Simply Socks Yarn Co. Blog

New Holiday Colors from Blue Moon Fiber Arts

It's time to celebrate the season with Blue Moon Fiber Arts as we release their new holiday colors on Socks that Rock Lightweight! Tina and crew always come up with the best colors (and names) to help us get in the Christmas frame of mind, and this year is no different. Take a look at:

Sugar Plum Fairy Dust

Jingle Sprinkles

Baby its Cold Outside

We've also brought back faves like Cindy Lou Who and Hollyday

There are many, MANY other popular holiday colors on Socks that Rock Lightweight right now too. And we brought back two colors that Tina originally created for one of our Holiday Knit Kits a few years ago because she loved them so much she asked if she could add them to the line up. Of course, I appreciated that these were so awesome that they just HAD to be made again, so here are Fleece Navidad and Angry Elf

These colors and MANY more are available on Socks that Rock Lightweight AND Super Sparkle, just in case you need a little bit of shine in your life. Shown below is Christmas Balls.

Sigh. I want them all.

SSYC's Holiday Party

Are you coming to hang with us on Saturday, December 10 from 10-4? If you happen to be in the area or even within driving distance of Fort Wayne, please do! Bring your chair (you know, like a folding lawn chair or the type you sit in for soccer games) and your knitting, and we'll provide the snacks! We will have contests galore, awesome yarn to share, and of course, fun with friends. We might even have a special sale or two.

If you haven't come out to see Simply Socks Yarn Company in person before, we are located at 1315 E State Blvd, Fort Wayne, IN 46835. We have a lot on one side, and the local library has two larger lots that are about 20 steps from us that you can use if ours are full. There is also on-street parking if you'd like to do that.

We've just started decorating the shop for the event, putting holiday colors out. Soon we will put up the little trees and garlands and get things going.

If you were to come to a holiday party, what would you like to see? What would make it fun for you?

Yarn Love contest winners!

I've drawn the winners of the contest for four skeins of Yarn Love. Congrats to Lisa A, Linda H, Jamie B, and Nancy! Check your emails for one from me.

As usual, thanks for playing everyone! You make our contests fun!

 

Ugly Sweater Inspired Knit Kit Now available!

If you love all things holiday, this kit is for you. It definitely is not a shy flower- the fabric is vibrant and makes you giggle, and the yarn goes from dark and saturated to an explosion of speckles. I'm betting for those of us that can't get enough Christmas cheer, your clicking finger it itching to click NOW.

Once in awhile, I plan an entire kit and theme around a particular fabric and this would be one of those times. When Vickie at Bird Leg Bags showed this to me, I just HAD to have it. For years, I've enjoyed an annual Ugly Christmas Sweater party with my friends. We wear the gaudiest sweaters we can find, and some of the couples even go so far as to do a theme or matching sweaters. Then we exchange white elephant gifts and then wear our horrid sweaters to the nicest restaurant we think will let us in wearing our horrid "costumes." Having this kit in my life will help me enjoy that fun feeling all through the season.

Thank you so much for your support of our kits and creative endeavors, especially today on Black Friday that is traditionally a day when you may instead go for the Big Box Stores that offer deals of cheap goodies. We love the excitement of seeing who has chosen one and will be getting what in the mail. We really like seeing when spouses or friends by them for one another and we know there is a surprise coming.

I do have two more smaller kits coming in early December, though they don't include a bag and goodies like this one. They are Sip & Knit Kits and include yarn and a mug. So if you think this one is for you, please do not hesitate too long as our kits tend to sell out within a day.

If you'd like to add something else to your order to qualify for free US shipping at $85, I recommend taking a look at the new holiday colors on Super Sparkle from Blue Moon Fiber Arts shown above (other bases coming in a few days). I also have new hues on Fleece Artist Merino and Cottage Sock shown below in Puffin (merino/nylon) and a big restock of Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock (multi, solid and stripes) and Solemate. Oh, and of course the epically huge amount of Hedgehog Fibres that arrived less than a week ago. Whew. LOTS OF YARN.

Holiday Knit Kit, a preview

Are you ready for our 2016 Holiday Knit Kit? Get your clicker finger ready for this Friday morning! This kit is inspired by the Ugly Christmas Sweater craze- a bag covered in such zaniness, and yarn that definitely isn't a shy flower. I mean, this color that Tina designed definitely is my cup of tea. But tea spiked with something strong.

This skein starts in black, then goes from green to red and finally culminating in a festive speckle. You need this in your life.

Let's take a closer look at this bag, shall we? Bird Leg Bags made a Tall Skinny bag for us, which holds 5 to 6 skeins of yarn. Perfect for your any ugly Christmas sweater project, or just a sock project and all the other things you want to tote around. It's a wonderful, large size. And don't you just love the interior snowflake pattern?

The kit is rounded out with a Soak wash in Aquae- a light fresh scent. And I'm including a complimentary set of postcards as my holiday gift to you. If you love things that scream CHRISTMAS!!!, this is for you.

This kit goes up for sale on Friday, the day after Thanksgiving. I thought it would be fun to offer something handmade from a small business as an alternative to buying the latest Amazon or Best Buy deal. Or along with those door busting deals, if that's your thing. Our kits tend to sell out within a day, so if you think this one is for you, I recommend checking around 9am to see if it's up. I'll post here and on Instagram when it's up.

Thank you so much for your support of our fun Knit Kits. I greatly appreciate how popular they are and how they allow me to work with new dyers and artisans, and then you get to try something new that you might not otherwise have considered. I have two other options coming in December. Those will be Sip & Knit Kits featuring a mug and Poste Yarn- no bag for those.

Oh so Hedgehog

The colors from Beata and team at Hedgehog can only be described as oh-so-Hedgehog. The colors, the speckles, the combinations of hues, I mean they are definitely outside the box.

These are the types of colors that one collects. Colorways look different each time they come in, so if you like Budgie one time, get it then because it will most definitely look paler/bluer/purple/more speckled next time. In the epically huge batch of Sock, Skinny Singles and Merino DK we just got in stock, you'll definitely find stash-worthy colors. I even have three Potluck (one-off) colors per base that you should grab if you like them, because they aren't repeatable (don't have a recipe, so just dyed once). Here are the three potluck colors in Sock. 1a, 1b and 1c

Skinny Singles 2a, 2b and 2c

Merino DK 3a, 3b and 3c

At the shop

This time of year is always fun as dyers send all their wares for you to stock up for the holidays and the cooler months. We've dubbed this year Yarn Overload 2016 because I've added so many dyers, weights and colors to the shop and so there is even more yarn that usual arriving here from all our faves. Yesterday and today we received a dozen huge boxes from Hedgehog Fibres, and I look forward to putting them on the website for you throughout the weekend.

We will spend the next couple days unpacking and photographing all this goodness for you. This includes some one-off potluck colors like these.

Heck, even Henry got in on yesterday's fun. Though his simply included playing with pirates (like he usually does) and eating the egg white/feta/spinach wrap from Starbucks that was supposed to be all mine. Have you had one? YUM. Get one. Stat. The things we give up for our kids.

This also arrived. It's the yarn for one of our upcoming holiday Knit Kits. Big thanks to the team at Blue Moon Fiber Arts for setting time aside for us during their busy time!

On my needles is this beauty. It's a special offering from Mineville Wool Project that we will have before the end of the year in the sale section. A soft, smooth, fingering weight merino/nylon blend.

Of course, when this sample arrived I had to immediately cast on. I need a new pair of mitts for the winter, right?

I used this pattern. One I wrote a few years ago and have knit several times. And it's so cool to see that there are over 300 projects on Ravelry for it!

I hope you all have a fabulous weekend! Hard to believe it's going to be 75 degrees here today. Mid-November and it's gorgeous and warm! I look forward to the coming week as I get to have several family Thanksgiving celebrations and make and eat tasty food. I'm still looking for one more dessert to share with family, so if you have on that you can't leave our at Thanksgiving, please tell me in the comments. 

At the shop

This time of year is always fun as dyers send all their wares for you to stock up for the holidays and the cooler months. We've dubbed this year Yarn Overload 2016 because I've added so many dyers, weights and colors to the shop and so there is even more yarn that usuall arriving her from all our faves. Yesterday and today we received a dozen huge boxes from Hedgehog Fibres, and I look forward to putting them on the website for you throughout the weekend.

We will spend the next couple days unpacking and photographing all this goodness for you. This includes some one-off potluck colors like these.

Heck, even Henry got in on yesterday's fun. Though his simply included playing with pirates (like he usually does) and eating the egg white/feta/spinach wrap from Starbucks that was supposed to be all mine. Have you had one? YUM. Get one. Stat. The things we give up for our kids.

This also arrived. It's the yarn for one of our upcoming holiday Knit Kits. Big thanks to the team at Blue Moon Fiber Arts for setting time aside for us during their busy time!

On my needles is this beauty. It's a special offering from Mineville Wool Project that we will have before the end of the year in the sale section. A soft, supple, fingering weight merino/nylon blend.

Of course, when this sample arrived I had to immediately cast on. I need a new pair of mitts for the winter, right?

I used this pattern. One I wrote a few years ago and have knit several times. And it's so cool to see that there are over 300 projects on Ravelry for it!

I hope you all have a fabulous weekend! Hard to believe it's going to be 75 degrees here today. Mid-November and it's gorgeous and warm! I look forward to the coming week as I get to have several family Thanksgiving celebrations and make and eat tasty food. I'm still looking for one more dessert to share with family, so if you have on that you can't leave our at Thanksgiving, please tell me in the comments.

 

It's free tote time!

What do you think of this tote? Would you like one? All you have to do is place an order online and we will include it in your order! I do hope to have these available for a week from today, so until the day before Thanksgiving, but there is a chance that they will be gone before that. So if you want to make sure you get one, just place an order before the ad on the homepage disappears or before this page is gone.

This is just our way of saying THANK YOU for your support over the past 11 years. Each time you shop with us online or in person, share us with your friends, give us good reviews on our Facebook page, show love on our Instagram photos, or comment on the SSYC Blog, you are helping us thrive and grow and we greatly appreciate it!

There's SO MUCH great stuff in the shop right now! What might you like to grab? We have more than 100 color options in Madelinetosh's Merino Light, Tosh Sock, Merino DK and Pashmina. I have nearly every color in stock of Malabrigo Sock, worsted weight Rios, sport weight Arroyo and singles Mechita. A huge array of Socks that Rock from Blue Moon Fiber Arts.

If you like small dyeing operations, check out the striping colors of Knitterly Things, sKNITches, Turtlepurl or our exclusive Poste Yarn. Take home a bit of Canada with Fleece Artist and Zen Yarn Garden, or Ireland from Hedgehog Fibres.

This and every Thanksgiving, we are thankful for YOU!!

It's baaaaaack!

Woo hoo! It's back! Who loves sKNITches Syncopation? I do! So does one of you, Anmiryam. She has knit several pairs of sKNITches socks over the years and I asked if I could share her projects with you. Here's Dark & Twisty (shown above and below).

Photos used with permission of Anmiryam

Carnival

and Dragontooth

And I have knit the Garden Gnomes color myself.

I can't get enough stripes and I love how these stripes turn out. I bet Anmiryam has one heck of a sock drawer!

Sam also dyes some amazing variegated colors on merino, if that's your jam. Like Zombies

and Scarlet Letter

As this colorful season turns brown and gray, you can bet we will keep bringing you loads of color from dyers like Sam. SSYC is the place to be!

Picture post, happy things

This place. It's like opening presents on Christmas morning. Everyday.

Jollyville is back!

Henry and I voting- He was on the Pirate ticket. 

New Poste Yarn color, Festival of Lights.

Loving that it is mid November and warm and dry. The boys love it too!

New colors from Black Trillium in Lilt- merino/nylon. Dragonboat, Peacock, Tomorrowland.

Walk in the Woods Shawl

Lately I've been pondering DK and worsted weight shawls. I need something to cover my shoulders and arms throughout the winter, and the pieces I have seem to all be fingering weight. As much as I like those, I seem to wear them more as scarves, wrapped around my neck, rather than shawls or wraps that provide more warmth.

So I'm considering this one: Walk in the Woods by Lisa Hannes. I like that it utilizes mosaic knitting, which uses slipped stitches to give you graphic pattern, but is easy to accomplish. It calls for Malabrigo Yarn's worsted weight Rios, which we just got a huge amount in earlier this month, so I'm surrounded by ALL the color options.

Shawl photos used with permission, Lisa Hannes

Lisa used two skeins of Aguas and one of Natural for hers, and you know I love a good blue/green colorway. But I'm thinking of doing something more neutral. Or maybe just darker. I love Pocion so much... but also Tormenta and Candombe. So I'll consider one of those for my starting point.

Do you have other suggestions for heavier weight shawls and wraps that you really liked knitting and wearing? I want something somewhat simple, and I don't want anything with lace, as I don't have the time to block it severely every time I wash it. Plus I want warmth and coziness, not open airiness. My day-to-day life is just as much stay-at-home-mom of little boys as much as shop owner, so I live a messy and fast paced life and want a shawl that keeps up. Like this, but in DK weight. Now that's an idea... I want something I can throw on to cover me as I walk out the door in 50 degree weather, as well as something to keep me warm while at the computer. Or watching TV. Apparently I want this shawl to solve all of my life's problems. Let's make it happen!

Holly Dolly, Part Deux

Last year, we received rave reviews of a particular Holiday Knit Kit, and for good reason. Such a fabulous, exclusive colorway from Hedgehog Fibres and an adorably festive bag from Bird Leg Bags. But many of you want kits that don't include tools/notions or sweets and so this year we are doing the Holly Dolly Knit Kit- Part Deux, an opportunity for you to get this adorable kit with JUST the yarn and the bag, and no notions or add ons. And it's under $60 for a bag that holds 4-5 skeins of yarn and a full sized skein of Hedgehog Fibres sock yarn.

I mean, look at this colorway!

And I'll admit that the bag for this kit is one of my faves from Bird Leg Bags. This fabric is just so cool- it doesn't scream Christmas, but it's adorable and awesome. It's something I can comfortably carry all winter. I wanted to get this kit out to you early in the season because it's more wintery than Christmas-y. And I do have another Christmas Kit and other special things planned for early December.

So if you missed out last year on this design, now is your chance to get it with just the yarn and the bag. As usual, our kits are limited in number due to the hand made nature, and tend to sell out somewhat quickly. But I didn't give any advance warning of a week or so likely a I usually do, so I don't think most are ready to pounce. As a result, you might have a day or two to snag this one, instead of a few hours. Thank you for looking!

New from Poste Yarn

Not only do I have spankin' new yarn to share with you today, but I also have our first batch of holiday striping colors available!

First off, let me introduce you to Big One. A 1/2 pound DK weight skein of all-American superwash merino wool. If you took part in our last Sock Yarn Club, you were the first to test this out before anyone else. Now you can have the chance at it as one of our Test Kitchen options- we choose your color and you get a fab deal- just $25.20 for a half pound of DK weight yarn. If you were to purchase this at regular price, you could find it anywhere from $38-48, depending on the dyer. So I'm very happy to be able to introduce it to you at this price.

This is available as Solid potluck, Multicolor potluck or Speckled potluck. We don't have two skeins of the same color to send you, so if you order more than one solid or something, you'll get two different colors. But if you want to use your Speckles or Solids together in a project, or are hoping for your skeins to somehow work together in a project, leave us a note on your order and we will do our best. I can't guarantee it, because who knows how many skeins we will have to choose from b/c these are already selling fast. But if you leave us a note and we can accommodate your request, we will. Otherwise, we will send your order as-is.

We also have a batch of the two-skein Patina Test Kitchen sets, for those who want us to choose two skeins that go together for all those beautiful two-color projects out there.

I also have for you our three newest Poste Yarn Striping Sock colors- a trio of holiday tonal stripes, so that you can get your holiday socks done early enough to wear them all season long. Heck, these are colors you could wear year-round, but they definitely have a seasonal flair too. Take a look at Holly (Michigan), Ivy (Virginia) and Festival of Lights.

I'm loving how this is knitting up.

We have even dyed a new batch of Jollyville (shown below), which continues to be a holiday fave. And We will be bringing back previous holiday colors in the coming weeks.

Oooooo, and Sugar Plum Mountain. THIS.

Opal Sale! 50% off!

50% off various Opal collections right now in the Sale Section! You'll also see some OnLine at as little as $8.80 a ball. Woot!

Legwarmer Saga

Those of you who follow SSYC on Instagram may have been watching the saga of the legwarmers unfold over the past two weeks as I tried my best to get this project finished. I used Poste Yarn, Worsted Striping in Danger Zone. In fact, I had Heather start dyeing this color last month on this base just for this purpose. It pays to have your own dye studio!

I started it out several weeks ago, and I originally tore it out after casting on too many stitches. I seem to keep thinking I'm thick all over and I continually make things too big. Hats, socks, and now legwarmers. I think I cast on 60 stitches originally, using worsted weight yarn and these US 8 needles, that was way to many. So after a few inches, I tore out and restarted with 52 stitches (and I could have gone with 48 and been fine after wearing them). They ended up being 14-15 inches long.

After just a few days (perhaps 6-7 total hours of knitting, interrupted by kids so who really knows) I had a finished legwarmer and even weighed the yarn as I went to ensure that I used half.

This was three days ago. And I was taking bets at this point b/c who really knew if I would get my Halloween leg warmers finished by the 31st. Have I mentioned that I greatly dislike "deadline knitting?" So I kept at it at knitting group on Sunday, and Sunday evening in the dark while watching Westworld. And found in the morning light that there were two of these little buggers.

Darned dropped stitches.

So I fixed those, knit through my lunch, and then actually. Finished. My. Project.

With one yard of yarn left.

I won the game of yarn chicken and wore my legwarmers out for trick-or-treat with the kids. Even though it turned out to be 65 degrees in the middle of fall in the Midwest. Sigh.