It's Socktober!! Let's CELEBRATE! + A Contest

It's Socktober, friends! Socktober is a month long celebration of all things sock knitting and we're doing it up big again this year at SSYC with gifts-with-purchase, contests, limited Halloween goodies and Knit Kits, sales and more! I really do love this time of year - it's so fun to treat others to yarn and goodies that make us smile, all leading up to a time of candy and costumes and then holiday festivities! Come join us here on the blog whenever you want to see what's new in the shop, what tokens we're giving you, and how you can win prizes. We'll have something new going on each week this month. Do bookmark the blog!

What's this week's Socktober Surprise? Two gifts!! Just order online today through October 7 and I'll gift you not one but TWO sock patterns from This Handmade Life! I'm a big fan of Olivia's patterns, so she and I have chosen two patterns that we both think you'll appreciate. St. Mary Mead (above) is addictively simple and Kelpie (below) is a bit more tangy and I'll e-mail them to you after your online order (those link to the Ravelry pages so you can see more). You don't have to e-mail to request them or add them to your cart or anything. I'll automatically send you the patterns via e-mail within 3 days of your order (if you don't get them four days after your order, just e-mail [email protected] to ask). After you get your e-mailed order receipt, please add us to your Contacts just in case so the pattern e-mail doesn't go to spam. 

This is just one way I'll be showing you my thanks over the month as we celebrate our 16th Socktober at Simply Socks Yarn Co! What else can you expect this month? Well, next week is our big online Halloween Event where we release the ghoulish goodies we have for you this year - a Knit Kit, limited edition skeins, bags, stitch markers and more. I'll preview all these on Monday, and my hope is to have everything go live on Tuesday at the Kits & Clubs link.

So what might you like to purchase to get your free patterns this week? How about the new holiday color
from West Yorkshire Spinners? These always go fast and Vintage Tinsel can be found here along with their other holiday colors that I have restocked. Silent Night sparkle is last year's color that I've been able to get more of too.

I also have for you the Dream in Color Sock-It-Set for October, which is inspired by graveyard gardens. And we have a huge amount of Smooshy and Smooshy with Cashmere for all the things.

We have a full restock of all our Madelinetosh, and Tosh Sock would be perfect to use for the patterns I'm gifting you. We have over 300 colors in several Tosh base yarns, above with Joan showing it off, and we stock every color of Malabrigo too. And I'm even adding super bulky Malabrigo Rasta to our offerings very soon - it has arrived, but takes quite a while to photograph it all. As you may know, we photograph all our yarn when it gets here instead of using stock photos so that you get the best idea you can about what your hand dyed skeins will actually look like.

We have the two newest Opal Yarn Collections, 25 Years of Opal and Rainforest 17. Can you believe they've been doing the Rainforest collection for 17 years now?!

And if you want a fab deal on yarn for your gift socks, take a look at our Sale Section. Page 2 has dozens of Regia options for 50% off. This stuff is fun to knit and is easy care, which is perfect when you're gifting socks to someone this Christmas.

Want to try a wool other than merino? I have a Polwarth wool sock yarn in our Sale Section from Laneras Yarn Co (LYC) for only $18 a skein. Gorgeous Uruguayan milled yarn.

Finally, we just received a fresh batch of our exclusive yarn from Dream in Color (DIC), Colossal Sock. This yarn has 50% more than a typical skein and it's just $21. You can find dozens of colors in the Sale Section. We get this yarn every 5-6 weeks and it always goes fast.

And if you've made it all the way to the bottom of this lengthy blog post, you deserve the chance at at treat! I'm giving away two $50 gift certificates to the shop and you can enter to win simply by telling me in the comments what you love about fall. I'll randomly choose two winners by noon EST on October 5 and e-mail you.

What do I love about fall? LOTS. Knitting at my boys' soccer games without sweating in the hot sun, decorating my fireplace mantle with whatever Halloween craft we make (like this cute paper garland), the smell of the crisp fall air, hiking in the falling leaves (though I won't be doing that this year with this torn Achilles), knitting under a crocheted blanket, making applesauce.... there's much to look forward to this fall!

Want to see more yarny goodness? If you haven't seen SSYC and our  , you can view this interview and tour by Krissy Glass. She came to visit earlier this summer and did an interview and shop tour. Do watch!

Comments

[Nancy]

What do I love about fall? I love the cooler temperatures, and the beginning of sweater season! I love harvesting the last of our garden bounty! I love roasting tomatoes to make our family specialty sauce! I love finalizing all the Christmas knitting that I have been working on! And I love looking forward to seeing family in person in the coming months.

[Denise]

I live in New England and my favorite thing about fall is the change in Foliage. Everywhere you go, the can see the trees change and the colors are so beautiful. I love to ride around and enjoy the colors. This year I am especially looking forward to wearing the 2 handknit sweaters I knit over the spring and summer and finishing the sleeve on my first cardigan. So exciting to wear something you made!

[Trudy]

I love everything about fall. Cooler weather and getting out the handmade sweaters. Snow on the mountain tops is especially beautiful in the west!

[Dana Snyder]

I love the cooler weather and getting out the sweaters! I love when the leaves start to change! They have that slight tinge of yellow and a few red speckles on the mountain here in western Virginia.

[mellenknits]

I love the change in the weather - cooler mornings and evenings, less humidity. And of course, the real star of fall, apple cider donuts!

[Debbie]

Soup making time! I like a lot of things about fall, but that came to mind first.

[Sara Moening]

I love decorating outside with my daughter, knitting outside at football games and all the bright trees!!

[Brenna Delosier]

I love the cooler temps. And I love decorating for fall and Halloween.

[Amber Hartenbower]

I love the changing leaves and the crisp, cool air!

[Rita]

I love crisp air, fall canning, planning ahead for the holidays, watching children & doggies jump in leaf piles, and SOCKTOBER!!!

[Cheryl]

Fall weather - still warm enough that I don't freeze to death but not so stinking hot and humid as summer.

Thanks for the opportunity!

[Sherri]

I love fall - it's my favorite time of year. But down here in the south, I've got another month or more before it hits! The colors in the north Georgia mountains are my favorite :)
I might need socks to match that....

[MarthaO]

I love the cooler, dryer weather, the leaves changing colors, and, of course, Halloween, my favorite holiday.

[Joyce]

Definitely love the cooler temps

[Natalie]

I love that the air conditioner and heat are off, the windows are open and especially at night...
starting to bake and rake leaves and put pumpkins out.. it is all just magical..

[Bonnie]

I love when it begins to get cooler and it's time for knit socks.

[Pat]

What do I love? I can finally start wearing my hand knitted socks again!😁

[Annette]

I love the leaves turning color and going to the orchard for apples.

[Robyn]

I love the cooler temps plus canning food from my home garden as well as local farms. Seeing rows of home-canned produce on my shelves just gives me a warm feeling in my soul.🙂

[Jody L]

Fall is my favorite season! I love the crisp, cooler weather and the changing of the leaves. It’s perfect for breaking out all the comfort food recipes that don’t get used so much in the hot summer months and also starts up baking time! It’s nice to need a sweater and to shut the darn air conditioner off for the season!

[Dianr]

I love the crisp cool air.

[Renee Huffman]

I love breaking out my hoodies, knitting more now that it is cooler, and all things apple!

[Maureen Barger]

Fall makes me sad bc I do love summer, but I appreciate the leaves changing and taking long hikes with my dogs. And of course breaking out all the knits! :D

[Tabitha Burks]

I love all the fall food and drink options and wearing my hand knit items!

[Becky]

I love it when the sky is crystal clear blue with bright sun shine but when you step out in it the air is cool, almost cold to your skin.

[Jena Schwab]

I love how the sun changes to a soft light. You can’t explain you, you just can tell it’s fall. I also love apples and sweaters and boots and football and me knits and basically everything!!

[Kate]

I love getting cozy in my hand knits while outside hiking and inside by the fire! It also my favorite time of year for running on trails!

[Faye]

Fall is my absolutely favorite season. Candy apples, falling leaves and cooler temps. Life is good!

[Katherine]

I love the cool, crisp air! I also love walking through the fallen leaves. It takes me back to my childhood and the many hours spent raking our leaves into piles and jumping into them over and over!!!!

[Peter & RuthAnn Cromwell]

I love the smell of burning leaves and roasting marshmallows and making s'mores and hot cider. It is always nice to be outside and see the neighbors raking too.

[Ellen C,]

I love the colorful foliage and cooking/baking with fresh apples. Applesauce, apple pie, apple crisp, apple butter.... :)

[Karen N.]

I love everything about fall: the foliage, the cool nights, wearing sweaters again, leaf piles, clear nights for stargazing, the beaches empty of tourists... and best of all, I love knitting with wool again!

[Melissa]

What I love about fall is wearing my handknit shawls and cardigans with my hair down (I wear it up up most of the summer to try to keep cool!) The breeze in my hair, but not through the protection of my loved-into-being-more-than yarn items is priceless to me!

[elissa schoening]

What I love about fall most is the awesome, own window, cool nights! Perfect for sleeping.

[Jacquie Krauskopf]

I love fall for the beautiful, cooler days that encourage more knitting and coziness!

[Liz]

I love everything about Fall! It is probably my favorite season of all -- the chilly nights full of stars, the beautiful leaves on the trees, warm shawls and sweaters, hiking in the woods, the way the house smells when I'm baking apple pie or making applesauce... everything!!!

[Michelle W.]

There's a lot I love about fall, but this year, I have something new: corncob popcorn from our local farm! We get a CSA share every year from a nearby farm, and this week, we got a special treat: two cobs of popcorn ready to pop. You can pop the whole cob in the microwave and it really does pop! My kids and I were so excited. It's delicious, and not how we usually make popcorn!

[Carol Pogoni]

I love the changing leaves the most about fall, but also the crunch under your feet when you hike, all things pumpkin, particularly muffins, and the crisp, clean fall air. Fall is my favorite season!

[Julie Olsen]

I love the cooler nights and warm days.

[Sabrina Snyder]

I absolutely love the colors of fall! I love driving around and seeing the trees ablaze with colors!

[Charissa]

Ah, I love fall, especially the bright blue October skies, brisk morning walks, visiting pumpkin fields, and seeing the trees in their colorful autumn party dresses, and of course making time for some cosy knitting!

[Teena Carter]

Fall is my favorite season! I love the cool mornings and warm afternoons so I can still be outside enjoying nature. I also really love fall colors, they make me smile.

[Cheryl Bach]

Fall is my favorite season! I love baking Fall goodies like pumpkin pie and pumpkin bread. I love wearing sweaters and my favorite pair of boots. I love curling up with my knitting and a good book or podcast on a cool Fall day.

[Tara Crites]

I absolutely love fall! It's my favorite season. I love being able to wear my hand knits, and see them on my loved ones. I love taking walks in the brisk air, crunching leaves, and sipping something warm. I hope you have a wonderful fall season!

[Jeanne Bush]

I live in California so we don't have seasons that change they way you do, but Fall is Indian Summer with glorious warm, not hot, days and blue skies. Today is just such a day, and I'm loving it!

[Judy]

Fall weather, fall colors, fall holidays

[Dana]

My favorite things are sweatshirts and cozy socks!

[Kat Gatzke]

I live in Houston, so when fall comes around the temperatures finally start to come down a little bit. It can be in the 90s still but at least some days the temperature is more bearable than in the summer.

[Jessica]

I love pumpkin everything and the changing of the leaves. It's also my oldest child's birthday this season!

[Valerie Deangelis]

I love being able to wear all my knits, going apple picking and baking more with the cooler weather.

[Nancy Pellowski]

I can slack off the gardening and knit instead!

[Marilyn]

I love the cooler weather that fall brings.

[Da]

The best things about fall are all the purple and orange to be found ( there’s never enough around during the other seasons), knitting outside and not being eaten by mosquitoes, and all the love for the black kitters!

[Joann]

I love the cooler weather, the changing colors of leaves, and sipping hot tea while I’m knitting.

[Chris Lopez]

I love everything about fall. It’s the lead up to all the holidays with it’s cooler weather and beautiful colors. It means I can start making bigger projects without cranking the AC to counter Sacramento’s red hot summers. I can switch from sparkly citrus scented candles to hearty spice and Evergreen. Ice cold sweet tea becomes lovely hot Earl Grey and White Peppermint mocha warms my mornings.

[Kelly H]

What do I love about Fall? Absolutely everything!! The crisp air, backroad road trips with my daughter, scary movies, and of course the gorgeous colors of changing leaves. Let’s goooo!!!

[Kim Holbrook]

Fall is my favorite! I love the lower temperature, the way it smells outside, hot cider, the leaves changing color, sweaters! I love it all!!

[Bridget Simon]

Autumn, I prefer that over Fall, has always been my favorite time of the year, simply because it is my birthday month… and this year it is also on a National Holiday! Hahaha…. Autumn, October in particular, was the month I insisted on getting married. Mother Nature does her own decorations and nothing beats the smell of crisp autumn air overlaid with fallen leaves. Those fallen leaves when walked on, or blown by the wind is just the most perfect sound of Autumn. My heart is full.

[Nathanne Verner]

I live in the high desert, and summers are real scorchers here. When Fall starts the temperatures start going down, and it feels so good to go outside without getting a heat stroke! Then that big old Harvest Moon shines in October, and it lights up the night sky. Fall means it's time to start thinking about the holidays, knitting more for gifts and keeping warm, baking pumpkin pie, and making cranberry sauce. I love the Fall.

[Kathy Fox]

I love planting tulips and daffodils to get ready for spring! And knowing that less time in the garden is more time for knitting!!

[Tara]

Fall is my favorite season! Sweaters, scarves, crisp mornings and to top it all off, my birthday!

[Teri P]

The scent of wood fires!

[Kate s]

I love the change from summer to fall. The cooler weather. The changing leaves. Halloween! It is the best season!

[Kara Williams]

What's not to love?!? Cool sweater and jeans weather, roasting marshmallows in the fire place, beautiful fall leaves... It's the best!!!

[Richelle Krotts]

Working in education as long as I have, autumn marks beginnings and all the excitement and anticipation of what the new year will bring. No other season changes as quickly or beautifully, either...plus pumpkin everything!

[Julie Knowlton]

I love the crisp fall mornings and the beautiful fall leaves. I also love the whimsical Halloween color combo of lime green, purple and black with a touch of pumpkin orange!

[Terri Brinegar]

I love the colors, decorating, the cooler temperatures and baking!! What is there not to like! Lol.

[Elizabeth SanMiguel]

Perfect combination of sunshine, temperature, colors, sounds (the crunch of walking on leaves), and scents. My favorite season. And of course, able to wear knitwear!

[Donna Gerber]

Fall is my favorite season, and I love it for many reasons. Both of my children were born in the fall, and it's also my birthday season. I love being able to open my windows and let the fresh air in. The cooler air at night helps me sleep better as I snuggle up in my cozy bed. It's a time for wonderful food - anything pumpkin and pumpkin spice, hot chocolate, crisp apples, homemade soup. There's nothing lie the smell of wood burning in a fireplace, curling up with a good book under a hand knit afghan with a cup of hot tea or spiced cider, or shopping for the perfect yarns for handmade holiday gifts. And the best part - IT'S SWEATER WEATHER!

[Carol]

The absolute best thing about fall is that the sun sets earlier and earlier.

[Mary Calderwood]

I love apples off the tree, harvesting the pumpkins in the garden, and knitting new socks to wear with my fancy new Birkenstocks😊

[Mercedes]

I love the smell of fall. It may sound weird, but when the air gets cooler and the leaves are on the ground, the smell of the air changes.

[Susan Ipavec]

I love crunching leaves under my feet, the smell of bonfires on Sundays (football), cozy blankets, my knitting, and a hot cup of tea.

[Megan]

My favorite part of fall are those super clear October days where it’s sunny, not a cloud in the sky, and it’s just crisp. Especially if I’m walking through the woods in a cozy sweater :)

[Michelle]

Breaking out the crock pot for some soup and walls on the greenway.

[Rhonda Fleming]

What I love about fall is the beautiful color and the cool crisp air. After sweltering summer in the south cooler weather is a relief. Cooler air rejuvenates the soul. Fall is my favorite time of year. Great time for knitting and snuggling with all things yarn and good cup of coffee.

[Peggy Doulos]

Things I love about fall, picking apples off our trees and eating them right there on the spot, the smell of juice from the grapes as it cooks on the stove while making homemade grape juice right from the grapes that grow on our fence, finding wild mushrooms growing in the woods all around us, and it is time to harvest razor clams along the Pacific coast of Washington state where I live.

[Amanda Smith]

I love apple picking, apple cider, and finally getting to wear my sweaters!

[Andrea Lawrence]

I love going to the pumpkin patch with my grandchildren 🎃

[Mary Bigus]

What do I love about Fall? Everything! The air is brisk and has a fresh leafy scent to it. The leaves change color & begin to FALL to the ground. I love stepping on crunchy leaves & picking up beautiful colored leaves. The sky is always tinted beautiful colors. The temperatures are just right for light jackets, sweaters, hats, cowls or fingerless gloves. Or any combination of the above. Apple cider,pumpkins & pumpkin spiced things. Even though I was born in the Summer, Fall is when I feel a rebirth.

[T. Vo]

I love the crisp cool air and pulling out the cozy sweatshirts. I also love butternut squash soup or raviolis this time of year.

[Julie]

I love the warm days and cool nights, also the changing leaves. But I don't love raking them when they fall!

[Amy C]

The crisp air, the beautiful leaf show, the chance to wear all my sweaters (not at once!)

[Heather wright]

I love the cooler temps and beginning of all the seasonal smells and seasonal foods.

[Chris Goudeau]

I love the obvious, the cooler weather as well as the color change in the leaves.

[Freyja]

Autumn: brisk walks through crunchy leaves in crisp, chilly air. The occasional (in Colorado anyway) drizzly, dreary rainy day. Cats who snuggle and burrow incessantly (and shed less). The scent of whatever we're cooking slowly all day. Apple cider with spices. Halloween. Leaving the window open a little too long and suffering through snuggly blankets and sweaters until I'm warm enough again.

[Barbara]

As autumn arrives, I look forward to putting away my sandals and putting on my hand-knitted wool socks.

[Kristi Cunningham]

Pumpkin pie and apple cider is what I love about Fall♥️

[Julie]

I love the cool mornings and all the gorgeous produce at the farmers market! It's hard to resist taking home too much!

[Joyce Correia]

It's so nice to cool off after a long, hot summer. I love to decorate with my glass pumpkins and keep them out until after Thanksgiving.

[Heather Imel]

The thing I love most about fall are the colors and beautiful walks in the woods. And, of course, it's time to wear all the knits!!

[Melanie Russell]

I love fall decor! Pretty pumpkins, mums, and fall leaves! And crisp air with lower humidity!

[Susan]

It was the hottest summer I can remember, and so I am loving the cooler temperature. But I especially enjoy watching the changing colours of the leaves on the trees on my daily walks, while wrapped in a cozy cardigan.

[Jan]

Cooler temperatures with less humidity, hot harvest apples over ice cream, fewer mosquitos, fall colors.

[Hilda C]

I live in Arizona and what I love about fall is that the temperatures are finally below 105 degrees. My early morning walks are fantastic now. No more sweating as soon as I step out the door!

[Anne]

Fall is definitely my favorite season. The cooler temperatures and the changing leaves and fresh apples an candy corn and a chance to bring out scarves and mitts - a perfect season.

[Jennifer]

I love the leaves changing color, apple picking, and the chance to drink all the hot cider :)

[Wendy G]

I love the crispness of the autumn air, the changing colors of the leaves, the smell of cracklin' fires, and celebrating our wedding anniversary with my wonderful husband!!!

[Alison]

Cooler temps is something I've been looking forward to with fall.

[Liz G]

I love the crisp frosty air, and the novelty of everything outside looking like a metal album cover for a few weeks before we get snow dumped on us. The bug-free walks are a plus too!