Monday, May 01, 2006

The Contest Begins....with Silk!

Good morning everyone...and especially to my blog contestants! I'm REALLY excited to hear from everyone today on the topic of SOCK YARN! But, first, here are a few pictures of the 100% Chinese Duke Silk yarn that I hand-dyed.....the skeins have LOTS of yardage and have that cool, soft, slightly crunchy feel when you touch it....tell me what you think! I'll be adding these three skeins to my Etsy store (see right for link) by this evening, I hope.

Picture 1: ("Melon Sundae" colorway)...cool cantaloupe and juicy watermelon.



Picture 2: ("Lakeside" colorway)....refreshing water, cool grass and blue skies.



Picture 3: ("Summer Garden" colorway)....sweet blueberries, crunchy carrots and leafy lettuce.



Okay...now, for Sock yarn....my favorites are:

1. Socks That Rock (superwash merino wool...amazing colorways and patterns)
2. Lorna's Laces Shephard Sock (superwash wool...oh, the colors!)
3. Celestial Merino by Lucy Neatby (superwash merino...fantastic colors....feels just like Koigu but better)

(I've bought lots of Opal, but have yet to knit with it. Will be trying Knit Picks Sock Garden soon. Like Mountain Colors Barefoot and also Regia.)

What are YOUR favorite SOCK YARNS??? (with link if you have it)

Have a Sock-o-Riffic Day!

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

I love the Lakeside colorway - very pretty.
Favorite sock yarn - I have only been knitting socks for 1 month (5 adult pairs, 2 kids pairs). Do you think I'm addicted????? Haven't had enough experienc yet to have a favorite but I do like Trekking XXL.
Have a great day:)
Julie

Heide said...

Oh yes, Socks That Rock is definately a favorite. Then again, I've met little yarn that I didn't like. All of your yarn is beautiful, but the summery one just blows me away with its colors. Very nice indeed.

Jeanette said...

I have not signed up for your contest but your silk is gorgeous. What gauge are they?

sheep#100 said...

My favorite sock yarn is Socks That Rock - in most colorways!

YarnB said...

Favorite sock yarns? Well I am very new to knitting socks. I really love Lorna Laces I must admit. I like my new YarnBotanika colors of superwash that are hanging the bathroom drying!! I think they are going to look really pretty skeined up but we'll see!! I have some knitpicks and it is ok, and I have a self-striping Regia yarn that i want to really try. People I know who are big sock knitters also swear by Cherry Hill Glitz. AND last, I would like to try Cascade Fixation for socks because of how light it is!

yarnophiliac said...

Hi, Gina! Here's a question for ya -- what is a nice warm weather sock yarn? Something in cotton perhaps? I am def. getting hooked on this sock thing. (DPNs for now.)

yarnophiliac said...

Hi, Gina! Here's a question for ya -- what is a nice warm weather sock yarn? Something in cotton perhaps? I am def. getting hooked on this sock thing. (DPNs for now.)

GamecockDoc said...

I'm new to socks but am loving them so far. I recently got some Sweet Feet sock yarn that it awesome. I haven't started a pair of socks with it yet, but I'm looking forward to it.

Love you yarn! The Lakeside is gorgeous.

Gina House said...

To Yarnophiliac,

I would recommend Cascade Fixation or Knit Picks Dancing for commercial summer sock yarns...all have some cotton and lycra/elastic in them. Cool and stretchy. But, if you want to try something hand-dyed, I'd go to the Greenwood Fiberworks link on the right of my blog and try out her cotton/lycra sock yarns. I don't have any myself yet, but I will. I've heard that they're fantastic!

Gina : )

yarnophiliac said...

Thanks for the advice Gina! ~Heather

GamecockDoc said...

Since we're on the topic of socks, anybody here use circulars? I use DPNs but would like to try circs and wondered how it goes. And a good resource for learning.

Karen said...

HI! I have lots of favorite sock yarns in my collection, and when I get a chance to knit them into socks, I will really know which deserve "most favored yarn" status. I am a freak for color and I just love watching the stripes and patterns and such develop in the sock yarns that are out there these days. Right now the only socks I have in progress are Lucy Neatby's Fiesta Feet, using LL's SHepherd Sock in bright turquoise for the solid and rainbow (I think) for the variegated. These will be wild socks if I ever get the cuffs grafted and get on with the rest!

Heide said...

Gina, I have a dyeing question for you... do you use the food coloring-type dyes (Kool Aid, Wilton, etc.) or do you use something else? Also, if you do use the food coloring dyes do they hold or fade after washing? Sorry, I know this is two questions, but I'm trying to get ideas for the impending Dye-o-Rama. Thank you, Heide