Simply Socks Yarn Co. Blog

Argh. A stream of consciousness rant.

I'm having one of those days.  Well, maybe one of those weeks.  You know, when there are eight thousand things to do, and even though you've completed them there still seems to be nine thousand more?  And the toddler following you around doesn't want to be patient.  Or quiet.  And even if he is, you still seem to be frustrated with him, yourself, and everything around you?  And the coffee doesn't seem to have nearly as much caffiene as it usually does.  And the UPS man is coming later than you want.  And the USPS carrier is coming earlier than you want.  And the laundry is all dirty.  And you have had all the ingredients you need for a particular meal for two days, but no time to make it and if you don't make it ASAP then those ingredients will have to go in the trash.  And The Wiggles are super annoying but it's the only thing that is making Captain Crankypants happy.  Thank goodness it's nap time. SIGH.

How do you salvage days like this?

Lilac is Blooming

My lilac sock is coming into bloom.  Almost finished, it's knitting up just as wonderfully as I was hoping.  This is the first time I've knit this particular fiber combination (wool/silk/bamboo) and while it's not as lofty as many 100% merino or merino/nylon sock yarns, the way it's plied makes me think that it's not going to pill and is going to hold up well.  I'm really looking forward to wearing these pretty, feminine socks.  If you haven't checked out the range of colors of this yarn, Araucania Itata, in the sale section yet, I recommend it.  At just $10 a skein, I've projected that this pair of socks will cost me just 40 cents an hour as  hobby-knit.  Compared to $5 an hour for a night out at the movies, well, this just can't be beat.

This sock is color 1021, and the pattern is the Scroll from Charlene Schurch's book More Sensational Knitted Socks.

And I promised one of you lucky knitters the green skein of yarn (color 1016).  And the randomly chosen winner in last week's name-this-green-yarn contest is.... Kay, who comment that she "would name it Tonto, for the moss that helped create the Tonto Natural Bridge in Arizona.  Congrats, Kay!  E-mail me at allison@simplysockyarn.com to claim your prize!

   

If you haven't yet read all the color names everyone dreamed up, you can go here to start.  There really are some creative and funny ideas.

Dream Club, September

Dream in Color has just sent their second installment of the Dream Club!  This limited edition colorway, Bayou, is dyed on their Groovy chunky-weight yarn, which will knit up quickly into the accompanying Slipper Socks pattern.  A perfect quick gift knit and a great opportunity to try thicker weight yarn for socks.  I've never tried the Groovy base yarn myself, but I'm sure looking forward to it.  I'd describe it as a thick, fat version of Smooshy.  In fact, I think that when this yarn first came out, it was called Fatty.  Anyone else remember that?

I love this color.  It's almost like a last chance at summer blues just as things start to turn darker.  The colorway is veil dyed, which is a method of dyeing yarn in several steps so that there isn't any pooling or striping in your knit-up fabric.  And the name Bayou is perfect- blues and greens of various depth, muddled with a bit of chocoate and charcoal.  I don't think an image can do this justice.

 

The free pattern for September is the Slipper Sock, which is a shorty sock that would be well suited to lounging around the house this winter, keeping your tootsies very warm.  It's one of those knits that looks very quick and satisfying- a weekend of knitting here and there, and you've accomplished an entire pattern.  This isn't a printed pattern, it's a digital file. So make sure to e-mail service@simplysockyarn.com with your invoice number so that I can e-mail the pattern back to you.  Then you can print it at your leisure.

Please note that the colors in this knit up socks aren't really representative of Bayou- it's more to show the pattern.  The skein picture better shows the true color of Bayou.

BTW, I also have that Araucania Itata that I've been talking about. It's in the Sale Section for 50% off!

Schaefer's Nichole Yarn

When Schaefer released their newest sock yarn, Nichole, I didn't immediately order it for the store.  It was a higher pricetag than I'm used to seeing in a merino/nylon blend (at $30), and I didn't have room in my inventory to add a large selection of colors.  But after getting some feedback from many of you who have tried it and found it to be "so wonderful- really", I couldn't resist.  And it turns out that with the yardage being over 400, and the fact that the fiber content is so superb (it's an extrafine merino, which has a lower micron count, which translates to a higher price and the highest quality), the cost isn't as limiting for sock knitters as I anticipated.

But really, the main reason I ordered this line is because when Schaefer mailed me their newest colorcards with this years collection, I couldn't resist.  And I ordered every. single. color.

Now, you may have noticed that if I carry a yarn line, I try to carry the entire color collection as well. Opal, Shibui, Ty Dy sock, Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock, Berroco Sox, Jojoland Melody Superwash, just to name some of the lines I keep stocked for you.  But I've never ordered an entire year's collection from Schaefer.  I pick and choose the ones I think you'll like best, and I sometimes even have them specially dye colors that I know you and I will like.  But when I saw the colorcards... well... I was sunk.  I called that day and ordered the entire new color collection.  It's just that grand.

You really need to visit this link and click on each color to see each skein in it glory.  The base yarn is superb, and I've set the price about 10% lower than it normally retails for so that you can get the most for your knitting dollars.

(The color above is from the Memorable Women Collection and is named Ellen Swallow Richards.  Say it out loud and tell me that's not a ridiculous name for a yarn colorway.  I'm predicting an abnormal amount of inappropriate Google referrals.)
 

You chose the...

Lilac!

While the green skein was the most loved in the blog comments, the e-mailers seemed to prefer the lilac skein, which just tipped the scales in its favor.  So here's what I accomplished this weekend:

I chose the Scrolls pattern from Charlene Schurch's book More Sensational Knitted Socks.  This book has been an awesome resource for me and if you don't already own it, I suggest adding it to your bookshelf.  Or, if your local library is as well-stocked as mine, check it out first to see if it's worth it to you.

Because the votes were so close, I wound the green skein into a cake with the intention of knitting that one as well (perhaps into the Multnomah shawlette by Kate Flagg).  I have to admit that the green was my preference.  But you spoke, and I listened!

After winding the green skein into a cake I decided that I wanted to gift it to one of you.  If you had to give this green colorway a name, what would it be?  Tell me in the comments below and I'll randomly choose one of you to win this lovely cake of fibery goodness.  I'll likely choose the winner in the next two days, so comment soon.

Oh, and I almost forgot- this sock yarn is Araucania's Itata, which is a wool/silk/bamboo blend.  The reason I test knitted it was because one of you told me how much you like the fiber combo.  And because I'm liking it so much as well, I ordered a lot of it for the store and it should be available by the end of the week.  It retails around $20 a skein, but I got a fabulous deal on it and so you'll see the variegated colors for just $10 a skein in the sale section, and the solids for slightly less than that. 

Take Your Pick

I'm having a hard time choosing.  Do you ever have that problem?  You have the inkling to start a new project, but you can't decide on the exact yarn or color to use for that particular pattern?

I'm testing out something new for the store, and it's a fiber blend that I haven't knit before, so rather than pass it along to one of my test knitters, I want to try it myself.  I have chosen these two colors, but I like them both equally.  So what do you think?  Should I knit the lovely variegated and lively green on the left?  Or would you rather see me knit the subdued, feminine pink/lilac combo on the right?

Either leave your comment below or e-mail me and I'll cast on this weekend with the one that gets the most votes.  Thanks for your help! (and if you have any particular pattern ideas, you're welcome to suggest those as well- I'm always up for something new)

Uncertain beginnings

Today was the last day that James and I got to spend with Joe before he goes back to teaching.  It's been a memorable summer for all of us- at three years old, James is at a super fun age.  He's enjoyed rough housing with Joe all summer, and I've enjoyed more time to relax because I had a partner who wasn't working.  It was awesome.

Soon, James will start going to preschool.  I'm not quite sure how I feel about that.  It's the first time he'll be cared for outside of our home, the first time I'm not completely engrossed in his care. And though I'm confident in the school, I'm not confident that I'll be okay with letting go.  I know it's just for a few hours a week, but I also know that this is the start of his schooling and he'll never be just mine anymore.  This is the start of him becoming an independent little person, and after putting everything in second place for him for three years, I don't know that I'm ready to let him go even a little bit.

How did you know it was the right time to start letting go of your little one?  Did you send your kids to preschool?  Was it an easy transition for you and for your kids?

Thoughts on Pilling in Sock Yarn

Recently I was conversing with a new customer, Erica, who wanted my opinion on sock yarns that don't pill.  We discussed how it can be disappointing when we try a new sock yarn with a more intricate pattern and after washing and wearing we find that the yarn pills or fuzzes enough to obscure the pattern we worked so hard to create.  Or when we try a new sock yarn and find that it doesn't even hold up to a single wear like it should- that's why I test and review yarns here, carrying only premium products, so I don't carry yarn that doesn't wear well for your projects.  There are a LOT of new yarns out there, but just because they are called "sock yarn" doesn't mean they hold up to wear.  There are many of factors involved in spinning, plying, dyeing, tagging, storing and shipping sock yarn.  And let's not leave out how the yarn is knit and how tight or loose the finished fabric is.  And if there's problem in any of those steps, it could render a finished pair of socks practically useless.  Specializing in one type of yarn and being VERY hands-on helps ensure that what you get from me knits up like you expect.

But back to what I started this post about.  Erika and I were discussing two yarns that I regard very highly, particularly Alchemy's Juniper (in the Elemental colors and variegated colorways) and Schaefer Anne, because while they are on the thinner side of fingering weight and might, upon cursory inspection, seem to be more delicate in nature, the socks I knit with those have turned into my workhorse socks- not pilling, having fabulous stitch definition, and performing so much more wonderfully that I ever expected. (I will admit that the Schaefer Anne socks did fuzz up a bit after machine drying them- which I WILL NOT do again.) These two are also among the more pricey options in the store.  .

Turns out Erica is a writer for Interweave and penned a nice article about pilling back in 1999 in Spin-Off.  She shared with me the following pdf of the article, and gave permission to share it with you here.  I welcome you to read it and learn more about the process of pilling- how it's caused, how it can be prevented, and what to do when it does occur.  Thank you, Erica, for your generosity!

Download Pills Summer 1999

Are there particular yarns that you've found to be non-pilling?  I have to admit that my socks rarely pill unless I abuse them in washing/drying.  My best advice to new sock knitters is to go down one needles size on the foot of the sock so that the fabric is dense and the stitches are so close together that they can't rub together too much during wear.  I wish I'd know that when I started out, as it would have saved me lots of frustration!

Ty Dy Dots Sock Yarn, Shibui Staccato and More

I think that the UPS guy is getting sick of all the shipments that have been coming in the past few weeks.  Every day brings twice as many boxes as usual, from all those Dream in Color Dream Club boxes and now to shipments of a special surprise, and also the yarn below.  It's been a whirlwind of a month so far, and there's no sign of it slowing!  Not that it's a bad thing at all, but the weather here has been horribly hot and humid and I think it's taxing my UPS and USPS dudes.  It's definitely making me and James cranky.

New this week is a new version of the Ty Dy sock yarn from Knit One Crochet Too (as well as a restock of the brightly-colored original Ty Dy Socks).  Ty Dy Dots is a pretty collection that features dots of color on a solid base of machine washable and super soft merino/nylon.

It knits up into subtly-dotted socks, but I think where this would really shine is in baby garments.  Can you imagine how cute a little sweater like this one or this one would look with Ty Dy Dots??  And there are several options for gender neutral baby garments, should you not want to go the pink or blue route.  Socks shown below in 6690-Seafoam.

I have 9 colors right now and should any more be released in the future, you'll definitely find them here.  I even have a free pattern for the hat shown below.  It takes just one ball of Dots (shown below in 6186-Cream).  And you can access this Soho Hat Pattern here (it's a pdf).

 

I also have new colors of Shibui's Staccato sock yarn.  This is a really lovely wool/silk blend that is not only wonderful for luxurious socks, but also for high quality baby and adult garments.  There are several new solid options including the deep Bordeaux, and a few more neautral options like Crome and Dijon

 Also take a look at all the new variegated colors like Summer Camp (really does bring to mind camp uniform colors!), Jackie and Poodle Skirt.

  


 

 

Summer of Color winners!

I'm so pleased to announce that several hundred knitters and non knitters voted in the Summer of Color Contest using Simply Sock Yarn, Solids.  The winner of the Best in Show is Janelle W. with her Turquoise, Chartreuse and Deep Sea colored Fjordland socks.  Congrats to you, Janelle!  You received 114 votes (which was closely followed by Amy R.'s sheep socks with 100 votes)! You've won a $200 gift credit to Simply Socks Yarn Company!

The randomly chosen winner (of a $150 gift credit to SSYC) in the Striped category is: Sue P. who knit her socks with Chocolate, Lilac and Purple

 

The randomly chosen winner (of a $150 gift credit to SSYC) in the Mosaic/Fairisle category is: Nancy G. who knit her socks using Chambray and Navy

If you are one of these three winners, please e-mail service@simplysockyarn.com for details on your gift credit.  Congrats!

Thank you to each knitter that entered the contest.  Your socks were truly inspiring.  I received dozens of e-mails last week from knitters who were inspired to knit socks for the first time and those who had been in a knitting slump but were now energized by your creativity.  Even if you didn't happen to receive a prize, your socks will continue to inspire knitters here on the blog.  It's likely I'll show them off on the store's website too- they are all just beautiful!

Several of the entrants shared their patterns with me and I'll post those later here on the blog. 

Ask the Knitters

Dear Knitters,

Are there pattern books using sock yarn for something other than socks?  Titles of books, or links to pattern ideas would be very helpful.

Thanks!

Branching out in Breckenridge

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Help a knitter out and leave your advice in the comments below.  Do you have a question you'd like answered here?  E-mail service@simplysockyarn.com with your question, titling it Ask the Knitters, and your question could be chosen for the blog.

(I'm tallying the Summer of Color votes today and will post soon with the winners!)

Ask the Knitters

Dear Knitters,

Gift socks: good or bad idea?  As a beginner sock-nut, I've been piling up pairs as I strive to improve my technique and try out new yarns.  Do friends and family REALLY appreciate hand knit socks as gifts?  How do you ensure fit?  What yarns work best for gifts?

Your advice is much appreciated,

New Knitter in North Olmstead

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Help a new sock knitter out and leave your advice in the comments below.  Do you have a question you'd like answered here?  E-mail service@simplysockyarn.com with your question, titling it Ask the Knitters, and you question could be chosen for the blog.

One more day...

...until the Summer of Color votes are tallied!  If you entered the contest, the time is ticking for you to rally your knitting (or non knitting) friends and family to vote in the contest.  There are a few entries that are very close, so every vote matters!

No knitting has happened this weekend because there's been so much interest in the Dream Club, new shipment of STC, Cookie and Monica patterns, and all the other cool stuff that's in the store.  Seems you all have run out of yarn, from the way you are shopping.  Are all your stashes in need of replenishing??

Regal Cable Socks

This weekend I finished the stealth project that I've been working on, and that I'll share shortly, and so it was time to start a new project.  I'm rearranging my office, and everything is disassembled, including a proper table on which to wind my yarn.  So I had to do it by hand, which turned out to be a nice change because I got to appreciate the subtle differences in the color I chose. 

What is this bit of perfection?  Sugar Mountain, a vareigated purple colorway of Alchemy's Juniper sock yarn.  I can't remember the last time I knit a pair of purple socks, and it could be that I've never knit a pair before.  In fact, after browsing my Ravelry project page (which is woefully out-of-date), I really think this is the first pair of purple socks I've knit.

I specifically chose it to go with the Cozy Cable sock pattern from the book Sock Club, though at first I was most tempted to knit the Gluttony pattern below.  Kelly at The Unique Sheep recently sent me a copy because the book features several patterns using her Gradiance sock yarn.  I have to admit that, to me, the standout pattern in the book is the Glutony Sock (at below) that features the Glee colorway.  The book has a lot of nice patterns that have been featured in various yarn clubs, but the book's pages are already falling out after one day's use.  Not sure why that's happening, so if you purchase the book and have the same issue, I suggest taking it to Office Depot and having it spiral bound so that you don't lose pages.  I'm considering doing that, should I make my way into town this week.  But it's turning into one of those weeks where I don't think I'll be able to get away.... you know how that can be- the really really nutty weeks.

Cozy Cable is a lovely and intricate cable pattern, and I was worried that there would not only be too much variation in the skein to show the cables, but that the color would be too dark to be an enjoyable evening knit.  I really don't like squinting for hours to see dark stitches, and since I do most of my knitting in the evening while watching TV I was a bit concerned.  I don't have a picture to show you yet because after just one pattern repeat, there really isn't much to photo.

But so far, this has been a wonderful, if not fiddley, knit.  This is the third time I've knit with Juniper, and I adore it.  And while I also adore how the pattern is turning out, it's quite difficult to concentrate on anything else while knitting this one.  It really is stretching my attention span and I'm considering also casting on a more mindless pattern too.  Are there particular patterns that turned out nicely, but were not a relaxing knit for you?