I’m just slipping this blog post right under the wire here. Wednesday. 🙂 I’ve been busy. Packing orders, knitting socks, playing with yarn, etc. Yesterday Dr. Jackie and her friend James came by to shop in the Loopy Room. James very kindly asked me how my Summer Of The Second Sock was coming along. (Remember the plan? I was to knit matches to all of my twinless socks so that by fall I’d have about 15 new pairs (PAIRS) of socks? I had to admit that I … umm …. haven’t knit a mate yet. Not even one. I was hoping my SOTSS idea would just kind of go away. (But that doesn’t really happen when you put it out there in front of everyone. That ought to teach me.) I may need to start wearing mis-matched socks. There are just too many yarns here that I’m either testing out for the future or knitting up because we are getting them in. Just way too many choices. Here is evidence of what I have been doing. The first sock was done in Fiesta Boomerang (Mochachino). It’s just 48 stitches around and went together in a snap. (Pattern from Josiane – you can see her version in the photo gallery – sKNITches Breathmint.) I wanted to knit this up to make sure that I (with size 11 feet) could get a pair of socks out of one skein. This is less than half the skein for one size 11 sock, so I was very glad. The Fiesta colors are so gorgeous. We have 10 colors in now and 15 more on backorder, arriving shortly. The yarn is springy/squishy/comfortable. I really like it.
The next sock is my Duets-in-progress. The Duets skeins come with a pattern on the label, but since I knit toe up, I devised my own. I ought not to have done 2 brown rows in the round after completing my heel, but oh well. I know better for the next one. I have plenty of brown left, so I think I will also do the ribbing at the top of the sock in brown. This yarn comes with a variegated regular skein, and then a matching solid mini skein for your toes and heels. I like the idea of coordinating toes and heels!
Lastly, my Dream in Color Smooshy Sock, using the Monkey pattern from Knitty. Can you believe this is my first Monkey? And isn’t this yarn amazing? We have all 24 colors and I put a re-stock order in with them a couple of weeks ago, so that we’d have a whole other order of it coming in again soon. Probably by the time I’m back from vacation. That’s a good thing, because I know once you get this yarn in your hands, you’re going to want more. This is one that we’ll plan on keeping in stock all the time, as best we can. This yarn doesn’t stripe or pool – the colors just kind of blend subtly. Next I want to use the Good Luck Jade colorway.
Of course there are more yarns here that I “need” to knit with. I can’t wait to start packing my knitting bag for vacation. (Oh – and I have a new knitting bag. Do you ever get the feeling that I might have a wee bag problem? As in, I keep buying them? It’s true. But this is a new line for us and I can’t wait for you to see it. I’m glad my bag arrived before taking off. I will be able to fit a whole week’s worth of knitting in there.)
Sheri darnIthinkI’mgoingtopostthisanditwillbeaftermidnightso
Iwon’tgetcreditforbloggingonWednesdayafterall
(P.S. And to help keep YOU busy while I’m on vacation, look at all of the things that just went up: Seacoast Handpainted Merino, The Knittery, Posh, Fiesta, Dream in Color, Duets, Zen String, Fleece Artist Sea Wool, Loopy/Louise/Bart Stitchmarkers and Kitchener Stitchmarkers. Holy cow.)
You made it! Wednesday! 🙂 Can’t wait to try the Dream in Color. You take such good care of us, Sheri! Thank Ewe! xoxoxo
Girlfriend, you need a sock-knitting partner! Since you knit socks to test new yarns for the shop, each of you takes a skein (or half of a 100-gram skein) in the same color/dye lot and knits a sock in the same pattern. Viola! You’ve both tested the yarns, so you have TWO opinions on how it works up, and you have a pair of finished socks.
All you have to do ahead of time is decide who gets which socks so you make both of them the same size. Of course, if you could find a knitting pal with the same size feet as yours, that wouldn’t be a problem.
Uh, did I mention my feet are size 11? Just sayin’. . .. 🙂
Just claim that you’re working on Winnipeg time. It’s only 11:32 here so I totally give you credit for getting your post in on a Wednesday (with time to spare too!). And that yarn on the Monkeys it absolutely gorgeous
Great looking socks! I also Like the idea of the Duets with coordinating heels and toes, cute!
It’s wednesday until I go to bed…..and I haven’t yet!
It’s only 10 here so you totally get credit for Wednesday. Can’t wait for the new yarns!
Well, Sheri, obviously you have to test out all these yarns for us–it’s all part of the service, right? Just as you have to test out the knitting bags…! And since one of my sisters wears size 11, it’s good to see how the new yarns knit up (not that I’ve made socks for her yet, but I may someday). All those socks look lovely—choosing will be difficult. As usua!.
I think WordPress puts the timestamp as the time you started writing–yay, Wednesday post! =)
Nice to see the Duets sock; now I know what mine is going to look like since I bought the same colorway.
Are you going to get the Namaste Messenger bags now too? Teehee…
It’s a beautiful thing: sneak ups, yarn and new bags! I, too, am afflicted but can’t seem to stop myself from picking up the most adorable bags.
You made it under Wed. 🙂
Oh I love the socks. You can never have to many bags. I’m always on the hunt for a good knitting bag.
I just finished looking at the site….oh the temptation! There are two skeins of Duets that are calling my name but *sigh* I must not give in. 🙂
Have A Great Vacation!
Hi, my name is Lisa and I can’t stop buying sock yarn. I am SO GLAD you are going on vacation!
I sort of agree with Lisa 😉 I’m slightly addicted to the Sneak updates and that’s Not Good for the budget… Of course I had to order some Smoochy and Duet and Fiesta Boomerang and… Oh, my poor wallet!
I adore he Duets yarn…I have 4 colorways already and ordered another. I missed several Sneakups recently as I was in Ireland two weeks….there was no yarn to be found, even at the mills, which were closed or renovatin. DH was upset for me but I wasn’t…I knew there would be a sneakup soon when I got home. WOOHOO so to soothe my knitting soul for lack of Ireland yarn(heehee) I just got Urban Cowgirl – Duet Sock Yarn, Spring Tickle – Dream in Color,Cloud Jungle – Dream in Color,Raspberry Mocha – Fiesta,Zen String-F Neptune
Can’t wait…..thanks for a terrific sneakup Sheri and have a wonderful few weeks off. Make your second socks…
Um…I have $793.00 worth of yarn in my Loopy Ewe cart right now. I just want EVERYTHING you posted in your recent Sneak Up.
I think I’m probably going to have to spend the rest of however long it takes for at least SOME of the yarns I want to sell out away from the computer so that I don’t “accidentally” click buy.
(Yes, I have “accidentally” bought yarn online. I’m so sad.)
OK – totally broke the bank on this sneak up! WOW – such gorgeous yarns, and things I’ve been wanting for awhile now – now I must impose a STRICT yarn diet! Ha ha – wonder if that works the same way as chocolate?
You do such a great job at picking out the yarns (I’m jealous, of course). I have to go buy more storage containers……isn’t that a shame? 🙂
Did I mention that I might want to be home early when my order arrives so that my DH doesn’t see it? Oh my gosh! 🙂
Have a great vacation! 🙂
Sheri,
I can’t believe it! We just got home from a week in Chicago and I actaully got in on your latest sneak up! Can’t wait to get the Dream in Color and the Duets:) As far as the Monkey goes…..don’t feel bad…I just completed one Monkey while on vacation and really loved it. I am late to join the monkey bandwagon, too. You have a great vacation!!
I knew you would sneak things up after I went to bed last night.
Ah well, there were still many goodies this morning! Now I need some coffee!
Have a great vacation! 😀
Forgot to say how lovely your socks are coming out. I have made so many Monkeys I have the pattern memorized, truly, it was one of the projects that went to Ireland and I cast on and cast off and never had to read the pattern. AND I am not done with Monkeys yet…I love the pattern. I am thinking I should not have come back here as I am seeing there is still some yarn screaming at me. OK maybe a self imposed 5 minute timer and then everything I can fit into my cart and then wait 30 minutes and see what disappears and then buy what is left…..man I though two weeks away would have detoxified me of this yarn illness….
OK also got Fiesta Boomerang in Quince and Dream in Color in Night Watch…..it is ok, the DC is for DH..so that cancels out the FB that is for me right?
I spent about 30 minutes yesterday rearranging the sock yarn stash (I have close to 150 different yarn dyers – oh my gosh), that way my dh wouldn’t keep looking at the every growing piles and say “who you leaving that to in your will”. Then this morning up pops the Loopy post and I had to just go and buy the new Fiesta, Dream in Colour, Knittery and Duets. Sheri, you can’t keep doing this to me!
Single socks look great, but (and I am playing mum here) they would look better with a mate (pair those puppies up).
If I don’t get a chance to say it before you go, have a wonderful trip, stay safe, knit, knit and knit.
Hey, I have an idea for all those Second Socks you need to make. Have Knitting Daughter knit them! They’d be all new to her.
Of course, the second sock may end up in her size instead of yours….
OMG I did it again. Told myself I didn’t need anymore sock yarn. Oh well, I guess it isn’t need it’s WANT, gotta have! Now that I spent half of the morning trying to decide I must leave. This sneak up was as usual great. It’s comforting to know I am not the only one with this affiction. Have a great vacation, I’ m sure it will take you longer to pack your knitting projects than your clothes.
Have a wonderful vacation!! And, the sneak up? Yeah, I managed to get some lovely colors – so many choices – so hard to decide. Must go on a yarn diet. Seriously. Does 3 weeks count?! : )
Being 2 hours behind you is great, because I got the Sneak-Up the second it came up last night at 10:15! Then I wake up this morning and so much is still up that I bought MORE!!! Your vacation timing is perfect, as we leave next week for 2 weeks, too, and I won’t miss a single update (DH cringed a little when I told him that so happily).
Woohoo! I made the sneak up! I had to do it via dial-up without my password which was VERY trying, but I still made it. May go back for more today…
Here’s a thought. Offer a free skein of yarn to anyone who will make the second sock for you! You could send them sock #1, the pattern and remaining yarn, to insure proper size. When you get it back, you can send the knitter the prize. You both win! No one has to knit more than one sock!
I’d volunteer for that!
Well, hey, no second socks yet? That’s okay because it’s not even officially summer until 2-ish Thursday afternoon!!!! Have a great vacation!
Have a relaxing and well-deserved vacation. Don;t worry about us. We’ll be fine.
Blessings!
Have a wonderful and relaxing vacation!!! Love the new yarns!!
The new squishy yarns look fun and I can’t wait to try them out. Have a good vacation. (PS: I just love the new feature to toggle from the two views of the yarn. 🙂
There were so many beautiful yarns to choose from last night! I kept watching for the sneakup, and when I went to bed, I got up to check again, and they were finally up. But, I spent until about 3 am browsing, the sleep deprived one says.:-) Normally, I would have just waited until morning, but I really wanted some Seacoast & some SeaWool. Fortunately, I got some beautiful colorways of each. It’s going to take a lot of iced tea today to get over the walking zombie feeling! But, I will have some wonderfully colored yarns coming my way very soon!
And, I hope to go to Target to find some plastic storage bins for my yarns, as they are all still sitting in the mailing boxes, and it is getting out of hand. 🙂
Sheri, I hope you have a good vacation! I forgot when you are leaving? We’re going UP to see my college son next Thurs for a couple of days. I wish we had more time, but my youngest’s band schedule for rehearsals & concerts every week in the city band gets in the way of that. That is his first official paid job.
I was eyeballing the Good Luck Jade one too! You know what they say about great minds… 😉
Yay for size 11’s! BTW… how long to you generally make your cuff w/out running out of yarn?
You should have Knitting Daughter knit the second (or first – whatever you want to call it) sock. That way, when you wear the pair, it will be a combined mother-daughter effort and every step you take will remind you of her. Of course, if you share a similar foot size, you could share your combined pairs; or, you could knit every other pair in her size so both of you will have combined pairs. This latter suggestion may not help with SOTSS, but it could still be fun!
I bought nothing! I’m so proud of myself! (Okay, so it’s not really good news to you, but it means I get to buy lunch today.) I did, though, put a big plug on the blog, and guessing by the annoyed email I got from a reader who now doesn’t get to buy lunch today, I’m thinking at least one person did enough buying to make up for my absence. 😉
Also, I am SO EXCITED that the site now has the little “look at a big picture” link on each thumbnail, so I don’t have to click over to the yarn’s page first before getting a better look. Yay, brilliant Web Guy!!!
Don’t stress over blogging. This is all supposed to be fun remember. :>)
I snagged some of the stuff you put up last night so that will be a great little bundle to receive. The Duets is such a cute thing and then there are all those other beauteous yarns I can’t wait to touch. ILike Emilie I could also have easily put $700 in my cart – except for the fact I don’t have the money to pay for it. Haha. I have begun cataloging my stash on Ravelry and boy is that eye-opening! I am nowhere near done but I am starting to wonder how many miles of yarn I have stashed.
Have fun on your vacation Sheri and enjoy the family!
Also I really like the new ‘picture in picture’ format of the yarns. Good idea!
I just want to compliment the picture-taker of all those beautiful yarns! This is the first time I’ve seen really good pictures of so many colors of the Duets yarn. What looked like a solid on the Duets web site is actually many colors! This changes everything! Thanks for all of your hard work, picture-taker! (My wallet doesn’t thank you, but I do!)
GAH! Karen alerted me to the update this morning and I was so convinced I was going to make it without buying anything for a bit… and then I go and peek at your blog and think… I have to have some of that duets. I almost did it!! 😉
It is always so good to know that there are others out there with size 11 feet looking out for yardage issues with sock yarn! 🙂
I have a bag problem, too! Glad there are more people who can’t resist.
I forgot to ask about Monkey socks patterns. I have looked high & low for a Monkey pattern that is toeup. Do any of you know where I might find one? I would really like to knit Monkey toeup, probably as my next sock project. 🙂
Last night, during my son’s outdoor band concert, it was light enough that I could knit on his socks throughout the whole concert without lights (over at 9:30 pm)! Actually, I was more worried possible rainstorms coming in than darkness. Now I’m getting the hang of how Wendy can get so much knit on her socks in a day! (It is Wendy’s sportweight pattern, Lorna’s Lace Sport yarn in Devon.)
Two things:
First, I wanted to let you know that your declaration that this is the Summer of the Second Socks has caused some good in the world- it inspired me to finish two of my mates this past month. One of them was the mate to the first sock I ever knit, from last July…how bad is that, that I couldn’t even finish my first pair…I blame my discovery of Trekking XXL, since my first sock was a solid, sagey green and I think that new sock knitters are particularly susceptible to bright, striping colors! I only have one more mate to knit before I am allowing myself to cast on for new socks…
…this brings me to Thing the Second: your sneak-up combined with your review of the yarns you snuck up is irresistable. Seriously, Sheri, with reviews like these: “And isn’t this yarn amazing? …I know once you get this yarn in your hands, you’re going to want more. …This yarn doesn’t stripe or pool – the colors just kind of blend subtly…” and adorable pictures of socks with matching toes and heels, AND the gorgeous colors you choose, AND the luscious pictures of the skeins on your site….well, I just didn’t stand a chance. I’m in crunch at work right now, and I’ve been buying sock yarns from you to take the edge off. See: 3 orders placed in 2 weeks.
I hope you have fun on your vacation- you (and my wallet!) deserve the break!
Have a nice vacation!! 🙂
Dare I say it? I have sock envy! All the pretty colors and patterns are gorgeous! It makes me want to knit nothing but socks for the rest of my life. (Just don’t tell the washcloth I started last night that) As I am still a minor, my dear Mother decided it’s time a went on a yarn diet. So my summer of socks is now limited to how long my yarn holds out. Oh well. Hopefully you’ll be make friends for your lonely wanderers and cure yourself forever of SSS. Have a superb vacation!!
I had such great intentions of just looking around at what was left over from last night’s sneek up. I purposely did not look thinking that there would be nothing left and I could just look at was had already sold, however, there is still some Zen Strings – sport weight and could not resist the color Sedona. It is amazing! If anyone has a chance, you should take a look. The vibrancy of the blue and the choco brown mixed together look amazing and I love the yarn base that Zen String uses!
If the Dream in Color sock yarn is anything like the worsted weight, it’ll be one I order a lot. I’m making the Wicked sweater with Dream in Color now and it’s soooo soft and squishy. I adore it. I can’t wait until payday and I’ll cross my fingers hoping that there’ll still be some left.
The sock yarn was wonderful today. I controlled myself slightly. Some Posh, Seacoast, and Stone Fiber were all that “fell” into my cart today. Where is vacation??? I find that I like bags too. I never seem to find a bag that is organized just really cool sack like bags. Have a great vacation.
grumble grumble grumble…..I’m saving up my wee pennies for the Knit and Crochet show here in July and couldn’t buy all the yummy smooshy yarns I kept putting in my basket and taking back out! Darn you for tempting me! LOL!
OK, now you have me drooling over the Dream in Color. I’m glad you’re getting more later because I’m on a buying slow down for the summer to pay for summer camp for my daughter.
Love the new Loopy, Louise, and forgetting the name of the black sheep stitch markers. So cute.
Have a great vacation!
Have a wonderful vacation!!
Smiles.