Crazy for Ewe

Written by Ellen Lewis

Discussion 8 comments

5 keys to happiness

Mar 24, 2020

Written by Ellen Lewis

Such a strange and unprecedented time we are experiencing. So much is unknown, and what we think we know changes daily. As I’m sure you have heard, Governor Hogan has closed non-essential Maryland businesses. You and I probably consider yarn stores essential businesses, but sadly, the Governor does not, so Crazy for Ewe was officially closed to customers yesterday evening. While it’s frustrating more

Written by Ellen Lewis

Discussion 10 comments

Knitter's Quarantine Survival Guide

Mar 17, 2020

Written by Ellen Lewis

As I said in yesterday’s newsletter, the specter of COVID-19 is upon us, and it is like nothing any of us have ever seen. Frightened and unsure, we are worried for ourselves, our family, and our friends. We are already practicing social distancing, and most of us had already self-quarantined to some extent, but. yesterday’s message from Maryland Governor Hogan closing restaurants, bars, and gyms, and limiting religious and social gatherings to under 50 people, reminded us that, as he said, “We are not fooling around”. It’s kind of scary, but it’s the right thing to do for ourselves and our fellow humans. Kind of scary, I know, but we knitters have an advantage. more Continue reading

Written by Ellen Lewis

Discussion 4 comments

Handling COVID-19 at Crazy for Ewe

Mar 16, 2020

Written by Ellen Lewis

The COVID-19 is changing the landscape for all of us. Here at Crazy for Ewe, we are taking precautions to ensure that our space is clean and safe, being vigilant about washing hands, avoiding physical contact, and keeping a safe social distance. I took this selfie Sunday as Ginni and I spent the day together wiping and disinfecting tables, doors, handles, chairs, literally, every hard surface in the shop.

As a small business, we are struggling to balance everyone’s health and safety, with our desire to serve and support our customers. To that end, we are remaining more

Written by Ellen Lewis

Filed under

Yarn colored glasses

Discussion 19 comments

Our friend Ann

Mar 09, 2020

Written by Ellen Lewis

We lost a dear friend at Crazy for Ewe last week. Sweet Ann Hoover passed away Wednesday morning. For about as long as I can remember, Ann has been part of the shop. Looking over years of pictures, I tried to remember exactly when I first met Ann, but I could not. I cannot remember any particular day or event heralding her arrival at the shop. She didn’t announcer herself. She wouldn’t have. It wasn’t her way. Ann was an unassuming woman, comfortable with more Continue reading

Written by Ellen Lewis

Yarn Substitutions

Mar 02, 2020

Written by Ellen Lewis

As I was scrolling through Instagram today, I ran across a posting by floral designer, Jill Rizzo, whose The Flower Recipe Book I purchased several years ago:. I was going through a phase in which I wanted to learn the art of floral arranging. The recipes list exactly the flowers and materials needed to recreate the design shown.

The problem is that Rizzo lives in San Francisco where an abundance of beautiful fresh flowers and exotic materials wait just a block or two away.

Written by Ellen Lewis

Filed under

Yarn colored glasses

Discussion 1 comment

The last 20% is the hardest

Feb 10, 2020

Written by Ellen Lewis

I just love the latest wellness challenge in this Whole Life thing I'm doing: Leave no trace. I think of that as what you do when you're camping, you know, put out your fire, clean up the area, and take your trash with you. But this is a more mundane practice--clean up after yourself. I thought, hey, this will be easy. I always clean up after myself. But as I read, I began to see what they meant by leave no trace. Sure, I clean up after myself, I always do the dishes. See them there on the counter drying? That. Right there is the problem. Continue reading

Written by Ellen Lewis

Filed under

Yarn colored glasses

Discussion 6 comments

Perfection is the enemy of good

Feb 03, 2020

Written by Ellen Lewis

We've been talking a lot about perfectionism in the shop lately. From beginning knitters who are frustrated with the irregularities in their practice swatch, to very experienced knitters so critical of their work that even the tiniest of errors can send their project to the frog pond (rip-it, rip-it, rip-it)

There's a huge gulf between perfectionism and healthy striving. Healthy

Written by Ellen Lewis

Filed under

Yarn colored glasses

Discussion 2 comments

The basics are not always basic

Jan 27, 2020

Written by Ellen Lewis

he other day Andrea brought me a bag of fresh turnips. I have never cooked turnips, so I consulted with my pal, Google, and went to the recommended a recipe site. Above the recipes was a series of links to helpful videos, one of which was "How to salt water for boiling..." Okay. I remember learning that from my mother when I was fairly young. She always said that the water you cook things in should taste good and told me the only way to really tell was to taste it myself. A subjective approach, but quite effective, and I still use that method for anything that gets cooked in water. Certainly you could measure it out-- so many teaspoons per so much water or whatever, and I wondered which approach this video would take. Continue reading

Written by Ellen Lewis

Filed under

books, Yarn colored glasses

Discussion 2 comments

Creativity is just play

Jan 20, 2020

Written by Ellen Lewis

I just finished reading The Starless Sea, by Erin Morgenstern. It was a little crazy, and a little confusing, but rich and full with lush romantic imagery. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Some stories began and ended. Others cropped up out of nowhere. Characters and themes moved between the stories, all tied together with bees and crowns and keys and owls. As I said, a little confusing, so I creeped on the author and came across a review of the book by someone from Harvard. Certainly, they know their stuff at Harvard, right? What did he think? Well... he hated it. No plot line, no character development, no dramatic tension, and so on. He cited an offending piece of prose, appalled that editors had not Continue reading

Written by Ellen Lewis

Filed under

Yarn colored glasses

Discussion 4 comments

Just 10 minutes

Jan 14, 2020

Written by Ellen Lewis

You have probably heard of The Whole Life Challenge. I may be only person on the planet who had not heard of this 6-week program that addresses nutrition, exercise, reflection and so on. My son's company is big into fitness and well -being, and Rick, one of the owners, invited everyone in the company to participate at company expense. Johnny continue Continue reading

Products

Posts & Pages

Crazy for Ewe

5 keys to happiness

Knitter's Quarantine Survival Guide

Handling COVID-19 at Crazy for Ewe

Our friend Ann

Yarn Substitutions

The last 20% is the hardest

Perfection is the enemy of good

The basics are not always basic

Creativity is just play

Just 10 minutes