A sad day

I dropped by Simply Socks Yarn Company the other day to buy some sock yarn (of course). My favorite is their Poste yarn, made from a Corriedale base, hand dyed by one of their staff members. It wears extremely well and doesn't pill. Alas, they discontinued it. I was very disappointed.

So disappointed that I had a brain fart and purchased two different weights of Trekking yarn, Sport and XXL. My original plan was to knit one pair using the gray for toes, heels, and cuff and the variegated for the foot and leg, then reverse the colorways for a second pair. Now I will have to rethink that strategy. SSYC does most of their business online, but the store is open about four times a month. I'll ponder that predicament.

Knitting: I am ready to bind off the current sock project.

One of my fiber friends told me that the school where she teaches has a knitting and crocheting club. I donated my duplicate crochet hooks, then rummage through my stash for worsted weight cotton and superwash wool I was ready to part with. The result was a fairly large bag of yarn, and yet it barely made a dent in the stash. Too much fiber!

Under the wire

I was working on a pair of socks for my son's girl friend when they announced they were coming to visit... in a week! The socks were about half done, but I calculated how much to knit per day and decided I could get them done by then. A couple of days my hands protested, and the socks were still a bit damp from blocking, but they were delivered on time.

Pattern: Short-row Toe and Heel Basic Socks, by Wendy D. Johnson
Yarn: Brenda and Heather Yarns Fluffy Feet, in 'Napoleon' and Simply Socks Yarn Company Simply Sock, in 'Natural'
Needles: US1
Modifications: None

This is the first time I have used the BaH yarn. The "natural" stripes are a bit yellow, didn't quite match the SSYC "natural". If I had realized this fact at the start, I would have planned the socks so that the two "natural" colors were not next to each other. Oh, well. Wabi sabi. The recipient appreciated them regardless.

Splurge

I am the type of person who uses a Ziploc bag, reinforced with duct tape, for my sock projects. And the last thing I need is more sock yarn. However, that did not stop me from indulging in this anniversary kit from Simply Sock Yarn.

I don't sew except in extreme circumstances, but that doesn't mean I can't admire and covet particular prints, like this vintage kitchen one sewn into a flat sock bag by Bird Leg Bags. Throw in some color coordinated striping sock yarn and I'm helpless. The macaroon stitch markers are icing on the cake.

(An aside: For some reason, the Knitterly Things yarn label says to hand wash and dry flat, even though the yarn is made from superwash wool and nylon. WUWT?)

I dream of color

I have been working on a pair of black socks. Not variegated, not sparkly, just plain black. And are they ever BORING, not even worth photographing. To maintain my sanity motivation, I am promising myself a trip to Simply Socks Yarn Co in the near future, to pick out bright and colorful yarn for xmas socks.

What do you do to stick with a particularly tedious stretch of knitting?

Thought process

Even though I am not knitting DK boot socks right now, I like to have a pair of socks on the needles at all times. At first, I picked out the pattern for Errant Socks (from Mason-Dixon Knitting Outside the Lines) for my next sock project, but I could not easily figure out how to modify it for my big feet. Then I decided I'd knit them for my daughter. Then I decided if I were knitting for her, I should use the yarn I purchased for making her work socks, which is black because she almost always wears black slacks at work. Then, while knitting the first toe, I realized that black yarn was not the best yarn for this pattern because of the cables; also, my eyes are old. So I switched to the Dead Simple Lace Socks pattern (from Socks from the Toe Up). But since I had already started the toe, I stayed with the more rounded one from the Errant Socks pattern. Does this make sense?

The sock yarn I am using for this is Lang Yarns Jawoll Superwash 4-ply fingering. While pulling the first yards from the skein, something seemed to be holding things up. I fished around inside of the skein, thinking there was a cardboard core or something in there, only to pull out a spool of black thread. WTH?

I think I have never seen this before and couldn't imagine why it was there. Turns out it is 2-ply yarn to use for reinforcing toes and heels. I hope this is not a bad omen for the yarn in general, nor the fact that this yarn has been discontinued.

Don't buy this yarn

If memory serves me right, I bought this Noro sock yarn on sale, the caveat being I had to take the colorway that was sent. That was okay. But I am really, really glad I am not knitting socks with this stuff. For one thing, the wool content is not superwash. For another, the yarn is spun too tightly; it twists when pulled from the skein, then sticks to itself. The thickness varies, from thick to thin (see below), in places almost thread thin - I can't imagine the fabric holding up underfoot (very punny). And it is scratchy and unyielding and stiff.

Having never used this yarn before, I made some knitting decisions based on my ignorance. Now I fear the fingerless gloves will be too small for my man hands, even though I knit the large size. I know - I should have swatched.

I can't even decide if I like the colorway. What do you think?