Crazy for Ewe

Written by Ellen Lewis

Discussion 9 comments

Rainy days and Mondays

Dec 02, 2019

Written by Ellen Lewis

Every have one of those days? My yesterday was. Gray and rainy is my least favorite kind of weather, unless I can curl up on the sofa with a cup of tea and my knitting, but I couldn't because there were a million and three things to do. Plus my daughter, Elizabeth, was getting ready to go back to Seattle. While she'll be back at Christmas, the transition is still always hard. I wish I could tell you that when I feel this way, I give myself a spoonful of sugar, fly my magic umbrella to a Mary Poppins kind of place. But I'm not, and I don't. I just sort of trudge through and

Written by Ellen Lewis

Discussion 8 comments

Special vendors at Crazy for Ewe

Nov 25, 2019

Written by Ellen Lewis

I'm excited to be hosting two fantastic special vendors at Crazy for Ewe for Black Friday and Small Business Saturday. ArnicArt and Barbara Hance. Continue reading

Written by Ellen Lewis

Discussion 11 comments

Mode at Rowan--even better in real life

Nov 11, 2019

Written by Ellen Lewis

Sometimes you just don't know how a thing is going to be until you see it. When the Mode at Rowan book came out, I was all about this blue cardigan. Maybe it's just I am so entranced by the model, but honestly, I thought this was going to be the standout piece of the show. It wasn't. Looks great on her, as Continue reading

Written by Ellen Lewis

Discussion 17 comments

What makes you a real knitter?

Nov 04, 2019

Written by Ellen Lewis

As I was scrolling through social media this weekend, a sponsored link popped up from Masterclass. Most ads annoy me, but there is something very compelling about these online classes. Maybe it's the rockstar artist types they have doing them - I mean, legit famous people ‑ world renowned experts in their field ‑teaching subjects not in the catalog of the most prestigious universities. Annie Lebovitz, Itzhak Perlman and Wolfgang Puck speak with such candor‑as if they are a close friend, right in the room with you sharing their authentic experience, helping you to explore and learn. It is honestly mesmerizing. One particular promo featured the novelist Continue reading

Written by Ellen Lewis

Discussion 11 comments

Knitting and modern domesticity

Oct 28, 2019

Written by Ellen Lewis

I recently listened to a podcast in which Trish Malcolm interviewed Cecelia Campochiaro, author of Sequence Knitting. Trish Malcolm often begins her interviews by asking her guest how they got into knitting. Campochiaro said that it was not her mother, but the mother of a friend who taught her to knit. Apparently Campochiaro's mother had been forced to major in home economics in college and bore deep resentment against domestic arts.

I can totally see that. Even activities we genuinely enjoy lose all their charm

Written by Ellen Lewis

Discussion 1 comment

Get outside your comfort zone

Oct 21, 2019

Written by Ellen Lewis

My son, Colton, likes a girl at school. He'd like to ask her out for coffee or something but he is terrified.

"This is so hard," he moans.

"What's so hard?" I wonder, "Pick up the phone and call, I mean text and see if she'd like to get coffee." These are simple words, simple concepts.

Silence.

"Did you text her?"

"No."Gt

"Are you going to?"

"Maybe. I dunno. Probably not"

"Why not?"

"What if she says no?"

Aaah, the crux of the matter. It's not hard to ask, but the fear of failure is something else entirely‑especially when you're 17.

Not that it gets any easier at 27, or 57. I guess by the time we're 97 we would be over it, but who knows.

Written by Ellen Lewis

Discussion 1 comment

Where the learning happens

Oct 14, 2019

Written by Ellen Lewis

Lovely Ann stopped in today with Losing Lover on her needles. This is a beautiful cozy sweater in Trust from Wooladdicts. It's a gorgeous fuzzy chunky boucle that is perfectly named‑‑you just have to trust that your stitches are there because you sure as heck can't see them! Ann just wanted a double check on her length measurement and next step. While we measured, she confided that she would have been much further along but had ripped her sweater back twice because of a mistake. But she was particularly proud to have been able to not only rip it back, more

Written by Ellen Lewis

Filed under

Noro

All about the color

Oct 07, 2019

Written by Ellen Lewis

This month is all about Color. Between Socktoberfest with all the beautiful hand-dyed yarns and our annual Noro event, I am in color heaven. Color is a powerful force. It is what first attracts us, evoking an involuntary emotional response. We see the color and there is a sudden slight intake of breath. Our pulse quickens. Our eyes dilate, and our blood pressure rises a bit. It's like love - or lust anyway. The first words out of our mouth are "I love this color--what can I make with more Continue reading

Written by Ellen Lewis

Discussion 4 comments

The best yarn

Sep 30, 2019

Written by Ellen Lewis

We had a lovely customer at the table who needed a new circular needle. Ginni asked her whether she wanted Addi's, ChiaGoo Red Lace, or Lykke's. She said, "I don't know, which one is the cheapest?" As it happens, they're all within a few dollars of each other, and I was sad that her decision was going to come down to price. I said, "You know, each needle is slightly different, and you ought to decide based on the yarn, the project, and your personal preference. Why don't you try them all and see which works best for you?" So she did. I don't remember what she chose, but I was happy that she had made a conscious choice rather than opting for what might have been a sub-optimal selection based entirely on price.

The whole interaction reminded me of a beautiful scene from the novel A Gentleman in Moscow, in which The Count overhears a young man at the next more

Written by Ellen Lewis

Filed under

Yarn colored glasses

Discussion 2 comments

Knitting heroes

Sep 23, 2019

Written by Ellen Lewis

Author Joseph Campbell wrote extensively about the creation of legendary figures - the hero story. Heroes begin as relatively ordinary men and women who receive a call to action. Whether to fight a monster or simply prove themselves, heroes resist the call at first, but eventually accept, heading off to lands unknown, both figurative and literal. They meet a mentor who shares the skills and secrets the hero needs along the way. The journey is not without difficulties. They try and fail. They fall and get up. They lose faith. They begin again. In the end, the hero succeeds and returns a new and more Continue reading

Products

Posts & Pages

Crazy for Ewe

Rainy days and Mondays

Special vendors at Crazy for Ewe

Mode at Rowan--even better in real life

What makes you a real knitter?

Knitting and modern domesticity

Get outside your comfort zone

Where the learning happens

All about the color

The best yarn

Knitting heroes