Simply Socks Yarn Co. Blog

We have a winner

Andrea is the lucky winner of the skein of CTH in Burnished Berry!  If you received an e-mail from me, you are that Andrea.  Andrea's winning comment (randomly picked) was:

Hi...Beautiful new sock yarn, all my favorite colors!!!
Top of the pile currently on my needles: a pr of geometric "Lace Socks" w/ a very unique construction + heel. The pattern is @ knitting Universe (Knitters):
http://www.knittinguniverse.com/downloads  I like to learn new things that challenge + these do. Will be a Xmas gift so "2 birds w/ 1 stone". There are 2 other patt versions as well.
Finally blocking/drying on the floor; a lace shawl made fr 7 sk Regia Bamboo Color sock yarn. Started as a "Kiri" but evolved w/ an extra 40+ rows of something different to make it larger. I smile everytime I look @ it...1st time ever that large + lace w/ that wt yarn. Socks are my main thing...both by hand + machine.

Many of you have been waiting on some colors of Dream in Color in Smooshy and Classy, and I wanted to let you know that we received a few shipments, bringing back most of the colors.  Yes, color 150-Happy Forest is one of the Classy colors.  I think many of you are knitting the February Lady's Sweater and I don't blame you- it's lovely!  Looking at it makes me want to knit my first sweater.  You must all be knitting it in Happy Forest, as that color leaves almost as soon as it arrives.  I think I would choose color 480 though- I'm a dark blue gal.

Also, the popular Shibui Knits colors Orchid and Spectrum (as well as many others) have come back in stock as well.  Those have been unavailable for a couple months now, but have now arrived again.  I'm still waiting on a few of the solids, so if you were hoping for some of those, they are still unavailable.

Ask the Knitters

Dear Knitters,

I seem to have a problem with the second sock closely matching the first one when using variegated/striped yarn.

I always write down what color I start on the first sock.  The first sock knits up beautifully!  Then I start the second sock, starting with the same color spot as the first one.  The pattern is off.  It doesn't match.  It's not even close!

Any suggestions?

Sock Looking for Twin

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Help a knitter out and leave your thoughts below.  Have a question you want answered here?  E-mail service@simplysockyarn.com and title your e-mail Ask the Knitters.  Your question may be chosen for the blog.

Fleece Artist BFL Sock Review

Yarn I've been waiting for (is there yarn that I haven't been waiting for?) has finally arrived...  The newest sock yarn from Fleece Artist is their BFL Sock, which is a mix of BFL (blue face leicester is a sheep that has a face of white hair over black skin, making it look blue- thus the name) and nylon.  This is the first bfl blend that I've carried and it's lush, takes dye beautifully and has a slight fuzzy halo.  Jill knit up the sample in the color Twilight for me and her review is below.

Allison asked me to test knit at a very stressful time, and although I could have declined, I felt it was a message that I needed more knit in my life at that moment.  The yarn arrived looking oh-so yum-o-licious, it was sheer torture waiting until I had help in the evening to wind the hank into a ball.  The yarn was put up very nicely.  The only problem with putting it into a ball was human error (I do not have a swift or a ball winder) due to the late hour and exhaustion of both the hank holder and myself winding.  No snags, breaks, worn parts or knots whatsoever.

The dye job was even, no bleeding onto my hands or needles.  No funky smells and boy, is this yarn lush!  My hank holder was my 14 year old daughter who is a beginning knitter.  Her remarks were favorable (very soft and pretty) and encouraging (no tangles!) considering her only encounter with this yarn was during the winding phase.

This yarn put me in the mind of my beloved Trekking XXL as it slid through my fingers and wrapped around my needles.  The only time I encountered any splitting was when working K2tog and I really thing that was more my fault than the yarn's.  The fabric produced feels slightly thicker than some sock yarns, but not uncomfortably so.  I did find the yarn halos a bit as it was worked and while I sdislike that in any yarn, it does not distract from the finished product like some.

The shocker with this yarn has to be no pooling at the gusset as tends to happen with multi-colored yarns.  I do not know the last pair of multi-colored, non self striping socks I knit without pooling somewhere.  The colors are evenly and nicely distributed in this yarn.  I would knit this yarn again, especially if a green or pink colorway exists.  While I have not washed the socks yet, I do believe it will stand up to some tough use/abuse just from the feel of the finished sock.

In my hurry to get knitting, I chose the famed Monkey pattern and automatically picked up my US 1 needles as is my habit.  Had I checked the Ravelry forums a bit more before casting on, I would have seen that I needed my US 2 needles in order to knit Monkeys that fit me.  But my youngest daughter, Ellie, loves these and they fit her so all is not lost.  She reported "this sock feels soft and squishy at once. It's very pretty and reminds me of a bowl of berries."

Thanks to Allison for helping my mojo find the way home yet again.

Oooh, a Contest!

Want to win some tasty, limited edition yarn?  Sure you do!  I would too!  I considered keeping this lovely skein all to myself, but then thought better of it.  What is this lovely yarn?  It's the first edition of Cherry Tree Hill's sock-of-the-month! Each month, they'll dye a few hundred skeins of a limited edition colorway, and after that no more.  I'll be getting just a few dozen of this yarn each month, and I'll post here when it arrives.

Burnished Berry is the first colorway, for September 2008.  Cheryl (owner of CTH) sent me a skein a few weeks ago, and I just got in the entire shipment today.  It just so happens that a couple months ago I was searching for this exact color combination.  I wanted something that was various-shades-of-blues-and-purples-with-a-bit-of-pinkish-violet-thrown-in, and couldn't find exactly what I was picturing, so I instead went an entirely different way for a friend's pair of socks.  When I saw this colorway, I had one of those "Doh!" moments.  Isn't that typical?

So I'm passing along the skein Cheryl sent me to one of you lucky knitters.  Tell me below in the comment section what's on your needles right now, and leave me a link to a pic if you want me or others to take a look.  I'll randomly choose from those who comment by Friday the 22nd at midnight.  If you win, you'll get an e-mail from me early next week!

Dr. Jeckyll Baby

We all had a very nice and relaxing weekend that began with Joe pulling a hamstring while playing softball (on his first run), and ended with me pulling my hair out wondering if I should dare put sunblock on James, or if I should just keep him indoors for the rest of his life.  Seems James is allergic to sunblock!?!

See, he's supposed to look all cute and happy, like the picture on the left.  But after applying sunblock he looks like the splotchy, unhappy baby on the right.  He's like a little Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde: one moment he's all happy and exuberant that he found a piece of trash on the floor, but after applying that wicked serum, he turns into this little welted, unhappy monster.  Any suggestions for a sunblock that helps without causing such problems?

If you get the store's newsletter, you've likely seen the hints about the big ol' Labor Day sale I'm planning.  I've gotten some great deals on Noro Kureyon Sock Yarn, Crystal Palace Panda Cotton, Farmhouse Fannie's, Opal sock yarn (new collections to the store!) and so you'll likely see a huge amount of sale yarn trickle into the sale section over the next week.  I wanted to give blog readers a heads up before the newsletter and ads, so that you guys get first picks.  I don't think I've had such a range of sale yarn before- and it's the first time I've been able to offer a non-wool blend in the sale section as well.  So take a look over the next week or so and see what might tickle your fancy.  It will slowly appear until next Monday, when it all should be up there.

*BTW, the Noro Wave Scarf pattern is now available on the blog and you can also queue it up on Ravelry.  If you knit it, I want to see your pics!

Opal's Harry Potter Yarn, Available for Pre Order

Edited to add: please note that the pre-ordered limit has now been reached, so pre-ordering is no longer available.  All remaining yarn will be sold when it arrives, per ball, not as a whole collection.  But don't fret- you can still get the yarn when it arrives, just not as a pre-order!

Inspired by a recent visit by my Opal rep who was actually wearing a pair of Lupin socks she knit after she scored a ball directly from the owner of Opal at a German tradeshow, I couldn't wait to put the yarn on preorder.  If you are anxious to get your hands on this yarn, just imagine how I feel after seeing Joanne wearing a pair and flauting all the sample socks in my face!  Argh!

So I've decided to offer a Pre-Order Special for the collection of Harry Potter.  Right now, I'm only offering the entire collection for preorder, not individual balls.  I doubt I will be offering individual balls for pre-sale.  For ordering now, you receive 10% off retail (which is $22.95 a ball) and free US shipping!  So if you want to pre order one ball of each colorway, then click here.  I'm only offering part of what I've ordered for preorder so that there is still a lot left for those who choose not to preorder, but instead order it when it actually arrives in the shop.  So if the link stops working, it's b/c all the preorders are sold out.  *This collection must be ordered alone to save your space.  Do not place anything else in your "cart".   I'm not linking the pre-order on the website, so you'll need to use the direct link above to get to the pre-order.  I'll wait a bit before sending out the newsletter about this as well.  Blog readers will get a head start.

Please know that if you preorder the collection that your order will ship when the yarn arrives (it's not here now!), which isn't likely to be until early/mid October.  Per Warner Bros., the yarn can't leave the German manufacturer until Sept. 15, and then it has to arrive at the US distributor, and then US shops.  But since Simply Socks Yarn Co. is the second on the list of stores to get it, you will get the yarn asap.

Below is a picture I took of the whole collection of  the sample socks- it was hard not to punch-and-run/fight/bludgeon Joanne for them. And here's a link to a great slideshow of all the colorways knit up.

Ask the Knitters

Dear Knitters,

My child goes to a school where students can only wear white socks.  So I am knitting the tops white and the feet in other colors.  Do you have other ideas on how to make it interesting?  Or do you know of patterns that might make the most of having a white top and color or patterned foot?

Thanks for your help,

Colorless in Colorado

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Help a knitter out and leave your advice below.  Do you have a question that you'd like answered here?  E-mail your question to allison@simplysockyarn.com and title it Ask the Knitters.  Your question might be chosen.

Noro Wave Scarf Pattern

Ack!  Stop e-mailing me to get this scarf pattern up!  You're stressing me out!  But seriously, I really appreciate that you care about this simple little pattern.  While I'm keeping the first scarf for myself, I'm considering knitting up another one to have on hand for a gift.

If you downloaded the pattern before  August 22, 2008, please download again as a small error was fixed.  The chart was correct, but there was a small error in the written out wave pattern.

Download NoroWaveScarf

The pattern is a pdf file, and if you need Adobe Reader, you can get it free here.

If anyone has pattern charting software and wants to chart the pattern for me, I would be very grateful.  E-mail me.  *Just a few hours later and Lauren has already charted it for me!  So the link above now has a second page that is the chart.

If you notice any errors, please e-mail me.

Did I mention that I have the new Opal Hundertwasser 2 sock yarn in stock?  I think one of these may be my next project.  I don't often knit self-patterning socks for myself, but the colors in these are really nice.

Fleece Artist Trail Sock- A Review

You all may know from the pics I've shown here and the projects I describe that Fleece Artist is a yarn that I've knit again and again.� So when Kathryn told me that she was coming out with new yarn, of course I had to learn more.� Laura test knit the Trail Sock for me, which is a 75% merino, 25% nylon blend sock yarn.� Not only did it knit just as well as every other Fleece Artist offering I've had in stock, but it's well price at just $15.50 a skein!� Want to learn more?� Check out Laura's review below:

Right from the start, I was in love with this yummy yarn.� The blues and purples were beautiful (color isTwilight) and the yarn felt so soft and yet sturdy.� I placed the yarn on my swift to begin the winding process and then, uh-oh, the fun began.� NOT.� I won't bore you with the details, but it took me forever to wind the yarn.� I do believe, however, having completed the socks that the yarn is high quality and I think�the winding issue was a fluke.

This yarn is pleasure to knit.� The yarn did not separate or catch on the needles and glided through my fingers.� The colors did not pool.� I tried the socks on before washing and they felt soft on my foot.� They washed/blocked beautifully and felt even softer!

It seemed to be when I received the yarn that there was ample yardage to knit a patterned sock.� I chose the Eagles Wings pattern and the end result is outstanding.� In fact, I think this is my favorite pair of sock to date and this yarn stands in a class by itself.� I look forward to purchasing and knitting with it again.

CTH Possum and Organic Yarn, Fleece Artist Trail Sock

That just may be the longest title I've had for a blog post, but I know that many of you have been waiting for one or all of those and I didn't want you to glaze over the title and think, "Oh, shoot, it's still not here."  Because so much has arrived in the past few days that it's even crazier her than usual.

First off, I was able to snag a bit more of the Cherry Tree Hill Possum Sock that sold out so quickly two weeks ago.  This is the yarn that CTH hasn't been able to get milled for several years, and Cheryl (the owner) doesn't believe she'll be able to convince her mill to do it again.  For more details and the review, go here.  I have several more solids and a few more multicolors (Misty Moor shown), including Caribou Creek and Java that sold out quickly last time.  If you want to be e-mailed the two free patterns for this yarn, just e-mail service@simplysockyarn.com after your purchase.

I also have another rare offering from Cherry Tree Hill- an organic sock yarn!  I've had many requests for organic sock yarn, and it's just not easy to find at a great quality and reasonable price.  But again, Cheryl came through and was able to get her mitts on some well-priced organic dk-weight merino and dyed it up in 10 special edition colorways for me.  Keep in mind that while the fiber is organic, the dye is not.  Someone at CTH must have been dreaming of a summer vacation when the yarn was dyed and the names were given, as this has got to be the most seasonal batch of yarn I've even received.  With names like Wave Runner, Parrot Bay and Beach Party(shown below), how can you not be transported to another, more tropical, place?

For those of you who want to keep with the summer theme and knit some cool, non-wool socks, check out the new "dotty colors" of Panda Cotton from Crystal Palace.  I have seven of these to share, all pale bases with tiny splotches of color throughout.  Shown below: Dotty Grapes, Lollipops and Dotty Circus.

Finally, I have a spankin' new yarn from Fleece Artist: Trail Sock.  This is the first wool/nylon sock yarn that Fleece Artist has done and it's quite soft, durable and hand dyed in all the colors that we love.  And the best part?  It's just $15.50 a skein.  Seriously.  When was the last time you were able to get a skein of non-sale priced, hand dyed sock yarn for such a price?  New colors Merlin, Blush and Twilight are shown below. Want a review of this yarn?  You'll just have to wait until tomorrow!

Ask the Knitters

Dear Knitters,

I'm trying to knit a pair of knee high socks for my daughter who is leaving for college.  She has begged me for knee highs to wear for her first upcoming winter in Illinois, so how could I refuse?

I could not find any knee high sock instructions, but I thought all I had to do was knit a longer leg.  Not true.  To my horror, the 90% completed (top down) knee high I was making for my daughter did not fit properly throughout the leg portion.  Her leg and mine measures 12" from the back of the knee to the ankle bone.   When I tried on the sock to measure the foot for the proper size (yes, I use my own foot to measure all ladies' socks), the leg was 2" too short!  I then realized the width of the leg takes up some of the length.

Has anyone knitted knee highs?  What are the knitting guidelines for knee highs?  Do wide-footed people have wide legs?

Now I guess I have to complete the other knee high and tell my daughter to wear them as is or fold them down a couple of times.

I don't even own a pair of store-bought knee highs to compare.  Any advice would be appreciated.

Sincerly,

Knee High Meltdown

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Help a knitter out and leave your comments (or encouragement!) below.  Do you need advice?  E-mail your question to allison@simplysockyarn.com and it may be posed on the blog.