Friday, January 30, 2015

New Socks, New Yarn and Knits to Be


Hi, Knitters,
It's been a busy week, right? Well, I have several announcements to start off. The winner of the vest and cowl patterns from Folly's Cove is..... JillShoke on Ravelry. Congratulations to Jill! I have sent an email to Julia Farwell-Clay, the designer, and she will be sending along your patterns.

I am excited to be wearing my latest handknit socks fresh off the needles. I am calling these my Brach's Sundae Socks in tribute to the coconut, chocolate, and pink layered candy that I haven't had in forever but miss when I look at my new socks. I love these so much. Apparently the yarn is discontinued but just in case you can find it somewhere it is the Trekking XXL in color #126. I can't remember where I purchased the Trekking as it was so long ago.


The next bit of news is that I have selected the first prize winner from the 169 participants (the list is on the first post in the thread) for the SBA Shawl Knitalong. Click here to see the thread or to join in. It's not too late to join in or enter any of your past already knit SBA shawls in the knitalong.

The first prize is a doozy. I am sending off 800 yards of the sport weight Helix yarn by Infinite Twist in the Hooker's Green colorway. Helix is the yarn that I knit the Hayward shawl in and it is a beautiful 100% merino wool. The greens in this colorway are inspiring and even prettier in person. 


The winner of 800 yards of Helix is.... NDAkkatie! Congratulations.

Cate Carter of Infinite Twist has kits available for the Hayward shawl and many other great knits, too.


I am so in love with this sweet 100% Maine wool from Nash Island that I picked up at a pop-up shop in NYC a couple of weeks ago. It is Starcroft Tide in a creamy white and two shades of blue. I met the yarn-creator and dyer Jani at the shop, too, and it was quite a treat. 


I will be talking a lot more about this yarn and my upcoming color work hat design so I will leave it at that today. I hand wound this lovely, sticky, earthy, gorgeously natural wool and I could feel the history behind it running through my fingers. 

Anyway, more to come on this project soon.

We are off into the weekend at full speed ahead. I will be working much of the weekend. Deadlines are deadly and I have many that need tending.

One last thing, I have heard from a couple of people with concerns about the price changes on a couple of my patterns with the misunderstanding that I am raising the prices on all of my patterns. This is not the case at all. In regards to this I am only referring to 4 specific patterns. Two of these patterns will have the price raised $1 and $2 and the other two patterns are actually having the price lowered by $1 apiece. The patterns are being reworked so a distributor can sell the printed patterns in local yarn shops nationwide and beyond. The distributor needs price consistency for the patterns and that's the only reason the price is changing for these 4 patterns. The fifth pattern is the Little Owl that is actually a brand new pattern for my Ravelry pattern shop.

I hope that helps to clear up any concerns. It is a pretty minor change and mostly for the better. 

By the way, thanks for the votes for the Craftsy Instructor's Blog Award. I haven't heard the official results yet but I appreciate the support regardless of the outcome.

Have a great weekend. Don't work too much like me.
xo ~ susan

12 comments:

Sara said...

I'm working like crazy, too. I'm teaching a beginning Zentangle class tomorrow morning and then hanging a Zentangle art exhibit at Clare Bank in Platteville for the month of February. So many choices to make... I would love to sit down and knit or spin a bit...maybe next week. I miss you!
Sara

Margo said...

I have socks knit in that Trekking yarn too! I must have made them 6 or 7 years ago and they are still going strong. I love Trekking yarn for that. I think of them as my nepolitian socks. :) My Seahawks are in the super bowl so I'll be watching that and knitting if I'm not too stressed out, ha ha.

Renee Anne said...

I wish I had more time to knit. I also wish I was going to VKL in Pasadena. It's only a 6 hour drive from San Francisco and I found classes I'd love to take (including one with you and Amy, of course)......but with two small children, I don't think we could wing it. Or, rather, I don't think Husband could handle the baby for three days on his own, even if he were in Pasadena with me. ::sigh:: Someday.

Diana said...

I have those Trekking socks in the Brach's colorway, and they are awesome. This fall, my husband, son, and I climbed Mt. Washington in NH and I wore these socks in my hiking boots. When we got near the summit, one of my hiking boots got stuck in a rock and came apart. About 200 ft. later, the other boot got stuck and fell apart. I climbed to the summit in 30 degree weather, rain, and 50 mph winds in those Trekking socks and amazingly, they withstood the climb with no holes. They were filthy, but even after a few washes, you couldn't tell they gone through such an adventure. May your socks live an easier life! :)

Diana said...

Actually, I blogged about the Mt. Washington socks if you're interested. :)

http://hailbritannia.com/2014/09/23/this-sock-climbed-mt-washington/

Holly said...

Great name for your new socks, I loved those candies. Have a great weekend, stay warm.

duelnjewel said...

This the last day of the sale and I just discovered the SBASHAWLWKAL I am unable to find the link to purchase these shawl patterns :-(

Esther said...

I bought the same Trekking yarn on the Simply Socks website last year. When I saw it I had to have it because it also reminded me of the yummy Brach's candy my mom would have in the house. I've got one sock done and can't wait to finish the second one.

thea said...

Yessssss.. I clicked to Jani's right away but am too early as of yet!

And what an amazing prize package - that's gorgeous stuff.

Donita said...

I found the Trekking sock yarn colorway 126 at Abundant Yarn Online. They have 5 in stock. Happy knitting everyone.

Unknown said...

I have some of that Brach's candy yarn in my stash from years and years ago but have yet to make it into socks.

Julie said...

I love the socks! -Tanknit