, waiting for me to land at my new beach home full-time. Finally I shipped her here on (another) car carrier. She lost a little piece of trim along the way, but I didn’t mind. I was just so happy to have her back, zipping down highway 30A with the top down, hair flying, singing at the top of my lungs!

Then something funny happened.

One day I was out on a Mini drive, and the song “Daisies” by Katy Perry came on.

Told them your dreams, and 
They all started laughing.
I guess you’re out of your mind
‘Til it actually happens…

And then another one, by Pink:

Just give me a reason
Just a little bit’s enough
Just a second, we’re not broken, just bent
And we can learn to love again…

Then “How Far I’ll Go” from Moana…

I’ve been staring at the edge of the water
‘Long as I can remember
Never really knowing why.
I wish I could be the perfect daughter
But I come back to the water
No matter how hard I try…

With a realization dawning, I pulled up my old Apple music list and recalled, one by one, the songs I used to sing at the top of my lungs as I drove the Loopsmobile probably too fast, on those days back in Tulsa when something kept telling me…

Just drive.

Just GO.

And it finally came to me, this little car had become something more for me. It provided a daily escape, however brief, to a dream world beyond my current life…

Until I finally got brave enough to move on to my next phase of life, by the sea.

This past week, I went to take the Mini for a drive. She’d been closed up with her lid on in our parking garage for a couple weeks. I opened the door and a strong smell overwhelmed me. And then I discovered something I’d never seen or heard of.
The entire interior was covered in green, fuzzy mold. Every single inch – even the parts I couldn’t see, like the inside of the seat belt and the engine itself.

Long story short, we sent my beloved Mini over the rainbow car bridge this week.

She served so many purposes for me for 13 years. Some I knew then. Some I know now.

My wish for you this week is to know the same joy and freedom my sweet little yarn car gave to me.

xoxo

P.S. I’ll never forget the day an anonymous customer left this note under the Mini’s windshield wiper ❤️

 

Save the Date!

On Saturday, September 9 from 1-5pm Eastern Time, we’re throwing the first-ever Knit Stars Season 8 Screening Party!

The event will be online and free – so everyone around the world can attend. Plan to join us to get sneak peeks of our upcoming Season 8 workshops, lifestyle videos and behind-the-scenes footage. It will be broadcast from a state-of-the-art studio in Charleston, South Carolina. Virtual Registration to come.

If you’d like to be right there in the middle of the action, there will also be an in-person experience option for 22 V.I.Y.’s (Very Impassioned Yarnies). If that sounds like you, head over here and check out the full experience.

Either way, be sure to mark your calendar right now for September 9th!

This just in…

Our newest bespoke yarn!

Introducing Loops Luxe Ether.

You know all those ethereal projects that are dominating the “Hot Right Now” list on Ravelry these days? This is THE yarn for those projects!

The blown tube of worsted super softness knits into a lightweight fabric that’s both cozy and lightweight. With its slight halo (without the mohair!), Ether is comfy for next-to-skin garments and accessories. And at 284 yards for just $15, it’s a super affordable alternative.

Check out these project ideas, shown left to right, top to bottom below:

Nola Slipover by Svetlana Volkova takes 3 (3, 4, 5)[5, 6, 6, 7] skeins of Loops Luxe Ether for finished bust sizes 31.5 (34, 38, 41)[45, 47, 51, 54]in / 80 (87, 97, 103)[113, 120, 130, 137]cm. Knit holding yarn double-stranded.

The Comfort Zone by Espace Tricot takes  6 (6, 8, 8) skeins of Ether for finished circumferences (51 (60, 70, 80) in / 129.5 (153, 178, 204) cm. Knit holding yarn double-stranded.

Eclair by Karin Fernandes takes 6 (6, 8, 8, 8, 10) skeins of Ether for finished bust circumferences 38 (41, 44, 46, 50, 52) in / 97 (103, 111, 116, 127, 132) cm, knit double stranded.

Big Sister by Hinterm Stein is knit with one strand of Loops Luxe Ether on size US 7 (4.5mm) needles with 5 (5, 5, 6)[6, 7, 7] skeins for finished bust sizes (overlapping by 2 in/5cm) 34 (35.5, 39, 43)[46, 49.5, 53] in / 85 (92, 98, 108)[115, 124, 133] cm.
photo from Half-Baked Harvest
 Sheet Pan Spicy Shrimp Tacos with Jalepeño Lime Crema

Hot Luke and I had some great lettuce wraps at a local sushi place, so we went on a hunt for a recipe we can make at home. This one from Half-Baked Harvest fit the bill! We just stuffed the goodies into iceberg lettuce leaves instead of taco shells. Don’t skip the mango salsa, it’s to die for!

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 pounds large shrimp, peeled and deveined
  • 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 1-2 tablespoons cajun seasoning
  • 1 tablespoon fresh thyme
  • kosher salt and black pepper
  • 3 tablespoons salted butter
  • 4 cloves garlic, chopped
  • warm tortillas, hard shells, shredded lettuce. and avocado, for serving

JALAPEÑO LIME CREMA

  • 6 ounces cream cheese, or 1/2 cup sour cream
  • 1/4 cup pickled jalapeños
  • 2 tablespoons lime juice
  • 1/4 cup chopped cilantro

CILANTRO LIME MANGO

  • 1/2 chopped mango 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
  • zest from 1 lime

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 450° F.
  2. On a baking sheet, toss the shrimp with olive oil, cajun seasoning, thyme, and a pinch each of salt and pepper. Arrange in a single layer. Roast 6-8 minutes or until the shrimp is cooked. During the last minute, pull the shrimp out, and add the butter and garlic. Switch the oven to broil and broil until lightly charred. Set the shrimp aside.
  3. To make the crema. Mix all ingredients in a bowl. Taste, adding more jalapeños as desired.
  4. To make the mango salsa. Toss everything in a bowl and add a pinch of sea salt.
  5. Spread/drizzle the cream onto the taco shells, I use hard. Stuff the lettuce, avocado, and shrimp into each shell. Top with additional cream and cilantro. Then I like to wrap my hard shell tacos with a warmed soft tortilla. Delicious!

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