Simply Socks Yarn Co. Blog

Black Friday?

Yes! It's Black Friday! But we are still taking a slower time here at SSYC while we work a little bit but really spend more time with our families. So, thank you for your patience while we don't offer any specials until Cyber Monday, when we will be back at it here at full tilt for what's likely to be our biggest shipping week of the year.... followed by our big Holiday Open House! 

What can you expect the first week of December? We are giving away the most adorable gift with purchase to date. Yes, for FREE. We've given away some awesome organic cotton totes, little ruler stitch markers and more over the years... but these are the cutest, don't you think?? Don't you want these on your needles helping your count stitches as you finish knitting your projects in December??

Cyber Monday through Friday you can place an online purchase and we will ship one of these sets of three hand made stitch markers with your purchase. As always, you don't have to ask for them or add them to the order- we simply tuck a set into your package before it ships out.

What might you like to purchase? We will have several holiday yarn options for you, including these Christmas Mini sets from Hue Loco. And if you love mini sets, this is your last week to get our 12 Days of Sock Yarn Sets.

We will also have an array of Charan Sachar mugs and yarn bowls for the last time this year. Well, likely the last time for the first part of 2020. Charan is a very busy potter, so I'm really happy that he was able to make time for us during his busiest time.

Also find new hues from Mineville Wool Project in Merino DK in the Sale Section. You might not want to wait until Monday to get the ones you want though. You might want to secure the ones you really like before then b/c they do go fast. Shown below is Delphinus.

We also have other wonderful Christmas yarns on their way too- socks sets from Flock Fibres, holiday hues from Blue Moon Fiber Arts and more. So definitely check back next week to see what you can order to get a set of markers.

Thank you for another wonderful year here in the shop. This gift is just one way we like to show you how thankful we are for you this time of year. As we enter our 15th year of serving you, your support and loyalty continues to be the most important gauge to our success. You are made of awesome and we are very grateful to know and serve you.

Skein Yarn is back!

I'm happy to share that we've brought Skein Yarn back into the fold!

Yep, you read that right, the beautiful skeins from Kristen in Australia are back here in the US again and at SSYC! Kristen and Paul, the married couple behind Skein Yarn, have ramped up production a bit again so they can sell to us and make it much easier to find their yarns in the US. I'm super happy to welcome them back and this time we are offering their most popular base Top Draw Sock and we will soon also have a DK. Yay!

Shown above in Pixelation and below in Nori on Top Draw Sock

I asked Kristen and take a moment to answer a few questions for us and she was happy to oblige. And she took a couple candid shots to share too.

Allison @ SSYC: What’s the name Top Draw sock mean?

Kristen: I often get asked this question. Some people think it's spelled incorrectly (Top Drawer) but it actually means 'popular': a major draw. Since it has long been our most sought-after yarn base, it has fittingly lived up to its name.

SSYC: What’s your fave thing about what you do?
Kristen: I love to develop colourways. I really look forward to getting the dyes out and just experimenting with colour and technique.

SSYC: And the least favorite thing?
Kristen: That's easy. Bookkeeping, I hate it!

SSYC: Is it just you and your husband that works for Skein? Or is there any one else you rely on too?
Kristen: It's just us (for now!). Paul handles all the orders and shipping and I do the dyeing and photographs. Our studio space is split up into four areas: I'm usually out in the dye room or in my office, and Paul is stationed in the shipping room or his office. Even though we are working together, we don't usually see much of each other (which might be a good thing, haha). We also work very differently: Paul loves music playing, while I like to work in silence, so it's good that we both have our own space.

SSYC: What did you and your husband do before starting Skein?
Kristen: I was a Registered Nurse and Midwife and Paul was an academic.

SSYC; What’s your favorite thing to knit?
Kristen: I love sweaters. They are my favorite things to knit, especially if they have an interesting stitch pattern or colourwork.

Skein is setting up a small shop at the front of their studio (top picture) in 2020.... yet another reason I'd love to be able to visit Australia. The second photo above is Kristen saying hello to us!

I do hope you all love seeing Skein's skeins (I had to....) back in the shop. It's been years since we've been able to offer them to you and I love seeing them again.

As you can see, our shop's "stash" keeps growing and growing. We can only grow up the walls from here and I look forward to sharing what else we have to share soon!

SSYC Holiday Knit Kits now available!

Our three different Holiday Knit Kits are now available! Find them all at the Kits & Clubs link while supplies last. If you'd like to read details before deciding, please head to Monday's blog.

What else might you like order? We now have our exclusive line of leather shawl cuffs available! These are priced at $15 for this first batch and are super nice. They are hand made for us here locally, dyed and sealed to avoid color transfer even if they get a bit damp in the snow/rain. The edges are even burnished and sealed with a tree sap so that they don't snag on your knits. They are really special.

Thank you for your continued support of our yarny creativity! I do hope you're able to snag a kit if you want one. If not, please do e-mail me as usual at the shop at [email protected] for possible waitlist. Sometimes we do have extra pieces or whole kits if someone accidentally duplicate orders or cancels. And we have asked Hedgehog Fibres to dye just one more batch of the Merry & Bright colorway for December, so if you want extra skeins then, please check back for more info on their arrival.

Stunning skeins from Dream in Color

I have our latest batch from Dream in Color, and wowza, this stuff is gorgeous. I've greatly increased our array of both Smooshy with Cashmere and Jilly singles, so if you're looking for one stunner of a skein for a gift cowl or shawl, or multiple ones for a sweater that pops, then it's likely I have exactly what you need.

All American Hen

Not only do we have dozens of new colors, Jilly also has a new lower price. Awesome, right? When do you see a price go down on a premium hand dyed yarn? I just love this yarn so much, and I really think that if you give it a try you'll love it too. So I've brought the price down from $24 to $22.75 so a few more people can enjoy it. Now, I don't know how long I'll be able to keep it at this great price, but here it is. Similar fingering weight, superwash merino singles range in price from $26-30, so it really is a fab deal for yarn milled and dyed all in North America.

Kiss Me Kate

If you want a cashmere blend yarn to make luxurious socks or gift accessories, then Smooshy with Cashmere is for you. Other Merino/Cashmere/nylon blends are 10% cashmere, but this one boasts 20% cashmere.... and you're not even pay more for that extra cashmere! I'm totally in the easy-knit mindset right now, and so it's Sockhead Cowls and Hats for everyone in my life in our various cashmere blends.

Rain on Me

Big Easy

If you like their original Smooshy Sock, this is your last chance to get it, as they are replacing it with Smooshy with Nylon. Smooshy is their original sock yarn they started their company with nearly 15 years ago. Now they are changing it up to add some nylon to the mix and we will have that for you in 2020.

SSYC Holiday Knit Kits, a preview

It's time to see our upcoming Holiday Knit Kits! This year, we are offering three different versions- all with a limited edition skein of yarn, a medium sized project bag (holds a three skein project) and little faux suede tags. All three kits will go up for sale mid-morning EST this coming Wednesday, November 20 in the Kits & Clubs section and will cost less than $60.

First, the Yuletide Knit Kit featuring yarn from Life in the Long Grass dyed on their Fine Sock, a beautiful bag from Mommy Sews and faux suede Katrinkles project tags. This kit is a warmer option that the others, with holiday hues accented by a beautiful brown. The limited edition color is so lovely- a departure from typical Christmas colors and featuring brown, emerald, a warm cranberry and hints of vivid olive.

The Katrinkles tags that are featured in all three kits are easily stitched on the brim of a hat, on the cuff of a sock or fingerless gloves, or even the back neck of a sweater. It's just a really nice detail to add to that special project. 

The Cindy Lou Who Knit Kit features yarn from Carolyn at Swift Yarn and is dyed on her Tweed Sock base. I love the little tweed nubs in the skein- it adds a really nice dimension to this colorway.... one that I asked Carolyn to dye extra of for me after I saw her test skeins. I just HAD to make sure I had some of this for myself, as I often sell out of the kits before I grab one.

Last but not least is the Merry & Bright Knit Kit which features a limited edition colorway by Hedgehog Fibres on their Sock Yarn, a super cute bag by Mommy Sews and Katrinkles tags. This Merry & Bright color is the only one that we will have dyed again, and just the yarn will be available later in December. I know that our kits often sell so fast (last week's Chevron Hat Kits sold in two hours, I believe) and this is one that I could get more of for those that miss out. I may have a few extra bags too, should you miss out and want one of those.

Thank you so much for your support of our creative endeavors. It's a wonderful part of my job, working with dyers and makers to create curated kits for the shop. We've been putting these together for more than a decade now and it's always a proud moment when they sell out so fast. As much as I'd like to have many more made, there's only so much I can ask an artisan to devote to just my shop. And I think that keeping the numbers limited allows me to ensure the offerings are unique and of the highest quality.

Want to know the next way we'll be celebrating the holidays here at SSYC? We have some awesome ceramic art coming from Charan Sachar and a sassy holiday-inspired mini set from Hue Loco coming in early December. I've also opened up the third and final sign ups for our 12 Days of Sock Yarn Advent with Hedgehog Fibres. I'll keep sign ups open through the end of the month and the sets will ship around Thanksgiving so you'll have in time to open for 12 days starting Dec 13. I've gotten some really great feedback on the first two batches that we shipped out and requests to do more things with minis. I've got some fun things planned with minis in 2020!

Finally, come see us in person at our Holiday Open house from 10-4 on Saturday, December 7. If you haven't been to our Fort Wayne, IN shop yet, it's definitely worth the trip on one of our open days. Our sale section is even larger in person (with things we may have just one or two of that we don't list online), you get more hands-on advice or help, and we generally just have a good time in the shop, showing you around and helping you find just the right thing for your project.

Tenderfoot Sock Yarn now in stock!

I've added a fab new sock yarn to the shop, Tenderfoot solids! I've seen a trend lately toward more rustic looking yarns with a bit more of a natural look, and this really fits the bill. The color line is beautiful, the skeins are slightly heathered and the price point is really the best part. At less than $15 a skein, you're getting a beautiful skein at a super value. Whether you're knitting socks or using this for accessories or sweaters, I think you'll be as pleased as I am with this new addition to the shop.

What do I mean when I refer to "rustic"? Well, it's certainly still soft and wearable next to the skin. But it doesn't have as smooth or slippery a texture as something like Hedgehog Fibres sock. It seems pretty durable too, which is something we all need in our lives with our sock yarns. I've heard it described as having "tooth". It's a bit more grabby on the needles, so I'll be using a slick metal needle instead of bamboo.

If you're someone who likes a bit of a more natural or rustic look, this one's for you. The heathered gives a really nice finished fabric, as you can see in the color below. And if you click on the image above and zoom in, I think you can tell what I mean about slightly heathered texture.

I don't think I can stress enough what a superb value Tenderfoot is. I've really been wanting to find a nice, slightly rustic feeling sock yarn with colors like this, and I'm really pleased with this find at this price. I'm considering taking home colors this weekend to knit socks with a coordinating stripe at the top and toes and heels. Though the person I'd be knitting for has size 14 feet and I just don't know if I have room in my life or brain for his socks right now. What's the largest size socks you've knit before?

Navelli Sweater photo courtesy of Caitlin Hunter, as well as every photo following

I think these colors would lend themselves well to a Navelli sweater or a Caitlin. Both by Caitlin Hunter.

Caitlin Sweater above, Cardamom Coffee hat below,  photos courtesy of Caitlin Hunter

Then you could use up leftover bits to make the awesome Cardamom Coffee hat, also by Caitlin. Well, it looks like I've fallen down the rabbit hole of her designs this morning, so let's keep it going!

Camp Wilkerson

How about a fingering weight version of Camp Wilkerson? I'd just go down a needle size or two from the pattern recommendation and then I'd have big ol' scarf for the winter. And I just bought the pattern and added it to my queue for exactly this. 

I think Zweig is her most popular pattern, and it would definitely look nice in Tenderfoot. Birkin seems quite nice too.

I'm going to pull myself out of the Boyland Knitworks rabbit hole now and get back to my regular day. But you should make yourself a hot cup of coffee and continue the journey where I left off. Do tell me in the comments if you're now planning a new knit!

Edited to add- I just wound my four skeins (details later here on the blog and Instagram) and it wound like a dream. No tangles or issues at all.

SSYC Holiday Chevron Hat Knit Kits

It's time to grab a Holiday Chevron Hat Knit Kit!

A holiday hat kit is a first for us. We have two color options, one Christmasy and one wintery. The kit comes with the bag, yarn and pattern and you can add a pom if you like too with the coordinating colors shown here. I do expect these to sell out today, and if you want a traditional sock knit kit, I have hinted at two of the three options here. I'll have those available next week for you.

Thank you for your support and interest in your kits! We've been offering these for over a decade now, and with each one I get to learn more about yarn, the artists I'm working with, and what you all want from us and this craft. I love what I do and I hope that you love what we create for you.

Holiday Chevron Hat Kits, a preview

It's time to preview the holiday Knit Kits! Tomorrow I'll have for you something new, a Holiday Hat Knit Kit! This is the first time (in over a decade of making our exclusive Knit Kits) that we have done a hat, and I have to admit that it's super awesome. Look for it mid-morning EST in our Kits/Club link. Next week I'll show off our three other Knit Kit options.

Julia at Knitterly Things is known for making awesome striped sock yarn for us. So this Christmas I tasked her with making chevron color combinations that would look awesome with our two reversible drawstring bags, and she totally hit the mark, didn't she? The Festive Forest Chevron Hat Kit has a woodsy, classic Christmas look to it while the Tranquil Forest colors are more winter wonderland in hues. I love them both.

The kit comes with a reversible drawstring project bag that fits your project and more. It comes with all the yarn you need to make the Chevron Love Hat pattern that is included. I'll e-mail you the pattern as a pdf within a few days of your order so you have it as soon as the package arrives to your home. The pattern uses a US 3 needle for the ribbing and a US 6 for the body of the hat. When I knit hats, I use a 16" circular needle, but then I use double points to cast off at the top. You, of course, can use double points for the whole thing or one long circ for magic loop, or whatever you'd like. I do have lots of great needles in stock if you need some.

The image above shows how the pattern looks in various colors, not the special colors in the kit. But it gives you a good idea of how it will look knit up. And if you want to ad pom poms to yours, I recommend taking a look at my recent Insta post, as it shows all the awesome ideas for the colors that I think look great with each kit.

Next week I'll share our other Holiday Knit Kits. We have three more that feature yarn for socks, a bag and some awesome goodies and here's a little taste of what's to come.

Vrinda Yarn, Pada Sock

It's time to welcome a new studio to the SSYC family- Vrinda Yarn! I met owners Nikki and Jay this summer at TNNA which is one of the yarny tradeshows. Their booth was full of colors that I wanted to cast on immediately, and I really liked their business plan that involves sourcing their wool, milling it and having it superwashed in Uruguay. I have two options for you right now, Pada Sock and Shakti DK.

Jay is from Uruguay (he's the guy on the right), and early on he attended farming school where he learned to care for sheep. So when searching for a wool supplier for their budding company, it made sense to source from a place he knew well. Uruguay is a small country with ideal climate conditions for sheep to enjoy grazing outdoors. It also has three times more sheep than people, so the farmers know a thing or two about raising sheep, right?

Vrinda's Uruguayan wool is grown, scoured, combed and spun using the most sustainable, environmentally friendly methods they have available. The facilities where the wool is scoured and combed, as well as where the wool undergoes the superwash process, are powered almost entirely by renewable energy. They have modern effluent treatment plants, ensuring all the factory liquid and solid effluents are treated to meet the high standards demanded by government authorities. There are groves of over 5,000 trees in the land close to the effluent treatment ponds which are irrigated by the effluent treated waters from the mills. These trees will then become a power source for the mills' boilers, which are exclusively fueled by the wood, also a renewable source of energy.

In keeping with Vrinda's plan to be more naturally focused, they don't use nylon in their Pada Sock or Shakti DK. Instead, their signature yarns use the "opposing ply" spinning method to create a more durable yarn with no nylon. One of the four singles is spun in the opposite direction so that when the four are plied together the opposing strand gets tighter. The resulting yarn is more durable and takes the dye differently, creating the subtle barber pole effect seen in the finished yarn.

I'm so glad to be offering such an interesting option in the shop-  more environmentally focused, an interesting ply and the colors are just gorgeous. Heather, Rachael and I all cast on this yarn already. Both Rachael and Heather finished their projects and I have one sock done... yeah yeah, you know me. I'm always the last to finish! Ha! My sock is shown above using the Pebble Sock pattern and the Sequoia color. Rachael's Seahare hat uses DK in the Patagonia color with a Coral Reef pom.

Heather knit the Linnie baby cardi with her skein of Pada Sock in Infamous (enter to win a skein on Instagram). 

We all agree that this yarn line should be on everyone's must-knit list asap.

Dragonfly Fibers, a Change, a Contest

This summer, Dragonfly Fibers sent out the following release, which was quite a surprise to those of us who have seen this hand dyed line in hundreds of locations for over a decade:

    Proving once again that change is the only constant in life, the time has come for us to move on to the next phase in our lives. We have made the difficult decision to move on from this wonderful yarn business by the end of this year. Don’t worry! We are all OK.

    We had originally planned to close the doors and wind down Dragonfly Fibers completely. However, a few of our fabulous colleagues have expressed interest in the business and we must pause to consider how it might be possible for the Colors of Happiness to continue in someone else's hands.

    We want you to know that we have loved nearly every minute of this wild ride that is Dragonfly Fibers. Our hearts beat a little faster every time you share your enthusiasm with us. Honestly, this connection is what we will miss the most. Whether you've stocked our yarn once, or you've carried Dragonfly from the beginning, we have never take a single sale for granted.

Firecracker

Bad Moon Rising

I can't remember a time when I have walked into a fiber festival or LYS and not seen Dragonfly Fibers, so this was a surprise to me. Of course, lives change and businesses have to follow suit. But still, was a shock to me. Thankfully, it was enough of a surprise to enough people that two dyers who know Dragonfly from fiber festivals decided to step in and purchase the business together, and it's set to change hands next month. What does this mean for those of us who love their Van Gogh colors and others?

    Will the colorways be exactly the same? Probably not, as they are different people and will no doubt put their own very talented spin on them. If you are a long-time customer, you may have noticed that our colors have evolved over time... This is the constantly changing nature of life! But never fear, we are incredibly proud of our colorways, and will be working very closely with Lisa and Amy insure that the Colors of Happiness remain amazing and true to themselves.

Van Gogh's Bedroom

Starry Night

Van Gogh's Sunflowers

I'm so glad that Dragonfly Fibers will live on. Just in case the colors do change a bit more than expected, I'll be stashing several from the batch that just arrived here. We have quite a gorgeous array on Dragon Sock (100% superwash merino) and Djinni Sock (Merino/cashmere/nylon sock) right now, more than ever before. I just can't help myself when it comes to ordering their colors, their stuff is so vivid and saturated with color.

Weather Girl

Titania

To celebrate this change, let's do a contest! Tell me in the comments below what are your two favorite colors (either on Dragon or Djinni) and I'll randomly choose one winner to get her choice. Please leave your comment (and perhaps some kind words and/or a memory of Dragonfly Fibers to Susan and Kate and Team Dragonfly) before noon EST this Friday, November 8.

Thank you, Dragonfly Fibers, for making us awesome yarn for so many years. I hope the fiber industry has been kind and good to you and that the care you've shown to all of us over the years is returned to you tenfold. May you ladies have all the good things!