Yarn!!

Last week I got two yarn packages in the mail. I wonder if that means I have a problem, as I had just returned from my trip to Denver with 4 –I mean 5skeins of sock yarn the week before, and now 4 more skeins have arrived! I won’t ponder on that, but just be happy for more new yarn!

I received my Loopy Ewe order and my first Woolgirl 2008 sock club package. Both were WONDERFUL! First I’ll let you know what I got from The Loopy Ewe, as the Woolgirl sock club may be a spoiler for some….so beware—there are sock club spoilers below.

From The Loopy Ewe I received my first Yarn Nerd yarn, Creatively Dyed yarn and Cherry Tree Hill yarn. Hooray! All new yarns for me—but that is not a difficult task, as even though I have quite a bit of sock yarn, there are tons of different yarns/dyers to pick from.
Yarn Nerd: 100% Superwash Merino; 450 yards; color 5 O’Clock Shadow
I just love, love, love this color! It was why I placed my order, and like I said, I just love the color! I can’t say it enough—WOW!!!





Creatively Dyed: 80% Merino, 10% Cashmere, 10% Nylon; 360 yards; color New England Fall (12)
No superwash here, so it is a good thing that I hand wash my socks, so I’ll not have to worry. But I did run across a wonderful tip that someone (whom I cannot remember—sorry!) shared, which is to do a purl row before beginning the toe to remind you that your sock is not superwash, so it has to be hand washed instead of washed in the wash machine. If I remember to, I think I’ll do that when I knit this yarn. Gotta love sock knitting tips, even if you don’t remember where they came from.

Cherry Tree Hill Supersock: 100% Superwash Merino; 420 yards; color Peacock
I must confess that it is not exactly what I pictured in my head (even though I saw the picture on line), but it is still a very pretty color. It is likely that if I had seen it in person it would still be at the yarn shop, and not in my stash, but I’ll happily make and wear a pair of socks out of the yarn for myself.

Recently I was talking to someone about purchasing yarn online vs. in person, and they mentioned how hard it is for them to purchase yarn online because you cannot feel the yarn or see what color is really is. I do agree that it is much nicer to feel and see yarn in person before making a purchase, but for me that is not very practical unless I want to really limit my sock yarn selection. So while it is true that sometimes the feel and/or color are not what I was expecting, that is the nature of purchasing yarn online, and I am willing to accept that. Imagine all the wonderful yarn I would be missing out on if I only purchased in my not-so-local yarn shop!

I also picked up a sock blocker key chain from Knitcelleneous just for fun—it didn’t hurt that it also took me over the $75 mark to qualify for free shipping. As usual, The Loopy Ewe takes special care when packaging your order—it was shipped in a box, with the yarn wrapped in tissue paper and then in a plastic bag for safety. A hand written note was included on my invoice along with a special gift and

WoolGirl Sock Club- April 2008
This is my first time in the WoolGirl sock club—WOW!! The package was AMAZING!!! After opening up the box, I found my yarn & goodies in a plastic bag tied with a purple ribbon and flowers. It was so pretty to look at that it was hard to open it. Inside the bag was my beautiful purple Mama Lama yarn. Oh and it is so super soft! I took it with me over the weekend and just had to have people touch it because it was so soft! I look forward to knitting with it soon. Also included with the shipment was a sock pattern, notes on the color selection, a coupon for my next yarn purchase (just twist my arm!), some pretty note cards with pictures of the yarn included in the shipment, a WoolGirl pen and a WoolGirl bag to put my sock project in. WOW! Jen sure does spoil her sock club members! I though a regular WoolGirl order was special, but it has nothing on my sock club package! But I still do think that a regular WoolGirl order still makes a person feel really special.

Sock Questionnaire

I found this sock questionnaire on the Sock It To 'Em Knitalongblog, and decided that it would be something to write about on my blog today, as I do not have anything inspiring to write about at this time.

Sock Questionnaire

1. What's your favorite sock yarn? (please note that the word 'yarn' is singular. Just pick one. I know it's hard.)
Well, I do only have so much experience with knitting socks (I’ve knit I think 7 or 8 pair so far), but looking in my stash, I seem to be drawn to purchasing Claudia’s Handpainted.

2. What's your favorite brand and type of sock needle?
I’ve used Brittany Birch double pointed and KnitPick Harmony double pointed. I like them both, but knit with my Harmony needles much more often now that I have them.

3. Do you knit your socks toe up, cuff down, or sideways?
Cuff down. But sometime this year I plan to try toe up, I even have a pattern I want to try….. Loopy Laces Toe Up Socks by Wendy Knits that I purchased from The Loopy Ewe.

4. Both socks at the same time or just one?
Just one at a time.

5. What's your favorite toe and why?
No preference yet, but I’ve done many standard toes and like them.

6. Favorite heel?
I’ve done the heel flap many times and one short row. Both are fine. The nice thing about the short row is not having to pick up the stitches, but I’m getting better at it, so it is not so bad.

7. Do you prefer plain or patterned socks?
Patterned. I’m still kind of afraid to knit plain stockenette socks, as I have it in my head that patterned socks are more “forgiving” in the fit than a stockenette sock. I only “kind-of” knit a gauge swatch, which is likely the root of my fears. There, I said it!

8. Who do you knit the most socks for?
Me!

9. Do you darn your socks? If not, what do you do with them?
So far I have not. I have instructions to do so, but I find it very unlikely that I would ever do it. So far I have not found a need to darn socks, so I’ve not decided exactly what I’ll do when the time arises. Likely I’ll have to ask someone to throw them away for me, as it would just be too hard to do.

10. Do you only wear handknit socks?
No, I do not. My collection is not big enough yet. I think I have about 7 pair of my own—I’d have to count them. I doubt that I will ever only wear hand knit socks, but I could be wrong. As time goes on and my collection gets bigger, I do anticipate wearing them much more frequently than my typical once or twice a week.

Bonus question: What pattern, if any, is your basic "I-just-need-a-pair-of-socks" sock pattern based on? Do you keep it on paper or memorized?
So far I don’t have a “go-to” pattern, as knitting socks is still fairly new to me, so I am excited to try new patterns. If I plan to knit for someone else, I do a ribbed sock of some sort. I think I’ll always have a pattern on paper, not memorized, but after knitting socks for a while and reading about them, I think that I could knit a pair without a pattern, but I really have no desire to do so.

Now, for my own entertainment, I think I may try to link a picture!