Simply Socks Yarn Co. Blog

Mineville Wool Project, Bridgetown DK

If you enrolled in our current National Parks Series Yarn Club, you got a taste this month of a rare yarn - a hand dyed, DK weight merino/nylon from Mineville Wool Project. Not only is this blend something that we don't see in a hand dyed yarn (nylon in a DK weight???) but it comes in a put up that is actually great for socks - there's 40% more than the average 100g skein. Meaning that most regular foot sized people will have enough for a pair of socks (still get two just in case for larger foot people or longer than 5" legs). A rare gem indeed. And it's in the Sale Section!

Bridgetown DK in Amelia

Usually, DK weight yarns are put up in amounts that are more suited to garment knitters. So when Emily at Mineville told me about this skein (mid-pandemic, mind you, when getting anything imported was nearly impossible) I said "YES, PLEASE." And then waited. And then waited some more. Because if there's one thing running-a-small-business-that-relies-heavily-on-imports during a pandemic has taught me, it's the art of patience. And lest you think "well, why don't you just start sourcing all US made yarn".... Agreed. I'll do that. In the middle of a pandemic (which I did try and we'll see where that leads in the coming years). But in the meantime, where does that  US-dyed yarn come from? What country does all the superwash process for most everyone? Where do you think US dyers even get their skeins from? It's a global effort, my friends. And it can't be changed mid-pandemic, as much as one might try. But we made it work here and I'm so glad things are getting easier!

Bridgetown DK in Gros Morne

But it's here now and if you think you'd like to knit yourself some DK weight socks in this lovely blend, or a lovely hat like this (or this hat, which has been on my to-knit list ever since Rachael here knit it), have at it! I've already gotten dozens of e-mails from club members about how much they like this yarn and want it in other colors. 

Keep in mind that just because it has nylon doesn't mean it's not great for accessories and sweaters like the DK weight 100g skeins of MWP that you have gotten from us for the past two years. It's super soft, takes the color wonderfully, and nylon is a great addition to most any project that you want longevity and retained shape memory.

The increase in skein size means that you would typically see this yarn at $32-ish a skein, or even $39 depending on the dyer (especially since this is imported). But we have it right now for $17.50 a skein, which is a fab deal. I already caked two skeins for myself, Spooked above and Lotus Garden below. Spooked is a color that's definitely in my wheelhouse - a gray with dappled color. But Lotus Garden is outside my normal color choices. While I do love a good green, I don't usually choose one with so many other colors in it. I'm a basic green girl. But I'm glad I took the plunge.

I have size 10-11 feet, so I'll post how it goes knitting up one of these into a pair of socks for my large feet. Instagram is usually the place I post little updates, and it cross posts to Facebook, so if you follow us on one of those platforms, you'll see how it's going as I go along. 

If you are a club member and want more of the club color, I should have that listed for you in about week I believe. If you asked to be e-mailed when it goes live, you'll get an e-mail but I recommend acting fast as there's not a ton of it in that special color.

Again, this can all be found in our Sale Section. If you miss out on a color you want, I do think I can get another shipment of this. Maybe two. But like all Mineville Wool Project finds, they specialize in short runs that they get at a fab price b/c it's a test yarn or an end run or slightly different than expected. MWP gets it at a fab price and I pass that price along to you. So sometimes yarns are available for a year or more (and can be remade) sometimes just for one run.

Picture Post

Our gorgeous shelves of Wonderland Yarn above. Oh so many Urth Sock Kits below.

Our line up of Irish dyer Life in the Long Grass above. Spring Tweed Me Sock hues from Less Traveled Yarn below.

Oh so many needles above. Oh so much Tosh DK below. 200 colors.

Super cute Tulip Garden color set for the Chevron Love hat.

And these two beauties are mine all mine. If you are a club member you may have already received your skein of the limited edition club color in this rare merino/nylon DK blend from Mineville Wool Project. I can't remember the last time I've had a DK weight hand dyed yarn with nylon in it and the feel and colors of this one are not only amazing, but so is the put up. It's 140g instead of 100g which means that even I should have enough yardage to knit socks for my size 10-11 feet. We shall soon see! Neither of these is the club color b/c I didn't want to reveal it since many haven't received their packages yet. Above is Lotus Garden and below is Spooked and I'll share the drop date for this special blend soon. Likely a week or so off though.

Spring Knits from SSYC

It's time to think about Spring! Here in the US, it's Spring Break, and to me that means the start of a much needed spring!

What do we have in the shop to celebrate? Well, our April Sock Sets (below) and Pretty Crocus Spring Set just went live at the Kits & Clubs link. The one above is a sock set from Yarn Love paired with four little stitch markers. Isn't it just très adorable? 

Yarn Love also made us some cute mini sets. We've all been loving the mini sets lately, haven't we? They are a great way to experiment with color, either in striped socks or by adding different hues to a shawl. But I really like just having them on hand for when I want an unexpected toe or heel in my socks.

I have more mini sets coming soon from several dyers, as the pandemic restrictions have lifted quite a bit in many states and dyers can be around their staff more in their enclosed studios. These sets take a lot of time to make, so they just haven't been that readily available. But I do have some from Sweet Georgia like Escape below. Oooh, I have other minis from Wonderfland Yarns too.

We also have a slew of full skeins from Sweet Georgia too, and even more coming in May. Importing yarn (like this from Canada) is getting easier and easier - it's a much welcome change in this new pandemic-life.

What else might infuse a bit of spring color into your knitting? I do love Orchid from Artfil Yarn (also of Canada). It's shown below on their Belle Sock, but I have just one skein left on their Singles.

We have a lot of superb spring hues from Life in the Long Grass of Ireland as of mid-March. Caroline and crew dye some gorgeous skeins like

Cockleshell (all skeins shown on Sock but also look for them on Silk Merino, Singles and DK Twist)

Chirp

Garden Party

Pansy

Tidepool

Floral

What I love about each of the colors above is that they are modern, adult spring colors. Nothing too simple-pastel, and nothing too in-your-face Easter egg hues. Total gorgeous and wearable.

Want something with more flair? I have some stunners from Nicole at Hue Loco. These are all on Merino Sock (80% merino 20% nylon). Highly recommend.

Funky Funky

Amber Canopy

Bumble Take a look at Phyllis Sock too if you like these colors but want a three ply sock yarn and not two ply. It's just a slightly different texture.

The ultimate spring color, to me, might be from Hedgehog Fibres though. Comeback. I just love the speckles of bright hues and black.

Parklife is another one on my to-knit list from Hedgehog Fibres

Oh, and Danube!

And Damsel! Alright, I've offically fallen down the rabbit hole. See, you can own the darn yarn shop and still run around like a knitter who hasn't seen yarn in a year, grabbing everything.

Wonderland Yarn dyes some springy hues in Between the Lines

Chalice of Poetry

Opal

And Twinkle. These are all shown on Cheshire Cat sock, a 100% superwash merino that has great yardage at 520 yards! These colors are also available on Mary Anne sock if you prefer a little bit of nylone with your merino.

And in the ultimate spring knit, are these flower-inspired gradient balls called Blossoms. These are a gorgeous way to let the yarn do the work for you in a simple shawl. This one is color 31 - Heart Leaf Fern.

Qing Fibre of London makes some gorgeous, mod spring hues and I love how they look with tweed. If you like a bit of cashmere in your sock, we have many of these on that base too. And of course, just classic merino/nylon sock. This is Papaya

Ibiza Breeze

Here's Gelateria on Sock

Penguin

Shusui

Shibuya

Have I sufficiently tempted you with some lovely spring color options? I do hope so! We all deserve a treat and a little "mind vacation" after a year of living in pandmemic conditions. Any time I can make myself feel better with a new knit, it's a better day. Can you imagine what it would be like if you didn't have knitting in the past year? I wonder how non-crafters filled their time and managed their anxiety without yarn and sticks.

Oh, and lest I forget to show you, we also have a new batch of project bags from Magner Co in the shop. Fabric has been hard to come by during the pandemic, so we've waited nearly a year for these!

I. Just. Can't. Resist.

Microbatch colors 4, 11, 14, 5, 8, 3 and 13. I just had to arrange them in a rainbow fade. I couldn't not do it.

This is something I've been not-so-patiently waiting months for. Kayanna's been working on this next batch of her Mid Coast String for awhile now but the pandemic definitely got in the way. But it's here. IT'S HERE. And it's amazing.

This yarn is totally a small batch labor of love, so if you see one you really like, please do not hesitate. Kayanna dyes up the wool/bamboo/silk (not superwash!) in her studio, then sends it to her mill in Illinois to be spun into this 2 ply, fingering weight yarn that looks like hand spun. Every skein is unique within the color batch, so if you want some, please be okay with a surprise. The four skeins I have pictured of each colorway on our website do a good job of showing you how the skeins can vary within a batch. If you want one that is lighter/darker/more striking/more uniform you are welcome to tell us that in the comments section at Check Out, keeping in mind that we will do our best but ultimately will send you a skein from what we have. If we have just two skeins to choose from left, and you say "I want one that looks like the one on the left" but all we have is like the one on the right, well, you know. You're getting one like the one on the right. Ha! We love being your personal shoppers, but we aren't magicians. 

I really can't express in simple text how happy I am about this yarn. It was such a pleasure to get for the first time over a year ago (for one of our clubs) and then to get a full batch of colors last year, and now this full batch of colors finally in 2021. Now this is a great way to celebrate spring.

I haven't yet decided which color will first go on my needles. I might first see what sells out here in the shop in the next day or two because I really would feel bad if I took a skein of something that someone really wanted. It's just that special.

This isn't necessarily an ideal yarn for socks, unless you always hand wash cool and won't be wearing these in boots. Yes, the fiber would make them nice and warm and your feet would look amazing in this, but it just might not hold up like you're used to in sock yarn. Instead, I think it's more suitable to a small accessory like a hat or mitts or a cowl. Or get several for a sweater that looks hand spun. Or a Nightshift-type of project.

Thank you, Kayanna, for making my day. You make pretty string.

Ask the Knitters

Dear Knitters,

Like a lot of you, I've been knitting more in the past year (I may take up crochet too). I have been knitting for years, but made my first pair of socks in 2020 (with yarn from the Simply Socks sale bin). I've seen a lot of cute "sock sets" lately with a full sized skein and a mini skein but I am just not too sure yet. I have a couple things holding me back.

1. Where do you start the mini-skein colors? When you start the heel flap? And when you start the decrease for the toes? (I'm knitting top down.) Is it just the flap that's the new color, or the decreasing part after the flap too?
2. Do you have a certain pattern you love that uses a "sock set"? Either one for socks or for a shawl or other accessory. I knit all sorts of things, so I'm interested in learning what you like. I'm on Ravelry, so those links would be nice.

Thank you for your advice!

Caroline in KY

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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 service@simplysockyarn.com . Your question could be chosen for this series.

Magner Totes

I'm so happy to share that Magner Co. bags are back in the shop! Casey makes his wonderful bags from the highest quality waxed canvas and leather details from Wicket & Craig Tannery in PA. These are serious bags, y'all.

I love mine. I use it a lot, not just for knitting, but as a carry all. There are five pockets, one zippered, and three vertical slots to hold needles or pens. There are also grommets if you like to secure your yarn that way. The bag holds a large project, so for me a three skein shawl plus a wallet and likely a few packets of Goldfish crackers and LEGO mini figures. You know that when you have kids you have the most random combinations in your bags, right?

I have one in a more suble color (I think it's Bluestone or Slate) but the Nautical Red, Orange and Purple (above) are really giving me the good feels. I always need more color in my life.

At $84, Magner Co. bags aren't cheap. But they are worth it. Superb quality and it shows. And I like that with use they just look more and more awesome as the waxed canvas gets broken in. If you're considering getting one, I also recommend getting one of the crossbody straps, because it really does come in handy. 

If you want to see a bit of Casey's process, watch this. Casey has worn many hats throughout the years, from airplane pilot to professional bike mechanic, but it wasn’t until after he bought his first sewing machine and discovered his passion for design that Magner Co was born. His brother Brett, spans the spectrum of job titles as he continues to practice medicine and help run a small coffee business but he could not resist the opportunity to work with Casey as his Chief Mate in Magner Co. Now, how many of us could successfully run a business with our siblings? Super cool, right?

Coming Soon

We have some wonderful goodies to the shop coming for spring. Next week I'll be sharing our Pretty Crocus Spring Set, which is a sock set from Katie at Yarn Love (I've been obsessed with her yarns lately), paired with four adorable stitch markers.

Katie also made up these little mini skein sets for us. Aren't they perfectly springy? I think these will go live on Wednesday, mid morning EST in the Kits & Clubs section.

Also coming soon (late this week if I can) is a new collection of colors from Magner. Casey makes some wonderful bags, and I use mine all the time for more than a project bag. I carry it nearly everywhere. Like a lot of makers, Casey was having trouble getting fabric during the pandemic, but now a great array of colors are available, like this orange. Again, I hop to have these on the website in a couple days.

Then later in the month (or early April, depending on the unpredictable import time) I'm expecting the newest Opal Yarn collection and as you can see, it's a special one. It's marled in color (strands of differnt colors plied together) instead of printed to create a self patterning look. I love this so much. I'm pretty predictable, so I'm betting you can tell that 9960 will be the first one on my needles. With its aquas and teals, how can I resist?! I'd love to see this collection later on their 6ply DK weight too, wouldn't you?

We will also have the Best of Opal collection, which I'm thinking is their way of bringing back some popular colors from over the years. Now, if I was making up the collection I'd put in the Tiger and Ladybug colors from 15 years ago. I'd love to see those back again. And then a Van Gogh color or two from 6 years ago, and at least one from the Monet collection from 2019. Then I would fill it out with Harry Potter colors from a decade ago. That would be my Best of.... What would you include in yours? What are your most memorable Opal knits?

 

Signs of Spring and an Update

Life has gotten a bit nicer/easier in my household in the past week. We will soon be dealing with the damage caused by those wretched ice dams (at my home, the shop was safe), the weather is much nicer (if not wet), and the COVID-19 rates here in Indiana are low enough to put us in the "blue" which is quite welcome. We hope to be able to get vaccinated soon, and then we are betting that life becomes more "normal." Whatever that means. Can you believe that a year ago we were told "just two weeks" and when warm weather comes that will knock back the virus??? I mean, I knew at the time that was bull, but it's odd a year later looking back on the start of pandemic-life and remembering how I thought that a month of this was going to ruin my life.

So what's work life like now? Well, work life is very similar to what it was when the pandemic started. My staff and I are still social distancing ourselves pretty much on the same schedules we were when this started. Because my kids are back in school, I go drop them off, then spend a few hours in the shop before someone else comes in and then I leave and go home to get work done. Sometimes we have things we need to catch up on briefly, sometimes we don't. But I don't stick around b/c it's safter for Heather or Rachael or Lauren to be there alone. I sometimes go back in here and there during the week when they are there, because there are times that two people have to be on site for things. But I'm happy about how we have handled this as a team. We are all healthy, our families are healthy, and I feel good about the shop not being a point where the virus could be spread. 

When will the shop reopen to the public? Not yet. We will start allowing pickups at our shipping doors in a couple weeks, and as long as people don't try to strong arm us about coming in to switch neede sizes/check color combos/feel something in person, we will continue to do that. Then we will see where things are this summer with COVID-19 rates once more of the population has been vaccinated and things are safer for all. I'd love to have a late-summer 16th birthday party if we can. And if we still can't have a large-ish event, we will move that date back farther. I really want to be able to celebrate SSYC's longevity in 2021 if we can safely do that!! I miss seeing you all.

How has life changed personally? Well, it's been a harder 2021 for me personally for reasons. Things are getting to me that shouldn't be, and as much as I tell myself that I'm fortunate to be healthy and have a job and happy man and kids in my life, my brain hasn't always seen that. I've just been in a funk. I wonder if some of it is because I'm a social person and I use my connections with others to help me cope with life, and I don't have that. As far as my family goes, the kids are in school full time and infection rates are low enough here that we rarely get an e-mail from the school about a student/teacher being quarantined. The kids are interested in doing some extracurricular activities this spring. James wants to play golf and Henry wants to take piano. I think golf would be safe enough as its all outdoors and spaced out and each kid has their own equipment. But I'm unsure about piano - sitting next to a teacher for 40 minutes? But Henry has a bit of energy that he needs to have a way to harness. He's like me, and his mind is always playing a tune or a rhythm and I learned piano when I was little and then when a melody or rhythm got stuck in my head I played it out with my fingers (like air piano), instead of humming it over and over and disrupting others. I think that's a tool that Henry needs - a way to use that energy and get that rhythm out of his head. I'm open to other ideas if you have them!

My family and I were able to go to our Botanical Conservatory last week and no one else was there. It was a welcome diversion and a beautiful exhibit. If you are coming from out of town to shop with us sometime in the future, it's a wonderful stop as well. And then you can walk 4 minutes to get food at Hoppy Gnome too. A nice day trip, once things open back up more.

How are you doing? Are your kids in school? Are you enjoying a bit more time outdoors? I'd love to know how you're dealing with this a year in and how your life has changed too. I know we are all in this together.

St. Patrick's Day Inspired Knits

St. Patrick's Day is a week away and I have some really lovely skeins in stock if you want to cast on something new on that day..... or a few days after if USPS is seeing delays. But thankfully, they seem to be caught up from their pandemic-then-holiday-then-weather related delays, thank goodness!

Here's what I have that I think would be a wonderful St. Pat's cast-on, or even a way to commemorate the coming of spring. First off, the Ireland color from Fleece Artist. We've carried this dyer for 15 years now and they've been dyeing as a family studio for over 40. Now that's some expertise in the field.

Bottle Green is a another way to knit green with Fleece Artist.

And if you want to go spring-like, try Cloudburst. Prefer a bit of nylon in your socks? I have some of these colors in their Cottage Sock as well. But I've knit several pairs (ok, like nine) out of Fleece Artist Merino and it's holds up wonderfully, even with no nylon.

Want to try a new-to-you dyer? What about Glacier from Uschitita in the Netherlands? These lovely imports just arrived this week and you'll find Glacier on both Merino Sock and Merino Singles.

If you haven't tried Spun Right Round yet, what about Leapin Lizards on Singles? I also have it in DK.

Or Succulent, if you want something more subdued.

What about some Tweed sock? Maybe Duck Egg or Juniper from Qing of London?

Fresh Cut Grass is an amazing green on Tweed Sock, Tender Sock, or Bliss (some cashmere) Sock. All from Swift Yarns. Absinthe is a mod, fresh green too.

If you were in our last club, you definitely know the dye work of Less Traveled Yarn because the tweed color they did for us was the most sold color we've ever had in the club. Not only b/c the club had a very high enrollment, but because a large percentage of you bought from the special reorder of that one! Sarah and Matt make some lovely greens like Punch Drunk Grunge shown below on their 757 Sock base. Transmutation is a good one too.

We just got in a new restock from Irish dyer Life in the Long Grass and it included one of my favorite greens, Greenstone.

And Hillside is always gorgeous too.

Or go with Emerald Eve for a saturated emerald. All these are shown on Fine Sock but it's worth looking at DK Twist, Silk Merino and Singles for some of these if you want to try a different base.

Then, we have some limited edition mini skein sets from Yarn Love, as well as two of my fave greens from Katie, Turf Wars and Vespa, both dyed on Juliet Sock.

And, of course, I couldn't let a holiday pass without putting together some special sock sets. These, themed for St. Patrick's Day are all Irish dyed- the full sized skeins from Life in the Long Grass and the minis from Hedgehog Fibres. Both in County Cork, Ireland. How cool is that?! Say hello to the Lucky Charmer, Irish Garden, and Shamrockin' sock sets, exclusive to SSYC.

Love the idea of knitting the rainbow that leads to the pot of gold? We have several prismatic options. Here is 50 Shades of Yay and Gala, both from Yarn Love.

How about some Rainbow-inspired stripes from the Regia Pairfect line? That gives you two "pairfectly" matching socks from one ball! Here are colors 1735 and 1736.

What about Tosh's popular Rainbow color? Shown here on Tosh Merino Light, also available on Tosh Sock, Tosh DK, and Pashmina.

Want gradient rainbows? How about Queenland's Perth in Rainbow Reef?

Or Zauberball Crazy in 1702? or 1564?

This certainly has turned into one long color exposion, hasn't it? I think of St Patrick's Day as a colorful entrance into spring. And this spring refresh is more needed than any other spring in the past. Here in the US, we need warm weather, a safe way to get outside and do something and enjoy ourselves. Because when I look back to a year ago and remember being told "oh, we just need to do this for two to three weeks....." and here we are a year later, still in pandemic mode. Gosh. We need an influx of this color!

Uschitita is back with MORE!

Last week I shared that I've been looking for shortcuts. Life has become more hectic than usual and I need to make space for my sanity. Mainly, my shortcuts seem to relate to the shopping for and preparing of food. And it had me thinking a lot about the right and not-right things to take shortcuts on. And then, of course it got me thinking about yarn and how some of the lines I carry are so nuanced in their colors and accents that the dyers must take great pains to get just the right effect. There are no shortcuts to getting just the right look when hand dyed yarn in concerned, and that's never more evident than when looking at the amazing skeins from Uschitita.

Galaxy on Merino Singles. Dark blues (think a night sky) accented with blush and specks of amber and bold pink.

Uschitita is a small studio of Steffi and Juergen in the Netherlands. Steffi started dyeing a few years ago as an artistic release when she was in medical school. Now she's full force (and I'm assuming COVID has made her job even more busy) and her husband Juergen is just as much a part of the operation as she is. I'm betting it keeps them quite busy.

Cloud Busting on Merino Singles. A delicately brooding skein.

We first started carrying their Merino Sock a few months ago and as of today we have their Merino Singles as well. Their Meirno Singles is the most popular collection they dye, even more than the Sock. That's odd for us, since usually the yarns we sell are popular for their sock bases, but I think you'll see that there's something about the way Steffi dyes that really goes well on the Singles- it glows with color and the nuances really shine through.

We have a restock of the sock colors that sold fast, plus new ones like Beach Babe. Now that's a summer color!

I've already found a few single skeins I love for a few basic projects. I can't wait to get started on a simple sockhead hat for a particular friend for her birthday. I'm betting if you take a gander, you'll see a color that look perfect for someone you love too.

Sale Goodies

Last Friday I posted a slew of goodies in the Sale Section from some of our favorite dyers. Hundreds of new options from two of our long time dyers, Lorna's Laces and Blue Moon Fiber Arts. There's also some lovely striping and gradient stuff from Urth Yarns and a bit from other companies too. 

For Lorna's Laces this will be the last you'll find of this as owner Amanda, who managed/dyed for LL for a decade and purchased it a few years ago, has decided to change things up there, shuttering Lorna's Laces and Mrs Crosby and instead starting in a new direction. When I asked her for more details she said "The long and short of it is that it is time for a change. A big change! The yarn and fashion world have so much space to experiment. There are so many places to draw inspiration. I want to build a new venture that feels more true to myself. Who I am. What I believe in. How I see the world around me." Now I think that's a great place to start, but I will miss some some of the awesome colors that Lorna's Laces has made over the years. I still have some things to add from them to the sale section so you might see more pop up, like Solemate. When you still have over 200 colors left, it takes a lot of time to change everything on the website. Want pattern ideas for Lorna's? How about the Cathedral Wrap, Basket Weave Rip Socks, and Prism Socks.

We're also letting go of Blue Moon Fiber Arts. I'm unsure if this is a permanent end or temporary. There's been a lot of change there (like in the rest of the yarn industry) in the past few years and I'm unsure if they are still producing for their yarn shops or not, but I can't seem to get more info or yarn right now. But I do hope to get more in the future, if they are producing and if you want it. I certainly love the colors that Tina produces. Fingers crossed that they continue to work with yarn shops in some way. We've offered nearly 400 colors from them in the past decade, over seven different base yarns. Isn't that a huge amount?!

We sold out of dozens of this goodies in the Sale Section over the weekend already, so if there are certain colors you don't want to miss out on, please don't hesitate. It could be the last time to see these colors and they are definitey knit and stash worthy collectibles. 

Super Deals in the Sale Section!

I just wanted to do a quick before-weekend post to let you know that I've added several hundred (yes HUNDRED) options to the Sale Section today. All our Lorna's Laces and our Blue Moon Fiber Arts and a bit of Urth Yarn in select colors too.

I'll blog next week about the reasons we're letting go of such great yarn, but I wanted to give you a heads up today before I send out a newsletter next week and it all goes fast. Grab these skeins while you can!

A week of shortcuts

Last week was such a dumpster fire for many reasons (mainly the ice dams of my home). So this week I'm taking some "shortcuts" though I'm unsure if that's even the right phrase to use becuase it seems negative. Like I'm doing things the wrong way. Instead I'm doing things differently this week so that I'm taking some things off my plate. And maybe I'll have more time to sit and knit and watch Downton Abbey again like I did yesterday.

First, the boys breakfast was all set out last night instead of this morning. And I didn't do it myself, Terry did it. And I'm going to have the boys put together their own breakfast this week. This may seem like a "duh" moment, yes a 13 year old and an 8 year old can certainly get their own breakfast, but it's just part of my 6:20am routine and if I make them something then I know they are eating healthy food instead of factory food.

Then, I ordered their lunches for the week, which I haven't done yet this year. The kids used to eat school lunch about half the time. But now that COVID is an issue, the school asks that you order your lunches for the week before Sunday night. And then I have to magically remember what days I ordered (or make note, which I don't). You can't just show up at school and get in the lunch line anymore. There isn't even a lunch line because there isn't a lunch room. the kids lunch in their rooms with their "pod." It's a bit frustrating for those of us who don't plan a week ahead, or are busy on Sundays getting stuff ready for the week. But this week? School lunch every day. And it's good stuff like breakfast-for-lunch, pesto chicken pasta, pizza, and chicken tenders. Things the kids actually will eat.

I ordered myself breakfast and lunch delivery here at the shop this morning from a local fave, Firefly Coffee House. It wasn't much, but it was nice to have someone with a smile drive the half mile to bring me nice coffee and an english muffin sandwich since I forgot to pack anything. And he brought it in like 15 minutes. And the english muffin is homemade. Win win.

So far, all my shortcuts are about food! I'm not surprised though, since I spend a lot of time shopping for and making food. And while these aren't epic time savers, I do feel good about letting some things go. And that's three things already this week! Do you have tips on things that have really cut down your time spent doing something? I'd love to know.

This week, I'm expecting to have up on the website a new batch of Tosh DK and Tosh Merino Light, super yarn from Life in the Long Grass and some restocks of Malabrigo. And likely some more Regia too. Perhaps a few other things if the shipping timelines are correct.