Simply Socks Yarn Co. Blog

More MALABRIGO

You may have noticed that 2016 has been a year of crazy amounts of yarn at SSYC. We're calling it Yarn Overload 2016 here in the shop, and it's caused some, um, interesting conversations around here as I buy huge amounts of yarn, and then it arrives with no place to put it. Afterall, we have a lot of space, but it is finite.

As you can see in the photo above (and this is from two years ago), the shop was well stocked. But now, we have TWICE the amount of shelving with double width shelves. And now we're starting to go upward, since our 14' ceiling allows us that advantage. As you can see in the photos below, the shelves and trees are dripping with fibery skeins.

Now, I'm adding even more yarn. This time, every color of Malabrigo Mechita, a soft and buttery one-ply fingering weight merino wool that glows with color (apparently, I'm into singles lately).  Shown below in Lotus and Piedras.

And soon you'll see worsted weight superwash merino Malabrigo Rios in every color. SSYC is going to stay focused on sock yarn as we have in the past 10 years, but I'm going to continue to sprinkle in a few other lines in other weights that many of you have been asking for. As you know, when I carry a line, I like to go all in with the colors, and I know that will be appreciated in the new lines I'm adding, even if they are better used for garments and accessories rather than socks. Hey, socks are BY FAR my favorite thing to knit, but I do like a little variety once in awhile.

I hope you'll enjoy all the added fibery goodness that I'm adding to the shop over the coming months. Your loyalty and patronage has allowed my small shop to continue to grow over the last 10 years, and I love being surrounded by yarn every day. Even when I'm being cursed by my staff for *ahem* over indulging!

Opal Happy Collection

Opal WITH SPARKLES. Need I say more?

Probably not. But I will.

Like, this is going RIGHT ON MY NEEDLES. And, WHERE have you been all my life? And let's not forget YOWZA.  Get yours. The End.

Regia's new wool-free option

Though most of us knit wool blend sock yarns nearly exclusively, we all like to have a little variety. Perhaps we are knitting for someone who is allergic to wool (or thinks they are) or we just want a little change in our fiber choices. But wool-free sock yarns are hard to come by. I do carry a few tried and true options in Pediwick and Panda Cotton in solids and multis, and now I have one more offering for you. Regia has released Pairfect Cotton, which is a super cool self-patterning option.

The Pairfect wool collection was released last year, and the concepts is that it's one ball of yarn that is divided halfway through by a yellow space of yarn. You cut that yellow yarn away and that's where you start each sock so you have two identically matching socks.

Turtlepurl is Baaaaack!

It's back, it's back! Stunning Turtlepurl is back! (shown here in Beekeeper)

Many of these striping colorways go quickly, like Trenchcoat (inspired by Burberry colors), so grab the ones you want while you see them.

And, of course, I have glittery Turtlepurl too. Looks super cool in What Does it Mean, a grey and rainbow stripe that I'm obsessed with.

Of course, this color also comes in non-glitter too.

Infuse your knitting with some striping goodness today!

Sign up now for SSYC's newest Sock Yarn Club!

Sign ups are now open for our newest sock yarn club! This club runs for three months and features all those awesome mini skeins sets that are all the rage among the most sought after dyers right now. April, May and June you'll receive a special edition set of mini skeins, each set with something different to offer.

Hedgehog Fibres of Ireland is one of these dyers, but the other two will remain a secret until you open your boxes!

The price of this three month club includes shipping, but as usual we are focusing only on the yarn. As you know, mini skein sets can be quite pricey, but I think you'll agree that the price for the three months and shipping is quite nice for this club, especially since two of the three kits includes about 20% more than the normal 400 yards.

I try and offer enough spaces in our clubs to keep the sign up time to about a week to 10 days, so while you don't have to rush and buy immediately like you do our holiday kits, I don't recommend waiting too long. You are also able to purchase more than one club subscription (this is popular for those who want to make larger projects or want the option of gifting to a friend), and I'll refund US orders $18 for every additional club ordered. For each additional non-US club ordered, I'll refund $10. And if you are in Fort Wayne and want to pick up your order in the shop on our open days, just choose "in-store pickup" as your shipping option and I'll refund your $18 shipping. Since shipping is already included in the $135 cost of the club (expect for non-US, you'll still see your additional shipping fee added), this is the easiest way to do this. Please note- order the club alone without anything else in your cart.

I love working with the dyers I've chosen for this club. I think that 15 clubs is proof of how well-loved our sock yarn clubs are. Just the fact that we've done so many, and the number of subscribers keeps increasing, that means a lot to me. I like knowing that our special edition offerings are appreciated, and I know the dyers like doing short runs like this because it allows them to be more creative and think outside the box. Members of our clubs get some really amazing colorways because the dyers aren't trying to please thousands of people or hundreds of yarn shop owners. They are simply using their artistry to create something unique and appreciated by discerning knitters. I'm sure if you've been part of our clubs before, you can relate to what I'm saying!

Lorna's Laces Winners

I've randomly chosen the three winners of last week's contest, and the lucky ladies who won some Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock are Wendy, Helen, and Renee!

Wendy said, "Such a hard choice. I'd love any color really, but I think right now I'd choose Hawaii for many reasons, most of them cold related lol."

Helen said, "I'm also taken by Cattails and Venetian Spring, but the springiest of all, to me, is Tidepool. It reminds me of making it to the beach for spring break for the first hot sunshine that hasn't reemerged yet at home, and taking my little dachshund girl dog to splash in the tide pools with her short legs. :)"

And Renee said, "Jeans is my favorite colorwave because it goes with everything!"

Congratulations again to our three winners, and keep an eye out this week for new goodies from Fiddleknits and Turtlepurl, as well as yarn from an exciting new dyer! If you missed yesterday's post about the crazy about of Hedgehog Fibres, take a look!

Gorgeous Hedgehog Fibers

Each time we get Hedgehog Fibres in stock, the amounts seem to get larger and larger. I just can't help myself. I figure if it's traveling all the way from Ireland, I might as well go all out, right? Who's with me??

Not only do we have the two newest colors in all the bases we carry (Film Noir and Shiver shown above on Sock Yarn) I now also have the Skinny Singles and Sock Mini skeins!

Skinny Singles, shown above in our exclusive colorway Sangria, are just what you'd think they are from the name- fingering weight one-ply merino. The color seems to glow on each skein and the texture and weight is perfect for shawls and garments. This is the yarn used in the popular The Doodler shawl by Stephen West and would also be lovely in Penguono. I finished my Sockhead had in the Jilly Cabaret, and you can bet I'm already thinking about another mind-vacation with a skein of this. I mean, there's just something about this color that makes me wanna KNIT IT NOW. And it's kinda neutral, so it would go with a lot. I might have untwisted one of these and worn it around the shop like a cowl the other day. MIGHT HAVE. (ok, Did.)

Beata also rushed me their spankin' new Sock Minis. If you've heard about these coming out, but not yet seen them, now's your chance. These are 87 yard mini skeins of the sock yarn that they have available on 30 colorways. I have all of them for you right now.

These are perfect for toes or heels or adding a bit of color to a project without having to get a whole skein. Heck, get lots of them and keep them on hand for when you need just the right pop of color. Plus they just look adorable in a bowl on a side table. Shown above in Oracle and below in Harajuku.

I hope this amazing dose of color provides you with some spring-is-coming inspiration. Also note that we have restocks in Sock Yarn and Merino DK, should have be something you're waiting for. DK shown below in Medusa. You need this in a Briochevron Blanket.

String Quintets from Lorna's Laces

Oh, minis. How we love you. Each tiny skein holds promise- the addition of colorful toes and heels to socks. Perhaps a little bit of colorful fringe to a scarf. Or a pompom on a hat.

The team and Lorna's Laces has just made our lives so much more colorful by putting together sets of mini skeins called String Quintets. Five 25g skeins of Shepherd Sock that can be used together in a project or separately for all the above mentioned projects. Or perhaps just keep them on hand for when you need a new hexipuff for your sock yarn blanket, or for that just-in-case use that you can't yet imagine.

Oboe, at the top, is a combination that I love so much that I'm thinking of using it as inspiration for home décor. Snare Drum, shown directly above, is perfect for a hat/mitten set for little Henry. And Violin below looks romantic but not over-the-top PINK. It would be a great way for me to introduce a little more color into my life.

Do you have a fave?

PicturePost

Monday fun includes lots of new yarn to unpack and photo from MadelineTosh, Dream in Color and Lorna's Laces, and Henry's best hiding place yet.

New colors from Lorna's Laces + a Contest!

This month brings 7 new colors from Lorna's Laces- 6 multicolors and a lovely medium-mocha nearly solid called Driftwood. Lovely as usual, these skeins and their names brought some questions to my mind, so I posed them to Lorna's Laces owner Beth Casey. Here's what she had to say:

Allison @ SSYC: LOVE the new colors you have introduced this season. They make me think of spring! I've noticed that for the past few collections that the names of the colorways have departed from the typical Chicagoland names that I've grown accustomed to seeing. I think you've focused on employees hometowns, or pet names or even descriptive names like April Showers. Is there a particular reason for the change?

Beth Casey: Great questions! We look at the naming as part of the creative process. The Chicagoland names are fun, but it was time to move on and look in new directions.

Allison: What's in the names for this round of new colors? Boardwalk, Cattails, Geyser, Niagara, Tidepool, Venetian Spring and Driftwood. These make me think of summer family vacations, visiting the Jersey shore boardwalks and tidepools of Stone Harbor, New Jersey. Who named these and what's the inspiration?

Beth: You are so insightful! The Spring 2016 Collection started with a contest we ran in conjunction with Interweave. The Grand Prize winner got to design and name a color. She sent a picture (shown below with the yarn it inspired) from a beloved vacation in Venice and voila, Venetian Spring was born! Then, over pizza one afternoon, the crew sat around riffing on that. We talked about things they associated with water and water vacations. Some of it even got a little racy!

Allison: Gosh, you really did that photo justice! I went to Venice myself last year, and that colorway speaks to me. What's next on the agenda for Lorna's Laces? Any chance you're going to get in on the speckled skein game? Seems to be all the rage and I'd love to see your take on it!

Beth: Wow, you are reading our minds! That's exactly the direction we'll be heading for Fall. We've got a few designed and will be filling in over the next couple months to launch at the show in June.

Allison: Finally, what are the five most popular colors that you dye?

Beth: Zombie BBQ, Arlington, Watercolor, Christmas at Downton, and Grand Street Ink

Allison: All faves around here too! Let's make this even more interesting and allow some of the loyal Lorna's Laces fans to choose some of their faves and have a chance of winning some yarn. What do you think? I mean, we have over 300 COLORS TO CHOOSE FROM!

Beth: Sure!

Allison: Great! Readers, if you tell me in the comments below which is your favorite Lorna's Laces colorway (you have multicolors, nearly solids and stripes to choose from), I'll choose three people to win the skein of their choice. Just leave me one comment with your fave color (and perhaps even tell me why or what you might like to knit with it) by Thursday, February 11 at noon EST and you could be randomly chosen!

February Dream Club

The last round is here! If you want in on this last month of the club until next fall when it starts again, now's your chance.

 

This gorgeous colorway is dyed on Classy with Cashmere, which is Dream in Color's worsted weight merino/cashmere/nylon base. It's paired with the free-with-purchase Pleasant Pheasant Slipper pattern by our friend Lara Neel. You'll receive a code in your package to make the pattern free in your Ravelry library.

Don't you just love the look of the fabric on the foot? Of course, the skein would also make an awesome hat or mittens. Or grab two for a cushy cowl or scarf. It's just a really lovely, vibrant color.

If you like the Dream Club and all the gorgeous colors they have to offer, don't fret, it will come back next fall. Til then, I have some more special bits coming to you from Dream in Color. Lots of color coming this spring!

New from Bird Leg Bags

New Sock Rectangle, Tall Skinny and Medium Wedge project bags in the super awesome Alice in Wonderland fabric!

I have an especially nice selection of the Tall Skinny bags right now, which is the perfect size for holding two accessory projects, or a larger 3-4 skein project. I used my own yesterday to haul my Sockhead to knitting, and I saw one other there too. It's just a really nice size to hold your project. And if you're a mama to little ones, you can also put in some cereal bars and juice boxes to keep the troops happy. And perhaps some Lego men and Pokémon cards. Basically, whatever it takes to get a few stitches in!