Simply Socks Yarn Co. Blog

KAL Update

I have a bit of a KAL update for you!  There are so many great scarves being knit up on the Lace Ribbon Scarf KAL group right now on Ravelry, and that's where most of the (over 160 now, I believe) knitters are posting projects.  You are welcome to e-mail me your pics if you want me to feature yours here on Fridays before the end of the KAL too.

I don't have a scarf of mine to share, b/c I'm exactly where I was two weeks ago!  I know, I thought I was going to be done just a week into the KAL b/c I was knitting along so quickly, but in fact I haven't knit on it at all.  I've instead been knitting on my JoJoLand socks (I'll post a new pic next week) and a new yarn that I'm adding to the store in a month.  I was sent a sample of this soon-to-arrive yarn and it was so perfect in color for me that I couldn't part with it.  Instead I cast on even though I already had the JoJoLand socks in progress, and I usually finish a pair before I start a new one.  I just couldn't wait...  more on the new yarn later.

So instead of sharing my non-existent progress on my scarf, I'll show you Lisa's scarf!  Lisa's using some Hand Maiden Sea Silk from her stash.  And I believe she's using the same color, Blackberry, that I am (though I'm knitting in Fleece Artist's Sea Wool).  It looks lovely, don't you think?

Ask the Knitters

I'm often e-mailed interesting questions about knitting.... and sometimes things completely unrelated to knitting.  Awhile back I asked you all for some advice about James getting to those %(#h2! window cranks, and I received so much thoughtful advice that I've decided that I'm going to open up the questions I get to all of you.  Afterall, many knitters' advice is better than one knitter's advice, right?  So if you have a question about knitting, life, etc, and you want some advice, e-mail me at allison@simplysockyarn.com and I may choose your question to be answered on the blog.

So let's get started with an e-mail I received yesterday:

     I have completed a pair of socks that I made as a gift.  These are the first socks I will be giving away, and besides the "separation anxiety" I feel, I am wondering if there is a protocol for giving somebody socks.  I don't want to just toss them at the recipient, with a "here, I made these for you" (because they are Shelridge Farms heathered yarn that gurned into BEAUTIFUL cables in size 10.5 EEE), and at the same time, said socks are going to a married make friend of my husband's.  The friend is a wood turner who gifted us with a couple of remarkable bowls made out of an Alder he cut down for us in our yard.  (We just wanted to get rid of the tree.)

     Are socks personal?  Are socks sexy?  Should I also make a pair for his wife to make sure she knows I'm not trying to seduce her husband (from the feet up)?

     How do you wrap socks?  Should you wrap socks?

     I would welcome any advice....therapy.... medication?

     Signed,

      Accidental Sock Seducer

Well, my answer is this: I've given many pairs of socks for gifts to both men and women.  It's usually at Christmas or birthdays, so they are wrapped.  In the box I include a little tag that says something like "These socks were handknit with a washable merino wool, hand dyed by an artisan in Canada.  Machine wash and lay flat to dry."  Or if they are for someone I'm very familiar with and they are made with a yarn that can take the beating of everyday machine washing and drying, then I don't put any tag in the box.

So help a knitter out!  What do you say to the Accidental Sock Seducer?

What's in a Name?

I've noticed something interesting over the past three years.  Colorways named "Rose Garden" seem to sell really well.  I don't mean just a couple more skeins here and there; I mean double or triple other colors.  I don't know why this is.  Either dyers choose to name their very best colorways "Rose Garden" or we associate certain good feelings with certain names and our buying habits follow.  The same thing goes for colors whose names just include the word "garden" or "rose".  Throw in the word ""summertime" and you're ripe for a best-seller! 

Do the names of the yarn make a difference to you when you peruse a yarn shop?  Do you find that you are turned off if you don't agree that a yarn named "Stormy Days" really looks like a storm?  Do you find that you are more apt to choose a color with a happy name like "Spring Tickle" over one with a more somber name like "Black Parade"?

Obviously, names of yarn do make a difference, as I don't think I've come across a "Shepherd's Pie" colorway, but I know that many of us love to eat it.  Nor do I remember seeing a color named "Nap" or "Making Out", though many of us enjoy one (or both if we're lucky) of those.  I'm just wondering to what extent these names really matter to all of us.

How about yarns that use a number or letter/number combination for naming like Koigu, Shelridge Farms, Artyarns, Creatively Dyed and Trekking?  Do you mind that you can't associate a color with a flowery name?  Or do you like that the number/letter naming makes remembering colors easier.  Do you like that the numbers and letters often mean something tangible- like the ordered they were created in, or how they fall on a color wheel?

Do tell.

Find a deal, join the contest!

This week marks the third anniversary of Simply Socks Yarn Company!   I'm so excited to let you all in on some great deals that I've gotten to help celebrate this occasion.... and to hold a big ol' contest so you all can win some loot!

First off, have you seen the Sale section of the store?  If not, I  recommend taking a looksie.  You'll see 4 new collections of OnLine Supersock for only $6.88 a skein, including the popular Beach Color- it's a great cotton blend yarn for summer and is the best seller I've had in OnLine Supersock.  You'll also see great deals on Creatively Dyed Merino and Ocean, and Cherry Tree Hill Sockittome.  But the coolest deal is at the very end of the sale section.... on Farmhouse Yarn's Fannie's Fingering Weight!  Carol had some skeins that were short 40 yards, and so you'll see those priced at only $16 a skein!  That means that you're saving $6 for being short 40 yards- a great deal, especially since 360 yards is plenty for most of us.  I've seen some great scarves and shawls out of this yarn, so you might consider that as well.

The special Simply Socks colorway from Lorna's Laces is now available!  Lorna's Laces designed this colorway to commemorate our anniversary, so I have to give a big shout out to everyone there for making this day extra special for me! 200 skeins of this yarn (you need two for a pair of socks) are all I have for now, but I hope to have this yarn available at least once a year.  If you miss out on this batch, please know that all hope isn't lost (yes, I have a flair for the dramatic) and I hope to have it in again.

Want in on a contest? As I've mentioned before, sKNITches won't be able to sell the striping Syncopation yarn to stores anymore, but I just happen to have a few skeins left.  So three winners of this contest will each get a skein of Syncopation!

All you have to do is e-mail to SSYCcontest@hotmail.com and tell me what is your most favorite sock yarn to knit and why.  I know, it may be a tad hard to decide exactly which yarn you like the most, but give it a try and e-mail it to me.

E-mail your answer by the end of June 8th and I'll announce the winners here next week!  And if you spread the word of the contest in an online forum, blog or chatroom e-mail me the link to service@simplysockyarn.com and I'll enter you in a separate contest for a 4th skein.

Okay, I think I have thoroughly exhausted the use of the exclamation point in this post. Can you tell that I'm excited and slightly caffeinated?

sKNITches and Sleeping Dragon

That's right, the rare weekend post....

Just wanted to let you know that there are a couple new yarns in the store that you should check out!

First, sKNITches Bebop, which is Sam's hand dyed, varigated yarn on a wool/nylon base.  This is the first time I've had this in stock, and I hope to be able to get it in a few times a year.  I have 8 colors and my two faves, Truffle and Sunkissed are below.  You may remember awhile back that I sent out teaser cards with the Chalkboard colorway.  I now have it in stock for those of you who have been waiting now for months.

I also have a brand new fiber from Karen at Sleeping Dragon Yarn- Wooly Bamboo!  I'm really excite about this yarn base, as it's the softest wool/bamboo combination I've felt yet.  Not only would it make lovely socks, but it has a nice drape that would work beautifully in lace.  My fave of this batch is Meadows, shown below.  On the left is Meadows in the Wooly Bamboo yarn, and on the right is Meadows in the 100% merino base yarn.  You can really see the difference in how the fiber takes dye, can't you?  I really like how the Wooly Bamboo is slightly more muted and deeper in tone.

I hope you all have a lovely weekend! 

JoJoLand Melody Superwash Sock Yarn

BTW- I'm moving the KAL update to Monday....

I have a new obsession.  Now that my second Lace Ribbon Scarf is almost complete, I though it was time to search for my newest raison d'etre.  That's "reason for living" for those of you who failed 7th grade french like me....

I've found what I need in JoJoLand's Melody Superwash sock yarn.  I'm a big fan of yarn that stripes or slowly migrates in color as I knit in the round.  I love the look of Noro, but some of the colors are a bit much for me.  So when I started knitting up what JoJoLand has to offer, I felt the knitting equivalent of a sigh of relief- like I could just relax and enjoy this knit b/c it's exactly what I've been looking for.

I'm knitting with color ms11, which is a combination of pastel colors- predominently shades of green, maize, pink and lavender.  I'm using a crosshatch pattern from Sensational Knitted Socks (might be the second book- I'll try and be more accurate with my next update on it) and I'm finding that the yarn and pattern combination are perfect.  It's rare that don't start a sock over at least once b/c I don't like how the pattern is looking with the yarn.  But Test-Knitter-Laura pointed out this pattern on Ravelry (you can't see it if you don't get an account, so GET ONE!) and I really liked the combo.  I think what I'm knitting is quite similar.

I have all 12 colors that JoJoLand offers in stock, and if they sell out you can expect to see them back in stock fairly quickly.  If you are looking for knitting inspiration, you really should try this.  Not only is this good for socks, but it would have a lovely drape for lace. I've seen many cool projects on Ravelry that you should check out.  In fact, don't be suprised if you see me knitting a scarf out of this after my socks are done!  Perhaps this one....

Yeah, that's right.  I may be jumping on the Harlot bandwagon b/c I really like the scarf she's knitting right now- the Undulating Waves Scarf using Schaefer Heather yarn.  The yarn and pattern have been flying off the shelves here.  In fact, I sold out of all the Schaefer Heather in Gertrude Ederle but got so many e-mails about it that I put it back on the website with a note about it being backordered for two weeks.  So if you want to knit the exact scarf that the Yarn Harlot is knitting right now, you can order it now but I won't be able to ship it for about 2 weeks. If you order other colors, I can ship today. If you need beads for the scarf, I've bought them here before and if you are in Fort Wayne like me, I really like The Bead Source.

Finally, yes the sock yarn club did sell out very quickly.  I'm compiling a waitlist right now in case I'm able to add a few more spaces or someone drops out.  You can e-mail service@simplysockyarn.com if you want to be put on the list.  If you didn't make it in, please know there will be another club available in the winter!

Simply Socks Yarn Club Now Available

Just wanted to let you know that I have just put the newest sock yarn club on the website now.  If interested, please sign up asap as there are only 70 spaces available this time.  Want more details on this Toes-n-Heels themed club?  Scroll down to yesterday's blog post or click here.

Once the club is sold out, the above link will no longer work.

Edited to add:

The club is sold out. 

Toes-n-Heels Sock Yarn Club

I'm so excited about the upcoming Simply Socks Yarn Club!  I plan on putting it up for sale in the next day or so, so if you are interested, keep checking the blog to know when it's available, or get on the newsletter list if you haven't already.

As you can perhaps tell by the name, this club will feature yarn for socks that have a coordinating color for toes and heels.  So each month you'll get a special edition main color and 50% as much in a coordinating color for toes and heels.  The price of the club will be higher than other clubs, as each shipment will include 50% more yarn than usual.  And due to the labor intensive nature of dyeing and skeining 50% more yarn, our dyers won't be able to produce as much yarn as before, so there will only be 70 spaces available.  So if you really want in, please make sure you check the blog and/or get the newsletter.

Who's dyeing the yarn this time around?  In August, you'll get yarn for a solid sock from Shelridge Farms.  In September, you'll get yarn for a multicolored sock from Lorna's Laces.  And in October, you'll get yarn for a striped sock from sKNITches.  This is the last time I'll be able to offer you striped yarn from sKNITches, b/c as I mentioned last week Sam isn't able to keep up with the demand of the striped yarn and won't be able to sell it to yarn stores anymore.  It's great stuff, but very labor intensive.

What else is coming shortly?  Our anniversary colorway from Lorna's Laces!  The yarn has arrived and is super cool- I can't wait for you guys to get your hands on it and tell me what you think.  I have a few more surprises on the way too.

In the comments last week, I was asked if Noro Silk Garden Sock Yarn is one of the soon-to-arrive surprises.  While I do have it on order, it's not likely to get to the US until August.  So I'll keep you updated on this lovely yarn. It's a wool/silk/nylon/mohair blend and is softer than Noro Kureyon Sock Yarn.  All 8 colors, shown at left, will be available as soon as I get it in stock.  I've orderd quite a bit, so I don't expect it to sell immediately.

KAL Friday- or Thursday?

Well, here I went and wished you all a nice holiday weekend in my last post, and I forgot that Friday is the update day for the Lace Ribbon Scarf KAL!  As I won't be updating Friday, I thought I'd better get this done a day early. I have three projects to share with you today, and you can check out the other 130some on Ravelry.  If you want me to share your scarf on next Friday's post, then e-mail me a pic, your blog and any info you want me to include by Wednesday.

First off, I have to say I'm impressed with Alyssa, who has a new little one and still has found time to make progress on her scarf.  I think it shows that not only is this an addictive project, but that she is quite good at time management!  If you don't go check out her adorable daughter, Cori, on her blog asap, then you are crazy.  Tell her how cute her little girl is- b/c you know that we new mama's depend on compliments to take the place of sleep in the early months.  It's the only thing that keeps us going!

Alyssa is knitting the scarf with Socks that Rock medium weight yarn in the colorway Bella Coola with her spanking new Addi Lace Turbo circular needles.

Next, we have Evie, who is knitting her scarf with luuuurvley Koigu in a pastel colorway.  Nice choice for lace, don't you think?  Evie says that she's made a few mistakes in this pattern, but I find that the scarf is quite forgiving.  I made a few mistakes the first time I knit this scarf, but left them there and now couldn't find them if I tried.

Finally, we have moi.  I'm knitting my scarf with Fleece Artist Sea Wool in the Blackberry colorway.  I'm quite far along, and will likely be done in the middle of this coming week.  I adore the coloway, but find that this scarf isn't nearly as soft as the Hand Maiden Casbah yarn that I knit with the first time.  The yarn is still soft, but I can't expect wool/seacell to be as soft as wool/cashmere, right?  I'm even considering knitting this scarf again in a few months.  It's quite addictive once you get a few pattern repeats in.

Obviously, I've been knitting up a storm.  James now hates this project and even captured my first ball of yarn and turned it into a tangled mess.  He now has a very expensive ball to play with.

If you are considering knitting this scarf, but not joining in the KAL, I highly recommend bookmarking the Ravelry group for the KAL so that you can see all the finished projects and see all the wonderful advice that knitters are posting.  If you get stuck at all then the group is a great place to get un-stuck.

Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes....

I'm channeling my inner Bowie here, don't you know? Maybe the Bowie from Labyrinth?  Please tell me I'm not the only one who watched that movie over and over.  I loved it.

Anyway....

What are the changes?  Well, I have even more new yarn coming.  A slew of sale yarn from Online- regularly $13.75 a ball will be $6.88 for four more collections.  50% off!  Even I'm surprised at the wonderful deal I got, and am able to pass along to you.  I also have a great deal coming from one of my popular small dyers....

And I have a couple more new yarn collections coming in a couple weeks.  A wonderful new indie dyer to be revealed... as well as a great option for those of us who like yarn that softly migrate in color from one to the next.  Think Noro Kureyon but softer in color and texture.  And no, I'm not giving any more hints!

Finally, a change that I really don't want to make, but have to.  After three years of giving free shipping to my US customers when you make a $50 purchase, I have to raise the free shipping to orders of $70 or more.  USPS rates have really gone up over the past 3 years and I can't incur those costs any longer.  So to US customers, shipping is now $4.80.  If you purchase over $70, then your shipping is free.

Shipping rates have not changed for my Canadian (only $6.50 an order) or other International customers.  If you want to see the shipping policy in full, you can see it here.

Are you sick of not-so-great news yet?  Sorry, but here's another bit of it.  Sam, of sKNITches yarn, is no longer able to offer the self-striping Syncopation yarn to yarn stores.  I know, I'm very sad about it too, but it's just too labor intensive and she's just one person and can't make enough.  I will still be one of the few shops that offers her solids and hand paints (coming VERY soon), but the stripes are no longer.  You will have ONE LAST CHANCE to get striping yarn from sKNITches from me in the upcoming sock yarn club.  I'll keep you posted on the details here and in the newsletter.

One last change.... the ladies over at PT Yarn who introduced Opal Yarn to the US have now retired.  Opal was one of the first yarns I carried, and I ordered every collection that Mary Lou and Soxie offered.  They had a great eye for yarn and really were passionate about knitting socks.  Their website, which is no longer available, offered a plethora of free patterns, project ideas and inspiration for sock knitting.  I wish them the best.  Mary Lou really set the bar high for customer service- always pleasant to work with, and if she ever had a bad day you would never know it.  *I'm still carrying Opal Yarn, don't worry- it just comes from the new distributor. 

This will likely be my last post for the week, as the store will be closed Friday through Monday for the Memorial Day holiday in the US.  For those of you who place orders from Friday through Monday, they will be shipped on Tuesday.  Let's keep our fingers crossed for great weather!