Now they can be shown!

Here are my socks for Christmas 2008. I didn't want to post them earlier because I didn't want to spoil any surprises - you never know who actually looks at these blogs, do you? The green stripey socks are for my daughter-in-law, Sarah. She is seen modeling them in Oaxaca, drinking coffee on the deck Christmas morning. They are made from a really great cotton blend from Online yarns, in their Summer color series. They are 45% cotton, 40% wool and 15% nylon, and very soft. note the picot edge on the cuff. The bright blue striped socks are for my sister-in-law Liz. She lives in snowy Wisconsin and appreciates a good warm sock. These are made with Berroco Sox yarn, 75% superwash wool, 25% nylon. Berroco is made in Romania and has really wonderful color combinations. The yarn is a bit on the thicker side of fingering so makes a warm, long wearing sock. The blue lacy socks are for my sister-in-law Meg. She lives in Oklahoma so doesn't need super warm socks. These were made with a hand-dyed Lorna's Lace yarn, 75% superwash wool, 25% nylon. The lace pattern knitted up surprisingly quickly, and the tight twist of the yarn made it a good choice for a lace pattern. Click on the image to enlarge the photo so you can see the lace pattern. The last pair, also blue, are for my friend Nancy. They are made with my hand-dyed yarn, still my favorite yarn to knit socks with. I'm very pleased with the heathery look of the finished socks. These socks are super soft. This yarn is available on the Society Socks website - check out the color combinations.

This just in

Are you always looking for good things to do with your extra sock yarn? Shirley made her new IPod a hoodie. Is that cute or what?

Newly dyed yarn

I spent much of the Thanksgiving long weekend dyeing more yarn. Some of these are a little different from ones I have done in the past. They are variations of one color, to give a heathered look. They are great for lace patterns, but also make beautiful plain knit socks. You can see some of the variegated yarn in front of the basket. Go to the website, societysocks.com, to get a better look at these yarns. I'll bet you know someone who would like one of the instructional DVDs, The Zen of Socks, and a nice skein of yarn for Christmas.

Emily's mittens

Emily is a newly graduated geologist with a penchant for working in cold climates like the Alaskan ice fields and far northern Norway. So, when she decided to take up knitting, she picked felted mittens as her first project. She knitted two strands of wool worsted together, one red and one blue, on size 10 1/2 double pointed needles, casting on 24 stitches. We sort of played the pattern by ear, and finished off the top of the mitten with Kitchener stitch. When she was done, the felting process took only about 20 minutes. As you can see, it was a complete success! She already has plans for two more pairs of mittens for Christmas presents - I'll bet she makes it.

Bug dyeing

A friend of mine, who is a professor of Entomology, invited me to learn to dye fabrics with cochineal dye, which comes from bugs that live on cactus plants. It makes the red color you see in fine Mexican rugs. Of course, I jumped at the chance. You can get many different colors from just one dye bath, depending on the mordants you pretreat the fabric with. These are silk scarves. It was really fun. I can't wait to try it on sock yarn. Look for red yarn sometime soon.

The Zen of Socks goes to Germany

My hand dyed yarn is getting away from me before I get it photographed for the blog. However, I did get a photo of Tibor and the yarn he bought (along with a DVD) to take back to Germany to his mother. Tibor was an exchange student 13 years ago here in Moscow, and came back to see how we were all doing. He is a corporate lawyer in Berlin now, and a charming young man. I'd like to think his time in Moscow had an influence.

New "Knitting" notes cards

I do not post often because I am too busy running my web design business, BuffaloGirlsProductions, and/or knitting. But it is time to properly introduce myself. I am the producer and the graphic designer for The Zen of Socks. Not only that I created the fabulous Zen of Socks DVD, but I also designed the Society website, this blog, the store, photograph the products and create all the graphic and PR materials.

I am an avid knitter: hats (all hats have been sold) and socks and recently venturing into sweaters. And now for something new: I created these beautiful note cards with a knitting theme. Visit the Society socks store to view these original cards. Purchase one to send to your knitting buddy or purchase the set of 7 as a gift for your favorite knitting girlfriend.

Cheers
Lida