Socks for Barb

This is my latest pair of socks. They were made for my sister Barb, who is working on her own first set of socks (see photo from Florida below) However, she claims she is too busy to knit in the summer. I made them as a hostess gift for her when I go stay with her later this month. The yarn is Regia 4 fadig mini Ringer Color, 75% superwash wool, 75% nylon, knit on size 1 needles. The yarn is a titch larger than standard fingering weight, tightly plied and spun so it is easy to knit. It was a little stiff to knit but the socks are nice and soft now that they have been washed. If I knit Barb socks instead of her learning to do them on her own, am I being an enabler?

Tofutsies yarn

I just finished my first pair of socks from Tofutsies yarn. This yarn is 50% superwash wool, 25% soysilk fibers, 22.5 % cotton and 2.5% chitin. It is a soft ply with a lightly dyed yarn and a more intensly dyed yarn, resulting in a pleasing tweedlike look. The product is very soft, probably because the ply is very loose. However, this makes the yarn somewhat hard to knit with, the yarn being very easy to split. It is also not as elastic as a yarn with a higher wool content, meaning that the pick-up-and-knit stitches along the heel flap are not as tight as I would have liked. Overall, it is a beautiful sock and should wear very well. I made these socks with #1 needles. I hope their eventual owner likes them.

Rafting on the Salmon River

We just returned from our annual rafting and kayaking trip on the Salmon River with friends and family. This year we went 60 miles on the river, camping two nights. Of course, my daughter-in-law and I brought our knitting. Sarah started knitting one of my hand dyed yarns while we were camped. She knits a beautifully even stitch on size 1 needles. The guy in the photo with her is my son, Ian. She loves the yarn, and says they are her favorite colors.