Simply Socks Yarn Co. Blog

More Socktober Goods

Here's a preview of more Socktober goodies available in a week during our Socktober event!

We're adding a new dyer to the SSYC fam, A Whimsical Wood Yarn Co! Samantha dyes beautiful variegated and assigned pooling colorways with a snarky twist. Her names are just as fun as s colorways. She has a huge and loyal following for her "Ass colorways".... Haunted Ass, Scary Ass, Dead Ass, Pumpkin Spiced Ass.... I don't think in the 20 years I've been doing this I'd heard of a line of colors that feature ass, but there you have it LOL! I'm super happy to have all of these colors in the shop and in my stash. And Samantha is a delight to work with.

We'll have four different bases in the shop, first with the Halloween colors, then more of her colors later in the fall. I can't wait to see them all... but first I'll share just some of these colors. Like the Giggle Fiber sock yarn which includes neon colored tweed. SERIOUSLY.

I know many of you are excited about seeing Samatha's colors in the shop, since I teased it earlier this month. I can't wait to share all the colors she has planned for us as the year progresses.... but first, Halloween hues starting on Monday!

A bit of Socktober Tease

We'll be sharing all our Socktober goodies on October 7, so how 'bout I start sharing some of the Halloween and fall goodies we'll have for you?

We have a nice array of cashmere sock set from Leading Men Fiber Arts. These include a full sized skein of their merino/cashmere/nylon sock yarn and a mini without nylon for added durability. These are plenty for a big pair of socks, or a great shawlette with a contrasted ruffle or stripe. Shown above are some of the autumnal options, and below the more Halloweenish options.

Want a hat that matches your socks? Me too! I have most of these as Hat Set too, featuring LMFA's DK weight yarn and one of our faux fur pom poms.

I'll share more of our limited edition Socktober offerings next week so you can plan your attack on Monday, October 7. You'll soon see details of our Socktober Sock Yarn Club too. Can't wait to share all the goodies we have to make your fall colorful and cozy!

New at SSYC this week!

Gosh, we have so much new yarn to share this week! Not only do we have new sock yarns, but also bulky yarn for all your cozy knits!

Emma's Yarn sent us a batch of new hues, as well as a restock. We have these on all the bases we offer - Sock (and minis), DK (and minis), cashmere Hella Hanks and Mohair (give me another day or two for the Mohair). Aren't these fab? Hover on the pics to see the color names.

Then we have new sock yarn collections from Italian company Laines du Nord. Such beautiful stripes and gradients. Each ball has a piece in the center to tell you where to start again to make two matching socks. Definitely a great feature. Take a look at everything here. I'm a big fan of this line.

Then we've added a new (to us) yarn to the shop, Malabrigo's popular Mecha. We have offered super bulky Rasta and Caracol for a couple years now, and they really go fast. We sell so much of some of the colors that I specially order large lots directly from Uruguay so that we don't run out by mid-fall. Shown here is the Sarandi hat with Vaa and Arco Iris. The Crystalline Cowl and Gaptastic Cowl would also be great choices with Mecha.

There are many of these cardigans knit in both Mecha and Rasta on Ravelry. And these yarns are popular for hats and blankets as well. It's so satisfying to see an entire hat made in an evening. Especially when you're used to working with fingering weight yarn that takes so much more time.

We also have a restock of Cascade 220 Superwash and new heathered hues that start at 380. There are some really nice new colors. Unexpected ones that, to me and Heather (SSYC's shop manager) seem like colors you'd see in more expensive lines. Like 385 above that is two strands of black plied with 2 strands of an olive/camel heather, or 380 below that is a heathered gold with bits of burnished orange. Really nice.

Finally, we have two new fall colors from Madelinetosh. Spooky color Ghost with the Most, and fall vibe Schitzelfaced. They are both shown here in Pashmina, but I have them on all our bases from fingering to worsted.

I hope you see something here that makes you want to cozy up on your couch-of-choice and enjoy a beverage and and evening of knitting. Or crochet. I think after nearly two decades of having this shop I'm finally being swayed to learn to crochet and actually stick with it. We'll see.....

Club Knits

As we just sent out the last installment of our current club, I wanted to share some of the things that y'all have been making with our recent club yarns. I love seeing what you make with our limited edition offerings!

Above socks knit by Donna B

Above sock-in-progress by Martha O, using the Daily Socks pattern

Our local friend Beth A crochets these little guys and had this to say about her experience in the club. "When I stopped in during your last open shopping Saturday, I mentioned that I had made my first round of little critters out of the first set of birthday club yarn, and now I've started on the second set--I love the variety of colors! This is the first time I've ever done a yarn club, and I'm thrilled that the yarn is so unique and along the lines of what I would probably have picked out myself (I enjoy different colors and yarn that changes colors as you work with it). I've attached pictures of my birthday club critters so far, and I'm working on a frog made from the Splash Sock yarn to round out the second set. After that, I'll start on all the Regia yarn I bought during your recent sale..."

This current club was our highest enrollment, and that makes me think that we're doing something right when club numbers keep going up. Not only are you rejoining, but you're telling your fiber friends too, and that means a lot. If you want to get in on the action our next club sign up period starts in a few weeks in Socktober. I'll post here and in our e-newsletter when it goes live. I hope you join us!

Weekend of Knitting

Gosh, I'm really really enjoying my knits lately. This new batch of Opal Yarn has really upped my knitting mojo. This past week I've not only finished my Opal Tiger socks, but also a Hundertwasser 4 sock, color 4053.

The only thing that hasn't been great in my recent knits is my choice of color of toe and heel on the Hundertwasser sock. I chose black. I just thought since there were one-row stripes of black here and there that a solid black toe and heel would be nice. And it is. It looks nice. But DANG my eyes are not what they used to be and it's not easy seeing decreases in a toe, or picking up black stitches for a heel. In the dark. While watching movies with the kids. Night is my typical time for getting my knitting done, either after Henry goes to bed, or while we're hanging out together.

But this weekend I did do quite a bit of day knitting as well. Mostly while the guys in my life were fishing and I drove them around the lake. I think my catch is better than theirs, but I'll let you judge that. Wouldn't you prefer catching a ball of this (I'm knitting this pattern) instead of a bluegill? 

What's coming to the shop this week? We're adding a bulky weight option from Malabrigo for all your winter knits. You'll soon be able to find all the colors of Malabrigo Mecha in the shop. It's not a bulky as Rasta (which is crazy popular) and Caracol and it comes in some really cool colors that aren't available on the other bases. And it's superwash, so great for gifts. And we're getting ready to celebrate Socktober in a couple weeks, so I'll start sharing those goodies as they come in.... like this cool neon tweed yarn from A Whimsical Wood which I'm super excited to be adding to the shop soon. Details to come!

Mermaid Avenue Sock Pattern - Gifted this week!

It's time for the last treat of our 19th Birthday Summer of Celebration! Place your order online this week and we'll gift you the Mermaid Avenue sock pattern by Summer Lee. You don't have to add it to your cart or request it with your purchase (though we do like your little thank-you-notes on the Check Out page!). If you order Monday Sept 9 through Sunday Sept 15, I'll simply email it to you within 5 days of your purchase.

Finished sock photos courtesy of Summer Lee

Please don't email immediately asking to get the pattern, because responding to those makes the process even slower, as responding to dozens of emails takes a lot of time. Please wait 5 days and then respond to your emailed receipt if you haven't gotten it yet. Sometimes our attachments are seen as spam by servers.

Emma's Yarn Sock in Lucky Charm

This has been such a wonderful summer for us. You've kept us very busy during a time that is typically slower for yarn shops, and during a year that hasn't been great for retail in general. You've put your money where your mouth is, as is said, and that means a lot to us. We have definitely felt your support, so THANK YOU!

Madelinetosh's Twist Light in Black Currant

What might you like to purchase to get this pattern this week? Well, the pattern calls for a main color and a mini for toes and heels, so Emma's Yarn is always a great choice because I have 100+ colors of skeins and minis.

You could also use this pattern for one of the new Opal Yarn colors we got in that everyone has been waiting for. You could use a solid for the accents, or not use a solid at all and just do the whole sock in the main color.

DIC Colossal Sock in Retro Vibe and Concord - just $24 for a 50% larger skein!

We also have some great options in our Sale Yarn section right now. The Dream in Color Colossal sock would be awesome, as would any of the $8 Regia options.

The Backyard Chicken Collection would be cute for these too. As would these sock sets that the Hue Loco team put together just for our birthday.

My current La Bien Aimee Cashmerino sock in Peanut Butter & Jelly

Or just choose any color that you've been eyeing recently, and I'm betting you'll find a bit of a solid in your stash to go with it. Perhaps one of the awesome colors we have for you from La Bien Aimee in Sock or Cashmerino Sock? There are some lovely new hues in Hue Loco Merino Sock or Tweed Sock too.

If you want to see the details of the pattern, or if you don't want to wait to get your free one but instead want to buy it asap, you'll find it here on Ravelry. Summer Lee also has some other fab designs that are totally knitworthy.

It's Here! It's all HERE!

I'm so super excited about all the Opal Yarn that has arrived here as of today. Not only do we have all 16 of the formerly-retired-but-back-for-the-Rainforest-20th-Anniversary colors, we also have the new Hundertwasser 4 collection AND Zauberwald!

First off, these 16 colors are from the Rainforest collections released over the past 20 years. Opal has brought them back for a limited time, and I've already finished my Tiger socks as of this morning. Well, I still have the toe of one to finish.... but let's not focus on the details LOL.

Then we have all the new Hundertwasser 4 colors and restocks of the previous two collections too.

And as if that wasn't enough, how about the new Zauberwald (Magic Forest) collection? These are so super cute and colorful, right?

I seriously couldn't be more excited about this. I'm snagging every single color of the Hundertwasser 4 collection. If you preordered the collection last week, it already left here over the weekend on its way to you. And I started knitting mine even before I finished my Tiger socks, because I am most definitely not a monogamous knitter. And I can't wait to have warm feet all winter long b/c of all these! I'll post pics to Insta as I can, and I'll tag #opalalong. Use that tag too if you want to share!

So grab them while you can. I don't know how long Opal will make the Rainforest colors available, but they do seem to redye the Hundertwasser colors here and there, so I do think we'll be able to get these for a while. They typically dye a collection once, but with the Hundertwasser colors, they've had several runs over the past 10 years, thankfully.

Oh, and we do have the Rainforest colors coming on 6ply weight as well, but those are still in Customs. I'll post as soon as those are available for sure.

Opal Hundertwasser 4 Preorder

Our first batch of the beautiful Opal Yarn, Hundertwasser 4 collection is nearly here, and so many of you want the whole collection that I'm offering a preorder on it, and you can save $1 a ball.

This comes with one ball of each color. While you're welcome to purchase them all separately as you want them, this is a way to get a bit of a deal (and you can choose free US shipping too) if you get all of them. 

I do anticipate that we should be able to keep most of these in stock for awhile, so if you do decide you want just a few colors, that's an option too once it arrives here. I'll also be getting restocks of other Hundertwasser colors from collections 2 & 3, so if you've been waiting on those to arrive, I'm hoping it's just another couple weeks for those.

I'll be getting the entire collection myself. I love every one of these colors and can't wait to get this here and start knitting it myself!

Holiday Weekend & Knitting - Opal Tiger Sock Yarn

I had a perfectly relaxing holiday weekend this Labor Day. I didn't open my computer for three whole days!

That's rare for me. Since we ship stuff 6 days a week, even if I'm not the one at the shop, I'll still check emails to answer questions, order yarn, etc. But I actually spent my weekend knitting and getting things done around the house, and it was great. Oddly, I felt great joy and satisfaction getting big cleaning/organizing tasks done over a holiday weekend.

I finished one whole Tiger sock in one day, and I think that's a record for me. And it's not a small sock either, as it fit on Terry's size 12-13 foot! Really it's a size 10.5 for me, but it obviously stretched a bit to "fit" him for this photo. I think I may be gifting this pair of socks to a friend that is a big LSU fan. If the socks don't fit her, I guess I'll just have to knit another pair. Darn. lol.

Obviously, me knitting this means that our Opal Rainforest 20th Anniversary Collection colors have started arriving. So if you preordered the collection of four (you can still get this, and it ships now if you want it), you should expect to get yours this week, as Heather already got those going. If you want single balls of the collection of 16-formerly-retired-colors, those will be available once all our order arrives through Customs. It's likely to take at least another week, perhaps longer if things get "stuck" in Customs. Then we'll also have the Zauberworld collection and the Hundertwasser 4 collection. I cannot wait for the new Hundertwasser colors!

In addition to knitting this weekend (and watching 3.5 James Bond movies), I got SO much done. I spent some time sitting in the lake (we have lots of little lakes within 45 min of my house), a bit of boating with friends, and then tackled stuff around the house. I washed and conditioned all the wood cabinets and doors in my house, and I can tell this morning that I exercised muscles that were formerly forgotten. Later today I'll Feed-x-Wax everything and be done. It's SO satisfying to get a big project like this done, and I love how nice and renewed all my 30+ year old woodwork looks. It just glows. What project really makes you feel like you accomplished something?

I'm trying to think of what yarn we have coming to the shop this week that I can share, but I really think we're just preparing for all the Opal that's coming (and Socktober in 4 weeks). We're getting 4-8 boxes a day for the next week or two. A seriously huge amount of yarn. I know many of us have been waiting over a decade for Opal to bring back Tiger, and I'll be getting one of each of the new Hundertwasser collection. Below are the collections that are making their way through Customs now.