The 2016 Sock Yarn Experiment 

I’ve reached that stage in life’s where I don’t need a lot of “stuff” in my life. Which makes Christmas and birthdays hard for those wishing to get me gifts. And lovely as my family is they aren’t initiated into the knitting obsession as I am and aren’t comfortable buying supplies for me. Therefor this year I got gift cards and straight up cash to spend on my knitting anyway I wished.

If you have been reading this blog for anytime at all you are aware of my current sock obsession. I listen to a lot of podcasts and read a ton of blogs that feed my yarny sock obsession and tempt me with fantastic indie dyed yarns. From this my plot was hatched….why not a 2016 sock yarn experiment? 

I made a spreadsheet m of all the sock yarn and dyers that I’ve heard about. Then I hit the Internet and priced out each kind, the fiber content, and colors available. I wanted to get a nice variety and try as many new yarns as possible. Based on my budget and the post Christmas sales I was able to grab these yarns (prepare to drool):

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  
I am probably insane and this is a tremendous amount of yarn. Who knows how long it will take me to get through. But I’m high on yarn fumes and right now I don’t care! I hope I have done a bit of yarn enabling as well!

Happy Knitting!

A Plan For Husband Socks

My previous attempt at Husband Socks were a little lackluster. My hubby has size a 12/13 US shoe size. His foot is literally 11 inches long so that’s a LOT of tiny stitches. I’ve thus far not been very excited about knitting for his tootsies. But he’s been quietly hinting that he’d like warm socks. So I put my big girl pants on and made a new plan!

Thicker yarn + bigger needles = faster socks

  
I had some Cascade Heritage Prints in my stash that is a heavier fingering weight. And I pulled out my size 2 US 9″ inch circs from my birthday.

These are toe up vanillas with 72 stitches on the US 2s. These are flying!! The sharp points of the Hiya Hiya needles really help I’m finding. The pic above is just a couple of hours of leisurely car knitting. Fingers crossed these will keep flying along because it would be a great jumpstart to my 2016 Wishlist!

Happy Knitting and Happy New Year!!

Merry Christmas to All

I must have been a very good girl this year!

   
 
Size 9 US glass needles with rose tips from Knitting Dharma.

  
Knitty Sock 2 by Two Windows Dye Company in a semi-solid purple color. This is a new to me dyer from my home state of Kansas!

And last but not least

  
The Joy of Socks by Linda Kopp! And the best part my mother-in-law did this all without even asking for a hint!

All jokes aside, I wish everyone a safe and merry Christmas. I’m off to go watch the magic of Christmas through my toddlers eyes! Knitting can wait because babies do not ❤️ 

Happy Knitting and Merry Christmas!

OCD Level: Expert

Jellybean took an extra long nap this past weekend so I had a few extra minutes to myself. I felt the need to organize!

  
That my friends is my entire sock history all neatly laid out in one pile. I took some old business cards and my pile of sock leftovers and went to town. Each card holds several yards of yarn neatly labeled by date, project name, and yarn name. These cards will be stored in a file card box in case of darning or other necessary sock repair. All the rest of my leftovers went into a baggy for a future leftover project. 

Does anyone else keep leftovers for repairs?

Central Kansas Yarn Hop

I completed my first yarn/shop hop. Boy howdy was it exhausting! I made five stops out of 10. I made a plan and a budget going in and (mostly) stuck to it. I had an absolute blast. There were newborn puppies, lovely people, snacks, and all the glorious yarn a girl could want. I think I’m going to break up my trip into several posts this week so as to spread out the yarn p0rn.

First up was Yak N Yarn of Topeka, KS. This is technically my LYS. And I freely admit I don’t get there much. The store has weird hours that aren’t friendly to a working momma and the yarn selection just isn’t that good. I still try to buy from there whenever I can but it’s hard sometimes. I did pick up something interesting there from the sale bin that was new to me: t-shirt yarn!

(Me in my “Knittaz 4 Life” t-shirt”)   It’s Sullivans Noodles (Cotton) in the Butterfly colorway. I think I’m going to knit this up into a nice smooshy cowl. The greens will go nicely with my eyes I think.

My next stop was Alpacas of Wildcat Hollow. Now this is not a store but an actual working alpaca farm. I had to drive WAY into the country to get to this one and it was worth a stop!

 I got to see alpaca, chickens, and herding dogs. One of the momma’s had just had pups a few days before. She was a very good momma and very protective of her pups. I did a little tour and then perused their little shop. And in the interest of full disclosure…I’m not a huge alpaca fan. It has amazing qualities and this particular yarn was out of sight. It’s just that it doesn’t fit my current project frame of mind. Nonetheless I still picked up a skein that will destined for soft as air cowl for my gift pile. See the yarn p0rn below.

Stay tuned tomorrow for my next stop!

Happy Knitting!!