Simply Socks Yarn Co. Blog

Yarn Hollow's Benthos: A Review

Here's the second Yarn Hollow review this week, this one of Benthos (A superwash wool and seacell blend.  Seacell is a fiber that is made from seaweed.).  This one is from Heather, who you definitely know from the store if you visit us in person.  When Yarn Hollow sent us yarn to review, she snagged this one right away.  In full disclosure, I did take the tag off the yarn so she wasn't aware of what exactly what fiber combo she was knitting, but I'm pretty sure she did know what company this was from.  Not that it would taint her review, but most of our test knitters have no idea what company the yarn they are knitting came from.  The pattern she used was Hermione's Everyday Socks and the color she received was Mythic Shield.

Presentation:

The skein wound up very nicely...no breaks or thin spots.  It looks really pretty in cake form.  It wound easily, and the yarn slides out of the cake nicely.  The yarn is a little slippery, so I think that helps.

 

Texture:

This yarn feels awesome when knitting.  I think there must be some tencel or seacell in there, because it is shine-y, and very smooth.  I didn't have any problems with splitting, even though the yarn looks like it is loosely plied. This yarn seems a bit thicker than an average fingering weight yarn.  It has lots of "body".  I didn't have to knit the bottoms of my socks as tightly as I normally do!

I didn't have any problems in the knitting of the yarn, even after I would rip back some stitches, the yarn didn't seem to fuzz, and the plies stayed twisted.

Knitted Fabric:

When I knitted the leg of the first sock, it made a striping pattern.  This looks really cool.  After the heel flap and the gusset, the pattern was doing more of a swirled pattern.  The purple and orange sections tended to fall together, and the green and yellow fell together.  These two combos kind of chased each other around the sock.  It is different from the leg portion, but also very cool.  I was surprised how good these colors look together. 

The knitted fabric feel fabulous!  It feels very strong, but also very soft.  It is slightly shiney/silky looking, but not too much, if you know what I mean.  These socks are very warm.  I would think of them as a winter sock, for sure. 

I washed and agitated the socks, not in a manner that I would normally treat a handknit.  The socks got a bit fuzzier, but not too much.  I think that if you properly washed the socks, there would be minimal fuzzing.

I wore the socks around the house a couple of times, and I didn't notice any bagging or sagging.  The ribbing is still pulling in like crazy. 

I think that this yarn, in this color, would be best for a simple pattern.  I knitted the Hermione sock pattern, which has a simple texture pattern, and I think that it looks really good.  I would not do a cable or lace pattern, it would be too obscured.  If this yarn comes in a solid, I think it would be awesome for lace.  The sheen would make a simple lace pattern look ultra-fancy.

 

Misc:

I really enjoyed knitting this sock.  My one complaint about knitting with it, is that the yarn is very very warm, and sometimes made my hands sweat.  I would not want to knit it outside in the summer.  I like the sheen of the yarn, and that it isn't too shiney.  (I like wooly yarns!)

I would probably save this yarn for making special socks.  It is too good for most of my family members.  I could VERY much see using this yarn for a nice hat or pair of gloves, though! 

I didn't have any bleeding of any kind...not during knitting or washing.  The yarn doesn't smell funny either. 

I would totally buy this yarn if I saw it in the store, but I would probably either knit a fancy accessory with it, or keep it until I wanted to make socks for someone special.

Yarn Hollow: A review

More new yarn!  Can you tell that my nesting phase involved buying crazy huge amounts of yarn?  Sure, the baby's room isn't done yet, we haven't bought a new carseat (apparently James' old one is now expired- don't get me started) or diapers or anything-at-all-that-a-newborn-needs, but yarn?  I've got that coming in by the truckload.  Last week it was Sweet Georgia, Lorna's Laces, Noro and Madelinetosh.  This week it's more Sweet Georgia, more Noro, preparing the 7th Anniversary Kits (more details coming) for the June 2 debut of the Poste Yarn line and a new line.... Yarn Hollow.

Now, before I get to the first review, I want to tell you what a pleasure it was to test this yarn.  Now, I didn't test any of it myself- sadly, I'm too busy to test everything, which is why I have a team of fab test knitters.  But Rita, the owner of Yarn Hollow, made the process so easy and had every bit of info and every sample of yarn available immediately that I can tell that she takes great pride in not only creating a beautiful product, but she also cares greatly about customer service.  The pleasure in testing, for me, was not only reading the seeing the photos of the reviewed yarns, but how easy she made it for me to carry her yarn and to make it available to you all.  And for the size of orders I place, I can tell that her team must have been hard at work throughout May because she had my entire order to me in a timely manner.  All in all, I'm impressed.

I have three separate reviews to share with you over the next week or so, and all three of the Yarn Hollow selections will be on the website in a few days. The first review is of Bitty, Yarn Hollow's 2-ply hand dyed Superwash Merino.  Here's what Chevas had to say about her test knit of this skein, in the Paisley colorway.

Presentation – The yarn was in a beautiful hank and wound nicely.  I have finished the first sock and have found no snags, breaks, worn parts, or knots.  The dyer has chosen a great base. 

Texture – The yarn feels wonderful!  It is very tightly plied and did not split at all!  It was a very pleasant surprise after just finishing a sock that I had to fight the yarn splitting the whole way through!  I even had to frog about an inch of it (added a stitch…oops) and it was still tightly plied and didn’t look worn or split.  The yarn did not catch on my needles (I used a circular).    

Knitted Fabric - The color produces a striping effect, no pooling.  It does seem like a very sturdy knit and I believe will hold up nicely with wear.  The sock fits snuggly to my foot.  The pattern that I used was The Afterthought Heel Socks by Laura Linneman, which is a basic stockinette pattern.  I love the striped effect that I got with this pattern.  As for knitting cables or a busier pattern (like Cookie A’s Monkey pattern) I plan on knitting up a swatch to see how the color distributes.  While I believe that it would be total personal preference as to whether it would be considered “too busy” I am interested in what it would look like.

Overall opinion – I am super pleased with the yarn and would definitely purchase more in the future.  The colorway was awesome and I’m super interested in what other colorways the line has.  It smelled clean while in the hank.  No vinegar odor and no soap smell, just clean.  I then smelled the sock after I knit it (just to check again) and it smelled like my kitchen hand soap….which made me happy.  I had no issue with dye bleeding on my hands or the needles. 

Chevas let me know a couple months later that the yardage (490 yards!) was enough that she also knit a pair of mittens out of the same skein as the sock.  She was also very eager to know exactly what it was that she had knit, as she had really enjoyed the anonymous skein.

Sweet Georgia BFL Sock: A Review

When Felicia sent me a skein of her new BFL Sock last year, it struck a chord.  I really like a good BFL blend for socks- while merino wool is nice and very popular, I like to be able to offer other breeds as well. But what I really liked about the skein was the color- Boheme is one of my favorite colors that Sweet Georgia offers, and I would have test and stocked it immediately if I had the room.  So when we moved to the new space and I started finding the new batch of test knitters, Chevas received the BFL Sock skein and here's what she had to say about it.

(Note: if you haven't read last year's interview I did with Felicia, take a moment to learn more about her and her company, and see pictures of her studio.)

 

Presentation – This skein wound up great.  I did not find any gnarly parts, knots, or breaks.  I did however find a few pieces of VM (vegetable matter- which were saturated with color mind you) throughout my knitting along with little fuzzes that I had to pick out as I went.  Please note, there were very minor and would not affect any future purchasing. 

Texture – The yarn was super squishy (which I love) and was plied nicely.  It did want to unwind itself while I was casting on.  It did not catch on my needles and feels nice on my foot.  It felt a little scratchy on my foot before washing/blocking but after a bath and block this yarn is SUPER soft……lovely on my foot.

Knitted Fabric – The color mostly had a striped effect, with a couple spots of pooling.  It seems this yarn will hold up quite nicely for longtime where, but am guessing it’s a good candidate for heal felting.  Could be a little too much for a busier pattern, but would depend on personal preference. 

Misc. - Overall opinion was it was nice to work with. I am super interested in her other colorways, as this one is awesome!  One thing that stood out was that it smelled like sheep…..in the most wonderful way!  I love the smell of the barn and it made me happy to be reminded of that.  After washing there was a slight halo effect.  Initially it looked to me like the color faded a little, but after evaluating, I think it’s just from the fuzziness after its bath.  (I washed one while knitting the other, so I could get a good look at before and after washing/blocking.) 

Poste Yarn: A review

One of the most important decisions in creating a new yarn line is what fiber combo to use. Most dyers use merino or some combination of merino along with nylon or cashmere or even silk. When winding, dyeing and knitting the many options, I found one to be a stand out for what I was looking for in Poste Yarn. And it doesn't include merino wool. Instead, I chose a superwash Corriedale wool and nylon blend that we skein in-studio. Why Corriedale? I've invited journalist and designer Lara Neel answer that question. She's a much better writer than I could ever hope to be, so I'll pass the podium over her.

The Case for Corriedale
Lara Neel

I blame Clara Parkes for my Corriedale obsession.

It started out small. I bought one precious skein of Corriedale at a small fiber festival on the weekend that I graduated from college. I was trying to be “good” and not buy anything, since all of my worldly goods had to fit into a single car, but I couldn’t resist this one bouncy, lovely skein that was about worsted-weight.

Eventually, I knit a scarf out of it, to help take the edge off of my stress levels in graduate school. The resulting scarf, while soft enough to wear against my neck, has stood up to regular wear for about 10 years with no complaints or pills.

I love it.

When I read The Knitter's Book of Socks, Clara Parkes deepened my obsession by mentioning that Corriedale should knock Merino down a peg or two off of its super-hegemony over sock yarn...or maybe that's just how I interpreted what she wrote.*

In Marilyn Kluger’s The Joy of Spinning, Corriedale is listed as a crossbreed-wool breed, among Columbia, Panama, Romeldale and Targhee. Kluger notes that wool from these five breeds has a “Long, silky fiber; good for beginners.” Of the five, Corriedale is the easiest to find as a spinning fiber. It’s not impossible to find in yarn form, but, generally, most commercially-available yarn in the United States that isn’t marketed simply as “wool” is identified as “Merino.”

Sources of Corriedale yarn tend to be small, family-run farms. If you don’t like buying yarn, sight-unseen, from the internet, fiber festivals can be great sources of Corriedale yarn. I can’t recommend that course of action strongly enough. We need those farmers and they need us.

However, sock yarn that is identified as Corriedale is hard to come by, unless you are a handspinner, know a handspinner or want to pay a handspinner to make it for you. According to Clara Parkes (yes, again), in The Knitter’s Book of Wool, generic “wool” is a blend of all of the fleeces available, usually chosen for softness. “...any unique traits of specific breeds have likely been toned down for the greater good of the blend.”

The yarn you’ve been buying for years might have a high concentration of Corriedale in it, but you’ll never know about it. I hereby confess that one of the reasons I finally said “yes” to learning to spin is because I couldn’t think of a way to force my sister to spin nothing but Corriedale yarn for me for the rest of her days. When I’m obsessed, I don’t fool around.

I’m not claiming there’s anything at all wrong with Merino. But, there are reasons to consider the idea that Corriedale may very well be the perfect wool breed for socks.

Corriedale comes from crossing Merino sheep with longwool sheep, like Lincoln and English Leicester, according to Spinning Wool: Beyond the Basics. So, it gets the most of the softness of Merino with the toughness of longwools. The staple length is about the same as for Merino, which helps it spin into a strong yarn. It has about half as many crimps per inch, though. In my experience, this leads to a yarn with more body and heft, and the yarn doesn’t have to be spun as tightly as Merino to hold together. Corriedale also reflects light a little more than Merino, although it doesn’t have the luster of a material like silk.

This all leads me to a yarn I was recently asked to test. A Corriedale/nylon sock yarn. Hand-dyed, superwash, self-striping Corriedale sock yarn, at that. I jumped at the chance, and cast on the night that I got the yarn.

The proof of the pudding is in the eating, so here are my notes.

It was love at first sight. The yarn is spun into a three-ply, which gives it a very round, bouncy feel. The slight halo on the yarn bloomed a little when I washed the socks. There were a few stitches that looked irregular as I knit it and I did have some slightly loose stitches at the points in-between my double-pointed needles (which is probably all my fault), but they all evened out in the wash. The fabric became softer and draped a little more, too. Gauge did not change with washing. I hung the socks to dry, since that’s how I dry socks, and they didn’t stretch out, as some superwash socks do.

Photo by Lara Neel

The yarn is dyed to be self-striping and created stripes that were about half an inch high in my sock. The colors were deep and beautiful in the skein, and the fabric didn’t bleed in the wash. I love the slight color variations within the colors, that show up as a hand-dyed sense of depth. There were no knots or white spots in my skein.

It’s been warm here, so I haven’t worn the socks yet, but the feel of the fabric, especially in heel stitch, is dense without being stiff. I think they will last for a very long time.

I admit I did “torture” the bottom of the toe of one of the socks a little, just to see what it would do. With warm water and soap, I rubbed the fabric together, hard, to see what would happen. There was no pilling and, actually, you can’t tell which one I messed with now.

I am thrilled to pieces that this fantastic yarn is being dyed right around the corner.

The Source for this Fantastic Yarn
Simply Socks Yarn Company's new Poste Yarn

Sources of Information

Field, Ann. Spinning Wool: Beyond the Basics. North Pomfret: Trafalgar Square Books. 2010.

Kluger, Marilyn. The Joy of Spinning. New York: Simon and Schuster. 1971.

Parkes, Clara. The Knitter's Book of Socks: The Yarn Lover's Ultimate Guide to Creating Socks That Fit Well, Feel Great, and Last a Lifetime. New York: Potter Craft. 2011.

Parkes, Clara. The Knitter's Book of Wool: The Ultimate Guide to Understanding, Using, and Loving this Most Fabulous Fiber. New York: Potter Craft. 2009.

*Clara confirmed my impression by answering my tweet about it. I just about died.

Sunrise Fiber's Classic Sock: A Review

A few months back, I received a promising package of samples from Wren of Sunrise Fiber Co., a small dyer in Utah.  When the new batch of test knitters was chosen, Wren's yarn was among the first skeins I sent out.  One skein was a variegated Chocolate Cherry skein, and the other a semi-solid Fresh Mint.  Both colors were smart choice for Wren to send me, as the Chocolate Cherry reminded me of the SSYC logo colors, and we all know I'm a sucker for a good green.

I sent the Chocolate Cherry off to Marianne (here in the US) and the Fresh Mint off to Deirdre (up in Canada) and here's what they had to say about the skeins.  First, Marianne's review of the Chocolate Cherry- and please do note that she does include her particular opinion of the colorway itself (and doesn't like that white is one of the colors of the skein- would prefer just pink and brown), which isn't one she would typically choose, as her preference is for semi-solids or striping yarn over variegated.  Knitters don't get a color choice of what I send to them- they don't even know the dyer as they are knitting and are just learning who it is today, just as you are.  Also please note that the images shown on SSYC website are the correct colors, and that these shown on the review were taken by the knitters are may not be completely accurate for this dyelot.  Always refer to SSYC's photos for correct dyelot colors.

So here you go- the review of Classic Sock by Sunrise Fiber Company, and you'll now even see a few colors in the store.

Presentation - The skein was very nicely wound and easy to unwind, with no tangles or apparent knots.

Texture - The yarn felt very smooth and deliciously soft to work with--no splitting or catching on the needles. I especially liked the bounciness, and the stitch definition was great, even before blocking.
After washing, the fabric felt firm yet elastic on my foot, like a warm cozy hug. This is exactly why I love knitting and wearing handknit socks!

Fabric -  The colors did pool/swirl in an unpredictable way, but this wasn't a surprise to me based on how the colors looked in the hank. It did turn out to be the thing that I liked the least, though. I thought the effect that the white spots gave was distracting. I would have preferred that the pink and the brown overlapped each other (resulting in no white areas) or that the white areas had been as long as the pink and brown areas and formed swirling stripes instead of random little splotches. I had considered frogging the plain stockinette sock and trying out a stitch pattern that would help break up the colors some more, but I figured that the result would be even more random and splotchy, and I preferred to continue with plain stockinette. I do think the variegation would be much too busy and random for a stitch pattern which is meant to be the focal point. I would be interested in how the colors would look if striped in plain stockinette with a white yarn--I think this might be the most agreeable look for my tastes.
As I was knitting, I noticed that the yarn at the cast-on end had already started to look a little fuzzier, and I thought I will have to pay special attention to how the finished socks hold up. I wouldn't expect them to be as sturdy as my socks with more plies and nylon, but I would hope they'd hold up as well as my other socks made with similar yarn.
I haven't had problems with my usual sock pattern being saggy at the ankle, and after wearing the one sock around the house for a few hours (the weather is getting too warm for wool socks), I don't anticipate this one becoming saggy after being worn all day.

Misc.- My overall opinion of the yarn is that, for a 100% merino sock yarn, I do like the look and feel of the base and would certainly use it again if the yarn were dyed in a way that is more to my tastes (self-striping or semi-solid). Even if I were looking for a variegated yarn that will pool in an unpredictable way, I would want to avoid colorways dyed with the short white/undyed part in between the main colors.
I didn't notice any odors in the yarn, and there wasn't any bleeding at all, either when I was knitting or when the sock was being washed--in fact, the wash water was completely clear. (Since I'm not particularly fond of the white areas, I had kind of hoped that the pink and brown would bleed into it!)
I did find an irregular place in the yarn where the individual plies were slightly messed up. One ply was longer than the other and scrunched up from being wrapped more times around the other ply, and the only thing to do was to cut the yarn. Not the dyer's fault or a big deal, though.

After knitting the second sock and washing and wearing the finished socks around a bit, Marianne followed up with this:

Follow up:  Above is the photo of the finished pair of socks! With the second pair I did a bit of experimenting just to see how the stripes would look if alternated with white yarn. (I was too lazy to knit a separate swatch and figured I'd just knit it on the sock itself and rip it out when my curiosity was satisfied.) I ended up liking this look a lot--it made me think of chocolate raspberry ripple ice cream. (shown below with a little bit of white yarn added in with the variegated color).

The finished socks feel very soft and comfortable to wear, and they do stay up as expected. The finished pair weighs 73 grams, and there's 37 grams of yarn left. I'm happy about having this amount left to play with and want to try a zigzag or wavy pattern and see how it looks.

And here's what Deirdre has to add about the semi-solid skein of Fresh Mint:

Texture -like buttah. The yarn was lovely to knit with, and using a 2.25mm needle, made a beautiful fabric - solid, firm and soft all at the same time. The sock is extremely comfortable on my foot, and became even softer after washing. It still feels durable, too.
 
Knitted fabric - I thought by looking at the skein that it would be more variegated, less striped, but I don't find the striping takes away from the pattern (Francie). And I LOVE the colours, just love them. Now that I know that it has a tendency to stripe, I would probably choose a pattern that would highlight that fact.
 
My overall impression is that I love this yarn for socks - I almost feel like I've used it, or something with a similar base, before, but not in these colours, which are fabulous! Soft, sturdy, substantial socks – I would definitely use this yarn again.

A Review: String Theory Colorworks, Continuum Striping Yarn

If you've visited the blog or the store on a regular basis over the past 5 years, you know that it's a quest of mine to find hand dyed yarn that self stripes.  But not just any stripe, but wide ones.  As I've explained before, it's quite labor intensive for a dyer to dye thick stripes.  Thin stripes that are just two or three rows aren't that much of an issue.  But when you are trying to create stripes that are thicker than that, it becomes quite difficult to do because you have to have such a long color repeat that your skein needs to be nearly 50 feet long to dye stripes that width (don't worry, the yarn is reskeined into a normal size after it dries so that you can actually wind it at home).

Because there are so many steps involved in dyeing thicker striping yarn, it's rare to find someone who will dye in the quantities I need for the store.  Afterall, you all buy a lot of yarn and I would prefer not to carry items in such small quantities that it sells out in three minutes, disappointing many a knitter.  This is where Caitlin comes in.  Caitlin and her husband own String Theory Colorworks and not only do dye awesome striping yarn, but I have it for you on a merino/cashmere/nylon base.  It's like the holy trinity of sock yarn: hand dyed, widely striping, CASHMERE.  I KNOW!  Just breathe...

Now you'd think that when I received a skein of this yarn to test that I would have been selfish and knit it myself.  But the store/toddler wrangling/life in general has been so crazy busy that watched it slip through my fingers an along to one of my test knitters, and lucky Laura has reviewed it for us.

As is customary with my test knitters, they each go into this not knowing what exact yarn they are knitting- they only know the gauge and fiber content.  I try to keep this as unbiased as possible.  But in this case, I did share with Laura that she would be knitting up a striping yarn so that she could choose a simple pattern that would look nice with a boldly self-striping yarn.  She knit a 2x2 rib and cast on 64 stitches.  She said she knit an extra long leg with an average sized women's foot and had "tons of yarn leftover." This is what Laura has to share about her experience knitting String Theory Colorworks' Continuum in the Dark Matter colorway:

Presentation:  The yarn was a sheer joy to wind.  There were no snags, breaks worn parts or knots.  I just placed it on the swift and it practically wound itself.

Texture:  The yarn was a pleasure to knit with.  It is plied well and did not come apart at all, even when casting on the stitches.  The yarn felt great to work with, soft and yummy.  I put each sock on my feet as soon as they were done and kept them on for hours.  In fact, I didn't see the need to block the socks at all.

Knitted Fabric:  What is so unique and great about this yarn is that the stripes are so bold!  In wearing the socks for several hours, I found they held their shape well and did not get baggy at all.  The fiber felt warm on my feet and was much softer than the usual (without cashmere) sock yarn. 

Misc:  I really love this yarn and was able to knit up the pair of socks very quickly.  The yarn glides on the needles and yet is not slippery at all.  Even though the colors are bold, no dye came off on my hands feet or needles.  I'm looking forward to seeing the other colorways offered and will definitely knit up another pair of socks.

Thank you for your review, Laura!  You don't have to live vicariously through Laura's review and my pictures, as I have 10 colors in the store right now.  But please do keep in mind that even while I have a lot in stock at the time of this post, it could go quickly.  But I'll do my best to keep it in stock.  I recommend signing up for the e-newsletter (if you aren't already receiving it) to know exactly when I get more of this and other yarns.  If you are considering a particular color, make sure you read the description for that color because I have listed how many rows of each color there are in each particular colorway.  For instance, if you like Magnetism (a red/white/blue combo that I asked Caitlin to dye specially for the store), then you'll see that it stripes in 8 rows of each color.  Or if you want to make black and white striped knee socks for your witch costume at Halloween, then you'll see that Stardust stripes in 8-10 rows at a time.  That way you don't need to see the yarn knit up to know how it will stripe.

Pagewood Farms Reviews

Apparently many of you are feeling the same way I am about the Trekking Brach's Candy colorway.  I'm almost done with my first sock and will post pics later- no that's not my completed pair at left!  I wish. I'm sorry to say the yarn is almost sold out, and I cannot get more.  It's sold out in the US already and I can't get a straight answer about whether it's going to be dyed again and shipped to US stores or not.

And before I get to the reviews, I learned that Opal's Harry Potter sock yarn collection is not being delayed along with the movie.  The yarn will still reach US stores in the beginning of October, and I'll post here when it does.  I'll also ship out the yarn to those of you who pre-ordered the collection (pre-orders are sold out, so I can't take any more).

I have two more Pagewood Farms sock yarn reviews for you today, one review is for the Alyeska cashmere blend yarn, and the other is Denali, which is the merino/nylon blend.  I'm really pleased with both of them, but I have to say that I'm most pleased when seeing how lovely the finished socks are knit up.  Yes, a picture is worth a thousand words, but sometimes a picture is just what it takes to push a knitter over the edge and cave.  A picture can push a knitters mind from "that looks like a nice sock yarn" to "OMG, I have to knit that NOW."  When I look at the socks below, that's exactly how I feel.

*                 *                     *

Teyani was the lucky test knitter who recieved the skein of Pagewood's Alyeska sock yarn (the luxurious cashmere blend), and you can find her favorable review on her blog.  Teyani raised cashmere goats, so she knows a bit about cashmere.  I don't think her goats came in the Crayon colorway though.....

Laura test knit the Denali sock yarn for me, and her review was also favorable.  Well, really any sock yarn that I carry is going to get a favorable reivew.  Why would I carry a bad sock yarn?  I don't think I have gotten a bad review from anyone yet about sample yarn I've sent.  Either I'm selective in the yarn I consider carrying, or most sock yarns are just really, really good quality.  Have you come across a bad sock yarn yet?  If so, don't tell me which one (I don't want to foster negativity when someone may have had one bad experience for an otherwise good product), but feel free to describe your bad experiences in the comments below.  I'm all for (anonymous) sock yarn gossip.

Denali Sock Yarn in the Rainbow colorway:

From the moment I say and touched this yarn I was blown away.  It fet so soft and there were so many colors that I couldn't quite figure out how a dyer could pull this off (Anne said something similar in her review- that she expected her Yukon sample would have been muddy in color where in the color changes were, but there wasn't any muddy-ness).  I quickly would the skein without incident.  There were no snags, breads, worn parts or knots.

This yarn was an absolute please to knit- the colors were amazing.  All sorts of variations of pinks, purples, blues, oranges, turquoise and grays.  The colors are distributed randomly and did not pool.  The sock blocked well and feels soft and warm on the foot. I hightly recommend this one and will stock up on it myself!

Fleece Artist BFL Sock Review

Yarn I've been waiting for (is there yarn that I haven't been waiting for?) has finally arrived...  The newest sock yarn from Fleece Artist is their BFL Sock, which is a mix of BFL (blue face leicester is a sheep that has a face of white hair over black skin, making it look blue- thus the name) and nylon.  This is the first bfl blend that I've carried and it's lush, takes dye beautifully and has a slight fuzzy halo.  Jill knit up the sample in the color Twilight for me and her review is below.

Allison asked me to test knit at a very stressful time, and although I could have declined, I felt it was a message that I needed more knit in my life at that moment.  The yarn arrived looking oh-so yum-o-licious, it was sheer torture waiting until I had help in the evening to wind the hank into a ball.  The yarn was put up very nicely.  The only problem with putting it into a ball was human error (I do not have a swift or a ball winder) due to the late hour and exhaustion of both the hank holder and myself winding.  No snags, breaks, worn parts or knots whatsoever.

The dye job was even, no bleeding onto my hands or needles.  No funky smells and boy, is this yarn lush!  My hank holder was my 14 year old daughter who is a beginning knitter.  Her remarks were favorable (very soft and pretty) and encouraging (no tangles!) considering her only encounter with this yarn was during the winding phase.

This yarn put me in the mind of my beloved Trekking XXL as it slid through my fingers and wrapped around my needles.  The only time I encountered any splitting was when working K2tog and I really thing that was more my fault than the yarn's.  The fabric produced feels slightly thicker than some sock yarns, but not uncomfortably so.  I did find the yarn halos a bit as it was worked and while I sdislike that in any yarn, it does not distract from the finished product like some.

The shocker with this yarn has to be no pooling at the gusset as tends to happen with multi-colored yarns.  I do not know the last pair of multi-colored, non self striping socks I knit without pooling somewhere.  The colors are evenly and nicely distributed in this yarn.  I would knit this yarn again, especially if a green or pink colorway exists.  While I have not washed the socks yet, I do believe it will stand up to some tough use/abuse just from the feel of the finished sock.

In my hurry to get knitting, I chose the famed Monkey pattern and automatically picked up my US 1 needles as is my habit.  Had I checked the Ravelry forums a bit more before casting on, I would have seen that I needed my US 2 needles in order to knit Monkeys that fit me.  But my youngest daughter, Ellie, loves these and they fit her so all is not lost.  She reported "this sock feels soft and squishy at once. It's very pretty and reminds me of a bowl of berries."

Thanks to Allison for helping my mojo find the way home yet again.

Fleece Artist Trail Sock- A Review

You all may know from the pics I've shown here and the projects I describe that Fleece Artist is a yarn that I've knit again and again.� So when Kathryn told me that she was coming out with new yarn, of course I had to learn more.� Laura test knit the Trail Sock for me, which is a 75% merino, 25% nylon blend sock yarn.� Not only did it knit just as well as every other Fleece Artist offering I've had in stock, but it's well price at just $15.50 a skein!� Want to learn more?� Check out Laura's review below:

Right from the start, I was in love with this yummy yarn.� The blues and purples were beautiful (color isTwilight) and the yarn felt so soft and yet sturdy.� I placed the yarn on my swift to begin the winding process and then, uh-oh, the fun began.� NOT.� I won't bore you with the details, but it took me forever to wind the yarn.� I do believe, however, having completed the socks that the yarn is high quality and I think�the winding issue was a fluke.

This yarn is pleasure to knit.� The yarn did not separate or catch on the needles and glided through my fingers.� The colors did not pool.� I tried the socks on before washing and they felt soft on my foot.� They washed/blocked beautifully and felt even softer!

It seemed to be when I received the yarn that there was ample yardage to knit a patterned sock.� I chose the Eagles Wings pattern and the end result is outstanding.� In fact, I think this is my favorite pair of sock to date and this yarn stands in a class by itself.� I look forward to purchasing and knitting with it again.

Cherry Tree Hill Possum Sock Review

I have a very special sock yarn review to share with you today- it's Cherry Tree Hill's Possum Sock Yarn.  Possum is a highly prized fiber- warm and soft- and Cherry Tree Hill hasn't had this sock yarn available for almost 7 years.  There are a few thousand skeins being dyed, and already bought out by just a few yarn stores, and I'm happy to say that I'll soon have it in the store.  I'm also happy to share that I received one of the few sample skeins of this and sent it to Vickie a few months ago for her review.

Presentation:
There were no problems to note in how the skein was put up.  It was easy to wind.  I couldn't stop petting it, so that did slow me down a bit...

Texture:
This yarn is wonderful to knit.  It is simply the softest thing I've ever worked with- feels kind of like cashmere.  I had no problem with splitting or twisting.  It was very smooth knitting.  However, because of the softness there was practically no stitch definition.  It's quite fuzzy, but nicely fuzzy- not the kind that makes your nose itch.  My only complaint about the yarn is that the color I knit (Caribou Creek) was very dark and was hard to see, but then my eyes are not as young as they used to be.  A younger person my have no trouble with it!

Knitted Fabric:
As I said, this is a very dark colorway.  I think pattern work would disappear.  I used a 2x2 rib and the socks fit nice and snug, but not tight at all.  The sock probably fits me better than any sock I've knit so far and I think it has a lot to do with the fabric.  The fabric has a lot of elasticity and a nice spring.  I can't explain it well, but somehow it feels more like fur than yarn.  It's enough to make you swoon!  (I am a little gushy about this luxuriousness of this yarn.)
At first, I didn't think anything this luxurious could hold up.  But we had a cold snap here and I wore these socks with and without shoes every evening (with appropriate time off for washing- me and the socks!)  There is a bit of fussing around the heel (I used a standard slip stitch pattern on the heel flap) but mostly they do not show signs of wear.  They are holding up much better than I expected.  They do not bag out, but maintain their fit very well.  They also make great bed socks.

In closing, this yarn is heavenly and my socks are heavenly. I don't want to take them off.  Although I've had enough of cold weather, I wouldn't mind a few cold days so I can wear my possum socks a little more.

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I'm so envious that Vickie got to knit this yarn before me!  I have to admit that if I had small feet like her, I would have kept the yarn for myself.  But my size 10-11 feet aren't dainty enough to get a pair of socks out of one skein.

Yes, that's right.... Vickie just used one skein for her two socks.  Footies, really.  Each sock = 1.5 inch cuff, 2.15 inch heel flap, and a 9.25 inch foot (from back of heel flap).  She cas on 64 stitches on size 1 needles and had only 2 feet of yarn left.  As she says, "It was close."

The possum sock yarn is on the pricey side but if you have tiny feet you can knit a small pair of footies on one skein. I'm going to splurge on 4 skeins though, a pair for me and a pair for Joe.  And we'll both need 2 skeins for a pair of socks.

If you think you might want a few skeins, keep your eyes peeled here at the blog, b/c I'll post here when I get it in and up on the site.  It's likely that I won't be able to get this yarn again, and Cheryl the owner of Cherry Tree Hill has this explanation,

"Do you realize how hard it is to convince a mill to combine possum with superwash merino and mill it to fingering weight?  Impossible!  No one has the equipment, no one wants to do a run that small (4500 skeins), no one wants to run yarn that thin- plus the US Dollar is dropping like a rock in that part of the world.  It's taken me about 5 years and a lot of whining and wheedling- so we're going to get a bit one more time."

New Yarn and a Review of Dream in Color Classy

It's already shaping up to be one busy week here. Why's that?  Because some much coveted yarn has arrived.  I'm so proud to tell you that I've got some wonderful new yarn to share- Pigeonroof Studios superwash merino.  This is some tasty yarn, but unfortunately it's not going to be available too often.  Right now I have 8 colorways available from Kristy, will more on the way in the coming months.  Kristy really has a way with color, as you can see by viewing what I have here. Not only are the colorways gorgeous, but the yarn has a tendency to not pool or stripe b/c of the short bursts of color.  Shown below are my faves: Plum Hydrangea, Green Ocean and Nightshade

Also recently added are the new Trekking Hand Art- 6 gorgeous hand dyed colorways with 3 more to come (maybe later today).  They are all beautiful colors, but I'm always a sucker for greens.  And really nice yardage.  I'm considering this for gift socks, as I'm often wondering if the socks I've knit for someone will accidentally be felted in a hot washer.  Many sock yarns are labeled as hand wash, but we all know that they can be machine washed as long as we don't go overboard with the water temperature or agitation.  But with Trekking sock yarn I feel confident knitting it as a gift b/c I know that it will last through misuse and wear.  And now that there are some hand dyed colors available I can see these yarns turning into some well received gift socks.

Did you see all the new Berroco Sox that I have in stock?  I ordered all the available colors, several sold out quickly, and I have already received a second batch.  This yarn is available in many fun self-patterning colors, and it's only $12.50 a ball.

Finally, Dream in Color's Classy worsted weight yarn has arrived!  It's the first worsted weight yarn I've carried, and for good reason.  Not only does it knit up a superb sock, per the review below, but it's also a great choice for larger projects like the blanket-in-progress I'm working on.  Well, was working on until the weather got warmer and caused the poor thing to be shelved until the weather is cool enough that I don't sweat when I knit it.  It's one of those lap-covering projects.  Not so great for humid Indiana springs and summers.

Below is the Classy review from the lovely Laura (she received color 340-Gothic Rose).  She wrote the review almost 2 months ago and has been waiting for this yarn to come in so that she could get her hands on more.  Just like the Smooshy and Baby yarn from DIC that I carry, it takes awhile to get in stock.  But like the Smooshy and Baby, I'll place large orders and do my best to keep all colors in stock for you.  If you find you need lots of Classy for larger projects, feel free to e-mail me and make sure I have what you need- and I'm always willing to special order for you so that you get the amount you need from one lot.

From the moment I opened the package I was in love with the test yarn.  The shades of burgundy are beautiful.

I immediately put it on my swift and wound it with incident.  There were no knots, snags, break or areas of undyed yarn.  And to top it all off the yarn is so soft and yummy.  The yarn knit up quickly on size US 5 needles.  I cast on 48 stitches to fit a woman's size 8.5 foot.  In fact, the pair was completed, washed and dried within 3 days of receiving the yarn!

The color distributed equally and the yarn feels even softer after washing, which hardly seems possible.  As the northeast was hit with a mini-snowstorm last night, I was able to wear the socks today and found that they retained their shape and looked and felt great in my clogs.

I will definitely purchase this yarn and use it again and again.  The yarn was a pleasure to work with and the finished product is awesome.  In fact, my friends who have seen and felt the yarn are also anxious to start knitting their own pair of socks with this yarn.

It looks like Laura used her own basic pattern for this sock, but you might also try Thuja from Knitty.  I've knit the pattern twice now and it's a great basic pattern with just enough flair to keep it from being monotonous.

Farmhouse Fannie's Fingering- a Review

I have a review for you today, but first I want to give a big shout out to Roxanne from Zen Yarn Garden who dyed the yarn for this last month of the sock club.  Not only did she dye up some gorgeous skeins, but she even named the color after James.  I've gotten many e-mails about how much you like the color and the stitch marker that I included in the packages.  If you missed out on this 3-month club, just keep posted here b/c I will likely open up the next 3-month club in a couple months.  You can also sign up for the newsletter, should you want to keep posted on SSYC news.

And, in case you haven't seen... SSYC's exclusive line of stitch markers are now available!  These feature small loops for sock needles that fit up to US 4 needles (most markers fit up to size 10 needles, which can be too cumbersome for sock knitting), high quality- some even have semi-precious stones, and the prices range from $7 to $10.50.  Very good prices for quality, hand crafted markers.  I already sold out of some of them, but more are being crafted so that I can fill your orders without delay.

So let's get to the review!  Harriet knit up some of Farmhouse's new Fannie's Fingering Weight yarn for me in the Confetti colorway (this color should arrive in a few days).  As is the case with all my test knitters, she didn't know exactly what she was knitting up, just that it was a 80/20 merino/nylon blend.  I'm quite happy that she got such great result, barring those annoying 7 repairs, which I'm assuming was a fluke as I've checked several skeins since and didn't see more than 1.  Should you ever receive such a skein from SSYC, let me know and I'll make it right- it's not okay to get a skein with so many flaws in fiber, but things do fall through the cracks once in awhile.  So, I'm happy to say that I now have 9 colors in stock, and it is priced at the introductory price of $20 a skein, rather than the regular $22 a skein.  And since I'm being charitable, I might as well put the Bo Peep Sock Yarn on a reduced price as well, right?  Sure!  The Bo Peep yarn sold so quickly last time that I ordered LOTS this time.  Bo Peep is what I consider to be sport weight, even though the label indicates that it's fingering weight.   Remember, this is the yarn that the wool all comes from the US- read this post if you want more info on that.

OKAY- really, it's now time for the review...

Stats- My socks used up about 100g of the 126g skein.  66 stitches and US 1 (2.25mm) needles for the legs, 60 stitches and US 0 (2mm) for the feet.

Presentation-  The hank was neatly twisted into a thick cocoon.  The multitude of colors was immediately obvious:  mostly pink with splashes of green, yellow, blue and burgundy.  These lovely colors were very appropriate to the season, either as spring flowers or Easter pastels.

To be able to wind this skein into a cake, I had to remove a "leg" from my Beka swift.  Other than the small skein circumference, the yarn was easy to wind.  Unfortunately, I discovered 7 spots where broken plies had been repaired.  Most of them were small sections that would need about half an inch excised.

Texture-  I quite like this smooth yarn; it was strong yet soft.  The twist seem to be about medium; neatly twisted and sproingy in appearance, but easy to untwist with some effort.  I did occasionally split the plies by accident when using a sharp, metal DPN.  The finished fabric was on the stiff side, especially in areas where I used a firmer gauge.  After machine washing with gentle cycle setting and cold water, the fabric feels wonderful on my feet, soft with absolutely no itch factor.

Knitted Fabric-  It was a suprise when mottled stripes formed on the first sock leg, and even more of a suprise when a completely different variegated pattern formed on the second sock.  Why did this happen?  Becuase I knit one sock from one end of the skein and the other with the other end.  Not unexpectedly, changing guage and stitch count for the insteps caused the colors to pool or spiral crazily.

I chose a simple cabled rib pattern that worked fairly well with the busy colors.  This colorway would be perfect worked in stockinette, ribbing and simpler patterns.  I would avoid using it for complicated patterns.  These socks did not acquire a fuzzy halo that sometimes appears after machine washing.  However, I noticed the soles became a bit fuzzy after walking on carpet.  With good care, I think these sock will last awhile.  They fit beautifully and after several hours of wear, are staying up with very little bagginess.

Misc.- Overall, I like this yarn, even with the 7 repaired plies.  It was strong, yet soft, and did not cause and itchiness, qualities with are important to me when choosing sock yarn.  The colors did not bleed at all, while knitting or in the wash.  If I were to work with an equally multi-colored yarn from the same dyer, I might try "feathering" or alternating the different ends of the skein for better color distribution.

Some yarn reviews Creatively Dyed and ????

Well, I have some yarn reviews from my test knitters to share with you!  One here, and one on Teyani's blog.  They are both quite thorough in nature and photos.  So check out the review below and then surf on over to Teyani's blog to read her review.  Neither test knitter was aware of what company/indie dyer produced the yarn when they knit it, and since I'm still deciding on whether or not I'm going to carry the yarn that Teyani reviewed, I'm not going to reveal to you who dyed it.

Below is Vickie's great review of the yarn I sent her.  I have to say that she took many nice pictures, but I'm posting only a few here.  The yarn she knit was Creatively Dyed in a merino yarn base.  While I do carry Dianne's Creatively Dyed Merino, I don't carry the yarn base that Vickie reviewed- I carry a different 100% merino yarn base that I like very much.  So keep in mind when reading the below review that it's representative of the hand dyeing, but not so much the yarn base, as I carry a different one.

On a side note, I'm quite pleased to hear that Vickie noticed no pooling or striping- mostly b/c I personally prefer a random distribution of color.  Of course, some of you may prefer pooling- feel free to tell me in the comments below what you think of the Creatively Dyed yarn you've bought from me so far!

The yarn looked very nice in the skein.  I found two knots and around those knots the yarn appeared to have been overstretched or pulled too tightly.  I cut the stretched parts out (maybe 20 feet altogether) and still have plenty for a pair of socks.  The only problem I had winding the yarn is that the skein was a tad too big for my swift.  I have a standard size umbrella swift (the metal and blue plastic one) and the skein barely stayed on the swift fully extended.  It wasn't much of a problem until the end of the skein, at which point it fell off the swift into a pile on the table.  Grrr.

The yarn was nice to work with, very slippery but not splitty at all.  I switched from my usual metal needles to wooden ones so that I could better control it.  The yarn did not catch at all during knitting.  It seemed to be consistently spun, except for the two placed mentioned above.  Before washing, the sock had a stringy feel to it, but after washing it was very soft.  The yarn developed a slight fuzz-halo after washing that enhanced its appearance.  There is not a lot of stitch definition with this yarn.

The color distributed very nicely, with no pooling at all.  There is also no striping to speak of.  The color is not deeply saturated in placed, giving the fabric a heathered look which is quite nice.  The finished fabric is drapey and not very elastic- it does seem to have the "sproing" that I am used to with other merino yarns.  After washing and wearing, the sock is a bit baggy, but not too bad.  The color changes in the yarn are very short.  I think there is probably too much variation in this color for many patterns.  The stockinette portion of the sock foot is lovely, but I fear a whole sock in stockinette would bag a good bit.  I used cabled ribbing for the second sock and it produced a much more substantial fabric.  Because of the sock's silkiness and drape, I fear it will not stand up to a lot of wear unless knitted into fairly dense fabric.  I used size 1 needles for the leg and size 0 needles for the foot to firm up the fabric in areas that get the mos wear for me.

The yarn was pleasant to knit, but it didn't "wow" me.  It did not bleed at all, even in the wash, and seemed to keep its color after drying.  I loved the colors in the skein I received.  It is hard to capture in the photos (without sun again!) but the colors worked really well together and it had just the right amount of bright spots.

*So do you find this info helpful in deciding how to spend your sock yarn dollars and knitting time?  Would you prefer more or less information in the future??*