Simply Socks Yarn Co. Blog

Opal Rainforest 2

So the newest Opal collection is about to arrive- Opal Rainforest 2.  This collection includes 7 new self-patterning sock yarns with rainforest animal themes, and the original Tiger yarn as well.

We've been waiting on this collection for months- it was delayed in getting to the US for several months, and I'm told that we could receive our shipment in about a week.  Like the first Rainforest Collection, some of the colors could sell out very quickly, so if this is something that you have been waiting for, check back here early next week for a new update.

On the knitting front, my Embossed Leaves socks are doing quite well, though since I haven't had much time for knitting (*gasp*) it's been slow going since my last blog entry.  I'm just now turning the heel.  I'm still loving how the Cherry Tree Hill supersock solid color Teal Green is knitting up.  Obviously some of you are really loving it too b/c we just received a second order from CTH this week to replenish what we ran out of.  We also received some new CTH sock and shawl patterns that I'll post about when they are up on the website.

Socks for me

Once I finished this Opal Feelings (color 1706) pair of socks, I just had to cast on a new pair immediately.  With all the new yarn that has arrived at SSYC this month, I couldn't watch it all go out the door without having a little taste for myself, could I?  No, that would be silly.  So I cast on these lovelies.  Even though I now have my Blooming Feet (a small exchange hosted by Amanda) sock exchange name, I'm still knitting for myself.  And it feels good.  The pair I just started used Cherry Tree Hill's supersock solid color Teal Green and the Embossed Leaves pattern from Interweave Knits Winter 2005.  If you are interested in getting a back issue of this pattern, here's the link, though it's not free, like most of the patterns I link.  If you are new to lacy socks, it's a great one to start with.  Right now that pattern and Hedera are my faves.

I love how this yarn is knitting up.  The fiber is consistently spun and dyed and nicely saturated with color.  It's definitely not a "nearly solid" as you find with many "solid" hand dyed sock yarns- the color is saturated evenly throughout.  It makes my stitches look quite neat and even.  Which is surprising since the first time I knit this pattern I lamented over how uneven my yo's and everything looked.  I even tore it out.  But there's no tearing out happening here.  Okay, actually I did have to tear out right after finished my cuff because somehow I cast on 60 stitches instead of 64 and apparently I didn't think counting at the beginning was important.  But now all is right in the world, and the way this sock is turning out is making me very happy.  Once it's washed for the first time, and blocked, the lace-leaf detail will stand out tons more than it does now.

My grandparents are celebrating their 65th anniversary this weekend!  My Grandma Eloise and Grandpa Jess got married right after he finished his time in WWII.  Though getting information out of them is like getting Koigu out of the hands of knitting babes, I do know quite a bit of their "story" because I ask all the time.  Each time I ask, I get a bit more info- the short of it is this:  They met while they both worked in the same factory here in Fort Wayne; my grandma worked at as an assistant at a desk, and my grandpa worked in the factory.  One day, he got his work buddies to walk through the office, and sing some song about a beautiful lady to my grandmother.  After that, they started dating, got married, and my grandpa joined the Navy.  She worked in my Great Aunt Evelyn's grocery store in Grabill, Indiana, which was flexible and allowed her to take trains out to California and Washington to see my grandpa when he got off his ship for leave.  Then Mom was born, the war was over, and the family has lived here ever since.

SSYC Winter 2007 Newsletter

Simply Socks interviewed Clara Parkes, creator of Knitter's Review, for our Winter newsletter, and she gave us so many great answers that we couldn't fit them all into the newsletter.  Please enjoy the rest of the story here, and if you haven't checked out out newsletter, please do at the link below!  Clara's interview should not be missed.  Also check out Knitters Review and Clara's personal web journal and read up on the amazing work of Clara and other knitters worldwide.

Download Vol3Issue1.pdf

Clara, what have you knitted that you are proudest of?
That's a tough call.  I guess I'm still pretty proud of an Icelandic sweater I made for my niece many years ago.  She wore it for years, and then her little sister wore it for years, and you could trace its path through endless family photos.  In a way it became emblematic of their knitting auntie- so I'm proud of that one.

What was your biggest knitting goof?
Ah, I still remember it well.  I was knitting a cute little bear-styled Debbie Bliss onesie with feet, mittens, and even a hood with little bear ears on it.  The pattern had row by row instructions and not much of a schematic so I just blindly followed the instructions, checking off each row as I went, and trusted that it'd come out OK.  It took forever, the baby was born, the pressure was on, and I finally finished... only to discover that I'd somehow knit the feet backwards.  Put it on a baby and you'd have a knitterly equivalent of a straight jacket.  After some panic and a few tears, I got out the scissors and learned then and there how to snip yarn, unravel the stitches mid-work, and regraft them.  The baby probably wore it twice, but those feet did look good.

Aside from the barest basics, what technique(s) should every knitter have in their repertoire?
The ability to unravel a stitch down several rows and re-knit it up the right way, fixing whatever flub you had baffled.  If you know how to do that, mistakes don't seem nearly as daunting or tragic.  Quite often people will frog an entire project when, really, all they need to do is a little spot fixing.

You're a spinner, too.  Which wheel is your favorite?
My favorite wheel would have to be Norma, my Norm Hall wheel.  She generates and incredible amount of spin effortlessly, and the workmanship is exquisite.

Favorite fiber?
Probably Shetland lamb.  It's so soft and delicate, yet it spins easily and looks so inviting on the bobbin- especially when spun laceweight.

Each week you conduct a survey for Knitter's Review.  Have survey results ever surprised you?
Recently they did.  It was in the Farm Yarns issue, and I asked people if they'd ever bought yarn from a sheep farm.  An astonishing percentage- over 40%- voted, "No, but only because I've never seen any for sale."  Clearly I'm not doing my job!

The forum discussion occasionally become quite heated.  These arguments usually take place in the off-topic areas, but occasionally they'll spring up in the knitting threads, as well.  What's your technique for keeping discussion civil?  Do you wonder what gets into people sometimes?
Indeed I do.  The forums are a space I'm providing for knitters, and I work hard to keep it safe, welcoming, and supportive.  So when people suddenly abandon the rules and behave like six-year-olds, I feel as if my guests have trashed my house.  A certain degree of trust is broken
The sad thing is the 99.9% of the time people are marvelous- generous with their feedback and ideas, honest in their discourse, respectful, compelling... but that .1% can be pretty astonishing.  I try to stay out of personal disputes and only focus on whether or not something is in violation of forum policy.  Even if I agree with the person who's broken the rules, I still have to step in.

Your cat is beautiful- is Casey a Maine Coon?
That would be so appropriate... I believe he's either a Maine Coon or a Norwegian Forest Cat, which is a predecessor of the Maine Coon.  He came from a shelter many years ago and I adore him.

What's the best thing about living in Maine?
Being surrounded by such intense, dramatic natural beauty.  It's stunning here.  After years of living in cities, I love being able to walk out the door and immediately be in nature.  There's no need to get in a car or catch a bus to a crowded park, it's all right there, just outside my door.  It helps me to stay grounded and connected to the bigger picture.  When I'm stressing about a deadline, I can watch a flock of wild turkeys make their way through my field- and soon enough everything's back in perspective again.

FYI - Panda Cotton Back in Stock

Wow, that Crystal Palace Panda Cotton sold quickly!  But we have all the available colors back in stock now- 14 colors in all.  We are expecting the solids some time in the next month, as well as a few more variegated colors that Crystal Palace doesn't yet have available.

My Secret Pal Rocks!

Martha is a doll.  She sent the greatest package for me, which definitely made up for my original Secret Pal 9 pal, who didn't really participate. Several of the items came from her recent trip to Amsterdam, and if you want to live vicariously through her for a few minutes, read her blog.  As you might see in the picture, I received a wonderful package which included so many items that really reflect my taste and life right now.  I'm sure you can see the book Victorian Lace Today sitting proudly in the picture.  I've been telling myself for months now that I should start doing a bit of lace, and for the past couple weeks I've read so many bloggers raving about this book.  The layout is gorgeous.

Martha sent some socks for the baby (cashmere!), lovely Rowan yarn in colors I love, Rosemary/Lemon scented lotion, a notepad, CHOCOLATES from Amsterdam, a Van Gogh Sunflowers key chain, pen bookmarkers and a hand knit cabled pouch.  Click on the pic to get a bit o a close up of that.  It's beautiful!  I feel really lucky to have someone really save the exchange at the end and put so much time and thought into gifting me a wonderful package.  If it weren't for Exchange Angels like Martha, people could really feel left out in the large knit exchanges.

Now on to some yarn.  SSYC received more Cherry Tree Hill (in addition to all the solids we received last week), which brings back several of the hand painted/variegated colorways we were out of: Java, Green Mountain Madness, Life's a Beach, Cabin Fever, Moody Blues and River Run (shown here).

While this newest shipment is certainly tempting, I'm still planning on my next pair of socks to be a lacy-ish pair out of Cherry Tree Hill Supersock Solid yarn.  During all the football last night, I finished my Opal Feelings socks (pics coming), so it's now time for me to actually decide on a new project.  The problem is that I'm surrounded by all the new solid colors... and the deciding?  Not. So. Easy.

Mine, all mine...

I've almost finished my pair of Opal Feelings socks, color 1706.  And they are MINE (and they look SO NICE peeking out under jeans).  The first pair of the year is for me, and I hope to continue this throughout the year.  I will be doing a few exchanges, knitting some for the baby, and knitting for a few gifts, but I do hope to make the majority of my projects with myself in mind.  I think that's why I got this pair done so quickly (2 weeks is quick for me), because I chose something that I really liked for myself-which is odd b/c I rarely choose self-patterning/striping yarn for myself.  Seeing the stripes progress was a lot like seeing lace progress in a lacy sock pattern.  Very satisfying.  Oh, and SSYC received more of this yarn, so all the colors are back in stock and should be for a little while.

I'm thinking that my next project will be a pair of somewhat lacy socks using Cherry Tree Hill's Supersock Solids.  I really like these, but I think it's going to be hard to choose between all of the colors.  At first I thought of doing Monkey from this season's Knitty, but I think I want something a lacier.  I might do Hedera again or perhaps the Embossed Leaves socks from last Winter's (I think) Interweave Knits.  Notice a bit of indecisiveness here?  Yeah, it's rampant in my life right now.  Especially where yarn and food are involved.

It's about time now for Earl and The Office to come on.  Anyone else addicted to these shows?  I didn't watch Earl much before, but this season I started watching and I'm glad I did.  But nothing compares to The Office.  That's a show I actually put down the knitting for!  The whole angst-y Jim and Pam thing keeps me on the edge.  But if you've watched the BBC version, you know how it's going to end up.  Still, I'm hooked.

Cherry Tree Hill Supersock Solids

Guess what's just arrived at Simply Socks Yarn Company- all the Cherry Tree Hill Supersock Solid colors, 20 in all!  These gorgeous, hand dyed colors are nicely saturated with color, and while I am considering them particularly for some lace patterns, they would be lovely for simple ribs as well.  I won't be putting a link to these new colors one the website until later today, so blog readers are the only ones to get to these for now.

Below are three of my favorite colors, Nantucket Red, Loden, and Cherry:

Hope you all had a nice, relaxing weekend.  While there's lot of new stuff going on in the store, what with all the yarn that's arrived in the past couple weeks and a new newsletter coming out soon, nothing eventful is going on with me and Joe.  Which is, really, a good thing!!  I've had time to catch up on some knitting, watch some movies, and just be lazy.  Oh, and eat.  Thank God the appetite is back!  I think Joe's happy about that too, b/c for the first 4 months of my pregnancy I didn't cook a thing except split pea soup and minute rice.  In the past week food has started sounding good again, and I've cooked quite a bit.  Of course, going out still sounds much better than staying in.  Especially when Mexican food is involved.  I don't think it's a craving really, but it never sounds bad.  Anyone else want to eat a lot of something while pregnant?

Oh, and in 3 weeks, we find out the sex of the baby!  I think Joe's hoping for a boy, and my mom is convinced it's a girl.  I'm fine with either, as long as it behaves for the next few months.

Crystal Palace Panda Cotton has Arrived!

Crystal Palace's Panda Cotton yarn has arrived at SSYC!  We have 14 variegated colors available, with a few more arriving when Crystal Palace gets their first shipment.  We are also waiting on the solid colors, which Crystal Palace expects to arrive in February.  This is the yarn I've been waiting for, as it is a fingering weight yarn that contains NO WOOL, and is a great option for those who don't want to use animal products or are allergic to wool.  A couple months ago, Crystal Palace sent me a sample skein, and you can see how nicely it knit up here.

Below are three of the Panda Cotton colors that I'm quite fond of: 2302-Vanilla Cream, 9806 Fern, 0661-Seascape

SSYC also received a shipment from Claudia replenishing our stock and introducing a new color, Butter Pecan.  Mmmmm, tasty.

Ooooh, stripey socks...

I really like my newest project.  Something about the stripes really gets to me, and the store is almost sold out of the yarn, so it must really be liked by others too!  I do have more on the way, so if you happen to see any of the six Opal Feelings colors disappear this week, they should be back on Tuesday.

For my socks, I'm doing a 9" leg, with a 2x2 rib.  Nothing too fancy.  Since I really didn't do a cuff on this, I cast on with US 1 (to have a tighter cuff), then after 12 rows, switched to US 1.5 so that the socks would be slightly wider over my lower calf.  Then after about 5 inches, I switched back to US 1.  It's just a little more of that "lazy shaping" that I like to do.  Rather than do increases or decreases to make a longer sock that fits well in the leg, I just use a larger size needle on the portion of the leg that needs to accomdoate more, eh, bulk.

I'm totally confused by the "timing" of my pregnancy.  I'm told I'm due at the beginning of July, but we won't really know for sure til the doc does another ultrasound in a month.  I believe I'm now in my second trimester, and I'm feeling considerably better.  No naps for a week, and I've started eating more.  Just no chicken yet.  I don't know if the baby is a vegetarian or what, but meat just doesn't sound good.  I had an ultrasound last week, and Joe and I got to see the baby and hear/see the heartbeat.  The heartbeat was 158 bpm, and the baby was moving all around sliding up and down in it's little "sac" and arms moving all around!  I really wasn't expecting to see all the movement.  With the frenetic movements and the fast heartbeat, Joe and I have been joking that it's like a danceclub in there!

Self Striping Yarn?!

SSYC received the newest collection from Opal, the Feelings Collection, and I just couldn't help myself.  I rarely knit self patterning socks.  I like the yarn, and "ooh and ahh" at it like other yarns, but I never really get into knitting it for myself.  In fact, I think the last time I knit a pair of socks for myself out of self-patterning yarn was my first pair of socks (using Meilenweit)!  But something about the new collection got to me.  Well, it wasn't just something, it was the stripes. Not just thin stripes, but substantial width stripes.  I adore stripes- for shirts, pillows, curtain fabric- I just can't get enough.

For the sock at left I used the Feelings 1706, which unlike the other colors, has a couple random 1-row strips of color in addition to the medium-width stripes.  I can just imaging what cute knee-high socks this yarn would make (though you would need one ball for each sock).  I'm not making knee highs, but I am making about 9 inch-leg socks out of one skein.  At least, I hope I am.  Since I'm knitting top down, I guess I won't really know til I'm done.  But Opal comes in such a generous skein that I'm confident I'll have enough.  Last night when I started them, I couldn't put them down.  I already have about 8 inches of the 2x2 rib done.  These babies are for ME.

So yesterday was the day- my last birthday in my 20's.  I don't know why that's significant to me- I think b/c so much has changed this year, and now I'm going to have a baby to mix things up as well.  I woke up to snow, for the first time this winter, and was undecided about whether or not I was happy about this.  Snow = shoveling & car scraping.  I also awoke to a box of chocolate truffles from Joe.  Smart man.  Of course, later I received a card with a child jumping off a moving swing on the front, and on the inside had some joke about my "youth trailing out behind me" or some crap like that.  Thanks, oh-love-of-my-life.  My first Birthday Greeting of the day was from Martha, who is my new Secret Pal.  She's one of the "angels", meaning that she spoils someone whose pal has forgotten them.  That means that I have been forgotten.  *sigh*  The same thing happened with Sockapaloooza earlier in the year.  Can't you just hear the little violins playing their sad song for poor ickle me?  heh.

I've had a few questions about the new Panda Cotton yarn (no wool) from Crystal Palace.  It's on its way and could be up on the website in about a week.  Lots of variegated colors, but none of the solids are available yet.

Edited to add a couple hours later....

I forgot to mention that the latest Online collection has arrived!  I've been waiting since July for this one! Online Sierra Color in 8 colors. Well priced at $11.75 a ball, with only one ball needed for a pair of socks.  My rep tells me that Online's sock yarn prices are going up, so the next collection could be a dollar or two more.  That won't be arriving for a few more months though, when spring hits.

A contest winner....

I've randomly chosen from over 100 reponses to the New Years contest, and the winner is Sandy, who says:

I have lots of resolutions that I know I won't keep, so I'll just list the ones I do intend to keep.

1. Buy more yarn
2. Knit more socks
3. Spin more yarn, including finishing spinning the yarn for a sweater for my husband.
4. Enjoy the coming year and stop stressing myself so much

Sandy, e-mail me at allison@simplysockyarn.com with your mailing address and I'll ship you our your prize!  Congrats!

So last night, my mom and I fully intended to see The Queen.  I checked the theater's website early in the day to see what time it showed, and the one-screen theater listed the time as 6:15.  So we walk in, get ourselves some popcorn and a $2 bottle of water, sit down, and watch the previews.  Then the movie starts.  I see Annette Bening, and I realize that the movie we are actually seeing is Running with Scissors, not The Queen, as intended.  WTF?!  I wouldn't have minded seeing the movie, but my mom wasn't into it, so we left and got our money back.  The lady at the front desk was very nice, but didn't seem at all suprised that the website times were incorrect.  I'm so sick of getting incorrect information off movie websites.  Is it really that difficult to get your information correct?  And the sad thing is that I really like this small, independent theater, but it's never busy and I wouldn't be surprised if it closed.  Especially if they keep angering the customers.

Because of the extra-long weekend, and the fact that the Post Office wasn't shipping until Wednesday (New Years and then the former President's funeral)  I was able to do a bit of knitting and get a package together for my Secret Pal 9 pal- I had to find some way to ignore the fact that I had a pile of boxes (that literally reached the ceiling) that wasn't going out b/c of the PO's closing.  I thought that the pair of socks I knit for her would be better given when it's cool out, so I filled a package with the socks (a feather and fan pattern with Claudia's Story Days yarn), a cute tape measure, a cool flowered CD case, and some other goodies.  The knitting I did was on the last pair of socks that I've been working on for Chrismas presents.  Yeah, I know that Christmas was 10 days ago, but since we haven't exchanged gifts with Joe's side of the family yet, it's all good.  Joe's family is coming up here this weekend, so we have kept the tree up so we can celebrate again.  Should be good times. 

New Fixation Colors!

SSYC has received all the new Cascade Fixation Spray Dyed colors, and solids will arrive later as well.  Take a look at some of the fun color combos that Cascade has created for the Fixation line:

9226 Arizona Dreaming, 9245 Napa Valley, 9454 Bubblegum

9637 Paint Bucket, 9638 Jamaica, 9877 Koi

9840 Berry Sherbet, 9980 Los Alamos

I have to say, I'm partial to 9637 Paint Bucket; something about the pastels accented with the bold dark orange.  Not a combo you see often, if ever before, that I have noticed.  Oh, and if you haven't visited Cascade's site before, there are lots of free Fixation patterns here.

Mom and I are going to see The Queen tonight at the Cinema Center, which is a small independent theater in Fort Wayne.  She's been talking about this movie for months, and it's gotten good reviews (and there's buttered popcorn), so I'm game.  And I haven't actually been to a movie for a few months.  Anyone see The Queen yet?  

Resolutions Galore

Wow, what a list of resolutions so far!  There seems to be a recurring theme in the list: a desire to be healthier, a desire to accept one's self as is, and a desire to find more time to things we like, be it knitting, hanging with kids or relaxing.

Those are some of the same things I have struggled with over the past several years.  Actually, I always try to make time for things I like, but I have a feeling that might be put on the back burner in about 6 months when the baby arrives.  And I've always carried extra weight.  But last year I lost 60 pounds.  It wasn't easy, and I would have liked to lose even more, but stress and then getting pregnant put a stop to all that!  It took lots of exercise (I went to Curves, walked, and starting jogging in the spring), and counting the calories I took in, but it worked.  I think being so busy with the store and knitting so much kept my mind off eating too.  After all, who wants to stain their beautiful Claudia Hand Painted yarn with potato chip grease!  I hope that after July, when the baby arrives, that I can start shedding weight again, even if it is slowly.

So if you haven't had a chance to enter the contest, just scroll to the blog entry below and leave your comment.  You have 'til Jan 3.

Joe and I had a great New Years Eve.  We visited a few friend's homes and I actually stayed up til 1am!  That's huge for me, considering I fall asleep lately by 10pm!  I hope all of your New Years Eve's were just the way you wanted them.