Simply Socks Yarn Co. Blog

New Year Brings $.20 Postage Rate Increase

As you may already be aware, the USPS is increasing most rates and fees for domestic postage 5%.  How does this affect Simply Socks Yarn Company?  Well, if you are an American knitter who orders less than $50 worth of merchandise, then the flat rate for shipping will increase slightly in a week, from $3.85 to $4.05.  Since we only charge the lowest amount for Priority Mail shipping, and incur the extra cost if there is one, you will still only pay the lowest Priority Mail charge of $4.05- even our Hawaiian and Alaskan knitters.  And you will still pay no "handling" fee.  Because handling yarn isn't bad like handling smelly fish or wet dogs.  It's YARN.

How will this affect orders that qualify for free shipping over $50 to US addresses?  It won't.  SSYC will absorb the cost of the extra postage and leave the free shipping standard at $50.  Because 50 is a nice round number and if you look at it right, it spells out the first two letters of SOCK.

So what's the reason for the USPS rate increase this time 'round?  According to the USPS website, "This price increase – the first since 2002 – is needed to fulfill a federal law passed in 2003 that requires the Postal Service to place $3.1 billion in an escrow account by October 1, 2006. Without this federal mandate, it would not have been necessary to raise prices in 2006."  So there you go.  Go our and buy your new $.39 stamps, people.  And they don't even have any cool ones yet.

End o' the Year Brings New Yarn

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday and got in lots of relaxation time.  My Christmas was fabulous.  This year, we made the trip to Springboro, PA, where Joe's family lives.  We didn't make it up there last Christmas b/c, frankly, driving in a tiny (non 4-wheel drive) Jetta along Lake Erie in horrible weather for 6 hours is not the way I like to spend Christmas, so it was our first real Christmas in our home as a married couple.  How's THAT for a run on sentence??  We even put up a tree.  But that was LAST year.  This year, the weather was great and we drove up there on Christmas Eve and came back on the 27th, so we had plenty of time to hang out with Joe's parents, sister, and her new husband (and their new dog, who ALMOST made Joe want to get a dog.  ALMOST.)  My side of the family isn't celebrating Christmas until mid- January, when everyone can take time and get flights to Fort Wayne.

And wouldn't you know, all the drive time, living room-sitting time, and Harry Potter-watching time made for PLENTY of knitting time.  I finished one Amethyst Jaywalker sock, and started a new pair, in the one of the NEW Fleece Artist merino colorways we received.  It's Autumn.  It reminds me of a sugar maple tree in the fall.  Very gorgeous.

So, yes, we received our latest shipment from Nova Scotia of tasty Fleece Artist yarn, which includes 4 new colors: Autumn, Rose Garden, Melon, and Renaissance.  And if you are one of the many Fleece Artist devotees, you will notice a new texture on this latest batch of colors- the spin is slightly tighter.  FA switched spinners last year- you may have noticed that their fingering weight yarn from the past 6 months is, what they call, more "puffed" than it has been in the past.  Accoring to Kathryn (Lady Fleece Artist), that's from extra conditioning.  So the newest batch is similar to what it was a year ago.  You may not even notice much of a difference.  For example, on the more "puffed" merino, I used US 1.5 needles, on this batch (and the older one) I use US #1 needles.  Which made the Amethyst color socks knit up a bit quicker than the Autumn ones, b/c the Autumn is from the newest shipment.

Shown below, Fleece Artist's merino sock yarn in Autumn, Melon, Renaissance, and Rose Garden.  As usual, the sock yarn comes with a free pattern.

Under Construction

Update:

Simply Socks Yarn Company is back online and fully functional. The sidebar (listing the products) of the website might look odd for a few more hours while we make changes. Thanks for your patience! 

Earlier:

Hey all, the Simply Socks Yarn Company website is currently undergoing some updates, so many features of the store are unavailable, causing error messages to come up for many links.  We hope to have all finished shortly.  Til then, please bear with us and visit again later today.

Thanks for your understanding!

New Fleece Artist Merino and MORE!

New Years is bringing several new Fleece Artist colorways to Simply Socks Yarn Company!  We are expecting our latest shipment to arrive, supplementing the colors we already have PLUS adding a few more surprises.

Also coming: Opal's very popular Tiger yarn from the Rainforest Collection!  Simply Socks Yarn Company has received many e-mails from sock knitters about this yarn, and I'm told that the US Opal distributor will have it again very soon.  We have pre-ordered an insane amount of this yarn, as well as the Fish and Parrot, which we are out of as well.

Opal also has a new collection of self-patterning yarns coming out called Dreamcatcher.  This, too, will arrive shortly and looks very fun. Here's a little sample of that collection.

So if you're looking for new yarn for the new year, you'll find lots of new options in early January.  When the yarn makes its way to SSYC, I will again post here!

New Cherry Tree Hill Sock Yarn

Simply Socks yarn Company recently received a shipment of new Supersock and Super Glitz colorways, Monet and Green Mountain Madness.  Monet is Cherry Tree Hill's newest colorway.  At left are Monet and Green Mountain Madness, shown in Supersock Merino.

I am almost finished with Joe's red and black socks, so I have decided to start a new project: the Jaywalker Socks from this fall's MAGknits.  I really like the pattern- it's very easy, but creates a more complicated look, especially with variegated or handpainted sock yarn.  I'm doing mine (on US #1.5) in Fleece Artist's Merino yarn, in the handpainted Amethyst colorway.  Here's what I've got so far:

I'd like to see other pics of socks that you all may have done.  Or if you are planning on doing one, I'd like to know what other yarns you think would be interesting.  I'm considering doing another pair in the pattern after I'm done with this one.  I like it that much.

I *heart* my Sock Pal

Just when I thought it was going to be a dreary day of accounting and bill paying, who comes to the door, but our little mailman.  And on a Sunday.  With this: 

So Joe gets the door and yells up the stairs to me, "Hey, do you know someone named Leah?"

I respond, "It must be from my sock pal!!!"

Joe snarks, "It's a big box- your feet aren't THAT big."  Thanks very much, love-of-my-life.

So Joe watches while I open a box full of all sort of goodies: New Years confetti, chocolate/hazelnut creme wafers (you might notice those are already OPEN in the pic above), gardenia-scented lotion, an ornament, a fun notepad, and beautiful socks.  Socks that fit perfectly.  Wool socks in wonderful blue painted merino wool.  Take a looksie:

Thank you so much Leah!  This is the first sock exchange I have taken part in and I will definitely be doing more.  And thanks, too, to Ariene at http://wicked_stitches.typepad.com/  for hosting the Holiday Sock Exchange!

Cherry Tree Hill Supersock Merino

Simply Socks Yarn Company just received another shipment from Cherry Tree Hill Yarns, which replenishes several of the handpainted Supersock colorways we were out of.  Those include Peacock (our best-seller in the CTH colors which is pictured at left), River Run, and Fall Folliage.

I made my holiday exchange socks for my secret pal out of the Peacock and I received an e-mail that they fit well!  I'm very glad, as it was sort of scary making socks for someone who I have never met (really whose feet I hadn't seen!).  Now that I got the socks done, I can reveal that the person who I knit them for is Abigail- you can meet her at her new blog at http://www.1870pearl.typepad.com/.  She's working on some nice socks herself!

Opal Petticoat Sock Yarn

Simply Socks Yarn Company's shipment of Opal Petticoat sock yarn has arrived!  This very popular yarn is hard to get and keep in stock, so do not be surprised it you only see it up on the website for a short while.  We ordered quite a lot of this yarn, so hopefully those of you that have been waiting for it can get your little hands on it. I have heard from the US Opal distributor that more may be available in a few months when an entire line of Petticoat in several colors becomes available in the US.

Also just in is more Opal 6-Ply (Dk weight) yarn.  Several of the colors sold out recently and we again have them all back in stock.  7 colors in all.

I shipped out my Holiday Socks to my secret pal a few days back and they should be arriving shortly.  I hope to hear that they fit well...  This is my first sock exchange and I plan on doing more in the future.  If anyone has pics of their sock exchange socks, leave me a comment with your blog so I can take a look!

Joe's New Socks

Seems Joe, my husband, is the person who most requests sock from me now.  He must get the misguided impression that I'm looking for people to knit for, b/c everytime he sits down with me when I'm knitting, he asks for more socks.  Which is great, b/c I know that he really appreciates my obsession.  It's not so great b/c a) he only likes simple sock in manly colors, which can grow tiresome after awhile, and b) until he gets his socks, he won't shut up.

So last week before vacation, Joe went through the racks of Lang Jawoll yarn to search for the yarn he wanted.  Joe likes the Jawoll b/c the solids and variegated colors have lots of "manly" choices.  Last time, he chose the charcoal and light gray variegated; this time, red and black.  But what was great about his choice this time is his request in pattern.  That's right.  HIS request.  Joe asked "Would it be possible for me to have a black and red sock?  I want the sock to be black, but with a red stripe at the top.  And longer than the last pair."  What?  Joe wants something with a little flava'?  My response, "Do you want a red heel and toe too?"  Joe, "Yeah, yeah, I want that!"  Seriously.  I think many of you will understand how this brief conversation with my husband pleases me, because how many times do we hope that our partners show interest in something we do, even when we know that it bores them and they really don't care about the details.  In this case, Joe cared about the details.  The details of sock knitting.

So do your partners jump for joy with you when you find that perfect yarn, or complete a new pattern?  Do they appreciate the double-digit hours that go into their socks?  While I know that Joe doesn't fully appreciate the knitting as I do, and really never will (as I won't ever appreciate Grand Theft Auto), it's nice to know that he does appreciate that it's a part of me.

Rest, Relaxation, and Knitting

Well, the store is back open and goin' again at full speed!  After 6 months of being open, I closed up shop for a week so that Joe and I could take a bit of a break. Well, it was a vacation for me and a working vacation for Joe.  Joe had a conference in St. Pete's, Florida and I went along for a little R&R.  I'm the type that I have to force myself to take a vacation.  Joe and I haven't been on one since our honeymoon three years ago- and even then, we took it 8 months after our wedding (we work alot). Is that really even a honeymoon?

This vacation wasn't really too planned out- all I knew was that I wanted to sit on the beach or by the pool with my knitting in hand and a fruity drink sitting next to me.  And while I got lots of that, I also got a lot more!  What was that "lot more?"  That was Cirque du Soliel, baby.  Seriously.  I'm a dork for Cirque du Soliel.  And let's just say that Fort Wayne, Indiana is not the type of place that Cirque du Soliel would visit on its short tour.  So when I got off the plane and saw a huge banner announcing the Varekai show in St. Pete's throughout December, I about fainted.  And somehow, through extreme luck, Joe and I were able to get two of the last available tickets for the December 2 show.  All I really have to say is WOW.  If you're not familiar with Cirque du Soliel, check out their website, where you can even view clips of the shows.  Oh, and to top it all off, the performers were staying at the Sirata, where we stayed, so I got to see the performers out around the hotel and AT THE POOL.  Seriously. **Unfortunately, I didn't take the digital camera with me, so pictures will have to wait to be developed!**

After I calmed down from my self-induced Cirque mania, I did lots of knitting (some red and black striped socks for Joe that I will post later), reading of Memoirs of a Geisha, and eating.  Oh, the eating.  And we visited the Florida Oranges Groves Winery (twice. *ahem.*), and brought back 4 bottles.  The Cracker Hammock tangerine champagne is fabulous! And now they can ship to Indiana (before they couldn't) so we can enjoy their unique wine anytime.

All in all, it was a great week.  Lots of relaxation and surprises.  Then we got to come back to Fort Fun, where the temperature was -3.  Yeah.