Simply Socks Yarn Co. Blog

Halloween 2020

Halloween 2020 looks very different than previous years. We can't necessarily safely trick-or-treat, there aren't any fall or Halloween school festivals, we can't go into the classrooms for our kids' class parties (if your kids can even go to school in person) and it just seems a bit lonlier than usual. I guess all of 2020 seems a bit lonely. Facetime definitely isn't the same as hugging a friend.

This year, my family and I are doing things a bit differently on the 31st. Instead of trick-or-treating with a big group of friends and family, we will instead be celebrating outdoors with the neighbors next to us who are already in our "bubble". We will be doing some field day type activities, eating pizza and chili and pigs-in-a-blanket outside, and I've created a Halloween Treasure Hunt that will take the kids around our part of the neighborhood a bit, with bowls of treats to get at each clue. I'm trying to make this memorable, but in a different way I guess. My mom has some elaborate idea for giving out candy to kids in our front yard that involves numbered flags in the ground and candy next to them instead of having kids come to the door. We'll see how this works out- hahaha!

Us, two years ago. We miss seeing you in the shop and look forward to celebrating all the things with you when it's safe!

How are you adjusting to this? And what are you making for Thanksgiving plans? We usually get together with a lot of family for Thanksgiving, but won't be this year. We just don't feel comfortable combining too many "bubbles" for a big indoor event. So we will put it off and hope to see people in the spring or summer.

Socktober Monday No. 4

This last Socktober Monday at SSYC we are featuring some awesome sales, Halloween treats and gifts with purchase! Read on to see how we're ending the month that celebrates the sock knitter!

First off, with all your orders that we ship this week (Monday through the 31st) we are giving out these super cute stitch markers- yarn ball with some locking markers. You don't have to do anything special to get yours, other than order something that we ship out.... a set of needles, a pom pom or three, a hand made leather shawl cuff, a Halloween Knit Kit or limited edition fall skein (two options shown below), some awesome sale yarn (we have a really nice selection right now)... just place your order online as usual and we'll automatically tuck a set of stitch markers into your parcel before it ships out.

Treat Yo'self Knit Kit above, Candy Corn Glitter Knit Kit below

What might you like to order? We have some super Halloween and Fall skeins that are special just for this month in the Kits & Clubs section. And we have a stunning array of yarn in the sale section today- tweeds, sock yarn, and as of today some Tosh DK and Vintage (worsted weight) from Madelinetish! This is the "accidentally" stripey yarn base that sometimes happens when one of the plies is spun tighter, in the opposite direction, or has a bit of fiber that dyes up different than usual, so you kind of see a barberpole effect in the yarn. I don't think of these as seconds because they have the same beautiful texture and dyeing that Tosh always has, but they are just beautiful anomolies. Just a bit different than expected, so you get $10 off each skein! I have a few dozen colors, but some I have three skeins and some I have twenty, so please don't hesitate if you really like something.

I have Malmo and Tart on worsted weight Vintage, both shown above, should you want to knit something red or green for Christmas too. Like some stockings or a striped scarf or a holiday hat. Or a striped red and green scarf. And I knit up this hat in Coffee Grounds for my man two holidays ago, and it's worn really well. Don't ask if he's washed it. I have no answer to that one. I'm now thinking of knitting the boys the same color hat, but with a different colored contrasting stripe in the middle of the hat for each guy, just for something the same but different. I know there will be an age where I won't be able to convince the dudes in my household to wear matching PJs or knits, but that day isn't here yet. And don't forget- not only are you getting a deal in our Sale Section but you're also getting a free gift this week!

We also have a long awaited restock of Hedgehog Fibres, including the four special Halloween/fall colors below (listed as Potluck 11a- 11d at this link). It could be 2021 before we are able to get more Hedgehog Fibres, as this Irish dyer is now out of their Sock and Skinny Singles base yarn to dye due to pandemic related mill closures and delays. I'm told they expect more in December, which means by the time an order is dyed, dried, labeled and shipped to us again, we're talking early 2021 if we are lucky.

Been waiting for the Flock Fibre Halloween Sock Sets?! Me too! This straggler-of-a-box finally got here through Customs and we have these three awesome options for you:

Ghosts of Halloween Past with a toe/heel skein of Ectoplasm (try with this Coffee Talk sock pattern)

Gothic + Batwing what about with the Hello Sunshine pattern?

Owloween + Pumpkin Juice - I love it with this Honeypie sock pattern

I hope you've found something today that will make you smile when you knit. If you have questions about any of these lovelies, please do fee free to e-mail me, Allison, at [email protected].

Preview of the 4th Socktober Monday

This coming Monday is our last Monday in Socktober and we've saved some awesome goodies for this last week! Read below to see what's coming to SSYC, but first I want to share that we have an awesome gift with purchase starting Monday through the end of the month. With each shipment you'll get a cute set of stitch markers- a little hand made yarn ball marker plus a selection of the little pear-shaped locking markers. It's just our way of saying THANK YOU for keeping us going through such a difficult and odd 2020! You are made of awesome!

You don't have to do anything special to get your gift (you don't add it to your cart or anything), simply place your order online and usual and we'll tuck your markers into your package before it leaves here. All orders get one if placed Oct 26-31 (if you order more than once and we see it, we will combine as usual to save you and us on shipping and we will include your set in your combined shipment as usual). What might you like to order on Monday to get your gift? Well, you'll soon see a super special deal in the Sale Section. If you like a heavier weight yarn this time of year, we'll have stripey Tosh DK and Tosh Vintage (worsted) for $10 off! What does "stripey" mean? Well basically you might be able to see that one of the four plies didn't take the dye the same way as the rest- it could be because it's spun tighter or in the opposite direction or it could have a bit of unexpected fiber in it that didn't dye up the same. It feels the same as typical Tosh does and it still looks wonderful. I don't even call these "seconds" because to me, they are really great quality, they just didn't soak up the dye as evenly as usual. I like the effect it gives to the skein, which is more noticeable in some colors as you can see, and nearly imperceptable in other colors. Some dyers like Vrinda even purposely ply their yarn so that it has this barberpole effect - it gives the yarn added dimension. But b/c Tosh didn't intend this look, they offered it to us at a lower price than usual. And who doesn't want to save ten bucks?! So you'll see this added to the sale section on Monday.

A big thanks to Madelinetosh for sharing this with us. I don't have a whole lot of it, and if I can get more I will. So if you see something you like on Monday (listed likely mid-morning) I don't recommend hesitating too long. And I'm always happy to help you color-coordinate for a project if you like, but it's likely that b/c I don't have tons of these that by the time I get a look at these and get back to you then it will be sold. It's that kind of deal- some of these I have three skeins of, some ten.

What else will you find in the shop? We have a few other Halloween goodies in the Kits/Clubs section, so don't miss those. Or revisit the post from this week to see what else you might like to grab to get your free gift with purchase. It could be there's more I'm forgetting, but I'll let you know on Monday if there's more I remember. I'm hoping to have our huge new batch of Hedgehog Fibres completely up on the website for you Monday. This could be the last we get for awhile b/c they shared with me that they are now out of Skinny Singles and Sock to dye (due to pandemic related mill closures and shipping delays) until December, so it could be early 2021 before they dye those for shops again and we can get more. Shown below is the awesome DRK color on Skinny Singles. J'adore.

Edited to add: Oh my gosh, our Flock Fibre Halloween Sock Sets have just now finally gotten through Customs (expected a month ago) so I'll be sharing those too. I'll try and share the sets this weekend on Instagram so you can see them before they go up for sale on Monday.

Recent contest winners include Nancy and Vasiliki for the Rattlesnake sweater. And the winner of the $30 gift certificate is Julie. Winners have been e-mailed and received their codes. Thank you for playing along with us this month as we celebrate Socktober!

Goodies from Katrinkles

Katy's booth is always one of my favorites to visit at industry events and fiber festivals. Yes, of course I love yarn, but Katrinkle's accessories are unique and like tasty little snacks that you just can't get enough of.

Last January at Vogue Knitting Live in NYC her booth was so busy that I couldn't even even get in, and I stopped back twice! I'm super pleased to have some restocks of her stitch marker sets plus a few new ones shown below. I don't even have cats and I need these markers in my life.

I also have her new darning loom which is great for mending holes in your socks or garments. And the whole package fits in your hand, so it's easily portable and sharable. It comes with instructions on how to use it and is a really great value, especially when you think about how much time and money we invest in our craft. It's important to have the right tools on hand to make our craft easier. If you want to see more about the darning loom, Katy has a whole section about its creation and use that you can watch on her Insta. It's quite the thing!

Have you seen Katrinkles at a fiber fair? Did you snag something awesome?

Socktober Monday No. 3 - on Tuesday + a Contest

It's the third Monday in Socktober which means we're releasing our third batch of awesome yarns! Well, it's actually Tuesday b/c we had some server issues yesterday and couldn't put all this lovliness online.... so Monday is Tuesday! This week features some super cool socks sets, deals in the Sale Section and a crazy amount of Madelinetosh. Want to see it all? Keep reading all the way to the bottom for a contest!

The one I'm super proud of (and may have really enhanced my own stash with) is the Tweed Me DK from Less Traveled Yarn for $5 off in the Sale Section. I'll continue to stock this yarn in the shop when I can, but it will be at the retail price instead of the introductory price of $23. Above is shown in Prickly Pear, Nightfall and Stormy.

Photo courtesy of Jamie Hoffman

Want some pattern ideas? Isn't this Rattlesnake Sweater fab? Designer, Jamie, knit hers in the Tweed Me DK colors Nightfall, Moonstone, Melon Mimosa and Stormy. We do have all those colors at the time of this blog post, but our sale yarns tend to sell fast, sometimes within hours. So if you really want something, please do grab it fast. Or wait til we get more later this year, but at the normal retail price. Also consider all the cozy knit hats like Circumvolute and Skyping Beanie. I snagged three skeins for a scarf. I haven't decided what pattern yet so if you have a men's scarf pattern you love, please comment!

We have a new batch of our exclusive yarn, Colossal Sock from Dream in Color (shown above in The Edge and Dune) in the Sale Section. This big 150g skein of sock yarn (on the heavy side of fingering weight) commemorates our 15th anniversary year and we love the super deal we have been able to give to you this year. For those who love a slightly rustic sock yarn, one that's not too slick and smooth, this is for you. It holds up really nicely to wear and for less cost than a 100g skein, you get 50% more!

If you love Dream in Color we have a huge amount here too. PLUS the new Sock-It October set, shown above. This stuff is dipped dyed so that the blocks of color stripe up if you knit it around 60-64 stitches around. I knit my Halloween socks on a US 1.5 with 60 stitches around and the stripes showed up really well. Originally I caston 68 and it didn't stripe. Isn't this set a fab color? Veronica, dyeing genius at Dream in Color, says that it's her interpretation of summer meeting winter. I love the vivid sky with green grass, don't you? Just a refreshing colorway. I've already added one to my stash.

Want a super cool sock set from Flock Fibres? These sets of three colors are made to go with the Sweet & Tartan pattern by Tracie Millar. It's a really cool pattern that uses slipped stitches instead of complicated colorwork, and it's just the kind of pattern I need in my life. I'm all about the easy, meditative patterns that help me relax. I have these sets in three colors (numbered 1, 2 and 3 as you can see on our website) and I also have a restock of Kim's popular sock sets that go great with Tracie Millar's Coffee Talk and Rocky Shores patterns. 

We also have more of the super popular Chevron Love hat kits from Julia at Knitterly Things! I am super excited about this, and I know you are too, as these sold out quickly when we had them a couple months ago. These come with the yarn you need for the Chevron Love hat (pom pom not included, so grab yours here) and if you respond back to your e-mailed receipt and ask for the Chevron Love pattern, I'll e-mail it back.

Want self striping sock yarn? We have the new Zebra Sock Kits (for two matching Zebra socks!) from Urth Yarn plus restocks of Tiger, Christmas and more here.

Did you see the post last week about our huge Tosh restock? Not only do we have a ton of Tosh Meirno Light, but our Tosh DK also arrived too! I post last week with autumn hues and pattern ideas, so do check it out. With all the mills being closed for so long and base yarn being hard to get for dyers, I'm super pleased that we were able to get this (it had been nearly 6 months since we had a restock!). We also received a lovely restock of Malabrigo and soon I'll be posting more Hedgehog Fibres. Like this amazing color, DRK - named for Drea Renee Knits. How's this for some fall cheer?

We have one more Socktober Monday coming, and it's going to be just as fab as the previous three. I'll share what's to come later this week.

If you made it all the way to the end, then how about entering a contest to win one of two coupon codes for a free Rattlesnake sweater pattern? Just tell me in the comments below what your favorite thing is about fall, and I'll randomly choose two winners to get a free Ravelry coupon code for you to use yourself or pass along to a friend as a thoughtful autumn gift. Afterall, who doesn't need a little something to sweeten up 2020? Enter just ones in the comments here by noon EST on Thursday, October 22.

Photo courtesy of Jamie Hoffman

Soctober Monday.... now on a Tuesday!

Hey all! We are experiencing intermittant server issues today, so we are moving out Socktober Monday No. 3 update to tomorrow, Tuesday. If all goes as planned, we will have some awesome goodies for you. I've tried listing some of it, but the rest just won't upload and if you've tried browsing today you've probably gotten back some server errors. Such is technology.

So here's a bit of a sneaky peaky at what's coming. Some of it made it up on the website already (a few colors of Colossal in the Sale Section and the amazing new Sock It set color). I hope to have it all up on the website for you around 10am on Tuesday. Thank you for your patience!

And I know many of you have been waiting on the amazing Tweed Me DK special we'll have. Gosh, it's fab. And then more Chevron Hat kits! These went fast a couple months back and I'm glad to have them available again tomorrow.

Fall Color Inspiration

We've received a huge amount of Madelinetosh Tosh Merino Light and Tosh DK this week, new colors and restocks, bringing our supply back up to where I like it with nearly 300 colors. It's sad that we can't be open in person right now because the selection we have is so stunning. But we're happy to ship it to you, that's for sure! Here are the fall-inspired hues that you might want to get on your needles ASAP.

Auburn Afternoon would make a stunner of a Reyna.

Flannel Blanket above, Firewood below. Perhaps in a Bryce Canyon Cowl?

Rye Bourbon above, Rocky Mountain High below. Either would make a stunning fall Pavement sweater.

Scorched above, Subtle Flame below. Maybe for a Midas hat?

Spooky Stars above, William Morris below. Maybe pair Spooky Stars or William Morris with Gilded for an Exordium?? Or if you want a short sleeve sweater, a Rock it Tee?

Woodstock below. I think this would be lovely as a Desert Spring sweater. Or striped with Winter Wheat with one of the above projects.

I hope that some of these inspire you to cast on something new that helps you enjoy this time of year. I don't have a new project on the needles at the moment, so I might have to start one of these to have something to knit at James' soccer game this weekend.

Socktober Monday No. 2 + a Contest!

I'm so happy to share the plethora of Halloween and Autumn goodies we have in the shop for you today! I do believe all of this is linked in the kits and club section of the shop, and here are most of them below. And if you make it all the way to the bottom you can enter the contest to win a $30 gift certificate!

First, the Fall Frolic set that is a skein of BFL Sock (which they are now sold out of completely) from Mineville Wool Project plus 6 hand made stitch markers for only $30.

 We also have three Halloween and three fall colors from Mineville Wool Project, and instead of $27 they are just $20 each for 125g!

Want treats and no tricks? How about the Treat Yo'Self Knit Kit?? We asked Madelinetosh to come up with a super special skein. This is their snap bag with a limited edition Tosh Sock color I've named Treat Yo'Self. This little sweetheart of a deal comes with the little snap bag, a Tosh sticker and pin, six little candy stitch markers and a skein of Treat You'Self. Did you know that Tuesday is Treat Yo'Self Day? It come from the TV show Parks & Rec (one of my faves) and it's become a thing.

 

Love the Candy Corn striping skein we introduced in the kit last week? Well, that kit has sold out, but I have the same kit with a glittery Candy Corn skein, OR if you just want the non-glittery yarn (no kit, just the yarn), I have that now too.

We have one more yarn + bag option for you, and that's because I found just a few of the bag and yarn from last year's Halloween Kit. This super cool bag, features Knitterly Things Vesper striping yarn and solid mini for toes and heels. But I really do just have a select few, so they may not last more than a bit.

Want more yarn? Heck yes! Kayanna at Stitch Together Studios dyed up a selection of microbatch colors (small batches of one-off colors). I'll have colors on Stitch Swanky and Frugal Fingering. Below are Boo Batch colors No. 3 and No.2. All can be found at this link together too.

Below are Autumn Microbatch colors No. 3 and No. 6. On Stitch Swanky (merino/silk/cash).

And we have more of the crazy popular Happy Jack Sock Kits from Yarn Love!  Super cute, right? E-mail me after your purchase and I'll e-mail back the pattern.

And did you see the blog post about the new dyer I added to the shop? Uschitita Fibre Arts is dyed in the Netherlands, by Steffi who completed her education and residency to become a doctor a year or so ago, so dyeing time has obviously been limited. But she and her husband are still operating their dye studio and have been able to take on SSYC and I'm so happy - I've been waiting two years to get her yarn here! Right now, we have have dozens of colors on their Sock, and we will have other bases hopefully by year end.

Shown below on Merino Sock in Vintage Rug and Glacier

If you miss out on something that you wanted, I am sorry! We are doing our best to keep stocked, but we are still seeing huge production delays from dyers large and small. We are just now getting more Madelinetosh in after waiting three months, and this week we will also get a fresh restock of Hedgehog Fibres Sock and DK. No new Skinny Singles b/c they can't get any to dye. That could be a couple months.

Next Monday, I'll have a really great deal on a heavier weight yarn so you can make all your winter sweaters and accessories. I'll also have Halloween Sock Sets from Flock Fibre. And they are OH SO CUTE. I can't wait to share details!

If you made it all the way to the bottom of this post and your coffee's still warm, you should enter this contest! Just tell me in the comments below what yarn/project you're knitting. Feel free to link to your instagram or your Ravelry project page if you want to show it off, or just describe it. Tell me in the comments below before noon EST on Wednesday, October 14 and I'll randomly choose one person to get a $30 gift certificate to the shop. Me? I did a test knit of one of our upcoming Christmas colors. Details soon here on the blog!

Preview of Socktober Week 2

On Monday, we'll be releasing Socktober Monday No. 2's goodies and BOY I think you'll love them. What are those goodies that you'll find at our Kits & Clubs link on Monday?

I have received so many e-mails about this skein + stitch marker set since teasing it on Instagram and Facebook last month. We are all so much in the fall mood, right? And this skein and the little leaf stitch markers are just so perfectly autumnal. We also have three Halloween and three fall colors from Mineville Wool Project, and instead of $27 they are just $20 each!

Want treats and no tricks? We asked Madelinetosh to come up with a super special skein. This is their snap bag with a limited edition Tosh Sock color I've named Treat Yo'Self. This little sweetheart of a deal comes with the little snap bag, a Tosh sticker and pin, six little candy stitch markers and a skein of Treat You'Self. Did you know that Tuesday is Treat Yo'Self Day? It come from the TV show Parks & Rec (one of my faves) and it's become a thing.

 

We have one more yarn + bag option for you, and that's because I found just a few of the bag and yarn from last year's Spooktober Knit Kit. This super cool bag, striping yarn and mini for toes and heels will go live on Monday too. But I really do just have a select few, so they may not last more than a bit. Check around 10am EST.

Want more yarn? Heck yes! Kayanna at Stitch Together Studios dyed up a selection of microbatch colors (small batches of one-off colors). I'll have colors on Stitch Swanky and Frugal Fingering. Below are Boo Batch colors No. 3 and No.2.

Below are Autumn Microbatch colors No. 3 and No. 6. On Stitch Swanky (merino/silk/cash).

And we have more of the crazy popular Happy Jack Sock Kits from Yarn Love!  They are actually live right now if you wanted to get one now (I think they went up this Monday and I forgot to tell you). These come with a full sized skein and minis so you can knit your fab Halloween socks. If you want the pattern, just e-mail me after your purchase and I'll e-mail it back for free. Super cute, right?

I think that about does it for Monday's release. There could be more here that I'm completely spacing on. After all, I'm surrounded by color and fiber all day and sometimes it's just like a wonderful watercolor of happiness that clouds my mind. Again, everything will be listed at the Kits & Clubs link to make it easy for you.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. The weather here in NE Indiana this week has been downright amazing, and we've taken full advantage of it by hiking and climbing and eating outdoors. This weekend could be our last beautiful burst of weather before it turns and I plan on enjoying it!

New - Uschitita Fibre Arts!

I'm so pleased to share that Dr. Steffi has sent us some yarn from the Netherlands and we'll now be able to offer Uschitita Fibre Arts in the shop! Her colors are amazing and I've been an admirer for years. But as Steffi's life got more complicated as she took on full time work at the hospital and furthered her medical career, it didn't seem like it was meant to be. But she's back at the dyepots for us (and her husband Juergen helps her with the day to day) and I'm so glad that she's found a home at SSYC.

Onyx, Tiny Dancer, Patisserie

We now have Merino Sock, which is her classic fiber combo of superwash merino and nylon. It seems to be the same put up as skeins we get from other imported dyers like Qing Fibre (London) and Life in the Long Grass (Ireland). So if you're famliar with those, you know the fiber takes the dye wonderfully and the tight twist make the socks hold up to wash and wear. I do hope to have her Singles before the year ends.

Vikings, Owl, Ruby Tuesday

These are just some of the color combos that caught my eye. If you zoom in you can really see some of the layering in the multicolors and speckled skeins. What stands out to me is how many different colors you see on some of these skeins without them appearing muddy. You can see the definition in the speckles and streaks of color. Such artful technique.

  

Wonderwall, Onyx, Cry Wolf

Coral, Purple Rain, Major Tom

Iris, Purple Rain, Major Tom

Cosmopolitan, Studio, Vivid

So what's your fave combo? Perhaps you want just one color for a really nice Reyna? Or three colors for A Girl's Best Friend? Perhaps the Paddington Station Socks?

Importing yarn is becoming a bit more predictable again. So in addition to this lovely yarn from the Netherlands, you'll soon see a great restock of Hedgehog Fibres from Ireland. Though not of the Skinny Singles for awhile b/c they can't get more of that from their mill at the moment.

Ask the Knitters

Dear Knitters,

I'm making socks with hand dyed yarn that is dark in color and I see what I'm assuming is dye on my fingertips and creases on my fingers where the yarn runs through. Not a lot, but enough to cause concern about washing. It's grey in color from the black dye. Should I be worried when I wash these socks for the first time? Or am I putting the worry-cart before the horse? I don't want the sock to have a muddy look in color. But I also don't want to have to fuss with these socks too much.

Can you help me a) with tips for washing these for the first time? b) tell me how often I should expect to see this? I've been knitting and crocheting for years now and this is a first for me.

Thank you!

Stella in OH

*                    *                    *

Help a knitter out and leave your advice in the comments section below.  Have a question you'd like to see answered here?  Simply title an e-mail Ask the Knitters and send it on to [email protected] . Your question could be chosen for this series.

Socktober Monday No. 1

Today's the first Monday of Sockotber which means we're releasing our first batch of Halloween-y awesomeness! We have three different Knit Kit options for you today, some awesome Sock-It Sets and super stripes!

Each Knit Kit comes with a skein of striping yarn from Knitterly Things (two of them are sparkle stripes!!) a super cute medium wedge bag that fits a 3 skein project and three adorable stitch markers. There are two options for the Candy Corn- one that glitters and one that does not. All can be found in our Kits & Clubs section.

For the past week, I've bee enjoying knitting up my test skein of the Ghouls Galore Sock It Set from Dream in Color. It's a combo of blood orange, black and white with speckles and if you knit the right circumference of a sock it knits up as a stripe. I cast on 68 stitches (on a US 1.5) the first time and the yarn was more pooling/variegated. Then I tore out and cast on 60 stitches on a US 1.5 and it was perfect. If you are using a US 1 needle, I think that 64-66 stitches is the way to go. I even did an afterthought heel so I could keep the stripe layout the same on the top of the foot where it's wider. I'm really happy with the results.

If you want something seasonal but a little more sweet than spooky, grab the Posh Pumpkin set with purples, melons and speckles. 

What makes stripes even better? SPARKLES!! For the first time ever, we have a special batch of Knitterly Things GLITTERFUL striping sock yarn!! It's just so cool, isn't it? I mean, if you really want to take striping sock yarn over the edge, just a touch of sparkle is the way to do it, am I right?

I just can't get enough of this stuff. I have it for you in some Halloween colors like Bump in the Night and Whisper to a Scream (above), Socktober colors like Socktober Spooktacular and Socktober Madness (below).

And, of course, we couldn't leave Christmas out of the sparkle party. We have awesome options like Joyful Noise below.

But I think it the sparkle is super magical on The Holly and the Ivy. 

What else is new in the shop? We have a full array of Manos Alegria sock yarn, restocks and new hues of Zauberball, and I just can't love these little Zauberperlen sets any more than I do.

I hope you find something that inspires you like I have been this week. There's something about the cooler weather and colorful knits that make fall special. Add a great cup of coffee or tea to that and I'd call that a perfect morning!

Halloween Knit Kits, a preview

This Monday we will have our first special Socktober release- our Halloween Knit Kits! You'll find these in the Kits & Clubs link as usual.

Crafters love this time of year. We get to experiment with color, sometimes even glow in the dark fabrics or details, and we get to think outside our normal crayon box of colors. These two knit kits are definitely spooktacular and a great way to start knitting with the season, right? And b/c we are releasing them early in the month, you have time to get these in your hands, knit up your socks and actually wear them on the 31st!

First, the Candy Corn Knit Kit includes a sparkled skein of sock yarn from Julia at Knitterly Things that will stripe up like candy corn. Is that not awesome?! It comes with three little candy corn stitch markers and this super cute/spooky medium wedge bag that holds a 2-3 skein project.

Second, I have the Camp Crystal Lake Knit Kit, which features a sparkled and striping skein of a color that Julia made to mimic one of our former Poste Yarn colors. Poste Yarn is the dye shop we had in the back of our yarn store for about 8 years and last year we decided to go on hiatus. So I asked Julia to dye up a stripe inspired by this popular color. Your skein comes with three little stitch markers (a pumpkin, a Frankenstein and a black cat) and the same cool bag.

Knitterly Things, Glitterful Stripe in Whisper to a Scream

What else might you want to add to your order to qualify for free us shipping? We will also be releasing an entire color collection of sparkling, striping yarn from Knitterly Things. If you like Julia's Vesper Sock Yarn, I think you'll love this glitter version. Just something special for Socktober. We will even have some of her Christmas striping colors on the sparkle base!

Knitterly Things, Glitterful Stripe in Socktober Spooktacular

We will also have these two colors of Sock It Sets from Dream in Color. These are exclusive to SSYC, and each comes with a full sized skein of yarn and a mini for your toes and heels. The yarn stripes up nicely if you cast on 60-64 stitches, but it will perform differently if the circumference of your project is larger or smaller. I think it's a super cool effect if done right. I cast on 68 stitches to start the first time (on US 1.5) and that circumference was too wide to make the stripes lay right, so I pulled out and did 60 sts on a US 1.5 instead and got this nice result. Henry's modeling these for me. The afterthought heel seems to fit him nicely. It's a heel I don't ususally do b/c it can make the sock somewhat tight across the top of the foot, but I added a few stitches to the heel and I think that fixed it nicely. I wanted to do an afterthought heel so that the stripe would be maintained evenly throughout the entire length of the sock.

There might be a bit more coming too that I just can't remember right now.... It's Friday and I think my brain is already done for the week! If you want some of these goodies, check the website on Monday, mid-morning EST. I'll also post here on Monday with direct links to all the lovelies.

Socktober 2020!

Today is the first day of Socktober! What does that mean at SSYC? Well, October is the month of the sock knitter. Not only are we realizing that the weather is starting to turn and we need to repleshing our sock drawers with new socks, but we also know it's time to really buckle down and get our holiday sock projects finished for our lucky friends and families. Socktober is also just a great time to celebrate us, the sock knitters, and all the time and effort we put into each stitch. So all month long at SSYC we'll be celebrating with contests, special sales and OH-SO-MANY limited edition fall and Halloween colorways and Knit Kits. We're doing our best to keep our dyers busy (they are all missing out on fall festival season b/c of the pandemic) and Halloween is the perfect time of year to experiment with color, am I right?

So let's get this party started! Today we're starting off with a contest here on the blog, on Facebook and on Instagram. What can you win? Let's start with one of the limited edition Sock It Sets we will so have up for sale from Dream in Color. I started knitting mine last night (shown above) and I love how it stripes up. Want to win one of your own? Tell me in the comments below how many pairs of socks you think you have knit this year. If the answer is none, well, I'm sad for your feet. But just tell me what else you like to knit with fingering weight yarn. After all, we all know that sock yarn is used for much MUCH more than socks.

Me? I think I have finished just five pairs. Now, I've started many more. But actually cast off on both? I'm going to say five. Here's evidence of some.

What kind of awesomeness have our artisans made for us to release all month long? Here's a tease of what's to come. The plan is to release batches of new things on Mondays throughout the month. How will you know what's being released? Well, check here on the blog as this is the place where I post the most detail about what's upcoming and new. The plan is on this coming Monday Oct 5 to put up the Knit Kits that feature the Halloween bags, striping/sparkling Knitterly Things sock yarn and the stitch markers AND the Dream in Color Sock It sets (full sized skein and mini) that you see above. Then after that we have some Halloween and fall hues from Stitch Together Studios and Mineville Wool Project, a special kit from Madelinetosh, new yarn at a steal from Less Traveled Yarn and Tosh.... and much more. And of course, contests all along the way.

Super stripes from Knitterly Things

Awesome fall hues from Mineville Wool project

Above is the Treat Yo'self colorway that Madelinetosh dreamed up for us. Go to Insta and FB to enter to win this before it comes out mid month.

Thank you for keeping us busy and sane during the past few (unpredictable) months. While we can't serve you in person right now, we are very happy to be shipping 6 days a week. So we want to celebrate you all month long!