April 07, 2020
April 06, 2020
Monday Funday
I had some time this weekend to photograph yarn, so you might have seen some of the Dream in Color Colossal Sock trickle into the Sale Section, and more will be added today. I also have some Life in the Long Grass and Regia to share, once I find a moment to post it all. Such great yarn to share this week and much more on the way. I'm doing my best to help our my dyers and companies that really need it right now. Thank you for doing your part too and ordering so we can continue to support everyone! We will continue to ship 6 days a week while social distancing.
Color- Awesome WOW
As of today, my sons are doing e-learning the remainder of the school year. From what it looks like right now, they have a morning video they watch from their teacher/s then Zoom meetings with their class/es sprinkles throughout the week, and then an app where they track their assignments and what's due and when. They also have a host of "optional" activities. I told them that nothing is optional unless cleared with me first. We will be taking part in the ideas for "gym class"- this week taking walks is the assignment for Henry, and Terry and the boys have already started Ping Pong/Work Out Clubs in the basement and they play basketball when the weather is nice) or art (drawing pictures for their elderly friends at a local retirement community they were visiting). They also have foreign language, music, drama and even chess. I don't play chess so thankfully Terry does. To say our lives are full at the moment would be an understatement.
James is 12, so it seems like much of what he's doing is self-directed. I can hear him right now on a Zoom meeting with one of his classes, I believe Math. I don't think he's going to need me to do everything with him, just to check his work and make sure it's all getting done. And to keep Henry quiet enough that James can effectively do online meetings and his school work. Our house isn't too big and is fairly open, so we can pretty much hear anything in any room, which might pose a problem as this goes on. But Henry on the the other hand needs me to direct him on everything, at least that's what I noticed from our first week of e-learning (before Spring Break) in mid-March.
It's hard to believe that this is the new normal. That my kids are basically going to be somewhat home schooled by me and Terry for the next two months and for the following three months they will be on summer break. That's a straight 6 months home with me, without their peers, teachers, and their community. But they seem to be adapting wonderfully. In fact, James and Henry are pretty much living their best lives. They get more morning snuggles, tons of their favorite home cooked food, and lots of attention. We aren't rushed after school to get to an activity or do make dinner and do homework and baths. Our evenings instead are spent outside walking/scootering the trails of our neighborhood if it's nice, or watching Disney+ if it's not. But I know there will soon be a time when they feel a sense of loss and want to do more than just wave at their neighborhood friends from across the street.
First day of school picture this year. Last day of school picture likely in pajamas.
Here I was, a full 1.5 years of having my kids in school and me having a more normal day-time work day and now I'm back to what I was for the 10 years when they were home with me. It's hard to wrap my head around it, how it's all going to work. The odd thing it's, I'm not stressed about it. It's not causing me much frustration or anything yet, as I'm pretty darn accustomed to working at home with kids, or balancing stay-at-home mothering with a very long work week. I've always made it work, but I got used to having time during the work day without distraction.
Who is also dealing with the same schedule struggle? Trying to accomplish things during the day work-wise while also caring for your family? Do you also have an "essential" spouse who must continue the same work time and are handling day duties yourself? Or is it the other way around?
*Just a reminder that I'm committed to blogging every day during this time (instead of the typical 2-3 times a week) to connect with others. Please do comment and share with me here if you like! You'll see the typical yarn updates and shop tidbits, but likely also a bit more family and personal stuff.
April 05, 2020
It's all about Green... let's make it a contest!
So far, I've done two other blog features on particular colors, yellow and brown, and I asked you what I should feature for March. I even set myself a phone reminder to do a green blog post in mid-March, and wouldn't you know I got distracted by a pandemic and completely missed doing green for March. So let's get to it!
I don't want to feature all greens, but instead I'm going to concentrate just on lime or citrus tinged greens. Mostly because I think that many of us automatically choose blue-tinged greens like emerald and teal and aqua, and I think that acidic greens could use some love, you know? The first one that comes to mind is Scorched Lime by Dream in Color. Veronica is a wizard with color. She also dyes more blue greens like Grow and Federal Bank if you prefer that.
Want a fade the features lime? What about Wonderland Yarn's Yellow-to-Lime in their 5-minis of Cheshire Cat? Or Botanica by Sweet Georgia in their Party of Five line.
Then there's Limelight and Lichen from Dragonfly Fibers. I have those on Djinni (with a bit of cashmere and nylon) or Dragon Sock (100% superwash merino). And I love Whale Line too, shown below.
Want a bit of speckle with your lime? How about Silence was Golden from Madelinetosh? Shown below on Tosh DK, I also have this for you on Pashmina, Tosh Sock, Twist Light and Tosh Merino Light. It's a stunner.
And if you prefer a tonal with no speckles what about Grasshopper or Maple Leaf, both shown on Tosh Sock but available on the other bases too.
Have you ever tried Flock Fibres? Her sock sets are super popular for the Coffee Talk Sock pattern, and maybe you'll like Kim's Pond Scum color available on Take a Hike sock, shown on Lone Pine Singles.
Spirulina from Manos del Uruguay is a definite fave. It's a super soft superwash merino and nylon blend and it comes a a really nice array of semi solids and variegated hues. Plus it's certified Fair Trade.
Vrinda Yarn is a newer line, introduced in 2019, and they have a cool Sour Grass
Add just a tad bit of glitz to your socks with a rare merino/cashmere/nylon sparkle blend. This Frog Prince color from Yarn Love is available in non-sparkle and non-cashmere as well. (Sparkle doesn't show very well in photos, but it's there in person.)
I hope I've shown you some yarns and colors that you might not have noticed before. Such a bold color can be used as an accent to colorwork sweaters, a stripe in a sock, some really cool toes and heels, or by itself in the perfect project. Perhaps give it a try for some Zigzagular Socks or these super cute Walnut Street socks.
Leave me a comment below which of these colors you like best and I'll randomly choose three people to win the Walnut Street sock pattern on Ravelry. You do have to have a Ravelry account for me to purchase/gift it to you. And you need to leave the comment by noon EST on Wednesday, April 8. And while you're on Ravelry, consider purchasing a pattern or two for yourself or gifting one to a friend. Someone gifted me one on my birthday once and it was an awesome surprise. And I'm betting some designers could really use some cash right about now.
The winners of last week's contest are Janell S and Martha. I've e-mailed both. Congrats and thank you for sharing!
*Just a reminder that I'm committed to blogging every day during this time (instead of the typical 2-3 times a week) to connect with others. Please do comment and share with me here if you like! You'll see the typical yarn updates and shop tidbits, but likely also a bit more family and personal stuff.
April 04, 2020
Coming soon
You know I love to give you a good deal. So not only are we getting more of the awesome Frugal Fingering from Stitch Together Studios hopefully by the end of the month, we also have some spectacular sales coming to us.
Frugal Fingering in Devil's Lettuce
You might have seen that I have a bit more of the 150g skeins of Dream in Color Colossal Sock in the Sale Section for you with the rest coming Monday.
What I haven't yet shared is the big batch of Madelinetosh's Work Sock that's coming our way this coming week. This yarn is a generous 400 yard/200g skein of sport-to-DK weight sock yarn and while it usually retails at $36, I will have it for you for $31 for a limited time.
Photo courtesy of Madelinetosh
While the yarn is labeled as Work Sock Sport, the yardage and weight indicate that it's a bit closer to a DK weight yarn. I think it's good to knit it up into a sock as if it's a sport weight, meaning you want to knit a nice and thick, dense fabric that holds up to wear. When I knit sport weight socks last year I did the leg in a US 2 and then the foot in a US 1.5. But for this I think I'd do a 2.5 for the leg and a 2 for the foot (I usually do a 1 or .5 for a fingering weight sock yarn). But this could definitely be used in patterns that call for DK weight as well. If you like Twist Light Sock, you'll like this too- it's the same superwash merino/nylon composition, but is four ply instead of three. It's smooth (but not too slick) and takes the color just beautifully. I'll have like 50 colors to start.... yeah yeah yeah, you know me. I can't start with like 12 colors. It's just not in my DNA.
If you look through Ravelry at all the projects, perhaps you can start to decide what you want to knit. I'll have sweater quantities, at least at first.
*Just a reminder that I'm committed to blogging every day during this time (instead of the typical 2-3 times a week) to connect with others. Please do comment and share with me here if you like! You'll see the typical yarn updates and shop tidbits, but likely also a bit more family and personal stuff.
April 03, 2020
My Staff Makes the Best Sweaters
It's true. Heather, Rachael and Lauren really do make the best sweaters. If you've been in the shop on one of our open days, it's likely you'll see them in their awesome hand knits. Yeah, it could be awhile before we are open to the public again, but til then I thought I would share some of their finery with you.
I've shared many of Rachael's sweaters with you over the years. They are stunners. Her most recent one is Hinterland by Jennifer Steinfass. She used two colors of Tosh Merino Light. I can't recall the exact colors at the moment, but since we have over 200 colors in stock right now, I'm betting you could find a couple that you really like. And if you aren't quite sure if they go together, you can always e-mail me at service@simplysockyarn.com to check first. I like the idea of doing TML for the main color and then TML+Glitter for the detail work. The slight amount of sparkle would be a really neat effect. I like Astrid Grey with Blusteau, Conference Call with Fathom, Winter Wheat with Rust Belt.
Lauren knit up her Breathing Space sweater in a couple colors of Poste Yarn Select Sock (colors we don't have any more), but if you looked through our Tosh Sock, I'm betting you'd find two colors you like together. Also look at Alegria Sock and Hedgehog Fibres Skinny Singles.
And for those of you who were looking for the perfect sweater pattern for some of the 150g skeins of Dream in Color Colossal Sock we had in the Sale Section (expect more colors starting tomorrow and throughout the summer), take a look at what you can make with two colors like Heather. Isn't her Elfmail amazing? We also have the Swift Yarn called for in the pattern too.
Since we won't be seeing anyone in person for awhile, I'll try and share what we've been making and wearing. Please do tell me what you've been knitting this week and leave me a link in the comments too to the pattern if you can so others can take a look.
*Just a reminder that I'm committed to blogging every day during this time (instead of the typical 2-3 times a week) to connect with others. Please do comment and share with me here if you like! You'll see the typical yarn updates and shop tidbits, but likely also a bit more family and personal stuff.
April 02, 2020
Week 3
We're nearing the end of week 3 of this odd journey. The kids have been out of school, work has been different, we haven't really left the house except for two grocery runs and walks in the neighborhood, and the change is becoming the new normal around here. My boys are extra snuggly lately and I've packed on a couple pounds of Snickerdoodle weight as I've replaced nightly gym or volleyball with movie viewings and Mario Kart battles. The kids are really enjoying musicals right now, like Annie and Aladdin.
As this situation develops, I hope everyone is ok. I hope none of you or your loved ones are sick. I hope you are all making it through as best you can. I've been thinking about a lot of things that I never considered much before. One of those things is that now that schools are starting to announce that they are closed until Fall, I'm wondering how school systems will adequately service kids of different needs. I can't imagine how difficult it is to have to develop effective distance learning programs for kids that already have a hard time learning in person. And to be a kid that already doesn't feel like he measures up and now has another thing to learn and handle? I hope that the fed and state governments really think about these kids and put money toward people and programs that will lessen the learning gap during this time. I don't want a band aid or something that is just done and measured. I want kids to feel better and not left behind. That should be the measure.
I will admit that because my life revolves around my kids even more now than ever, that most of the things I think about involve children. I love that my community's school districts have stepped up and are offering school breakfast and lunch for free for pick up (some even for delivery). And I think it's great that so many are using technology to keep in touch. But then I think about the kids who don't have a computer in their home or internet (and it's many more than you'd think) and I worry that they feel disconnected. I worry a lot about things I can't control. Mostly involving kids.
How are you all doing? How are you spending your time?
*Just a reminder that I'm committed to blogging every day during this time (instead of the typical 2-3 times a week) to connect with others. Please do comment and share with me here if you like! You'll see the typical yarn updates and shop tidbits, but likely also a bit more family and personal stuff.
April 01, 2020
March 31, 2020
New from Hedgehog Fibres
Not only do we have all the new Hedgehog Fibres colors in stock for you, but we also have some awesome limited edition sets for April! We have three new mini skein sets- Petunia Pop, Moody Monet and Sunset Highway. All can be found here.
Last month's two sock sets were gone in a day, and for April I have two new ones- the Dandy Daffodil sock set featuring the new Bijou color and a limited edition mini from Hedgehog Fibres and the Mythic Maze sock set with a full sized skein from LITLG and a coordinating mini from Hedgehog Fibres. Gosh, how I love them so.
What else is coming this week? We hope to see more of our Life in the Long Grass boxes trickle thought Customs, and we hope to see more Colossal Sock from Dream in Color at the end of the week.
Many of our dyers who had larger operations had to close up shop for now, and several mills around the world that I know of are shut down as well. Many larger companies are also closing this week, so we will continue getting yarn in from dyers that are operating out of their home studios or are able to social distance while working (much like we are) and stagger their time in the studio/warehouse. Several of the dyers and artisans I work with have more time to work on projects with us than they usually would, so we have some really cool things on the horizon for late spring/summer. As our 15th anniversary celebration approaches in May, we will continue to plan and take the whole celebration online. Usually we have a birthday party in person too, but that late-May shindig will have to be postponed. Sadly, we had to cancel the big weekend we were planning (but you didn't know b/c we didn't announce yet!), which included designer Casapinka coming to teach classes and help people in the shop pick stuff out for her awesome designs. I hadn't shared that yet with anyone, and I'm pretty bummed about it. But she and I will work together to plan something else that is party-worthy for all of you!
Thank you for the busy time you're giving us this week as we send you out the cute free totes we are offering. Your support in this time makes all the difference. And the kind notes you're putting on your orders help too!
March 30, 2020
Free Tote w/ purchase this week!
It's been a crazy few weeks, right? As we all adjust to our new temporary normal, I hope you're safe and well and staying put. I want to thank you for supporting SSYC during this trying time and allowing my team and I to be of service, so I created this simple tote that we are including in orders this week. Monday March 30 through Sunday, April 5 we will include one of these natural cotton totes in your package automatically before it leaves here. You don't need to add it to your cart or request it in any way. It will simply show up in your package along with your order that ships this week.
It's a nice project bag that easily holds 7 skeins, so really helpful for a sweater or smaller blanket. And the natural cotton fabric is thick enough that you can't see through it- there are seven skeins of vividly colored Vrinda Yarn inside the photographed bag, and you can't see through to them at all, right?
What might you like to order to get your tote? Maybe you've been waiting for us to get more Opal mini ball sets. Or perhaps you saw yesterday's blog post about all the Tosh (shown in Tosh DK above) and now you want to start an Odyssey Shawl of your own? Or did you see how I finally finished up many toes and liked something I you saw? I've just started this plain sock with coordinating cuff/toes/heels in the Isphan color from Six and Seven Fibers. It's a gift for a friend and I loooooove it. Plus knitting for others during this time makes me feel closer to them, even though I can't see them in person.
We have a stunning amount of Hedgehog Fibres from Ireland right now (Life in the Long Grass is tricking in through Customs from Ireland too this week) with all the Spring 2020 colors I blogged about here- I'm partial to Comeback and Insomnia. We have the DRK (Drea Renee Knits) colorway shown above too. I'll have a few spring mini sets and sock sets I'll list here soon too. With all the changes in how we do things I haven't had a chance to photo them!
If you want a super deal, check out the Sale Section to see what's new. We have even more of the Dream in Color 150g Colossal Sock colors coming at the end of the week to the Sale Section (unless they get held up in shipping delays- things are unpredictable right now), and Kayanna at Stitch Together sent us her Frugal Fingering skeins that are just $22 each.
Frugal Fingering in Wino Forever
If you want an addictive knit, Opal Yarn is always a fave, and West Yorkshire Spinners and Regia are really nice self patterning collections too. If you want to try a new-to-you hand dyer that is hard to find elsewhere, consider Swift Yarn, Undercover Otter, sKNITches or Walk Collection. As always, if you have questions about what to choose or want help with color combos, you can always e-mail me (Allison) at service@simplysockyarn.com .
Thank you for your continued orders and for sharing us with friends on social media where they can get yarn so we can all stay home and knit. It makes a big difference to us and our families and our dyers. Many dyers aren't able to send/produce during this time. Many can't even get yarn to dye. But we will continue to get what we can and continue to stay open, shipping basically one person at a time, until we are told otherwise by local government. My staff and are all happy to be able to come to work (even though it's a bit lonely sometimes alone in the early morn when I'm here, I'll admit) and get out of the house safely and be of service to others for as long as we are allowed. Since we are social distancing, you might get an e-mail returned at 6am or your shipping confirmation at 7pm, but we are making this work, spacing ourselves out, for as long as we need to. And we are grateful that we can.
If you have shopped with us for years and want to leave a message in the comment section of this post to others telling why you shop with us, that would be helpful. Perhaps there are new shoppers who haven't heard from us before and would like to know why others have supported us over the past 15 years. Honest reviews always help!
*Just a reminder that I'm committed to blogging every day during this time (instead of the typical 2-3 times a week) to connect with others. Please do comment and share with me here if you like! You'll see the typical yarn updates and shop tidbits, but likely also a bit more family and personal stuff.
March 29, 2020
Madelinetosh Yarn - Formerly Retired Colors & LOTS More
Last week I listed the huge amount of Tosh Merino Light and Tosh DK that we got in stock. I've been so busy making this whole running-a-business-during-a-pandemic going that I haven't had a chance to finish this loooooong blog post about all the amazing colors we got. So get comfy my knitters, because this post is going to be a lengthy dive into what we got from Madelinetosh and what you can knit with it. And it's totally worth it.
When Madelinetosh changed hands late in 2019, collectors were a bit frantic because we all had no idea of the new owner would keep the great things about Tosh. Which really is the price (which is 10% or more less than similar lines) the array of bases and the HUGE array of colors. It's pretty typical that we have 200+ in stock. What is changing is the price - it's going up for us starting next month (which means prices for you will soon change too) about 10% across the board. Another change? The colors. Tosh brought back oh-so-many formerly retired colors. And they are just as amazing as they were years ago because they also kept the great Texas dyeing crew and even brought back former staff to help them grow again in the right way. And it shows.
Here are just some of the formerly unavailable hues we got back in stock. All are shown on Tosh Merino Light, but also available on Tosh DK. I'll get them on Tosh Sock, Twist Light and other bases too.
Twig
Molly Ringwald
Composition Book Gray
Foxglove
Edison Bulb
Blue Nile
Georgia O'Keefe
Copper Penny
Margeaux
Seawash
Grenadine
Ruby Slippers
William Morris
Faded Parka
Cathedral
Mansfield Garden Party (YAY!)
Filigree (ALWAYS LOVE THIS ONE)
Mala
We have hundreds of colors in stock right now. It's a downright impressive array of color, really. Here's our Tosh rep Joan, posing in the front of the shop with the Tosh about a month ago.
Rachael was not-so-patiently waiting on this shipment of Toshto knit up an Odyssey shawl recently using Tosh DK as called for in the pattern. The pattern is a gift from Joji Locatelli to anyone who wants it. A thank you, really, for all the support the knitting community has offered her over the years. If you want to knit it, please do share with us in the thread we have set up in our Ravelry group to KAL together virtually. Just a way to connect with others and share what we're knitting during this time. Share anything you want!
Rachael knit her Odyssey in Tosh DK colors Kenobi (we are low on this, so if it's gone perhaps choose Astrid Grey), Celadon and Yucca. She knit the pattern exactly as written with no modifications. The photos show it unblocked, and I'll share some blocked after she has time to do that. I really wanted to share it as soon as it was off the needles.
Want some other color ideas? When I was at the shop early yesterday morning I couldn't help but put together some colors that I liked together for this shawl. I chose colors that worked well together, but aren't SO similar (fadey) that you won't see the color changes. I really like the three thick strips of color in the shawl and the big open lace feature that separates each color. I think that's something that you want to show up well, so my choices really work with that. All are in Tosh DK like the pattern calls for (one skein each). If you want something built around another color that you like, please do feel free to e-mail me at service@simplysockyarn.com. Let us be your personal shoppers!
All these are shown in Tosh DK. But they would also be great in a fingering weight yarn like Tosh Merino Light in a project like 3 Color Cashmere Cowl, 3 Color Cashmere Shawl, Drachenfels, or even the adored Color Affection.
3 Color Cashmere Shawl used with permission of Joji Locatelli
Please feel free to let me know how we can serve you best during this time. We continue to ship, basically one person at a time, six days a week. We are most definitely practicing social distancing and only shipping and receiving from our shop/warehouse with no serving customers in person during this time (not even simple pickups- only shipping). We are trying our best to stay healthy and not be points of contacts for anyone local. We will continue in this fashion until local government indicates we should do otherwise or until we get sick ourselves. We are a small staff of four, so we are doing our best to keep up with everything and greatly appreciate you shopping with us during this time. The kind notes on your order are wonderful, and your e-mails make us feel really appreciated.
Starting Monday (likely lasting a week) we are giving out this free bag with your online purchase. It will automatically be included with orders that are dated march 30 and up to a week after (there will be a large banner on the homepage showing when it is available and it will disappear when they are gone). So perhaps you want to fill your cart now with goodies you want and submit the order on the 30th or shortly after so you get this cute tote. For this photo, I fit 7 skeins of yarn inside, so it's definitely large enough to hold a sweater project or a smaller blanket. It's pictured with Opal minis, Malabrigo Sock in Lotus and the addictive Uneek Sock Kits.
March 28, 2020
All the toes
Last night was the start to our weekend. What should have been spent on a long road trip to Florida with the kids, instead was spent on the couch kitchenering up all the toes that have been holding my dpns hostage for the past few months. A different experience than what we planned for our family's Spring Break, but rewarding in a knitterly way.
So while we won't be basking in the sun of Florida and digging our feet into the sand, we will have warm feet. Even Terry, whose size 13 feet finally needed some hand knit socks from me (right Laura??).
The yarns shown above from top left are Vrinda Pada Sock in Sequoia, Opal Fairytale 9790, Qing Donegal Tweed Sock in Hippienista (with random colors for toes and heels from minis I had on hand from a past sock club we did), Urth Yarn Sock Kit color 57 (and I was able to knit a huge pair of Terry's socks from one kit), another of the same Opal Fairytale sock, and Less Traveled Yarn Sport in West Fork.
This is the celebratory drink Terry made me after I was done. It was 6:48pm when I started and 8:21 when I finished. So give or take a few pauses, that's not a bad way to spend an hour and a half.
As you can see above, Terry and I are already wearing our socks around the house. It's such a treat to have new, brightly colored socks right now!
How did you spend your Friday night? Any differently than you were planning before being stuck at home?
And lest you think these are all the unfinished projects I have in my home and that I've accomplished an amazing thing b/c I'm stuck at home. No. These are just the stocks that were sitting on top of my cabinet in my family room. I didn't even open up the cabinet to see what socks were in there that I could finish. And I still have projects packed in a box from our move four years ago. But it does feel darn great to have so many new things to wear, especially since I can't go to Target and buy cute things right now. I'm definitely not a monogamous knitter. And I don't feel at all bad about that! Knitting is my relaxation and my escape. It's my rule-free zone. If I want to knit it, I do. And If I don't finish it, I rarely feel bad. I've been known to give a half finished sweater to a friend when I decided I just wasn't into it.... which is probably why my friends are still trying to get me to knit sweaters. They know I'll give up half way through and gift them four skeins of Pashmina. HA!
*Just a reminder that I'm committed to blogging every day during this time (instead of the typical 2-3 times a week) to connect with others. Please do comment and share with me here if you like! You'll see the typical yarn updates and shop tidbits, but likely also a bit more family and personal stuff.
March 27, 2020
Good morning, how about a contest?
It's been a bit since we've had a blog contest, right? I love that many of our dyers are still able to send us our orders right now and that we still have new stuff to share. And perhaps you need something new to inspired you.... and we have that! Two weeks ago we received enough Madelinetosh that now we've NEVER had so much TML and Tosh DK (including formerly retired colors they dyed for us), then Kayanna made us a stunning batch of Frugal Fingering for just $22 a skein, and Rachel at Six and Seven sent us a batch and we even have more coming soon.
Want to win a $100 gift certificate to the shop to get something new? I'm giving away TWO $100 gift certificates to the shop! To enter, leave me a comment below- I don't even care what the comment is, I just want to connect with you! Perhaps tell me what a typical day is like for you or how you're faring having the kids home (possibly for the next 6 months), link a meal you've made that you really enjoy, how you're keeping active without a gym or sports, how long it's been since you've been to a grocery or had a delivery (8 days and counting for us) what knitting pattern you find totally addictive, what yarn you found with us that you now can't live without.... just leave me any comment at all before the month ends at midnight EST March 31. I'll choose two winners and post then here and notify via e-mail.
This is me and my fam- last summer, when it was warm and we could be out in public around people. After two weeks of sequestering ourselves, we are really looking forward being in that public park again. While you can't tell, we were surrounded by at least 80 other people getting their family photos taken too!
Thank you for your continued orders and for sharing us with friends on social media. It makes a big difference to us and our families and our dyers. Many dyers aren't able to send/produce during this time. Many can't even get yarn to dye. But we will continue to get what we can and continue to stay open, shipping basically one person at a time, until we are told otherwise or health concerns of our own force a closure. My staff and are all happy to be able to come to work (even though it's a bit lonely there sometimes alone in the early am when I'm there, I'll admit) and get out of the house safely and be of service to others for as long as we are allowed. Since we are social distancing, you might get an e-mail returned at 6am or your shipping confirmation at 7pm, but we are making this work, spacing ourselves out, for as long as we need to. And we are grateful that we can.
*Just a reminder that I'm committed to blogging every day during this time (instead of the typical 2-3 times a week) to connect with others. Please do comment and share with me here if you like! You'll see the typical yarn updates and shop tidbits, but likely also a bit more family and personal stuff.
March 26, 2020
Stitch Together Studios - Frugal Fingering
I have for you a stunning deal, my shut in friends! Kayanna at Stitch Together Studios has sourced this really soft 490 yard skein of fingering weight superwash merino, is dyeing it in just her tonals (and a couple of the not-seven step dye process variegated colors she does) and is able to sell them for much to us for much less than you'd normally see her yarn. For just $22 a skein, you can knit a gorgeous skein of Frugal Fingering!
Color is Knitting with a Chance of Wine on Frugal. I also have it on Swanky and Singles.
I'm unsure how long she will be offering this. I'm assuming as long as she can get the yarn at this price from the mill and as long as she has time to offer such a deal. But I'll take it! Because, dang, she dyes the most dynamic tonals.
Color is Double Click on Frugal Fingering. Also available on Stitch Smooth, Singles and Swanky.
If you want her more variegated hues, those are available on Stitch Smooth, Stitch Singles, and Stitch Swanky. Some of her colors require such a labor intensive layering process (say that four times quick!) to achieve that they aren't available on Frugal Fingering. But if you want expert coloration for a heck of a deal, get some now. I've already grabbed two skeins for myself but I haven't decided what I want to knit yet. I'm stuck right now on super easy patterns like Sockhead Cowl and plain socks. But I really think this yarn would excel in Stalagmite Socks, or the Hedera Socks. I knit these Hedera's like 14 years ago and it's a wonderful and free pattern to show off your tonal sock yarn.
Yarn on this sock is Fleece Artist Merino Sock in Ruby Red, and yes we still offer this color 14 years later! It's popular and awesome!
And now I want to cast on the Hedera again. DANG IT! Rabbit hole!
I hope this day finds you all well. Yesterday we all finally had a chance to enjoy the outside for more than a quick walk. It was more like four hours! It was nearly 60 degrees here in NE Indiana and it could be similar again today before the rain starts. On a day like this (if we weren't staying at home) we would usually take the kids to a park and get ice cream after. Instead we took a long walk, the kids built a little damn of rocks in a tiny creek close by, and then we got out the basketball hoop and played some ball. I'm learning to really enjoy this change and extra time with the kids (24 hours a day with them is quite a change). At first, they were adjusting too, but now after nearly two weeks of this we have settled into a new normal and it's less stressful and more joyful. It reminds me of having a baby- when you get used to a stage and then you think "I've got this! I can do this" and then the baby changes and, for example, has acid reflux and cries all the time and then you have to adjust. I know this won't stay the same and I'll just need to keep adjusting to how things are, but I'm a bit more confident that I can do it for months as needed.
How are you doing? Are you healthy? It's the start of allergy season for a lot of us, so the sniffles are for real right now. Pollen is not our friend here in NE Indiana. Next week everything will be covered in a dusty layer of green.
*Just a reminder that I'm committed to blogging every day during this time (instead of the typical 2-3 times a week) to connect with others. Please do comment and share with me here if you like! You'll see the typical yarn updates and shop tidbits, but likely also a bit more family and personal stuff.
March 25, 2020
Coming soon!
I wanted to give you a heads up that next week, if all goes as planned, we have a really cool free project bag we're offering with your online purchase.
My plan is to offer this starting on Monday, so if you were going to place an order soon, perhaps you want to wait until then to do so. Or perhaps you'd like to place it now just in case something happens and we have to close and you really really want some yarn before then. Right now, we qualify to stay open as we are healthy and practice social distancing (pretty extreme- usually just one of us on site at a time) and simply operate as a warehouse/fulfillment center. But you never know what's going to happen right? Uncertain times, that's for sure.
But I wanted to let you know that we're giving out these project bags just in case you wanted to plan for it. They are pretty great too- a nice natural cotton drawstring bag and a size that accommodates a sweater project.
We continue to fill orders placed online and we seem to be able to keep up pretty well, even though we are mostly there just one person at a time. We are still shipping six days a week, but we don't offer in store pickup anymore or anything at all from person to person (only from us to commercial couriers). We are strictly a shipping warehouse now until we are told we can do more again.
Thank you SO MUCH for your continued orders. If any crafter in your life/on Facebook/Ravelry wants to know where to get yarn right now because their LYS or craft shop isn't open, please send them our way. We would love to be able to service people right now and keep ourselves and our dyers busy and getting paid. We aren't looking to replace your LYS, if you have a place that you patronize locally. We simply want to be of service while we can be. We will close if we are unhealthy or if we no longer qualify to operate.
*Just a reminder that I'm committed to blogging every day during this time (instead of the typical 2-3 times a week) to connect with others. Please do comment and share with me here if you like! You'll see the typical yarn updates and shop tidbits, but likely also a bit more family and personal stuff.