Simply Socks Yarn Co. Blog

Mmmm.... yum

I have to say, I haven't really had much restraint in the latest part of my pregnancy.  At least as far as food is concerned.  I eat just about anything I'm in the mood for.  Butternut squash ravioli?  Check.  Oh-so-tasty Raspberry Muffins?  Check, Check.  A vast assortment of decaf coffees, teas and pastries from the local coffee shop?  Check infinity.  If I'm not packing yarn boxes then it's likely I'm eating something.  Or napping.  If only I could eat and nap at the same time.

About that link to the muffins above... Joe and I go to the farmer's market here in Fort Wayne every Saturday morning, and this past Saturday one of the vendors had delicious black raspberries.  It just so happened that the latest issue of Eating Well had arrived, featuring berry recipes, and the above recipe was in there.  I've already made the muffins twice since Saturday.  Yes, I realize that it's only Tuesday, which means that you think I have eaten two dozen muffins since then, but I did freeze 9 of them.  Really.  If you like to cook, or just fantasize about food, I highly recommend Eating Well.  It only comes out 4 times a year, but I look forward to every issue and keep them all right above my stove for easy access.

Is anyone else reading the 6th Harry Potter book to gear up for the 7th?  I was shamelessly listening to some kids' conversation recently about the last book, and I realized that I didn't recognize half of the things they were talking about!  So I've been reading up on it before it arrives at my doorstep, courtesy of Barnes and Noble.  Since the new movie comes out only a couple weeks after Danger is to arrive, I will likely not see for a couple weeks after it opens.  It pains me to know that I have to choose my first born over Harry Potter, but I feel I must.  Unless he's a quiet guy and I can smuggle him into the movie.  Anyone have success at bringing a baby to a movie theater?  I just might have to go to the Drive-In instead.

Fleece Artist Merino has Arrived

If you've been waiting for Fleece Artist merino colors to arrive, especially the Peridot and Blackberry which sold quickly last time, SSYC has received our latest big shipment!  There are now over 40 handpainted colorways in stock, and all Fleece Artist merino purchases until June 31 come with a free Tilting Blocks sock pattern- you can see a pic of the sock on the homepage.  I don't think that we have ever had this many colors in stock at once.

SSYC has also received several boxes of Supersock from Cherry Tree Hill.  This includes the Handpainted (variegated), Solids (all 20 colors), and Potluck colors.  All the Cherry Tree Hill patterns are also replenished as well.  Sugar Maple is the color shown at left.

Thank you for all your encouragement and kind wishes about Joe's and my impending parenthood.  I'm only about a week away from my due date, and I'm ready for Danger any time now.  I keep thinking that I'm so active that he's got to get bored of being jostled around and will come early, but it hasn't happened yet.  Oh well.  I know I've mentioned this in the newsletter, but the store will close for 1-2 weeks after I have the baby.  When this happens, you'll see a very obvious note here (with a contest!) and on the store's homepage.  And while you are more than welcome to place orders during that time, those orders won't ship right away.  But they'll ship first thing once the store reopens- you'll see the closed note disappear from the website and I'll mention the reopening here.  I'm expecting several yarn shipments to arrive in the next few weeks from Seacoast, Dream in Color, and Fleece Artist- the new Somoko yarn, so when the store reopens you'll see lots of new things!

I've had several requests for a blog button for the SSYC sock yarn club, so here it is!  If you want to show your fellow knitbloggers that you got a space in the club, just right click on it and copy it to your computer (please don't hotlink), and feel free to use it on your blog and link it to www.simplysockyarn.com. If you don't know what hotlinking is, please look here- http://altlab.com/hotlinking.html .

The Closet

Otherwise now referred to as the closet-of-what-we-once-were.

Joe and I have spent the last several evenings cleaning out the closet in what was once Joe's video game/guitar room, and what is now the baby's room.  The closet was the place we stored things that really didn't have a place elsewhere- video and computer games, Joe's art books, my old journals, photo albums from high school and college, CDs, and all sorts of other things that show our interests and have fed many hours of free time.  This closet, and the lonely top shelf of our stuff at the top, now totally represents the changes that have been slowly taking place in our lives over the past 9 months.  Joe and I are slowly being replaced by someone named Momma and Daddy.  I think the change is almost complete.  See, Joe didn't even balk at posing with a tiny shirt.

It was so odd to slowly hang up all the tiny little clothes in the closet that used to hold our things, and now holds Danger's.  Joe examined each thing and made comments like "Lilly really has good taste," and "When is Danger really going to wear a velour Christmas striped jumper?"  I sat on the floor and wondered if in 20 years I would remember how fun it was to watch him become a dad.

Fleece Artist AND Sleeping Dragon...

What more could you want?!?  More Sea Wool and new hand painted from Sleeping Dragon!  First off, the Sleeping Dragon is scrumptious- there are several colors that are tonal blues and greens and purples, and there are also some variegated colors that are quite lively.  16 colors in all, and a great mix too.  Below are a few of the colors I *heart*: Tequila Sun, Meadows and Spring Fling

I guess I like the variegated colors more than the tonal colors, eh?

And now for the Fleece Artist Sea Wool.  I know this sold out rather quickly last time, so I hope there's enough this time around to last a bit.  There are 19 colors total, and there are some changes in colorways from the last time.  For instance, the Popsicle (replaced blue with purple), Glacier (much more vivid), Hercules (less blue and more red, yellow and amber) and Cosmic Dawn (much more vivid- less black) look quite a bit different than last time and I like the changes a lot.  I'm quite happy with the Popsicle in particular, as it looks like the dyer replaced the blue with purple, and I think it's gorgeous this way.  I don't know if this was a fluke or a permanent change, but I LOVE it!  To really show off the changes, below are the befores and afters of the yarn- the old version on the left, the new on the right.  Do you all agree with me that these slight changes made big differences?  Shown in this order, Cosmic Dawn, Glacier, Hercules, Popsicle

I think this is a good illustration of part of the art and process of hand painting; part of the reason hand dyed yarns are so sought after is because each one really is a unique piece or art.  Even though the same person may be dyeing the yarn, and even though the colorway might have the same name, you can get quite different colors between one order and the next.  While some people might like yarn that's more uniform, I really like that hand dyed yarn is special and has a different "flavor" each time it's dyed.  How do you feel about it?  Do you like that colorways can be somewhat different?  Or would you prefer to have hand dyed yarn be more uniform (not that it can be more uniform, but in a perfect world...)?

BTW, I've been finalizing colorways for the Small Dyers Sock Yarn Club, and I'm getting really excited!  The dyers are designing some lovely and unique colors for us to knit starting in August.  And for those of you that didn't get a spot in the club this time around, there will likely be another 3-month club with another theme in late 2007.

Whew.

Well, this week just sped on by, didn't it?  I know many of you are wondering why that Fleece Artist Sea Wool isn't on the site.  Turns out it was missing part of the label, so I'm waiting for a shipment from Nova Scotia before I can put it on the site!  Don't want to sell those skeins without labels!  Rest assured, as soon as I get those in, they yarn will be available here.  I'll let you know.  Oh, and the Sleeping Dragon yarn arrived too, so that should be available when I get pics taken and up on the site.  YEA!

Joe and I have been preparing for Danger to join us (that's our name for him right now- no, not his REAL name).  It's odd to think that in 2 weeks that we'll have a little baby in the house.  I can't even imagine how things are going to change around here.  I feel like I'm getting very little sleep right now, but I bet in a couple weeks it will be even worse!  I'm assuming every woman has a hard time sleeping in the last weeks of pregnancy, right?  I mean, I feel like I need to shift sides every hour and a half, and my lack of maneuverability makes me feel like a Weeble.  Do they even make those any more?

The pics above are of the crib that Joe built for Danger . Joe and I made a special trip to Indy several months ago so he could scour Northwest Hardwoods for the perfect pieces of curly maple to use on the crib.  He's also almost finished with a low dresser/changing table.  Our little joke is that I get to make the home for the baby before he's born, and Joe's responsible for where he stays once he's out.  I feel pretty lucky to have a husband that is so good at woodworking (and just about anything else he puts his effort into) and is so into his new role of being a dad.  It's hard for me to believe that my own dad wasn't really so involved and my mom basically did everything.  Father's Day has taken on new meaning for me.

I hope to show some pics of the finished nursery when it's done- probably a few days before the baby comes, at this rate!  The room isn't much wider than the crib, and it has EIGHT windows (it was a sleeping porch back in the day), so Mom is making curtains right now.  Curtains for eight windows.  Yeah, I think I owe her a nice gift.

But store and nursery work aren't the only things happening around here- I finally have nasturtiums in my flower boxes.  After 3 years of planting them, I finally have some flowers to show for them.  Well, when I say "I" planted, I mean "Joe" planted and I watched them not flower.  But here I finally have some!  Anyone else love nasturtiums?  Have any tips for getting them to flower consistently?

One pair down....

I've finished my Sockapalooza socks!  I'm really pleased with how they turned out.  I used Dream in Color Smooshy yarn in the 330-Dusky Aurora colorway, and a mock cable rib pattern.  My pal wanted something somewhat stretchy, which this pattern is b/c of the rib.

Anyone else finished with your Sockapalooza socks already?

I will likely be sending these socks out early, since the baby's supposed to arrive in a couple weeks (please, little guy, don't get to comfy and stay in too long).  I'm trying to get my exchanges finished up before things get even more busy around here!  I just sent out my tea swap package to Dave, which was difficult b/c I bought for him all the things that I would like to have had for myself... nice caffeinated teas.... yum.

If you've been waiting for Fleece Artist's Sea Wool to come back, a big box just came from Nova Scotia and I hope to get it up on the site later today or tomorrow.  I should have more of the silk/cashmere soon as well.

The new Knitty is out!  There are several sock patterns, including one titled Sweetpea that uses Schaefer Anne.  It's designed by the same person that designed the Tilting at Windmills pattern that we gave out for free a couple months ago.  Right now SSYC is offering a different free pattern with purchase, but if you want the Tilting at Windmills pattern instead, just e-mail service@simplysockyarn.com right after you place your order.   I'm considering starting the Sweetpea pattern tonight using the Willa Cather colorway!  The pattern suggests a light colorway, and I think this one would be perfect.

*In looking at the pattern at first, I noticed that it calls for casting on 120 sts!  I usually cast on 75 for my Schaefer Anne socks, and I have thick ankles.  Then I read a little further and realized why you cast on 120 sts.... now it makes sense to me.  So don't get freaked out by reading how many you cast on, because you'll end up with 60 sts.  But for my wide feet, I might need to case on more than 120.  Maybe 140 since the pattern repeat is in 10s?  Math + Blog = mistakes.  I need to sit down and think this over!

New Panda Cotton Colors

SSYC now has 8 new colors of Panda Cotton from Crystal Palace.  This yarn sells out pretty quickly, and can be somewhat difficult to get from the distributor b/c of its popularity, but my intention is to keep them all in stock.  Like most of the yarn that we carry (expect for a few of the indie dyers), I buy very large quantities and do quite a bit of planning to make sure that we have most, if not all, of the colors available all the time.  So if you see some of the Panda Cotton colors sell out, don't worry, they will be back!  Below are three of the colors that I like best: 0409-Picnic, 9555-Tulips, 0434-Kiwi Mango

In other yarn news, there are some new yarns coming out this summer.  First, the one I'm very excited about- Fleece Artist is coming out with a new sock yarn- Somoko (originally called SoMo, so we'll see if the final name changes again), which is 65% wool, 20% kid, 10% nylon, and 5% silk.  You can see it at left in the Amethyst colorway, which I received months ago and I'm currently knitting up.  It's super yummy!  It's on the thicker side of fingering weight- I use a US 1.5 instead of the US 1 I normally use.  And the Kid gives it a slightly fuzzy halo, similar to Scheafer Anne, but not quite as fuzzy. It's very soft, and the silk combined with the wool make it very warm for winter, but still breathable.  Fleece Artist is expect to release this yarn in late July, and I'll keep you posted about its arrival!

Another new yarn that's coming out in a couple months is a wool/nylon combo from Cherry Tree Hill.  Samples of this new yarn aren't available yet so I'll let you know about it's availability after I see it in person.  I had the opportunity to snatch up the first small test lot of it to sell, but I'm not comfortable selling yarn to you that I haven't even seen or tested myself yet.  I'll keep you updated on how this yarn knits, washes, and wears and if all is as good as the other yarn CTH offers, I'll order it when its available later this summer.

I've received several questions about the arrival of Sleeping Dragon yarn, especially since I have been sending out samples of it in recent orders.  This yarn will be available in 1-2 weeks, in all 16 colors that Karen dyes.  I'm really looking forward to knitting up other colors of her yarn!  And since Karen's one of the contributors to the sock yarn club (now full, sorry!) she will be creating a unique colorway for us!

Ooooh- I just saw that Alison is giving away some yarn and a signed copy of her new book on her blog.  Go take a look at all the tastiness that she's passing on.  I just got my copy of Charmed Knits two weeks ago, so I'm not entering, but I thought y'all might like to!

New Schaefer Anne colorways

Schaefer Anne has released new colorways, and now you can find them at Simply Socks Yarn Company!  I've added about 16 colorways to the store, some new, some specially dyed just for SSYC, and one- the very popular Scotch Thistle.  I ordered A LOT of the Scotch Thistle (shown at left), so those of you that have been asking for it for the popular Heartstrings shawl pattern should be able to find it in stock for awhile.

Below are three of my favorites that just arrived: Willa Cather, Happy, and Billie Holiday

And below are are the colors that were specially dyed at my request.  I asked for some options for more solid colors, especially a dark gray.  So take a look at the nearly solid colors that SSYC has: Charcoal, Lilac, The Blues, Minty and Butternut

 

So what do you think of the new colors?  Have a favorite?

I'm still working on getting the new colors of Crystal Palace Panda Cotton ready, so those could be available tomorrow.  I'll let you know!

The Sock Yarn Club is now sold out.  Thanks for such great interest!  If you didn't get in this time, there's always next time.  When there's another one, you'll definitely hear about it here.

Where did the weekend go?

Sometimes it's hard to believe it's Monday.  The weekend just seemed to pass so quickly!  I knit a little bit, and unpacked orders from Schaefer and Crystal Palace, but for the most part, I sat around with my feet up.  Seems that my feet have decided that its cool to mimic sausages.  I can't fit on any of my shoes (not even flip flops!) and I on Saturday I couldn't even bend my ankles back to walk- instead I walked like a Zombie.  Which is somewhat fitting, b/c last night I finished this book.

On Friday, SSYC received new NEW Schaefer Anne colors.  And I'm hooked on several of them.  I hope to have the new colors up on the site sometime early this week- maybe even tomorrow if I can get the pictures taken.  I'm quite smitten with one in particular- Will Cather.  And all Schaefer Anne yarn comes with a free pattern until June 25!

SSYC also received the new colors of Panda Cotton from Crystal Palace!  The colors are all quite nice, and I hope to have those up on the website this week as well.  It's such a nice yarn, and is super popular, and I'm really pleased that there are so many nice colors available.  I try to keep them all in stock, but they sell so quickly that even Crystal Palaces sells out and then all the stores have to wait until more is available.  I guess it's the price you have to pay for great non-wool sock yarn.

And I promised that I would reveal the winner of the size 7ish socks I knit with the Sleeping Dragon yarn (which should arrive next week!).  The winner is.... Robin!  E-mail me, Robin, and I'll send you your new socks.

Did you notice that the Lorna's Laces is now restocked?  Many of you have, I can tell!  SSYC has almost every color of Lorna's Laces back in Multicolor, Solids, and Stripes.  So if you have been waiting for a colorway to arrive, take a look.