Simply Socks Yarn Co. Blog

Free Shipping This Week!

I think it's time for a yarny spring treat, don't you?! Place your order online as usual, April 10-16 and use coupon code ShipFree and you'll see you'll receive free US shipping! 

The code works twice per person this week, so if you forget something on your original order, you can ship again on us. If you forget to use it (or use one of the fast Check Out methods like ApplePay that sometimes breeze you though too fast to notice), just respond to your e-mailed receipt after and I'll take care of it. International shipping rates continue to climb, so we aren't able to offer free shipping to shoppers outside of the US, but at least we've kept our flat rate shipping for you down to the same rate for the past several years, even with the increase in cost for us! We're trying, but dang, shipping costs just keep increasing.

What might you like to treat yourself to this week? I've been loving my current Opal Yarn knit, and the new collections have just started to trickle through Customs. We hope to have more by the end of the week, but right now we have all of the 8ply (light worsted weight) Wilder Winter series, and most of the Sweet Kiss series. We also have more of popular of collections like Black Dragon & Van Gogh. See everything we have here. Want to try something you might not have seen elsewhere? We have a great selection of Canadian dyer Fleece Artist right now. Jana and her team have been dyeing yarn for over 40 years now, so this one is the staple in hand dyed yarn. We have a cashmere blend, an organic wool and nylon blend (the only one I know of), and also thrummed mitten kits so you can make the warmest mittens you've ever worn. Shown above are the thrummed mitten kits and if you like the color that's pictured knit up, it's this one.

Fancy Like Applebees

Love a great hand dyed stripe? Knitterly Things and Freckled Whimsy are dyers that I'm super proud to have in the shop. Hand dyed stripes are labor intensive to make, and their color selections are fab. I even have DK weight striping sock sets from Freckled Whimsy. And when's the last time you saw that way of a superwash merino/nylon stripe WITH a mini skein for toes and heels??

Want the look of hand spun at a much lower cost than some of the boutique brands? Cascade Heritage Wave (fingering weight for socks) and 220 Superwash Wave (worsted weight) are super options for less than $15. The color ranges are beautiful too. Cascade offers a lot of beautiful free patterns too. For the worsted weight 220 Wave, consider this kid's sweater, this shawl, or this infinity scarf. Want fingering weight pattern options for the Heritage Wave? These socks are super cute, as is this shawl.

Love a great pom pom? We do too! Our artisan recently made us dozens of new faux fur options (like the lovely Lynx Cat shown above), and you can see them all here. Pair them with a skein of Tosh DK (yes, our selection of 300+ colors is quite dizzying), this pattern, and you've got the coolest hat ever. And if you aren't sure which pom goes perfectly with your chosen color of Tosh DK, just e-mail me, Allison, at [email protected] and ask. I'm always happy to help!

This project of the year for us so far seems to be the Field of Violets shawl. It looks amazing with Dream in Color's new Assigned Pooling Color Collection (which we have all back in stock now, and you can see the list of them here). We also have the Violet Fields color shown in the pattern on Smooshy with Cashmere, Smooshy Sock Yarn and our exclusive Colossal Sock base yarns for ya. Colossal Sock is in the Sale Yarn section, where you can find all sorts of great deals right now.

Want to make some Herding Cats socks or any of Stone Knits awesome colorwork patterns? We have Cascade Heritage in every solid color for your main colors, and it's so low cost it's great for the colorwork too. Or get Emma's minis. Both can be used in the same project together to great effect.

Photo courtesy of StoneKnits

Finally, we have the gradient colors of Malabrigo Sock, and I don't know of any other shop that has these right now. I made a stunning Herald Shawl out of one ball of Starry Night last year, and it's my favorite knit of 2022.

I hope you find something that energizes you and your knitting! Local Yarn Shop Day is coming up soon, and you know we'll be doing something awesome for that too. Often we do something like free pattern with purchases, or little gifts. I'll keep ya posted!

Spring Break Knitting

My kiddos are on spring break, so there's been quite a bit of movie watching, snuggling and knitting going on here. A bit of card house building too. Low key good times.

I finished my most recent project, and I have a feeling that Henry would snag them if they weren't too big for him. So I'll likely let James have them, since they were made to fit me but definitely fit his 15 year old feet too. So now I'm knitting another similar pair for Henry's 10 year old feet.

The big pair is a broken rib pattern, similar to the Blueberry Waffle socks, and I used Opal Schafpate color 11194 for the main and Berroco Vintage sock yarn in 12018-Yellow as the cuff/heel/toe. I had approx 1.5 ounces of the main left after I finished, so I do think I'll have plenty to make Henry a pair too. But I've decided to use Hermione's Everyday socks as the pattern to see which pattern I like better with this self patterning yarn. I usually do plain stockinette for my self patterning socks, but I like this bit of change.

Have you been to see us in person lately? We have our open hours posted for the entire year here, including the week long 18th birthday party hours. Come see us! I know many of you are on break too, and Fort Wayne is a nice day trip, for sure. We have all sorts of great restaurants, beautiful parks to walk in, a downtown that is walkable with beautiful street art, and yarn galore.

12 Days of Sock Yarn Winners

Hello! Is it April already? Really? Well, then I think it's about time for me to announce the 12 Days of Sock Yarn contest winners..... two months later than intended LOL! Time got away from me this year, that's for sure. And if you are reading this and have oh so patiently waited for me to announce these, make sure you read to the bottom b/c there's a chance to win a treat!

1st Day winner of five skeins of LITLG - Jennifer Mc. - Congrats!

2nd Day winner of $50 to spend at SSYC - Julie who says "Such a fun question! I've loved reading about all the different foods that people enjoy this time of year! In our family, the favorite was always a cookie we simply call Tarts. They are similar to a Kolachy. My father loved them and my mother used to make batches and batches at Christmas time. We did give some away, but ate more then our share as well!"

3rd Day winner of 3 balls of Opal sock yarn (perhaps the Van Gogh collection that's all back and shown below?) is Karen.

4th Day winner of 3 skeins of Dream in Color yarn (perhaps the assigned pooling colors?) - Kim, who says "My grandkids can’t believe we actually used typewriters and carbon paper! It seems so time-consuming to them."

5th Day winner of 3 skeins of Emma's Yarn - Martha O who shared, "My first decision every morning is whether to drink coffee or tea that day. I like both but sometimes think I drink coffee (any coffee) because I really like the cream. PG Tips is my tea of choice (though I will drink any Stash tea occasionally). I buy the really big boxes on Amazon. I was always buying it at the grocery in those tiny boxes then a friend was going to England and asked what I wanted him to bring me. I said PG Tips, and he brought me a huge box. It was a joy to have so much so I decided to look on line for it and found it."

6th Day winner of 5 skeins of Berroco Vintage sock yarn - Jessica who said "My favorite project this year was a shrug a made to go over my daughter’s Spring dance dress. It matched her outfit beautifully and was perfect for a Spring evening. She loved it and it made me happy to be able to give her something so unique."

7th Day winners, three winners, each getting a Cascade Yarns surprise project pack (yarn+pattern) are Ruth, Kara and Jan who finished a whopping 64 projects in 2022!

8th Day winner of $75 to spend at SSYC - Sarah, who said that her pre-Christmas weather was "Cloudy and grey. Just waiting for the snow to come later this week in time for Christmas!"

9th Day winner of $50 to spend at SSYC and a $100 donation to the non-profit of her choice is Jeanette who says "I knit and collect scarves to donate to former foster youth who are attending our local community college."

10th Day winner of a Madelinetosh 12 Days of Tosh set is Jane J.

11th Day winner of $100 to spend at SSYC is Brittany who says "Christmas is my fav. It’s not just a day, it’s a month of celebrating with all the yummy treats and family time and hopefully snow!"

12 Day, three winners, of $100 to spend at SSYC are Elizabeth S, Paula M and Penny K.

I've emailed each winner, so if you think one of these is you, you have an email in your Inbox. If you did not get an email, well, you know the answer. Please do respond to it so I can set you up with your prize.

If you read to the end, you deserve the chance for a treat! Help me feel like I'm not the only one who procrastinates in life! Tell me in the comments what is something you hold off doing. For me, obviously it's announcing contest winners.... and kitchnering toes of socks. I often wait until I have 10 socks to kitchener and do it all at once. Leave me a comment by noon EST on April 7 and I'll randomly choose one winner to get two balls of the new Regia Day Dreaming collection. Color shown is 3063-Rosebud.

Ask the Knitters

Dear Knitters,

After reading Allison's last blog post, I'm learning that I'm missing out on lots of places I could be knitting. Right now, I knit a half hour a day, with many hours on weekends. So, knitters, how much time do you knit each day and how are ways that you have found more time to knit throughout the week?

Thanks!

Angie in Indy

*                    *                    *

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.

My Sock Tours Woodford (and Bulleit)

A friend of ours turned 50 this weekend and wanted to spend it touring bourbon distilleries in Kentucky, so of course I packed up my knitting and we spent this weekend on a fabulous mini break! 

First off, the yarn. Pictured with the man who indulges me and pauses to let me take a picture of my yarn before I progress toward Bulleit. And drives us everywhere while I knit (I consider myself quite fortunate). I am currently knitting up Opal Schafpate 11194 with cuff, toes and heels in Berroco Vintage Sock 12018. I usually knit my self patterning yarn into a plain stockinette sock, but I decided that because I would be a passenger in the car for the 3.5 hour drive there and back, and while touring and hanging out in general, that I wanted a slightly tangy pattern. Just a little bit of interest to keep me interested. Usually I'm knitting while being distracted by children, but this weekend was just me and Terry and friends. So I decided on what I'd call a broken rib pattern and someone on Insta said it looks like the popular Blueberry Waffle Sock pattern. And it does look like that to me too, if you'd like to join.

The first distillery we toured was Bulleit. Very cool, wonderful tasting, great merch. A high tech facility. Then we did Woodford Reserve, and it was very different beautiful old limestone buildings built 100 years ago, still being used, and surrounded by gorgeous green hills and horse farms. Both are great to visit and knit while doing so. I'm tasting some Woodford Reserve above.

Above is a rack house at Woodford Reserve. The two red barrels are special edition bourbons that have something to do with the 150 anniversary of a horse event that I didn't listen to well? But I found it interesting that just like we do special edition yarns that have a limited amount (like 150 bottles that will be like $5k apiece!) we do limited edition yarns for various events. That we all collect special things that we enjoy, whether it's whiskey or yarn. Below is my tasting. It included a piece of bourbon candy so we could taste the chocolate candy with the shot to see how the flavor changes. It was really cool.

And I am loving this knit. I'm loving it so much that I didn't stop. I didn't stop during the tours, I did stop during the tastings, I didn't stop unless I was eating or sleeping. And it's been a bit since I've picked up a project that made me feel that way.

I think the reason I'm so into this sock is partly because of the texture with the color pattern and seeing it develop. But also because I didn't have the distractions of kids or work pulling on me. Those are the things that get all my time, and knitting has been on the backburner in a big way for a year or more, and I rarely get a moment to knit. This project is pure joy. And the whiskey wasn't bad either LOL!

New Poms in the Shop!

I'm excited to share that we have A LOT of new poms in the shop!

Fireworks and Black Cat

Our maker has been hard at work creating these lovely faux fur pom poms for us, and they are divine. 

Coffee Creamer and Coral

Costs for fabrics and work have gone up quite a bit, but we're keeping the price as is for a bit longer. Our prices are quite reasonable for these hand made goodies, so do grab some to top your hats. Or, if you're like Henry, to hang from your ceiling fan pull. He has a few that he changes out as the mood strikes him. 10 year olds.

If you're coming to the shop this weekend to visit, you can see them all in person! But I know a lot of you are going on Spring Break and will be going somewhere fun or tropical with your families. Whatever your late March plans are, I hope it involves good knitting.

Hello, Monday!

First off, I want to thank you all for a wonderfully busy week last week! We gave away free totes last week and it was of great interest to many! February and March are typically slower months for us, so it's really nice to have that busy week here and there to move things along.

In addition to last weeks busy pace, we also got in a lot of great yarn and I can't wait to share it all with you. I just added some stunning skeins of Smooshy Cashmere from Dream in Color. I know spring is here, but there's something about this autumnal combo of Amber Glass, Antique Gold and Stained Glass that I can't stop looking at.

I'm adding a few new dyers and yarn companies this summer, so if there's someone that you'd love to see in the shop, please email me, Allison, at [email protected] with names/links/why/etc. I have room for a couple more yarn companies than I originally thought because it seems so many of the dyers we offered over the past few years have either slowed production or are completely bowing out. The pace of running a small business isn't for everyone, and I think after a few years of trying to keep up with the artistry side and also the business side, it can be too much for some. There's a lot of burn out, that's for sure. In the past few weeks both Olann Mills and Kenyarn announced their closures. Last year we saw about a dozen lines dry up. But this means that we get to continually keep our offerings fresh and lively and I can't wait to share even more new hand dyers and companies from all over the world!

The yarn lines don't need to be hand dyers, so if you'd like us to bring on a larger collection, for instance you'd like to see us bring Noro back to the shop, let me know. Or if there are more yarns you want from lines we carry, let me know that too. Over the past few years, we have delved more into other weights like Super Bulky and lace weight mohair at your urging, and I'm happy to continue to diversify and add non-sock yarns to the shop. Yes, 17 years ago SSYC sold just sock yarn, but we offer so much more now and I'm happy to continue to do so!

Free Tote w/ Purchase This Week!

Is yarn your pot of gold at the end of the rainbow? Ours too! We all love the feeling of treating ourselves to a new beautiful skein (or several) and the possibilities that yarn represents. When you treat yourself this week at Simply Socks Yarn Co, let us gift you a knitting project bag. Just order online as usual, and we'll tuck one in your parcel before we seal it up. You don't have to add it to your cart or request it in any way. If you place an order online, we'll automatically include one. I expect to have enough totes to make it through the week til Friday, but if we still have some left we'll continue to give them with orders on the weekend too (through Sunday). Edited to add on Friday - we will NOT have extra bags to extend the offer an extra two days through the weekend. So the offer does end on Friday as anticipated. Thank you SO much for keeping us so busy this week! You all ROCK!

And it gets better! We have five different options to choose from! You can see them all here. If you do have a preference, you can include a note on the Check Out page (there's a field for notes/comments at Check Out), saying something like "I'd like the zippered pink one" or "please give me the Yarn Stash bag" and we'll do our best. If you don't add a note, we'll surprise you with one (and if we're out of the one you list, you'll get a surprise one too). Yes, if you come in person on Tuesday when we are open, you can get one. And yes, if you choose Contactless Pickup you'll get one. Please note that if you order more than twice, we are just giving out two per person this week, even if there are more than two orders. We just want to make sure there are enough to last the week.

What might you want to purchase this week to get your tote? We have all the new Regia sock yarn collections for spring like Day Dreaming, Electric Neon and 6ply Cool Style!
Want to knit the warmest mittens ever? We have Thrum Mitten Kits from Fleece Artist that include the yarn, fleece and pattern to knit these mittens. If you can increase and decrease, you've got these down already.

Want to try something new? How about the gorgeous hues from Kenyarn? His new 2023 hues make the coolest rainbow. And we have his newest sock yarn Aurora Sock as well as his Stratus DK.

Want to know what's been the most popular at SSYC in the past year? That would be the Opal Van Gogh collection (which is back in full force in all 8 colors)....

... and the Malabrigo Metamorphosis gradient yarn. I knit this Herald Shawl with one ball in the Starry Night color.

This project of the moment seems to be the Field of Violets shawl. It looks amazing with Dream in Color's new Assigned Pooling Color Collection (which we have all back in stock now, and you can see the list of them here). We also have the Violet Fields color shown in the pattern on Smooshy with Cashmere, Smooshy Sock Yarn and our exclusive Colossal Sock base yarns for ya.

Want a great deal? Check our Sale Yarn section where we have a huge restock of Dream in Color's Colossal Sock, our exclusive yarn that is 50% more for 45% off!

And if you want to knit with the holiday, check out these sock, with full details last week on the blog!

Knit the Rainbow

In addition to the amazing striping sock yarns from Freckled Whimsy I posted about this week, I wanted to share with you some other St Patrick's Day inspired colors, should you be inspired to knit with the season as I am.

First, I want to knit all the stripes. They don't even have to be rainbows. I just love the striping effect. Think Knitterly Things, for sure. Roadmap, Live in Technicolor and Unicorn Rainbow are super good choices.

More stripes? Heck, yes! West Yorkshire Spinners is a super choice. Perhaps the Winwick Mum colors like these?

Kenyarn could be for you, too. His new solids and multis make a stunner of a rainbow when put together. And if you really want to go all rainbow, just put rainbow in our search feature on the website and get many ideas.

And, yes, Twist and Zebra sock yarns aren't rainbow, there's something about that strand of black yarn that's plied into yarn that accentuates rainbows and multicolors so well that I just want to highlight them. 

I mean, look at these greens from Irish dyer Life in the Long Grass. Aquarium is above and Mint Grove is below.

Then finally, these socks. Er. Mah. Gerd. They are amazing, aren't they?? These Shamrockin Socks were designed by Jennifer Beaulieu, and she's even offering SSYC customers a special coupon code of GREEN17 to get 17% off the pattern on Ravelry through March 17th. Just put it in your Ravelry cart and use coupon code GREEN17 to get a deal. 

What yarn should you consider? Well, I love the idea of the main color being a tweed.  And if you do choose the Regia, you can go with  Trekking XXL Solids or Opal solids. All those are basically the same base, so you could put together any combo of those (in your Cart to see them together). But if you want the widest array of color options plus black and white and dark grey for the base, go with Cascade Heritage. There are several greens to choose from.

Photos used with permission of Jennifer Beaulieu

If you want to use hand dyed yarn, I have a lot of options right now in Smooshy and Smooshy Cashmere. Emma's Yarn has full sized skeins and minis. Whisper, Natural, Gatsby, After Dark, Barking Up the Wrong Tree, Jackie O and Silver Lining would all be great main colors for the pattern. It's also a good pattern to just use up bits of things. But if you really want a wide range of colors and greens, Heritage might be the way to go. Of course, you can combine bases, a little bit of Emmas, a little Heritage.... sky's the limit!

Oh, and if you want a hearty version, try this one!

St Paddy's Day Knits

Want to knit a rainbow this St Paddy's Day? Why not do it in stripes from Freckled Whimsy?

We have a stunning new batch of yarn from Karrie's studio, and now we even have an array of DK weight sock sets too. DK weight superwash merino + stripes + a mini? Yes, please!

These really are spectacular. DK weight hand dyed sock yarn isn't widely available (in 100% merino it is, but not superwash merino/nylon), and it really is rare to get it with stripes AND a coordinating mini.

If you're coming to the shop on Saturday and are hoping to see all these in person, please know that they are already selling out fast so if you wanted a particular color, I recommend ordering online and choosing Contactless Pickup so you can pick it up in the shop on Saturday and then look at the others too.

New Regia Sock Yarn Collections- Spring 2023

Guys, I am SO happy about these new Regia sock yarn collections! They are so springy and fun and I cannot wait for you (and, admittedly, me) to get these on the needles!

First, the Day Dreaming collection. It's six different jaquard patterns that are oddly pale and bright at the same time. I love them. It's a much needed spring palette for this gray and cold day in early March.

Then I have the Electric Neon collection, one that I've received A LOT of questions about since it was hinted on the Regia Yarn insta feed months ago. It finally made its way "across the pond" and is now here in the US and ready to ship to you.

Finally, we have a new 6 Ply collection in the Cool Style colors. A 6 Ply collection is 50% thicker than it's fingering weight cousin, so it would qualify as a sport-to-DK weight. It knits up faster and makes cushier and warmer socks. It comes in 150g balls, so you still have plenty of yardage for larger socks. It's great stuff. Here are those 6 new colors

I know what I'm starting on this weekend. Some Day Dreaming socks, for sure. My weekend plans include knitting and baking and NO ELECTRONICS. Yep, my kids don't know it yet, but Saturday is going to be an "e free day", meaning no electronics. No TV, no phones, no computers. Which means that James will likely biking around the neighborhood or asking for us to take him driving (and complaining about not having his phone), Henry will be shooting hoops and running around the houses with the girls next door (while complaining about not having his iPad), and Terry will be trimming bushes (and complaining that the kids aren't picking up the branches). And maybe late in the day we will go out for dinner. And in between all that, I'll be listening to all the complaints, knitting and baking some pumpkin muffins. So a day of complaining all because Mama is mean and said no electronics for a whole day LOL!

All the Kenyarn

I just wanted to pop on here before the weekend to share with you that WOW we just got a lot of yarn in. I'll feature a lot of this next week, but it includes Fleece Artist's Casbah (the original cashmere blend sock yarn), Thrummed Mitten Kits, restocks of the assigned pooling colors from Dream in Color detailed earlier on the blog, all of Hedgehog Fibres new colors shown here. AND KENYARN. It's worth shouting because. Because.

This.

And this.

The new collection is a fricken rainbow of solids and multis. I just can't love this more. I have all 20 solids and all 20 multis on Aurora Fingering and DK. It's worth noting that Jake Kenyan introduced a new sock yarn base that's 5% different in content, and what I have of the previous base is the last I will get. The new base is awesome too.

Shellphone is just the color I need to remind me that summer is coming. And I need that in my gray, cold life right now!!

How will you be spending your weekend? What will you be knitting? I hope to get a lot of knitting in as Henry has a travel tourney for basketball. I'm hoping Terry will graciously be the driver so I can be the knitter. And since basketball tournaments have a lot of down time, I hope to also get a lot of knitting done there too. Send good vibes our way to a 10 year old who has been feeling puny the past week. He could use it! And if you have patient Mama vibes, I'll take those too, LOL!

We've been making soft pretzels at home lately. Henry likes to roll them and James likes to eat them, so it's a win win. These are on my weekend list too.... along with photographing at alot more yarn!

SSYC's 31st Yarn Club is LIVE!

It's hard to believe we've done more than 30 yarn clubs, but WOWZA. If that's not showing that our clubs are appreciated and well loved after nearly two decades, I don't know what is!

Yesterday our club sign ups went live for our 3 month Hand Dyed Surprise Sock Yarn Club and we've already sold out of 1/3 the spaces in less than a day! Thank you for a wonderful response and start!

What's so awesome about this club? For most of us, we can't afford to spend an insane amount of money on traditional works of art like famous paintings or expensive statues - we can visit them once in our lifetime if we are fortunate, but we don't get to own them. But we can treat ourselves to the best in fiber art like you'll see in this club, as each skein is a squishy little hand painted work of art that is doted on by a fiber artist. It represents inspiration in color and fiber. The mind of a dreamer and a dyer. This is approachable, usable art that we not only can collect and own, but we then get to build upon it- use it to create something of our own. For ourselves or something we love.

This club features three months of hand dyed sock yarn surprises - hand made, squishy works of art. Each month you'll get a skein of at least 400 yards/100g of fingering weight, hand dyed sock yarn (so enough for a pair of socks for even my size 11 feet). The cost of $110 covers the highest quality sock yarn we can find (made by some of my favorite people/artists) dyed in a limited edition color, shipping and e-mailed pattern suggestions. 

I'm super excited about this club because not only does it featured three dyers that I love working with, but also three different fiber combos. So if you're used to superwash merino and nylon, it's a great way to try something new or luxurious. I don't want to share too much because each month is a surprise, but this club features some really beautiful dye methods and fibers and if you were hoping for something outside of your normal box but still perfect for hand made socks, this is for you.

If you aren't sure you like the idea of surprises and you'd like to see two of the three inspiration color cards for the skeins, please email me at [email protected] and I'll e-mail those to you so you have an idea of two of the three color ideas we will be focusing on. The chosen dye studios create whatever they are compelled to based on my color idea, but they have the freedom to create what inspires them. So while the colorcards I share could help alleviate worries that you might get a skein you hate (hey, that might happen anyway once in awhile since hundreds of people don't all have the same likes and dislikes), just know that the color ideas are for inspiration and the artist still can deviate in a way that works for them. And just because you might not adore one of the surprises you get doesn't mean that you won't have a friend who might love to knit the color, or a daughter who might love a cowl or socks in that color, right?

If you have any other questions, please feel free to comment here or e-mail me at [email protected] I'll try and answer as fast as I can so that you can decide if you want in. Our last club (for the self patterning yarns) sold out in mere days, but our artisan clubs like this usually stay open for a week or so. Here are a few questions I've received so far:

I received an e-mail yesterday asking "Just one skein each month?" I think what's implied in this question, from someone who joined our Socktober Splash club, is that she expected more than one a month since the last club was for three balls of yarn a month. But that yarn was a commercially dyed special, and it was noted that the cost was over 40% less than usual because we were delving into our own self patterning line and so the price was much less than usual. Those balls were great, but not the cost of hand dyed skeins created in an artist's studio. This club features hand dyed skeins that are typically $28-$36 apiece for premium and luxury fibers. So the cost of $110 for the club and shipping is actually quite a deal. I try and offer various clubs so we meet the needs of everyone, and we are planning on another self patterning sock yarn club in the early summer for our 18th birthday, if you'd like to plan for that too.

When do these ship? They leave here in the middle of April, May and June 2023.

Can I participate if I'm outside the US? Yes! Please do! We have several people who participate in Canada, UK and Australia. Join us! But note that if you are outside the US, all of your club months may have to ship at the same time at the end, or you can pay actual shipping cost when it's time for each month to ship- we've found the cost of shipping outside the US for our clubs the past year has forced this. The club just includes one shipping fee (as you'll see it's added at Check Out) for international people. International shipping costs have varied so wildly for the past two years that I don't think it's fair to collection $70 at the beginning, or expect us to cover all that. I can share that many of our international club members have already joined in the past 24 hours, and have noted they they are all fine waiting til the end in June to have them ship (or sometimes we include them in regular shop orders too).

Who are the dyers? Nope. Not gonna share that ahead of time. It's a surprise!

What are the fibers? Each one has superwash wool, but that's all I'll share. There are other fibers that lend themselves to wonderful socks. It's a great chance to try something that you might not have tried before, that's vetted by SSYC.

Do I have to decide today, or can I wait til next month? The club definitely won't be open in March. Spaces fill up sometimes in mere days. Please don't hesitate more than a day or two if you definitely want in.

Can I order more than one subscription? Yes! You can order up to three on one order. No more than that please. But do not put yarn or anything else non-club on the order, as it will be taken off. We need the clubs to be on orders alone to be properly counted for you.

Madelinetosh's High Twist DK - 25% off!

Do you love a good President's Day deal? I've been seeing all sorts of ads for big deals on furniture, homegoods and more. But you know we knitters really want a deal on yarn, right? Boy, do I have one for you! Madelinetosh has sent me 60+ colors of their High Twist DK, a bouncy, beautiful DK weight superwash merino. And it's all 25% off - $22.25 instead of $29.50.

Boredom

This is a stunner of a deal for a premium hand dyed yarn. And the DK weight is great for sweaters, blankets, hats, scarves, thick socks and more. It really is a supremely stashable yarn, and I don't believe this is a deal we'll be able to get again.

Everything on Pause

Want pattern ideas for this yarn? I'm hoping to have more time to put together options for you next week, but I wanted to rush on here and at least blog about this so you can grab the colors you want before they are gone. While I was photographing this yarn yesterday, I keping putting together two colors combos for the Rosinca Shawl, 

See Line Woman

And this one color is even more discounted than the rest (shown above) b/c I have more of it than others (it was a club color that Tosh dyed extra for us). I think it would be amazing as a Drop Me a Line sweater, a Stonerose, or a comfy Harlow sweater. And I'm slightly obsessed with the idea of an Up + Down Cables Blanket out of this color too. This one color is $20 instead of $22.25. It's a blush-tinged beige with speckles of bold navy and tealy-emerald. It's just so perfect for all the hygge vibes I want to cuddle up in that I think I might just have to cast on the blanket tonight.

I hope you find something to make you smile on this wintery, gray weekend!

Herding Cats Socks Color Ideas

Yep, you read that right. There's a pattern called Herding Cats and I have all the yarn you need for it.

Photo courtesy of Stone Knits, who has many other awesome patterns to peruse too!

This pattern is one that MANY of you have reached out over the past month and asked for color ideas. Most of you are going with a combo of solid colors in Cascade Heritage and a bit of variegated colors in the form of mini skeins from Emma's Yarn. And, as luck would have it, both of those things just came in this week!

Now, I think a combo of hand dyed colors and solids are best for these socks. It  could be that you have some nice bits of stash you can use for your cats. But if you don't, here's where I'd start. You want a main color that will really stand out because there are eyes and paws and tails that are just one stitch wide and will get lost if your main sock color is anything close to the cats. A solid color for the main, as even a slightly tonal color will muddle the lines of the tails and eyes. So the aqua shown here, something like Cascade Heritage 5630 or 5763, is a great contrast. One of you said you were making them for your sister who wanted a hunter green, and I think that would work too. So would pink, yellow.... well, lots of things as long as your cats aren't at all close in color. You don't want cats without eyes, right?

For the cats, there are lots of oranges, grays, whites and black that you could do in both the Emma's Minis or Cascade Heritage. Even browns. I think the color Coffee Grounds by Madelinetosh would make a perfect brown cat color. We have that on Tosh Sock, Merino Light and Twist Light, so if you wanted something for another project you can use the rest for whatever. But these socks are all your own, so you could go with a black sock and neon cats, or a white sock with red and green cats - sky's the limit! And we do have the neon colors from Cascade Heritage back in stock - there are several starting with number 5772.

It's apt that the name of this pattern is Herding Cats since I'm sitting in my son's school parking lot typing this up as I'm about to coach elementary school volleyball, which is a lot like... herding cats. 22 little kittens with bouncy balls who have more energy than I ever remember having in my life! When Terry and I coached Henry's Y Ball team a few years ago, we joked that he was the actual coach (and he was the basketball player and I know next to nothing about the sport) and I was the child wrangler. Pretty much the same things as herding cats.

Hedgehog Fibres Spring 2023 Color Preview

Hedgehog Fibres has just shipped us their new 2023 colors! If all goes well, they should be here from Ireland in 8-10 days, and I'll put them right on the website for you after I photograph them all. I have them all coming on Sock, Skinny Singles and Merino DK.

These photos are all courtesy of Hedgehog Fibres, and to me they look like they have a filter on them that lighten/brightens them and gives them a gauzy look. So, like always, I'll photo our batch when it arrives and what you see for sale on our actual website will be what's accurate for the lot we have. But I think this gives a really nice idea of what to expect from this bright and light spring collection.

PBJ above, described as pale blue and biscuit bases with colorful speckles. Sugar, below, described as dreamy pastel unicorn shades

Daisy Chain above, described as springy mellow greeny yellows. Plush, below, described as soft and mellow greys and pinks, very versatile.

Seaglass, above, described as pale and delicate greys and blues with the tiniest pop of neon. Dada, shown below, described as greys and pinks with green and orange speckles.
Puppy Love, above, described as pinks and greens, on the muted side, with a pop of orange. Blue Lobster, below, described as watercolor blues with delicate speckles in cool tones with a touch or orange.

Labyrinth, shown above, described as medium grey tones with tons of bright speckles. A Day in May shown below, described as lavender base color with fresh and zingy speckles.

Squid, above, described as dark and saturated, heavily variegated and speckled. Oyster, below, described as high contrast pale pink with dark speckles- unique and unusual.

What's the difference between the three bases we offer? Sock is the most popular one, a fingering weight superwash merino wool and nylon blend. It's three strands plied together to give the yarn more strength for socks than it's sister, Skinny Singles. Skinny is the same weight as Sock, but it's one strand. It's great for sweaters and shawls that don't get as much wear. It is 100% superwash merino wool (though I wouldn't machine wash it b/c singles don't seem to hold up to machine washing well) for those who don't want nylon. The Merino DK is just that- a 100% superwash merino plied yarn and DK weight. Great for thicker socks or sweaters

It's worth noting that we have ALL the colors of Tweedy DK right now, including the new Connemara- a greige with a bit of aqua/mint. These colors all look so fab together too, and would make a stunner of a Perfect Stranger.

Valentine Goodies @ SSYC are LIVE!

This morning all our Valentine goods drop in the Kits & Clubs section. This includes some really fun hat sets (+ extras), striping sock sets and stitch markers. Let's take a look!

I had a really fun time putting together this month's SSYC Hat Sets for you. Not only are they Valentine themed, but the poms are just perfect and I'm including little extras too like Soak washes and little stitch markers that are yarn balls or little piggies. Adorable.

Floral Latte Hat Set, above, includes a cashmere blend worsted weight skein from Dream in Color. Piggy and yarn ball stitch markers? Yes, please.

Below is one of my favorite Madelinetosh colors, Pardon My French, which is a rosy terracotta overdyed with charcoal. We paired it with one of the best poms I've ever seen. The black faux fur plays perfectly with the charcoal dusted skein, and the gold and terracotta tips on the pom accent the skein so perfectly that I just can't get enough! I think the color would be perfect with the Droste Effect hat or Bees Wax hat. There's plenty of interest in the patterns to make the shadow and light effect of the yarn really work.

If you like the Pardon my French color as much as I do, I have it on several other bases too.

I love the modern, Sweetheart candy look of the Kauai Crush hat set below. And the pom has glitter strands. GLITTER. And what about using the Heartpops pattern? That would be my choice. Again, find it in the Kits & Clubs section.

Freckled Whimsy has dyed us up 6 of the most adorable striping sock sets for Thursday. These are the examples of how these will knit up. Cool right?

You'll find both fingering weight sock sets and DK weight sock sets, while they last (we have more colors in both weights coming end of month). Then we have these acrylic stitch markers from Katrinkles- think vibrant hues and fun sparkles! One is a Valentine option of their popular Cats and the other is Broken Hearts & Skulls because as the team at Katrinkles says "Sometimes, Valentine’s Day puts us in a mood. And that’s okay. It can’t all be flowers and kiss emojis and chocolate (well, it can probably still be chocolate). If you find yourself allergic to all the schmaltz, this set is for you. Three broken hearts and three skulls in darkly glittering acrylic express an alternative take on romance, perfect for spending the day practicing self-care through knitting, or for gifting to that cute Goth you’ve been brooding over."

I hope you found something in these that makes you want to knit knit knit!

Ask the Knitters

Dear Knitters,

Do you know of any knitting patterns for knee high socks that are appropriate for women with larger calves and longer legs?

I've tried for years to find one that fits my legs and have not been successful. I have a hard time finding knee high sock patterns that fit my legs as I have larger calves and longer legs.

The patterns that I see online when I search are mostly short socks that go up just about the ankle. I've never liked those and I've always preferred knee high socks.

Thank you very much for your time!

Deb in Des Moines

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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 [email protected] . Your question could be chosen for this series.

Dream in Color's New Assigned Pooling Skeins

This week, Dream in Color shipped their 12 new Assigned Pooling Collection colors to us. These are colors that have a pop of a contrasting color (a few inches of the 2-3 feet circumference of the skein) that is intended to make the popular "planned pooling" or "assigned pooling" knitting patterns POP. Now available on Smooshy Sock (fingering weight superwash merino and nylon) and Smooshy Cashmere (same yarn but with 10% cashmere - totally worth an extra few bucks, IMOH). Right now, they are all in the NEW section together so you can find them all together easier.

Field of Violets pattern, photo used with permission of Dream in Color

While I currently (as of typing this) have all 12 colors on Smooshy and Smooshy Cashmere, I know they are going to sell fast b/c I have received many e-mails asking when we are getting these. So you'll see some of the 12 disappear, but there's more coming our way in 2 weeks or less. And when those sell out, we'll get more and more, no worries! If you are missing a color you want, just e-mail me, Allison, at [email protected] and I'll try and notify you when more come in.

Pink Pop

Tuscan Sand

Violet Fields

Tip Top Tangerine

Terracotta Sky

Big Bang

Storm Berry

Misty Pines

Flash Bomb (my personal fave of all of these)

Gold Record Blues

Bali Woods (which immediately made me think of Thin Mints..... I must be snacky!)

Tiger Falls

All the photos are shown on Smooshy sock yarn, the merino/nylon blend. We also have all of them on Smooshy Cashmere. I simply am using the photos I took of Smooshy b/c they are on the diagonal, so show the ends a little better and that's often where the pops of color are. I photo the Smooshy Cashmere vertically b/c I want the photos to look slightly different so that the two yarns aren't mistaken for each other when you order. The color looks the same on both bases. It's also worth noting that if you're another craft supply shop reading this right now and really like my shop's images, they are the intellectual property of SSYC and not the property of Dream in Color. So don't steal them and use them on your website like two stores have done with Dream in Color photos in the past few months. I think it's b/c our Dream in Color photos are so much better than others' online, but we own them, and SSYC does defend all our intellectual property. Our customers tell us whenever they see our photos, and usually our attorney only deals with one or two shops a year for the past 17 years, but for some reason it's happened more in the past year. Let's do things honorably, y'all. And save us all $ on attorney fees. Mmmm-k? Thanks!!

If you want more assigned pooling pattern ideas. Dawn Barker makes a lot of great patterns, and I've blogged other yarn ideas before here. Definitely worth your time for some inspiration.

Valentine Treat Coupon Code @ SSYC!

We want to treat you to a little something special before all our Valentine goodies arrive next week, and that's a 20% off coupon code for our German self patterning yarns at SSYC! Use code ValentineTreat to see the discount applied to the yarn collections detailed and linked below.

Opal Cats & Dogs Collection

German self patterning yarns are the bread and butter of the sock yarn world. They are the most popular things to knit socks in not only because they hold up so wonderfully to wash and wear, but they come in such fabulous self patterning colors that make us want to knit on well past our bedtimes. I can't even count the number of evenings I just think "one more row....." as I want to see the next stripe of green come up, or til I get to that toe so I can add a solid pop of color to my sock. Making my projects with these yarns make me feel like a knitting rockstar because the yarn does all the beautiful colorwork for me, and all I have to do is knit in the round. They are what got me hooked on knitting socks in the first place, two decades ago.

Regia Celebrations 9423

Self patterning yarns are the thing that get my knitting mojo going again when I am in a funk, and they are the most requested types of socks from my friends and family. And heck, they make awesome cowls and hats too.

Opal Schafpate Collection

So from now through the end of this weekend, if you use coupon code ValentineTreat at Check Out  you'll see 20% come off these self patterning yarns: Regia, Opal and Trekking XXL. I recommend entering the coupon code in your cart while you're shopping b/c quick payments like ApplePay or Paypal sometimes make people forget to enter the codes, they move ya by so fast. I'm happy to help you after your order if you had an issue - just respond to your e-mailed receipt. The code will work twice per person, so if you come back a day after your first order and find other goods you want, you can still use it again. But please don't ask us to combine orders to save on shipping as we are too busy during coupon times to make all that happen reliably. Usually we are happy to if we can, but times like this we can't keep to that.

Opal Van Gogh Collection (their most popular collection of all time that has been brought back three times now -once ten years ago and twice in the past year!)

It doesn't apply to EVERYTHING from these companies (not solids and tweeds, for instance), but to self patterning collections only. So here's a list of color collections with links that are eligible.

Opal - 25 Years of Opal

Opal - 6ply DK Paradise

Opal - 6ply Rainforest

Opal - 8ply Ice Palace

Opal - Beauty

Opal - Black Dragon 2

Opal - Cats & Dogs

Opal - Herbstmelodie

Opal - Holidays

Opal - Memories

Opal - Rainforest

Opal - Schafpate

Opal - Van Gogh

Opal - Water World

Regia - 6ply Arne & Carlos

Regia - Arne & Carlos

Regia - Celebrations Colors

Regia - Holiday Colors

Regia - Pairfect

Trekking XXL

Opal Rainforest in 4ply and 6ply (for thicker socks)

I hope you find something/s that make this cold winter a little warmer and more colorful for you. I certainly wouldn't be such the avid knitter I am without self patterning sock yarn. Heck, it might not have even caught on at all. It's always my go to for instant happiness, and I hope you find something that brings you joy too. Happy Valentine's Day from us to you!

Opal Memories color 11003 - a perfect Valentine knit, am I right??

FYI, this is a first for us, offering a nice discount on these goodies. We don't need to, that's for sure. These are always popular and since they are imported, they cost more to get with shipping and import fees from Germany. But I'm feeling the need for a winter-is-ending-soon treat, aren't you?