Small things we’re thankful for
We thought that this week we would share some of the great things we’ve been seeing popping up online during these difficult times. We hope that, while our London and online shops are closed, you’ll be able to continue your creativity and find some wonderful things to occupy your time. Not limited to just craft but also cooking, cinema and theatre; some of our favourites are below!
Crafting
Winter Suns shawl knitalong
OlgaJazzy is doing a fab knitalong for her gorgeous Winter Suns shawl, that was originally published in Laine Magazine issue 9, and that is now available as a single pattern. Olga has all the details over in the Ravelry group for the KAL, but it looks like it will be fantastic!
She has said, “I have decided to have a soft date start for this KAL, April 1, or the week of April 1, you can join us here for this knitalong. Ravelry, Instagram, Facebook, ZOOM – we will find ways to connect and enjoy the process while enjoying each other’s virtual company!” We think this is set to be a great knitalong, and Winter Suns is a really great pattern for using up some of your stash too!
Hikaru Noguchi mending
The super talented Hikaru Noguchi (whose book we carry at Loop) is doing some great darning exercises with Instagram live videos over these weeks – she has lots of details over in her profile, but if you follow her Instagram @hikaru_noguchi_design you will get notifications when she starts her live videos!
All Well Workshop – simple embroidery
All Well Workshop, @allwellworkshop on Instagram, is a creative sewing studio run by Amy Bornman from her home in Pittsburgh, PA. Amy’s patterns are a firm favourite of one of our Loopettes, Brontë. Amy has some great IGTV videos if you’re interested in sewing, and has recently added one on simple embroidery stitches, and it is perfect for complete beginners!
Curious and Coe sewing
Autumn (Tif) Fussell of @curious.and.coe has done a lovely series on IGTV (Instagram Television, where you can post much longer videos!) on how to make a cloth bunny using materials you’ll have in your stash if you’re already a sewer. If you don’t have fabric, why not try using some fabrics from old clothes or bed linen? The videos are in short digestible chunks, perfect for keeping you busy! You can view them all on @curious.and.coe‘s IGTV channel here.
We also want to let you know that you should keep an eye on Kathryn Davey’s Instagram page @kathryn_davey, as she will be posting some natural dye videos soon!
Theatre and cinema
National Theatre at Home
The National Theatre have started streaming productions on Youtube on a Thursday night for free! The next one they are streaming will be an adaptation of Jane Eyre on 9th April at 7pm. Once the plays are shown they are available for 7 days afterwards. You can find all the details as well as upcoming productions over on the National Theatre’s website.
Curzon Home Cinema
Curzon is offering a streaming service for you to watch films that are ‘in cinemas’ at home. You don’t need a subscription, and they have a great selection of films for you to choose from. As well as brand new films, they also have curated picks and are also hosting live Q&A sessions!
Food and cooking
Honey & Co.
Honey & Co. is a small group of restaurants in London, serving amazing Middle Eastern food! They have sadly had to close their restaurants during the Covid-19 outbreak, and so have been offering free cookalongs on their Instagram, @honeyandco. So far they have cooked gnocchi with tomatoes & anchovies, tahini & preserved lemon cookies, pitta bread, and sabich, amongst other things! Everything they have cooked so far is in Highlights on their Instagram page.
Susan’s chicken soup
Lastly we wanted to share Susan’s own recipe for one of her favourite comfort foods, chicken soup. The method can be found here. It is quite loose, but uses few ingredients and is a great one to have on hand in times like these.
We also just want to say…
While we are in lockdown in London and our online shop is closed to protect our staff and their families, the Loopettes are continuing to be paid their full salaries.
One brilliant initiative to help LYS’s like ours during this extraordinary time is through the Brooklyn Tweed Apart Together initiative. If you buy direct from Brooklyn Tweed on their website you can pay what you like and nominate a LYS to receive the difference. We can’t thank Brooklyn Tweed enough, and thank you as well to all of our customers who take part in this.
With our ‘income stream’ frozen, anything like this helps us enormously to keep the people at Loop and the shop ticking over, ready for when we can open our doors again. Thank you from all of us xox
Chicken soup! The best.