New and much 'improved' Society Socks store.

We added new items to our Society Socks Store: besides The Zen of Socks DVD you will find hand knitted socks, hand dyed yarn, gift items. As Mary Jo commented in the previous post we have a hard time departing with the yarns we dyed. The colors are out of this world. I knitted one pair of socks and sold them even before they were done. People just love the soft yarn, the beautiful colors and the fact, that this is one and only pair.

Another Dyeing Session

On our latest yarn dyeing session, we did 12 skeins of yarn. They all turned out so beautiful that we are having a hard time parting with them. However, we do intend to put them on the website for sale soon, so watch the website www.societysocks.com for new developments.

Sock yarns used on the DVD

I had a request to identify the yarns used in the various socks used to demonstrate various techniques on the DVD "The Zen of Socks". Here is the list. Refer to the DVD for images of the socks. Or, if you don't have the DVD, don't you think you ought to have it? Go to the website www. societysocks.com

Yarns used on the DVD “The Zen of Socks”

Yarn and Needles:

Purple and black yarn: Sockotta
Gray, black, blue and pink stripes: Opal
Red with color slubs: Regia
Purple, blue, white and black striped: Regia

Getting Started:

Easter colors - pink, purple, yellow: Trampoline
Orange, green, blue, white striped slouch sock: Opal
Blue and purple patterned crew sock: Regia

Heel: Red with color slubs: Regia
Pink and white with black specks: Opal
Orange, green, blue, white striped: Opal
Pink, gray, blue, white striped with gray heel: Main body is Opal, gray is Socka

Gusset:

Purple, white, green, brown stripes: Opal

Toe Shaping:

Orange, green, blue, white stripe: Opal
Pink and white: Opal

Enjoy your socks:

Red with yellow and blue slubs: Fortissima
Men’s socks in dark heather tones: Trekking XXL
Blue and green strip with blue and white stripe: Regia
Pink, blue and green heather: Cleckheaton 100% wool sport weight
Green tweedy socks: Ragg wool 100% cotton worsted weight

All of the yarns except the last two are fingering weight. Opal, Regia, Socka and Fortissima are all 75% superwash wool, 25% nylon. Trekking XXL is also 75% superwash wool and 25% nylon. Trekking makes beautiful heathered yarns with no particular pattern that are good for men’s socks. These are all good, reliable brands of yarns. Sockotta is 45% cotton, 40% superwash wool, 15% nylon. It is nicer to knit than many other cotton blend yarns, and gets softer the more often it is laundered.
Trampoline is 70% wool, 23% nylon, and 7% Polyester. Cleckheaton is an Australian sport weight yarn, 100% wool. To use this yarn for a sock, cast on 48 stitches. Use a reinforcing yarn (Wooly nylon serging thread works well) in the heel and toe to keep them from wearing out too fast. Ragg wool is worsted weight, and to make socks from it, cast on 40 stitches. These socks go very fast. Use reinforcing thread in the heels and toes.

Wisconsin Reunions

It has been a while since I have had time to make an entry. We went back to Wisconsin to family reunions and met about 160 of my husband's relatives. I was very pleased that my two sons and my daughter-in-law joined us there. My handsome son Ian (see previous blog entry) has recently purchased a Nikon D80 digital camera and is learning to take artsy shots. The one here combines two of my interests, knitting socks and drinking wine. I also spent time with my sister, who is still working on her first sock, but is doing very well. The photo is of her and my daughter-in-law, Sarah, working on a sock made from the hand-dyed yarn.

The sock pictured is a commission for a cotton blend sock. It is knit of Sockotta, a nice blend that is easy to knit and very soft when washed. There is also a photo of Gracie helping me with my photography.

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.