SOCK YARN OBSESSED

Going wild lately with my pension dollars on Indie dyed yarns,

and there are so many dyers out there with beautiful color ways to choose from.

Found this gorgeous skein online from Ancient Arts Yarn in Canada,

and sort of joined their color of the month club

Road Trip Across Canada

 (only buying when I can't live without each month's color way).

And this one,

January's,

above and 2 photos below represents the hills, valleys and skies across Canada.

It was love at first sight.

Here is February's color way called Sunshine Coast,

also extremely striking but I passed on this one.

Just a bit too wild and bright for my taste.

Front side of January's skein.

A lot of these dyers put their color on Fingering weight yarns

(super thin).

This one is 80 % Merino and 20% Nylon,

and is on their Passion 8 base,

a heavier Fingering Weight yarn with 8 plies.

Super soft next to the skin yet the nylon lends itself for sock making,

plus I will add a reinforcement strand at heel and toe area for more wear.

So far this yarn is going into a pair of nightie socks for my husband

who is very hard on his socks.  

Here it is caked into a ball.

Funny,

I didn't think it was as beautiful after I saw it in this format,

so we will see how it knits up.

Here is another recent purchase.

First saw it at Buku Yarns in La Verne, Ca. and really gravitated to it.

But I had just bought the other so I passed it up.

But all weekend it kept sneaking into my consciousness,

 messing with me.

You all know how that is,

right??

So back I went and bought it.

Have you ever seen blues put with the complimentary color way of green and red?

Well maybe years ago in some Xmas fabric, 

but not in a yarn.

Scrumptious!

Backside...

and caked up.

In this one the balling up really disguises all the lovely values of each color.

With this yarn I'm planning on knitting socks for myself

with a new pattern I found online which features a bit of lace around the leg.

But I promised my hubby to finish his socks first.

:)

Next while looking around online I ran across Row One Yarn Club,

oh noooooooo! 

This one is a monthly club as well,

and features 12 different Indie dyers from around the whirled.

Above and below is my first month's package.

These are color ways by an Indie dyer who calls her company Murky Depths.

I actually don't see anything murky about them,

just very sweet color mixes.

They total 100 yards,

also in a thin Fingering Weight yarn,

but not enough to make a pair of socks,

 I don't think,

so I will be searching for pattern ideas.

Or perhaps wait until more batches come in and combine them into something 

like a very soft baby blanket.

Not sure if you noticed what's in the cellophane package of hearts?

A Valentine themed stitch marker 

that I'll give tonight to knit-mate Aileen

 when she comes over for our weekly get-together.

And last but not least,

Row One also included a sticker and yummy bag of M&M's.

And this recent batch that just came in is also from Ancient Arts Yarn.

These baby skeins are referred to as Socknado Twisters,

and come in a zillion different color ways.

They are a Merino/Nylon blend for socks but on a different base that is only a 3 ply.  

Really wanting to experiment with different plies and bases to knit socks with.

Looking for something that's not terribly expensive,

yet doesn't pill up when worn or washed.

Sadly these little booties I made for my hubby a couple of years ago

didn't hold up at all,

although in this pix I had just finished making them.

They are superwash Merino/Nylon and really should have been hand washed

(even though the label says superwash).

 But my dear husband didn't realize that and threw them in the washer after his first wearing.

They came out a mess,

 pilled and partially felted up.

Of course he wanted to know what had happened to them.

It took everything in me to not scold him and make him feel bad after I had spent hours crafting them.

So I explained very nicely what happened and took them away from him immediately, 

pulled the pills off, re-wet gently in sink and blocked them dry.

They look better but they will never be the same.

Lesson learned.

HA!

Looking forward to each month being filled with wonderful surprises

from Row One.

I'll keep you posted.