May
get this monkey off my back! or, maybe not…
Posted by Shannon in yarn, socks, knittingi have a confession to make, folks. i have a monkey on my back - a BIG one. i blame a good friend and fiber-enabler-extraordinaire for this addiction. she got me started on this road. whether or not she knew how low my resistance is to this kind of thing is beyond the point, because she got me hooked.
what the heck am i talking about? a little pattern that has been making the rounds - the blog-land rounds, the ravelry rounds, and has definitely been making rounds on my size one addi lace needles these last 5 or 6 months. the MONKEY SOCK PATTERN by the insanely talented COOKIE A!! the girl wasn’t lying when she said, in the intro to the sock pattern on knitty, that “the true driving force behind these socks was ADDICTION. There was no other way to get them off my back than to knit them.” many of us have fallen into the monkey-sock-addiction-trap. i am 8 pairs in, and not sure it is over for me. i start to get a bit…shaky and nervous, fondling fingering-weight yarn and picturing it knitted up into monkeys if i haven’t had one on the needles in a while. geez, people! the monkey sock has become my vanilla sock pattern - if i am not sure what to do with a pair of socks, chances are they will end up as monkeys!
and the saddest part of this whole thing? i’m not even sure i want help for this addiction. in fact, i may just want to dive further in…
a smattering of monkeys socks:
from left to right: STR Lightweight in Algae, Cherry Tree Hill Supersock in African Greys, Dream in Color Smooshy in Deep Seaflower
Apr
Think Outside the Sox
Posted by Emily in socks, contests, knittingHave you heard about this yet? Knitter’s Magazine, XRX Books, Skacel, Cherry Tree Hill yarn, Addi Turbo needles, and many other sock-yarn-related companies are coming together for a great new contest – Think Outside the Sox! If you’ve always wanted to be a sock designer, then now’s your chance.
The contest started in February at STITCHES West 2008 and will run until January 1st, 2009 (just before STITCHES West 2009). There are a bunch of different categories for different yarns, techniques, and styles. The sponsors have contributed over $20,000 in prize money, with the grand prize worth $6,000! Imagine how much totally guilt-free sock yarn that could buy! The winning sock designers are going to win prize money AND get the chance to be featured in Knitter’s Magazine as well as in an upcoming book from XRX Books. Big time, baby!
So, long story short, come on down to Twisted and pick up an official contest entry form, or check it out at the Think Outside the Sox website. As an official Sox Hot Spot, we’re here to offer you help designing, knitting and entering your sock in the contest. Portland is waaay crafty enough to have at least one, probably more, winners hail from our fair city, so start swatching, folks.
Apr
Tonight!
Posted by Emily in socks, events, knittingA quick notice that the Blue Moon Socks that Rock club is having a meetup at the store tonight! Come on by from around 6-8pm to work on your new green yarn and Leafling pattern!
Mar
Knit for a Cure
Posted by Emily in yarn, socks, knitting, charityWe have received the “Booby Sock Kits” from Trekking/Skacel! The kit includes a limited-edition Breast-Cancer-Awareness-Pink Trekking yarn, a pattern incorporating a nipple-shaped toe, the Breast Cancer Ribbon, and beads, AND Skacel is donating all net proceeds to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Research Center. Come on by and snag one of these kits ($20.00) before they are gone, and Knit for the Cure!
Feb
sock yarn, not just for socks
Posted by Shannon in yarn, socks, knittinglet me take a moment to extoll the virtues of the wonderful, the beautiful, the ever-adaptable sock yarn. take socks that rock, for example. for socks, it’s the ultimate in knitting enjoyment. i have many many pairs of str socks, and i love every single pair. as do my mother, my sister, my husband…i heart knitting socks out of str.
but this fab yarn is good for other knitterly endeavors, as well. we have had quite a few customers purchase sweater quantities, specifically of the heavyweight, which is akin to a dk, or the mediumweight, a heavy-esque sport. i for one have used str many times for shawls (particularly evelyn clark’s wonderful neck-down designs and the kiri shawl from polly at all tangled up). and now i am discovering the wonders of knitting a clapotis with socks that rock heavyweight. it’s going to take about 2 1/2 skeins of the heavyweight, and it will be a wrap to be reckoned with. and, i’m oh, so close to being done…
this not just for socks thing holds true for all of our sock yarns - look at the michelle molis japanese vines scarf that has been so popular - one skein of cherry tree hill supersock makes an amazing scarf. then there’s emily’s chevron scarf - two colors of the wonderful, bright, and bouncy zen string. we have seen gorgeous baby garments, fingerless mitts, fingerfull mitts, hats…you name it, sock yarn will help you do it! and, just as an fyi, we’ve got an entire WALL of sock yarn just waiting for whatever project you feel like creating, even socks.
Jan
i heart eisaku noro
Posted by Shannon in yarn, socks, knitting
noro is one of those brands that inspires strong feelings in knitters. we either love it, or we hate it. i am in the love-camp, but hadn’t worked with it that much until recently, unlike a certain stellar knitter-slash-good buddy, who professes her love for noro at every opportunity. i had made a few scarves out of it, i had fondled much noro, but until eisaku noro decided to go for broke and join the sock-yarn revolution, i hadn’t used his yarns very extensively. sure, we have a bunch of kureyon here, quite a few colors of silk garden, and a goodly amount of silk garden lite. but this sock yarn is, ahem, and the pun is definitely intended, knocking my socks off!
i have made 3 socks, 2 for me, one for the plastic feet, out of color 180. what a dream! and, i have embarked on another two pairs for myself - colors 188 and 164. i am doing one of each on two circulars, both for the fun of watching the two socks battle on the needles, and to ensure that i get two more pairs of these fabulous socks for myself.
a lot of folks have asked about washing. i have NOT run these through a cycle in the washing machine, as the ball band clearly states to hand wash in cool water, but did have an ah-hah! moment the other day while reading the yarn harlot. she talked about how she ‘hand-washes’ her hand-knitted wares. duh! use the washing machine as a wash-tub, and then run the spin cycle, and then lay flat to dry! (much faster than hand-washing in the sink, lemmetellyou) i have washed my first pair a few times and they have softened up like crazy and are even more beautiful and wonderful and fabulous than they were prior to washing and i am in looove with them. i am in love with the kureyon sock yarn. i am in love with eisaku noro. i don’t care what people say about the vegetable matter inherent in noro. i don’t care what the naysayers say about the sock yarn’s single-ply-seeming-two-ply, or the sticking-on-itself factor, because this yarn is eisaku noro at his finest, and i want to have as many pairs of these as possible. i don’t even care that i have to knit these on size zero needles. i heart them. so there.
Jan
Socks That Rock is in the house
Posted by Emily in yarn, socksYes, if you haven’t already figured it out, Twisted will be carrying the much-coveted Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks That Rock line! We are thrilled to be working with this rockstar-esque local company. We have (for as long as it lasts) Socks That Rock in all three weights (light, medium, and heavy) and the new Socks that Rock Silkie sock yarn. The lovely photos (from BMFA’s website) on the previous post are but three of the nineteen colorways that will grace our shelves, with more on the way in few months. So come on in, fondle this incredible yarn, and make some gorgeous socks for that special someone in your life - YOU!
As many of you have commented in the last few months, we are master enablers and giddily happy in that role. So come Tuesday morning at 11am, all the Socks That Rock we currently have will be on the shelf and fair game. However, to prevent any confusion (or riots) we have just three little rules…
1) We open at 11am.
2) No phone or internet orders for STR.
3) No holds on STR.
See you soon!
Jan
New Pathways sock class update!
Posted by Emily in socks, classesWe wanted to let everyone know that we’ve changed the details of the class covering Cat Bordhi’s Bartholomew’s Tantalizing Socks. This class focuses on the popular cuff-down pattern from Cat’s New Pathways for Sock Knitters book.
The socks are incredible and gorgeous but, just as importantly, this class will be a great intro to Cat’s book. According to even some accomplished sock knitters New Pathways can be daunting to work through at first. This class will help you decipher Cat’s revolutionary “sockitecture” and get over your jitters tackling her mind-blowing patterns. Definitely for those already familiar with the fundamentals of sock knitting!
Saturdays, January 26, 11:00 – 1:30 pm. February 2, 16, 23. 11:00 – 1:00 pm. (Note: no class Feb 9)
with Leslie Cumming
$80
Materials: New Pathways for Sock Knitters by Cat Bordhi, 380 yards sport weight yarn, circular or double-pointed needles necessary to obtain gauge, stitch markers.
Jan
noro + sock yarn = love
Posted by Shannon in yarn, socks, knitting
these are the final pair of socks i knit in 2007 - my noro kureyon sock yarn socks. oh, how i love these socks. the yarn is pretty fab to work with - at first, it seems very rough and maybe like it’s not going to be that much fun to knit with, but it does truly soften as you work it. and the colors are so insanely wonderful! the socks feel great on, and i hand-washed them last night in warm water and soak - the flora scent, which is tre yummy, by the way, and the socks look great! the noro sock yarn has not been taken on a full knit-socks-trial-test, but preliminary investigations say this is good stuff. we’ve got 7 of the 12 colors right now, with the rest due to arrive in the next few months.
ETA: tonight is also our first official open crafting night of 2008! come on by, reconnect with your knitting homeys, and chill out in our knit-shop living room!
Dec
noro sock yarn has landed
Posted by Shannon in yarn, sockswe are pleased as punch to let all ya’ll know that we have received 7 of the 12 colorways of noro kureyon sock yarn. oooh, la, la.
it’s gorgeous stuff, folks. the colorways are the same as existing noro colorways, so you can make some socks or a shawl to match that noro sweater or hat you’ve been dreaming of. and, at almost 470 yards of roughly fingering-weight, you can make a heckofa pair of socks. the fiber content is 70% wool, 30% nylon, and it’s a single-ply, just like it’s kureyon mother, with the same rainbow-y color changes. so come on in and pet the noro. gift some this holiday season. or, just treat yourself to a brand-new sock yarn.