10th Anniversary Kit and Contest!

Today's the day! It's SSYC's 10th Anniversary! Hard to believe 10 years ago today I took the leap from environmental education to yarn shop owner. I'm so fortunate to have met so many wonderful knitters and dyers over the past decade and to run a business that not only helps to support my family, but many others. Today we're commencing the summer-long party with this fun kit. Details can be found here, and then go here to grab yours. As usual, the quantities are limited by the hand made nature of the goods. If you happen to miss out, I have two other kits coming in July and August that are just as collectible.

Let's also start off the party with a contest! Beata at Hedgehog Fibres wants six of you to have a skein of the Better than Tin colorway that she dyed specially for us for this kit. If you are buying a kit, you already get one, and you might as well enter the contest too and perhaps you'll get another one to knit a larger project.

To have a chance at winning one of the six skeins Beata gave us (learn about her here), play the role of a designer and tell me what colors you'd love to see put onto a skein of Hedgehog Fibres sock yarn. Do you want something bright and confetti colors? What about pale grey base with short bursts of blue and green? Describe the skein you'd love to see and you could randomly win! Heck, I might like your idea so much that I have it dyed for the shop (There are already some special edition colors in the works for this summer!). Just enter once and do so before Thursday, June 4 at 1pm EST. I'll e-mail the winners and announce here on the blog.

Sock below knit up by Vickie at Bird Leg Bags. I might have sent her the first skein last month as a little surprise and she did a beautiful pairing of the no-purl Monkey pattern with it (and she added that sweet picot cuff).

Comments

[Karen N.]

How about dark gray or black with splashes of bright neon colors, such as pink, yellow, aqua, and green?

[Kay]

Congratulations on 10 years Allison! I love most colors except the neon limes and yellows but even those go into a mix where they aren't required to carry too much weight. My colors? Stormt skies.. Grays with flecks of ivory, gray blues, sky blues, charcoal and even some yellows.

[Margaret]

My pick would be a grey base yarn with pops of hot pink and mint green!

[merle burton]

Orange and a creamy white . Back to our young days of creamscicles and no cares.

[savannagal]

If I were making socks with the skein, I would love to have bright colors, like fuscia and lime green, or purple and lime green. If I were making a neck wrap, I'd like earthy colors like evergreen and rust, or several blues, including faded jeans colors. Thanks for the giveaway.

[Sandy]

I love yarns that are inspired by food, especially desserts. I'm thinking of a yarn that is inspired by spumoni--pink, green, and brown with speckles for nuts/fruits.

[Virginia Hendricks]

I'd probably do light purples, pinks, light blues and a little bit of a dark red purple variegated onto a light color base.

[Miriam]

silvery grey!

[Sara]

If I'm thinking of this for socks, I'm always looking for good colors to go with denim, anything in the indigo family with accent of other colors.

[Geraldine Scott]

Oh, golly, I am horrible at picking colors…but, how about a neutral base with jewel-toned confetti?

[Laura]

Pink, taupe, brown, and cream look so pretty together...similar to the brachs candy colorway that is discontinued.

[Vicki Maynes]

Teal, chartreuse, a red-violet, and gray for a base in a variegated is my request! Love your kits! Especially the Birdleg Bags!

[Bobbi]

Soft grey with confetti of turquoise, pink and a green

[Karen]

I love the idea of a shimmery gray base, sprinkled with Aqua, teal, and lime green.

[PatW]

I just bought some beautiful Ninebark bushes. How about a deep maroon with pink and white areas and touches of dark green.

[Linda L. in WI]

My DH and I visited San Antonio recently and fell in love with a Mexican blanket at El Mercado. The stripes of black, navy blue, red, orange, and cream (with its Ojo de Dios) reminded us of a beautiful sunset. So, those are the colors (and the name, Mexican Blanket) that I'd like to see!

[m]

gray with rainbow spatters!

[Wendy]

I'm looking for the color Yukon gold in things. However, I love bright colors and always seem to be drawn to them.

[Kate]

I would love to see orange with confetti flecks of red and yellow

[Beth Fulton]

I love earthy fall colors....some burnt orange with forest greens and browns would be lovely for me!

[Cathy goldman]

Would love to see deep purple with neon pink and the a dash of salt

[Jamie M]

I would love to have plum, gold, kiwi/lime green and bronze (variegated) combos.

Or the colors of a maple leave in Fall.

Congratulations! I'm a supporter as my budget allows ;)

[Jamie M]

grrrr maple LEAF

[Diane S]

I would like a medium gray base with pops of soft red, green and teal :)

[Caroline]

I love the confetti look. I'd like to see if paired with a summer theme. A beachy sand base with specks of bright for ocean, umbrellas, Popsicles

[Elizabeth Merkler]

I liked the idea Kristen posted for the "Colors of the Ocean". I love the water and varying shades you can see in the water.
I also love the jewel tones.

[Rachel]

I have been on a blue and orange kick lately. I would also add purple and maybe kelly green. A gray background could be lovely or it might mute the colors. hmm.

[Judy]

I'd like a skein of yarn that is about 80 - 85% black, with splashes of bright colors - red, blue, green, gold, purple, etc. comprising the rest of the skein. This reminds me of fireworks or Light Up Night in Pittsburgh.

[Lisa Sauer]

I'm a sucker for speckles! Throw in some stripes, maybe at varying widths, and I'm in heaven! I couldn't even begin to suggest colors - I'll leave that to the experts...

[emily]

Red, purple, and gray!

[Janet Duff]

I would like black, grays, and red. Maybe called something to do with licorice? I'll be waiting!

[L. Wilson]

Mountain wildflowers...green, white (bear grass), purple (lupine) and yellow (balsamroot) or orange (indian paintbrush).

[Brenda B]

I always think anything on a light grey or a silver grey base looks stunning. You can pair it with so many other colours from tonal to muted to bright. A grey, light silver with spots of either pink, purple or green is wonderful! Congrats on the 10 year milestone, I'll have to be quicker if I want a yarn kit I see!

[Robbie]

I would love a tonal that highlights the colors of the mountains after the sun has gone down but there is still light in the sky. Many shades of bluish-purple. Add some pops of sunset colors - red, orange, gold to include the colors of the clouds that get painted with color from the sun that has set.

I'd call the color Mountain Sunset.

I've seen the shades of purple in the mountains and at the rim of the Grand Canyon.

[Bonni]

Purple Passion (me) would like a black base with very bright purple,turquoise, silver and a touch of orange.

[M Jean Busch]

primary colors in stripes for socks for my grandkidlets

[Nancy]

Cherry red, bright white, with flecks of yellow, orange, green, and blue. Nothing greyed, all clear colors, for a crisp clean look.

[Steph Guyer]

I'd love to see a color based on a sunset--yellow shaded to orange and peach fading into light blue, cobalt blue and purple.

[Rose Birchall]

I like gray with purple.

[Fern]

Iwould like a charcoal grey base with lighter grey and yellow .

[Sally]

My favorite color is purple. I would love to see a gradient skein starting with a very pale violet and ending with a very rich dark plum!

[Beth W.]

I am always looking for the perfect color that beautifully depicts the mind-blowing colors of the Caribbean ocean. The problem is, it varies so, from light aqua to a richer blue green. It varies with the sky, with how white the surrounding sand is. The perfect one is more tonal, less variegated, a smooth transition of tones, not a hot mess of splashed on color, and not prone to striping or pooling.

[Karen G.]

I love the way the "confetti" colors work up in Better than Tin. The sock yarn I've been dreaming of would have blood red along with a progression of greys, maybe some black, in long color-morphing transitions. I'm always wishing I had red handknit socks, but not solid red. Congrats on your 10 year anniversary! :)

[Therese]

I would love to see greys and blacks with streaks of peachy pinks, purples, and blues like all the colors of the sky.

[Anne G]

I'm always drawn to a combination of different shades of taupe, chocolate brown and turquoise.

[Nathanne Verner]

I love bright jewel colors, so red background with short runs of yellow, royal blue, purple, emerald green and orange would be lots of fun. A pair of socks using this would be great to wear.

[joyce hancock]

I would like a combination of water colors. Blues, greens and purples.

[Kat]

I've been loving red and blurple together lately, so I think a medium-light gray base with bursts of a bright, happy red and blurple would be great!

I would also love a steely, blue leaning gray with rusty red and some darker gray. I'm thinking an industrial looking corroded and rusted metal.

[Caitlin Dunnavant]

I love shades of green. I also love purples! I think it would be really cool to have an emerald green shade with a lavendar accent or color burst!

[Aimee]

Always bright happy colors, especially pinks and oranges or bright purples. Very rarely am I drawn to greys or blues.

[Elizabeth]

I am so loving Spring that green and blue are my favorite colors right now! Any lovely shades of green and blue with remind me of Spring when the snow flies again!

[Nancy]

My color preferences change often, but a medium to light gray heather base with deep reds, pinks, purples, and crimsons would be lovely.

[Deb Adams]

The more color, the better for my taste expanded from a base of cream color yarn. Something with bright colors inspired by Bubble Gum ice cream or confetti angel food cake.

[Jamie]

I've seen rainbow colored stripes on black and gray bases, but would like them on white or bright yellow.

[kathy garcia]

2015 color of year - marsala, would be beautiful blended in neutrals. I'm drawn to classic, rich colors.

[georgienne westrick]

I would love confetti yarn done up in all the glorious colors of fall.

[Cheryl]

I'm not very good at combining colors, but I would love to see some in your face blues, greens, and yellows, with maybe a hint of purple tossed in for good measure on a very pale grey base. But whatever the pros come up with, I usually fall in love with!

[April]

Any combo for Christmas colors or the traditional "sock monkey" colors ;);)

[Elizabeth]

I would love to see turquoise, red, and white together.

[Carla]

I adore blues and purples with a tad of green or turquoise!

[Becky]

I would love a cobalt blue with a really rich, golden yellow, and just enough white background to set it off perfectly.

[Ann Matson]

I'm thinking of a pale pink base with a rich purple, a bright happy aqua and splashes of black. Oh dear, excuse me - I got so excited I almost spilled my coffee.

[Kelly H]

I love Beata's yarns! Anything she dyes is just amazing! I love a pale yellow yarn with chocolate brown, teal, turquoise, apricot, and coral splashes.

[Michelle]

OOH I love aqua and red together....or pinks and greys!

[Kathleen]

My perfect color would be a tonal gray from charcoal to the palest pearl gray, with a few black speckles for interest.

[Kim]

Make mine Chicago Blackhawks colors please! Large red stripes with white and black smaller stripes.

[Natalie]

I would enjoy a skein the colors of sunflowers with the golden yellow and brown

[Jean H]

Pink Lemonade with ice, would be a great summer color!

[Deb White]

Wow. Design a colourway she said. Okay. Here goes......... lately I have been drawn to the bright peacock blue that fades into bright green and also to yellow. So, if I saw the background zipping yellow to green (you know those deliciously bright, lively colors), speckled and blobbed all over with bright peacock blue. And the sock has to have bobbles. Oh hey, the bobbles would have the peacock splotches, and the foot of the sock would be mainly green and yellow!

[Melissa]

I've been drawn to spice and herb colors lately. I envision a base the color of ground pepper with flecks of cayenne, cinnamon, turmeric, sage, ginger, cumin, saffron, cilantro...beautiful, rich colors.

[cheryl]

tangerine, pale yellow and pink on a soft gray base would be nice.

[Jan]

The confetti colorways are tantalizing! I think I'd like a white base with confetti blue and red, maybe sorta heavily confetti'd. USA patriotic red and blue, please!

Thanks for the contest!

[Jenny K]

Colors of Cherry Garcia ice cream, red and chocolate on a vanilla background.

[SarahP]

I've been on a green kick lately, so I'm thinking a sage green partnered with a soft grey and dashes of bright pink scattered in.

[Emily]

How about turquoise with spots of bright orange.

Congratulations on 10 years!

[Donna]

I really like yarns that are speckled - short bursts of colors on a solid (usually cream or natural). I'd love to see a cream base with very pale seafoam green shading into Aqua with lavender. Another suggestion would be a semisolid gray with pops of very bright colors - red, hot pink, yellow, neon green.

[Anna]

I love the colors of the oceans idea!! Blues, turquoise, greens, sea foam--all beautiful. A companion to that: the creams, tans, and silvers of a fine sand.

[karen machado]

I would love to see a deep, rich russet brown combined with a deep rose color with flecks of golden yellow and a deep teal/aqua blue. This reminds me of a pretty victorian calico and I would love to see Hedgehog fibers turn it into one of their gorgeous yarns! Thank you! And Happy Tenth Anniversary! Love you gals!

[Becki]

My daughter loves bright colors - I would love to have something with short stripes of lime green and hot pink.

[Donna]

Reading back over the comments, I see that a lot of people share my preference for a neutral color with speckles of other colors - a lot like a shade of gray with pops of bright colors.

[Barbara]

I prefer sock yarn with 10% to 20% nylon for durability. As for the color I love to wear gray but do not enjoy knitting gray. With that in mind, I am always looking for a blue-gray with pops of other colors to keep me motivated to complete the project.

[Deb]

I have dreamed up two different variations of skeins that I would love to see done in variegated style.

First - a very pale aqua background color with splashes of color like red and blue purples, blue greens, and teals of many values.

Second - a very pale orange background with splashes of shiny copper, Beata's beautiful spring green that boarderes on dark lime, golds, and crimson red.

I love to visualize these colorways! Thanks for the chance of winning this new colorway, Better than Tin. I only hope that you will bring that colorway to your choices of yarns.

[Debra Houser]

Happy Anniversary!!

I'd love a dark grey, with short bursts of neon pink,neon green,neon blue,bright red,
Gorgeous!!

[Renee' Sawyer]

How about a soft Mango color with speckles of pink, blue and green.

[Elizabeth Hocevar]

My favorite colors together are an eggshell white base with cherry red, apple green and a paler shade of green. Wouldn't this make great Christmas socks to wear to a holiday party?

[Anne]

I would like to see one with dark grey with pops of silver/ light grey and hot pink.

[Janelle]

These confetti yarns are so fun! I am fond of a moody gray base with speckles of cool colors... teal, aqua, blue, lime green, maybe some deep purple. Can't wait to try some of this yarn!

[Maria R]

Colors that remind me of a field of lupines.

[Pam]

How about a Spring garden theme, to give hope in the long winter days that sunny days will return - grass green with lighter and darker green splotches, along with flecks of light and dark lilac, a little tulip red and short stripes of Caribbean sky blue.
Happy Anniversary!

[Joyce]

I was just talking about how this plant's colors would look magnificent as a hand-dyed hank of yarn and thought about looking for an indie dyer to do it
https://jkgphotos.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/scary-spider-006.jpg

[Michelle]

My dream skein... Well I love the non traditional color schemes and I would love to see a cool olive base with pops of teal and purple... I wish my color vocabulary was better so I could describe what's in my mind's eye better, lol.

[Jean]

I would like a bright splashes of color kind of like the confetti angel food cakes my Mom used to make.

[Paula]

How about a light blue base with short bursts of bright magenta, purple, lime green and navy? I think that sounds lovely!

[Rebecca Briggs]

I would love to see something with rich jewel tones, deeply saturated, like a Turkish carpet -- something you could feel decadently opulent wearing! Emeralds and rubies and sapphires, oh my!

[Diana Lichvarik]

I would love to see blue and gray or pink and gray. Great colors I often wear in my wardrobe. Thanks

[Joanie]

I would love ocean colors...pale blue, dark aqua, sandy tan, creamy white.

[Jan Ball]

Being a big fan of lighthouses (and yarn) I would love to see a series of colorways named for historic lights. Right now I am thinking about Cape Hatteras light. The black and white with a little red for the bricks and a dark ocean teal. A sparkly thread for the flashing light. SOunds good to me.

[Pat Neumann]

I would think blue, with some yellow, white and red.

[Rachel R.]

I would love to see something that mimics a beautiful day at the beach - sky blue, some white for fluffy clouds, palest sand, a little seafoam green - that would be lovely!

[Lisa B]

We live close to Lake MI and I think a yarn w/ the colors of that environment; the off-white to brown sands, the green tones of beach grass and the shifting greys/blues/turquoises of the lake would be stunning!