Simply Socks Yarn Co. Blog

Cascade Heritage, a contest!

It's another contest!

Want to win this skein of Cacsade Heritage? To have a chance at winning this skein Heritage Paints in color 9808 Desert Evening, simply answer the following questions in the comments below.

After this looooong winter, what are you most looking forward to about spring/summer?  Are you a teacher with the summer off and more time to yourself?  Are your kids in school and you'll soon get to spend more time with them?  Do you love to garden, swim or boat?  Leave one comment by Wednesday, April 30 at noon EST and you may be the randomly chosen winner.

Me? I'm totally looking forward to more hours of daylight.  I love long days.  I love that the sun comes up around 6:30 am, and I love that there's still a couple hours of light after the boys go to bed at 7:30.  Love LOVE LOVE. Sometimes I spend that quiet time working, but once in awhile it's sitting on the front porch knitting and sipping a tasty beverage.

The added daylight is something I know I'll appreciate more when James is out of school for the summer (since he just started school) and won't have to be in bed by 7:30 to get up for the next school day.  If we want to stay at a friend's pool later, or want to stay outside late and make s'mores, we don't have to worry about getting the boys in bed early because there's no reason to get them up at 6:30! 

 

Want to knit your own? A contest!

I started with this.

Within two hours had this.

And within a day had this.

I am loving knitting this sock up. It's the new Ibiza colorway from our own Poste Yarn Striping Sock, which we dye up in our own studio.  It does all the work for you, an inch of black, and inch of variegated neon colors, and all I have to do is keep knitting.

It's the kind of yarn that makes me feel good about myself.  All I have to do is go about my evening, and in a few hours, I have a gorgeous sock!

We have also created Mount Doom

and Piccadilly Circus

They both stripe in the same way as the sock above- thick black stripe and then a thick variegated stripe.

Want to win a skein of one of these three for yourself?  Just answer the following question in the comments below: What project do you knit most this time of year?  Do you knit socks, lace or something else more often when the weather turns warm?  Leave your comment below before noon EST on Wednesday, April 30.  Want to join yesterday's contest?  Go here!

For me? It's socks.  It's always socks.  But I often refer to this as "sock season" because this seems to be the time of year when we all want to knit socks.  Not only are they lightweight and portable as we travel in the summer, but they also don't sit in our laps making us sweat like a sweater or blanket project does. The idea of sitting at a baseball game, in the sun with a large project on my lap is not appealing.  But give me a sock to knit, and I'll happily sit there all day long. And I love the idea of having a half dozen pairs of socks ready for me when the weather turns warm in the fall.  Like a nice treat to myself to have new socks to wear once the weather turns cold again.

We're back with a contest!

Many of you noticed that our blog (this journal) was down for most of the past week.  Ours, and millions of others served by Typepad, were down (our shop website wasn't involved at all- a completely different website/server), and I do believe we are now back up for good!

To celebrate, let's have a contest!  Did you see the new neon Fluormania colors we have from Regia? They are so fun, aren't they?  This one, color 7189- Neon Ocean, could be yours by answering the following questions in the comments below:

Who in your life would enjoy a handknit made from one of the Fluormania colors and what would you knit with it?  Socks?  Hat? Scarf?  Do tell!

I'll choose one winner by April 30, noon EST and announce it after here on the blog (and e-mail the winner). Enter just once, please.

Thanks for your patience with us!  We all rely on technology and don't realize how much until there's a glitch!  Check back throughout the next week, because we'll have another contest or two.

Spring Kits now available!

Thank you for you patience with us as we got these spring kits ready for you.  We have two options for you, the Printemps Posy Sock Kit which features warm tones of pink and gold, or the Spring Tendrils Sock Kit which features lively green and sky blue. 

Want to add a few things on to your kit to qualify for free shipping?  I have dozens of new colors of Socks That Rock Lightweight from Blue Moon Fiber Arts.  If you want something perfect for a shawl or scarf, consider their Marine Silk Fingering too.

And if you happen to miss out on the kits (as they do sell quickly as each part is typically hand made and that limits the amount we can put together) then take a look at this blog post about the Create-Your-Own-Kit options!

As always, we greatly appreciate your interest in the sock kits.  Putting these together is one of the most fun parts about my job and it make me very happy that you appreciate them so much.  And I know the makers also appreciate knowing how well-loved their creations are too. 

Create-Your-Own Sock Kit!

When photographing all the new Blue Moon Fiber Arts and Bird Leg Bags this week, I became a tad obsessed with putting combinations together.  A bag and a kit that I thought coordinated in a cool way.  I thought I'd share some of those with you today so that you could, in effect, create your own sock kit with a skein of Socks that Rock and a Bird Leg Bag- I have them both in the cubes and rectangles, both great fo sock projects..  For those of you who may miss out on tomorrow's spring sock kits, or for those who want something more or different, I thought I'd make it easy on you and share my ideas.

Foxes with Honey Bunch

Happy Hedgehogs and Just Right Red

Mix Tape and Supercolourfragilistic

Retro Robots and Metaphysical Angst

Tiny Ninjas and Gandalf the Grey

Gnome Living and Crabby McHappypants

 

Gracie Girl (from Three Bags Full) and Kiss

This is just the first batch of my obsessiveness. I just may grace/annoy/burden/bless you with more ideas next week.  There's just so much great color in here that I felt the need to share some of the inspiration. 

Tomorrow, the Spring Sock Kits go up for sale, so if you didn't check out yesterday's post, please do so.  The kits tend to sell out within a few hours, so you might want to get your clicking finger ready for Friday morning!

SSYC Spring Sock Kit Preview

It was such a long, grueling winter, wasn't it?  So unending that we knitters deserve to celebrate the coming of spring with something special (especially since we got snow again YESTERDAY. UGH.).  I've put together two spring sock kits, which will likely go up for sale Friday morning.

If you're into cool hues that embody life and new growth, this one may be for you.  This selection features a specially dyed skein of Dream in Color's Smooshy with Cashmere and a coordinating, reversible project bag.

 

If you like colors that glow and radiate warmth, you might gravitate toward this kit with it's own skein of Smooshy with Cashmere and bag.

Both versions of the spring kit come with a handy tool that's a pointed needle on one end and a crochet hook on the other.  Perfect to keep in your toolbox to help pick up stitches hook an end, or use as a cable needle in a pinch.  You also get a LoLo solid lotion bar in a size that fits nicely into your knitting bag.

Want a kit of your own?  Check back Friday morning, or wait for your e-newsletter.  Our special kits tend to sell out in a few hours (the parts are handmade and limited, afterall), so if this is something you're definitely interested in, the blog is the first place to look, as I post here before the newsletters go out.  Just one perk of keeping up with the SSYC news here on the blog!

Also coming, new colors of Socks that Rock from Blue Moon Fiber Arts (this time with enough to last more than a few minutes in the most coveted colors), adorable sock project bags from Vickie and Danny at Bird Leg Bags, and perhaps some more awesomeness.

Tuesday tease

Later this week: a few hundred pounds of Socks that Rock, new Bird Leg Bags (Henry likes the foxes the best), and the Spring Sock Kits!

Sparkling Sock from Biscotte & Cie

There's just something about a lightly sparkled skein that makes a knitter's hands grabby.  If you see it in the shop, you want to pick it up and immediately take a closer look.  Especially in our shop, with over a dozen windows, the light reflects off the sparkling fibers, and just make you take a longer look.

Louise at Biscotte & Cie has sent us a beautiful batch of her Boreale Sock, a merino/nylon blend with just enough sparkle to catch your eye.  Definitely great for socks, but also for hats, shawls, and other accessories.

I have a nice selection of varigated and semi-solid colors to choose from.

And if striping is more your speed, I have lots Felix striping sock yarn from Biscotte & Cie right now too!

Poste Yarn

I have a few new colors of Poste Yarn, Striping Sock to share!  We were in the mood to dye up some retro colors- interesting combos that you don't often see.  So take a look at:

South Bend

Berkshires

Ocean City

Coral Gables

Take a look at all the colors we have ready for you here.  Or come in the shop this Saturday for our normal once-a-week shop hours.  We are added a few hours on Friday the 11th as well, for those of you who are in town for the Vera Bradley sale, or those who just want to stop on in.  Come on by from 10am-noon on Friday.  We are at 1315 E. State Blvd, Fort Wayne, IN.  No more than a 5 minute drive from the Vera Bradley sale

Tuesday Tease

From our Poste Yarn studio, we are dreaming up some colors for release later this spring.  Thick stripe of black, thick stripe of variegated neon.

Do want to help name these?  We name our Poste Yarn colors after destinations (real or fictional), so keep that in mind when sharing name ideas.  You all come up with some of the best ideas!  Do share in the comments.

Blue Moon Fiber Arts, Marine Silk Fingering

I have a gorgeous new batch of BMFA's Marine Silk Fingering yarn to share.  This blend of 51% silk, 29% merino, 20% seacell is perfect for those special shawls or wraps- those special pieces that you want to be a memorable knit and a fabulous finished piece.  Like Haruni.  Or Ginkgo. Or New Beginnings. Or Sweet Dreams.  Ok, I'm done now.  Wait... Or Dare to Dream.  Stop designing awesome lace BooKnits!  Wait, don't.

Heather's phrase of the day is, "Ugh.  Is Tina trying to kill me??"  Let me translate to non-yarn-shop-worker speak.  "Oh.Mah.Gawd.  If I buy all these skeins I won't be able to eat this week. Guess it's ramen for me."  These are the three skeins that Heather (the shop manager and Poste Yarn dyer) can't resist.

Just Right Red

Metaphysical Angst

Big Brain Blue

I'm a fan of the darkest colors of Marine Silk Fingering.  I imagine using two to knit up a wrap that I'll wear to the symphony.  Perhaps with a little beading.  I went to hear Rachael (your shipping diva) sing in Mozart's Requiem yesterday, and the soloists were wearing wide, long wraps over their fancy dresses.  I forgot how eyecatching a wrap can look on stage (and off) in the right setting.

Ravenscroft

Smoke on the Water

Don't forget to check out the new colors of BFL Fingering Superwash I have for you too. I have a few of the spring colors left, but not much.

Things I've been thinking about

Irresistable single skeins.  You know the ones I'm talking about.  The colorway that you see in a shop or online and it just speaks to you.  You haven't even considered what you might knit with it, but you just have to put it in your shopping cart.  I'm a sucker for these skeins.

What do you do with yours?  Do you let it marinate in your stash or in a fancy bowl in your kitchen til you know what you want to do with it?  That's what I do.  I have a basket at the shop full of these skeins (and a lot more at home), and I have a bowl on my kitchen island that has skeins in it that I just want to keep looking at even though they may not go on the needles for years.  Or do you hide these skeins away so you can finish what you're currently working on without the distraction?  Do you uncover them only to be beguiled by them again and again?

Also?  Food.  I've recently changed my diet to greatly decrease what I eat and also no dairy or sugar and WOW.  After three days I felt great.  My mind is less foggy, I don't need caffeine (when I usually drink several cups of coffee a day) and my body doesn't hurt at the end of a long set of stairs carrying Hank the Tank up at night to bed.  I'm really suprised by the quick change in how I feel.  I did the whole paleo thing three years ago with great results, and now that Henry is nearing 2 years and I haven't nursed for awhile, I'm able to focus more on myself and what my own body wants and needs.  It feels somewhat selfish, but in a good way.

What are you pondering today?

Schachenmayr's Regia Sock Yarn

One of the lines I've been hoping to bring back to SSYC since we moved into our roomy 3500 sq ft space is Regia.  I carried it in the beginning (nearly nine years ago!), and I'm so glad to have it back in the shop in a wide array of colors.  Like Opal and Trekking XXL, Regia is known for fun self-patterning knits that hold up to wear.  If you want to gift someone a pair of socks and you don't know if they will hand wash them, or if you don't have time to do a lot of hand washing (that's me!), then this is a line that you'll really appreciate.

First, I have the Design Line from Kaffe Fassett.  Fassett is well known in the fiber industry for his work with color.  You can learn more about him in this short video. These 12 colors are definitely knitworthy, don't you think?  They come in 50g balls so you can get one for kid feet, two for up to size 10/11 feet, and three for really large or long feet.  I know a lot of people appreciate the option of 50g b/c that way if you need more or less, you can buy what you need and not have 30 grams leftover from one 100g or two 100g balls.  Color 2905 is the one that I'm looking at right now.  Shown below, 2905 Moor, 2902 Heather, 2900 Snappy.

I also have four fun zebra and tiger striping colors in the Zoofari line.  Super cute and also comes in 50g balls.

I'm still waiting on some awesome neon color stripes and solids, and you'll also find a great selection of Regia 4 and 6 ply in the sale section right now.

Picture post

1. My current project. 2. Brenda's Akimbo in MadelineTosh Merino Light. 3. Angela's Poste sock. 4 & 5. A blanket from my knitting group. We a knit a strip for a special new wee one and seamed it. Each stitch for that little one.