Simply Socks Yarn Co. Blog

Manos Del Uruguay, Alegria Sock

When Manos released their first sock yarn last year, it was something that I'd been waiting for years to see.  They definitely didn't disappoint with their soft merino/nylon blend.  I was really suprised with some of their color choices- there were more than one fluorescent colorway, and I didn't know how popular those would be.  Turned out, those were the colors that everyone gravitated toward, and we quickly sold out again and again of those til they were completely unavailable for months.

I now have those bright colors back in stock, plus three new colors- Fuego, Columbina, and Cabaret.

I really like the colors with white in them- I think it will knit nicely into a sock and other small projects that you may like short streaks of color.  Kind of a cool effect, don't you think? 

Fleece Artist Dye Artist Series

Fleece Artist is celebrating their 35th year of dyeing fiber, and to celebrate they are releasing select limited edition deals in what they are calling their Dye Artist Series.  If you were lucky enough to get some of the Saldanha Two or the Emily a early this year at great deals (many colors sold out within an hour), you know how special this is.

I now have for you in the SSYC Sale Section Fleece Artist's Jana, a bulky weight merino/silk blend, hand dyed in the superb technique that the Canadian dyers have been honing for over three decades.

Carrying a bulky weight yarn is rare for my shop, since we specialize in sock yarns and this definitely doesn't qualify as a sock yarn.  Not only is it not superwash, socks knit it in wouldn't fit in any shoes that you would regularly wear.  But as you know, I do carry non-sock yarns in the sale section if the deal is fabulous, and this definitely qualifies. If you'd like to knit or crochet up something very special for someone (or yourself, who am I kidding), this is the way to go.  You can knit up a cowl in just and evening or two.

Looking for pattern ideas?  Try a cowl.  Choose two skeins and knit a Honey Cowl. Or grab two more and knit the Gaptastic Cowl too. Photo below used with permission of designer, Jen Geigley.

Want a simple hat?  Try the Man Hat.  Or the Quick Cable Slouch Hat with one (or two depending on size of hat) skein.  Photo used with permission of designer, Azure.

Also consider about knitting baby gifts or kids items with this.  Think bears, monsters, and bunnies.

As you may remember, our sale yarns can sell out quite quickly.  If you have your eye on something, please don't hesitate too long, just in case.

Patina Test Kitchen

Wow, thank you so much for your response to the Patina Test Kitchen idea.  We've been overwhelmed with interest and it's wonderful to know you trust us to choose something awesome for you.  If you were considering ordering and haven't yet, please do so in the near future because I anticipate closing sign-ups in a couple days.

We're dyeing/drying/tagging up a storm here, and I hope you'll be patient with us as we craft something special for you.  There were at least three times as many orders as I anticipated, so the orders will still start shipping the first part of August, but it's likely it will take us through the second week of August to create and assmeble everything and ship it to you.  Each skein gets quite a lot of hands on time from us.

I also want to let you that I'll be taking some time off soon, so orders placed from August 2 through August 11 won't ship til August 12. If there was yarn you were hoping to order, please do so before August 2.  Also, e-mails and phone calls won't be returned during that time.  The SSYC Team will be putting together and shipping out all the Test Kitchen Sets, but new orders placed from the 2nd through the 11th won't be shipped out until we resume regular shipping on the 12th.  Of course, you're welcome to place orders during that time, they just won't ship until we resume shipping.

Even though we won't be shipping orders, the storefront will still be open on August 3 and August 6.  So stop in and see all the new stuff from Fleece Artist (including some cool stuff for the sale section that I'll post about in mid-August) and all the spankin' new colors from Madelinetosh.  With names like Dirty Panther, Faded Parka and Button Jar Blue, you can expect something fun from their dyepots!

Poste Yarn Test Kitchen

We spend a fair amount of time in the dye studio testing and creating.  If you were part of the last Simply Socks Yarn Co sock yarn club, you received some special Poste Yarn skeins (dyed in our restored post office shop/studio) that showed off what some of our non-striping creations can be.  One of those, the second club skein, was a tonal red, blended and combined with hues to create the type of red that I have been looking for myself.  A red that included warm and cool tones, and a bit of silk to give the red that added dimension that lends a subtle glow.  I really enjoyed the creative process of that skein, and especially the result- a one-color skein with dimension.  And from the feedback from you all on this club, the selections we dyed were very well received.  I want to build on what we've learned and created, and so I have something new to share.

 

(You really should click on the photos to see them in all their glory.)

The new offering from Poste Yarn is tonal "solids" dyed on a merino/nylon/tencel blend.  The merino and nylon make the yarn perfect for socks, and the tencel lends a sheen and drape similar to silk, but without the hefty silk price.  The texture of this blend brings out the best in the minute differences in the colors applied on the skein, and gives a rich look to the finished project.  The tightly plied yarn makes it look smooth, gives great stitch definition and helps socks hold up really well.

Since so many of you have been asking if there will be another club soon (and the answer is that it could be a few months, as we typically do only 2 a year) and saying that you'll miss getting a special surprise in your mailbox, I've decided to offer something new.  If you want to be one of the first people to try the new Poste Yarn, Patina fingering weight, you can order the three-skein Patina Test Kitchen set.

The Patina Test Kitchen set is three skeins of the new Patina sock yarn, we choose the colors for you, and you receive 20% off.  I anticipate the retail cost of each skein is going to be $23.50, and you'll receive your skeins for $18.80 each.  So the three together is be $56.40.  You receive a great deal and the first opportunity to enjoy this yarn, and I get a chance to get your feedback on our colors before we finalize the selection.

Are you in for an awesome surprise?  If so, go here to purchase your Poste Yarn, Patina Test Kitchen set.  We will only be taking orders for a week (or less if they sell out).  In mid-August, you'll receive three different colored (tonal solid) skeins of our choosing.  They will look good together, should you choose to use them in a Color Affection , or Stripe Study (2 skeins), or Happy Street.  Or they can definitely be used separately for a Drop Stitch Scarf a pair of Business Casual socks.

You can definitely add more things to your order if you'd like, but please know that everything you order will be shipped the first week of August, in one shipment.

When you receive your yarn, I'd love to get your feedback on colors.  If you like the depth, if you'd like to see more or less bright sapphire in the skein.  I'd also love to know your ideas for names, keeping in mind that for post yarn we like to use destinations (fictional ones are cool too).  So please e-mail and let me know your thoughts when you get your package!

New from Dream in Color

It's always a special occasion when I have something new to share from Dream in Color.   It will be another month before their6-month Dream Club starts (I'll definitely let you know), but I have something just as awesome to share.  New colors.

I have for you all the new 600's series of colors in Smooshy, and soon to come on Smooshy with Cashmere.  If you're familiar with Dream in Color yarn, they are known for the application of color in a way that typically doesn't pool or stripe- just nice variegated color in your knitted fabric.  But after this series, they might be known for out-there names too.  Below, take a look at 601-Rose Anguish/ 606-Bitter Malaise/ 610-Mild Tedium and below that 603-Naked Shame/ 601-Rose Anguish/ 604-Apathy.  Now those are some interesting colorway names.  

What do you think of the 14 new colors (610-614) and their names?  Damp Pillow, Blue Sulk, Humdrum, Forget Me, Milky Spite... they make me think of the type of teenage angst that has a 17 year old girl crying in her bed at night about a boy.  What do you think?

Have you started following SSYC's Instagram feed?  If you'd like to see photos of what's new, or tidbits of things I'm finding interesting, give it a try.  It's just a quick way for me to share what I'm seeing, from Rachael and Heather putting together kits and clubs, to new colors from our fave dyers as they arrive.  The blog and Facebook will continue to be great ways to keep up on what we're up to... it's a fun new way to connect, using more pictures and less text.

Lang Jawoll Magic Degrade

Do you like yarns with gradual color changes?

Me too.  If you haven't tried Lang's Jawoll Magic Degrade yet, you really should.

I just received a shipment of new colors and the popular ones that we were out of.

For $20, you get a yarn that will do most of the work for you.

Looking for patterns?  Consider Wingspan (and the Lattice Wingspan), or  Drachenfeuer, Dreambird, Longitudinal, or the cool ZickZackLoop.

Mmmmmm.  Yum.

Contest winners

A few weeks ago, I featured the lovely Freesia shawl here on the blog, and the designer offered free patterns to three contest winners.  Contestants were asked what color in Tanis Yellow Label you'd choose to knit the shawl.  The lucky winners of the pattern are:

Rosemary L. who said "Rabbit hole, here I come! I will make this in Olive...from Tanis. Yellow label."

Karen who said "Tanis Shadow. Love this pattern. Have it my favorites."

Megan, who said "I'd love this in TFA Yellow Label Lucky Penny"

The winners have been sent an e-mail from me.  Congrats!

I also hosted a contest to win this skein of Sweet Georgia's CashLuxe Fine in the Velvet Underground colorway, and the winner of that one is Debbie, who said "I would definitely knit that shrug in pomegranate - I love the color combination."

If you don't receive the shop's e-newsletter, you may not know that we just received even more Sweet Georgia yarn.  I have more colors of this yarn than I've ever had before in CashLuxe Fine, Tough Love Sock and Silk Crush, so if you have been tempted to give it a try or knit it yet again, now's the time to find a superb array of colors.

Above, skeins drying in the Sweet Georgia Studio.  Below, the Sweet Georgia showroom.

Knitting outside your box

This summer, I'm test knitting some really nice samples from small dyers.  I usually pass along my secret test knitting to one of my half-dozen test knitters for review, but now that Henry is older and allowing me to have more knitting time, the casting on of spanking-new stuff is infusing my knitting with excitement that I'm relishing.  I've specifically chosen colors that are outside my normal "crayon box" of blues and greens, and instead I'm knitting mauves and wines.  And I'm even considering a nearly-neon orange.

Secret (for now) test knitting, above and below.

This skein below is one that caught the eye of myself and of Heather when it came in the shop.  It's the Dutch color from Sweet Georgia in CashLuxe Fine.  I think it might be the perfect orange.  It's almost multicolored in nature because of the change in concentration in color throughout, but it's not so bright that it's eye searing.  It's the kind of color that just attracts you, but you aren't sure why.  It's AH-MAZE-ING.  A picture can't even represent how really gorgeous this skein is, but I gave it a good try.

When I asked Felicia, owner of Sweet Georgia, about this particular color, she told me "It's named after the Netherlands national soccer team becuase my husband lived in Holland after university and fell in love with the team during the World Cup.  I blogged about it a little too.  He wore those orange socks that I knit for him on our wedding day!"

What do you do to re-energize your knitting?  When you finish with a large project that took a little too long, what's the first thing you want to cast on?  Want to join me in knitting completely out our crayon boxes?

Picture post

It's been a whirlwind of a week! So I'll share pictures:

Test knitting

 

New sparkly gradient yarn

James turned six

Minion cupcake decorating.  Also known as: The reason I own a yarn store and not a cupcake shop

Birthday brothers

I now have a one year old baby.  Overnight, Henry went from baby-whose-life-you-count-in-months to a toddler-whose-life-is-measured-in-years.  In the short span of one year, he went from an infant who survived only on milk, to a little dude who just fed himself sweet potato pancake, fried eggs and banana for breakfast.  He didn't leave our arms for the first three weeks of his life (You really can't spoil a baby.  Really.) to a guy who will only stay in my arms while I'm nursing him, and then is always on the go.

Henry is a 27 pound one-year old.  That's huge to me.  He's in the 98% for length, head circumference and weight. It's no wonder he only takes a few steps before sitting down.  He sleep predictably all night, takes two long naps during the day, and really is happy nearly all the time.  He's a bit more attached to me than I remember James being.

In a few short days, I'll also have a six year old boy.  A miniature man who was once under 6 pounds when we walked through our front door.  His middle name is Danger, which is funny, since he's the type of kid who love to sing and assemble Legos and color; certainly not dangerous activities.

When this little guy was born, I had no idea what being a parent was really about.  I had decorated a nursery, bought all the baby items you think you need, but had no idea the that the things I couldn't purchase were the things it took to be a good parent.  Patience.  The ability to put someone else first all the time- not because you want to, but because you just do.  

It's hard to believe that this was us nearly a year ago.  A bleary-eyed-tired kind of day, when you're all getting to know each other all over again and have no idea what was in store.  I'd do it all over again... but I'd hope for more sleep and knitting time!

Adorable one-skein project... and a contest

Saturday seemed to be Sweet Georgia Day in the shop.  So many of you read the blog from Friday and wanted to see the new colors in person, and Rachael (she ships your orders) wore this shrug, which is a very smart use of one skein of Sweet Georgia's Tough Love sock yarn in the Summer Skin colorway ( that color is currently out, but there are many other options).

Rachael heavily modified the Sagebrush pattern, which is a worsted weight shrug with a leafy lace pattern to it that you could knit using something awesome like Classy from Dream in Color.  But if you'd like to knit the shrug using a fingering weight yarn like Rachael, here's her pattern page where she listed how she changed the pattern to turn it into what she's wearing here.  She used Tough Love, but you could certainly use any fingering weight yarn of your choosing.  I think what's nice about using Tough Love, CashLuxe Fine or Silk Crush is that the hues of Sweet Georgia give such a perfect punch of color to an outfit- a festive way to celebrate summer.  And since the project is basically a rectangle with a seam in the arms, it would be a good project for those who haven't yet started using sock yarn for things other than socks.

Want to have a chance to win this skein of Sweet Georgia CashLuxe Fine in Velvet Underground?

Simply tell me what color you'd knit the shrug in (or another project if you aren't into knitting shrugs) of Sweet Georgia's Tough Love, CashLuxe Fine, BFL Sock or Silk Crush, and I'll choose one person to win this skein.  This is a flash contest, meaning it's over quickly, so leave your comment by 8pm EST tonight to have a chance.  One entry per person.

Please note that for your entry to count, you really do have to answer the question.  Non-specific comments like, "I'd choose a brown yarn."  Or  "Please enter me in the contest."... Those don't actually enter you- answer the question asked to have a chance at winning.

Sweet Georgia

It's something I've been waiting months for.

Very large boxes of Silk Crush, Tough Love and CashLuxe Fine from Felicia and her crew at Sweet Georgia.  You can learn more about Felicia if you want to read the interview she did with me a couple years ago.

There's just something about her application of color that makes you want to knit immediately.

All day, I've been envisioning myself knitting up multiple shop samples in Silk Crush (all the images shown are in this silk/merino base).

I wish the imaginative part of my brain worked better with my time management part though.

I can think of many things I'd rather leave unattended so I can knit. Diaper changing.  Refrigerator cleaning (ours broke two days ago, taking all the food with it).  Checkbook balancing.

What things would you give up to have more knitting time this weekend?

If you are in Fort Wayne, or within driving distance, come see us tomorrow!  We'll be open from 10-4 on Saturday, and I'd love to show all these lovely skeins off.  Plus Tough Love (merino/nylon) and CashLuxe Fine (merino/cashmere/nylon).  And all the new Three Irish Girls, Madelinetosh Pashmina, Cascade Heritage Paints (new colors!), Biscotte & Cie, Lorna's Laces Sportmate.  It's been a busy week for our delivery people, especially since it was all packed into a shorter work week because of the holiday.

New Colors from Lorna's Laces, featuring Sportmate

It's that time of year.  New colors from Lorna's Laces.

Shown below, all in Sportmate, left to right and top to bottom: Flushing, Arlington, Rippey, Reno Worcester, Louisville, Monrovia, Rockaway.

I asked a few questions about this new batch of colors to Beth, owner and dyeing diva at Lorna's Laces, and thought you might be interested in learning more too.  Here's what we chatted about via e-mail:

Allison (@SSYC): I'm noticing earthy, putty and purple tones in the new colors.  What inspired this batch?

Beth (@Lornas Laces): Ha!  You make it sounds like we're super organized when it comes to creating colors!  Sure, sometimes we take a look and what we have and see if there are holes in the palette, but often it's more organic than that.  We work on colors all the time.  I might notice something on my walk to work that gets my creative juices flowing and I'll try and get the mental image onto yarn as soon as I get in the studio.  Or someone will mention a fabulous meal they had at a local restaurant and we'll work backwards from that.  We keep a basket of happy experiments in my office.  Sometimes a color will be in that basket for years waiting its turn.  Reno (shown below) was one of those.

Allison: I'm also noticing non-Chicago names, like Worcester, Flushing, etc.  Is there a particular reason?  I'm so used to seeing you name colors after Chicago landmarks and avenues.

Beth: We decided to move away from Chicago this season and let everyone at Lorna's Laces tell a little bit of their story.  Each of the colors reflects something in one of our pasts.  One of us was born in Louisville, KY (the gold skein), another in Monrovia, Liberia (the dark purple gray).  One of our group started school in Flushing, NY.  There was a first date in Worcester, MA.  Rippey is a town in Iowa, and one of our crew met her husband there.

Allison: Arlington seems, to me, to be a bit of a departure of the style of dyeing that I notice from you guys.  Usually, the colors seem so defined on the skein (bittersweet, rainbow).  This color reminds me of how I see Baltic Sea, which the colors seem to blend together, making new colors.  What's the inspiration for Arlington?

Beth:  I wish I had an awe inspiring story for you , but it turns out to be sort of mundane.  I was doing a hands on dye workshop a few years ago and wanted to show the students what each of the colors we'd be using looked like, so I put them all on a skein of yarn.  It turned out to be really pretty and voila, a star is born.  Sometimes colors are serendipitous.  It's important to keep your eyes and heart open to what the world puts out there for you.

Allison:  To me, that's a great story!  I especially like Arlington on the Sportmate base- that little bit of sheen from the Outlast fiber makes it even more interesting.  What projects do you think really shine in Sportmate?  What trends do you see when knitters are using this yarn?

Beth:  A few favorite project that we think really show off Sportmate are Sazerac by Mercedes Tarasovich Clark, Aitana by Ruth Garcia Alcantud, Fall Fields Cardigan by Beth Neilson, and Sportmate Cowl by Amy Christoffers (photo is courtesy of Amanda @ Lorna's Laces).  The price point and yardage are great for big projects, and the temperature and moisture control of the Outlast fiber makes it cozy for accessories.  Sportmate knits up beautifully at a DK or Sport weight, so it's flexible for a variety of projects.

*          *          *          *        *

Thanks to Beth, for taking time out of her busy dye schedule to answer my questions.  Right now, I have all the new colors in Sportmate, and a few each in Solemate and Sock.  More to come soon with our next shipment from their Chicago-based dye studio.

Madelinetosh Pashmina

Every few months, I seem to time things in a crazy way... instead of yarn coming in a nice stream, it floods the store.  Okay, it could be that I'm having a hard time resisting anything lately, so I order every color I see.  And it's awesome.  This is one of those flood-of-yarn weeks, when I have so much coming to share, and I just might have to buy more fixtures at the shop just to house it all.

 

Today, I have for you the coveted Pashmina from Madelinetosh... I can tell from the weekend's orders that several of you already saw the restocks on the website I was working on.  This yarn is one that's hard to keep around, even for me, and I'm pretty good about placing enough orders to keep a nice supply in the shop.  But this fiber combo (merino/cashmere/silk) is just hard for Madelinetosh's mill to keep up with, thus the long wait on orders.  I have a slew of restocks of your faves like Tart and Seawash and Heuchera, plus new colors like Mala, shown below.

I look forward to sharing with you some what has arrived later this week from Lorna's Laces, Sweet Georgia, and others.  Til then, check out the following patterns that you might really like to knit with Pashmina.  Rachael (SSYC's Shipping Diva) scoured Ravelry for these:

One skein projects:

Shaelyn, Leila Raabe

Wurm, Katharina Nopp

Falberry Mitts, Anne Hanson

Stacked Eyelet Cowl, Ami Madison

Lilac Wine, photo below courtesy of Amy Christoffers

Two skein projects:

Pretty Maids, Joyce Fassbender

Shifting Sands, Grumperina

High Road, Mary-Heather Cogar

Three & four skein projects:

Pomme de pin Cardigan, Amy Christoffers (Rachael knit this one recently in Pashmina)

Larch Cardigan, Amy Christoffers

Pecan Crush, Carol Feller

Atelier, Heidi Kirrmaier

I also received restocks of Tosh Sock too.  So if you've been waiting on the bright multicolors that are only dyed on Tosh Sock like Birthday Cake, Frida or Amaranth, check out the 68 colors I have available right now.