Very large stash

Last weekend was the first of the fall craft shows. My friend Nancy, who tends to be a little impulsive sometimes, came on a booth that was selling out the inventory of a yarn shop that had closed. Of course, she bought it all. The photo is a very small part of her new superstash. She plans to send a great deal of it to Mexico, where her daughter has a hacienda in the mountains. They will give the yarn to the women in the area to make things for themselves and their famiilies. I donated a large bundle of needles that had come to me over the years. I think it's actually a pretty cool project.

Photos taken on a rainy afternoon

Fall is here, a good time for knitting socks. I just finished two pairs. The purple and green ones are from our hand knitted yarn, and they are sooo soft. It is the nicest yarn I have knit with, and it makes it hard to go back to the rest of my yarn. However, I have this stash... The socks are knitted on #1 bamboo needles, 64 stitches, and are 75% merino superwash wool, 25% nylon fingering weight yarn.
The second pair of socks is for a friend's birthday. She is 95 and her feet are cold at night, so these are super thick bed socks. They are 100% merino superwash worsted weight hand dyed yarn from Cherry Tree Hill. I knit a strand of wooly nylon serger thread with the yarn. I cast on 44 stitches and used #5 bamboo needles. The socks are quite soft. Next time, I might use #6 needles so the socks are a little drapier. They are very pretty - Cherry Tree Hill has some wonderful color combinations.

Back from vacation

We just got back from a wonderful trip to Italy. I should have photos of me knitting on the steps of the cathedral, in the Sistine Chapel, at Cinque Terre, in the Coliseum, but I don't. I do have photos of the socks I made, however. They both are from Trekking XXL yarn knit on size 1 needles. The burgundy pair are for a person with MS whose feet are always cold, but she can't stand any pressure on her feet. We spend quite a lot of time making sure the socks would fit properly, and she is very pleased. The heather green socks are for my husband. Knitting while you travel always is a conversation starter.

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.