Penny Candy Socks modelled by Niece Who Is Fourteen.
I had been knitting these for a couple of weeks and rewriting now for two long days ~~~ finished !!!
The socks have been redesigned due to the fact that I wanted them to match the very recent
… how sweet, a tee & sock Spring Duo !
Its all over on the Penny Candy Sock Pattern Page . . .
and way more details than you need to know, over on Ravelry HERE
Penny Candy Socks modelled by Niece Who Is Eleven.
I’m up to something again. Here, winding off skeins of Shibui & Madelinetosh sock yarns. I’m drowning myself in skinny yarn. I did mention something about knitting socks with it however, a few posts back . . .
Which I am doing.
My nieces are coming in a few days, and I am going to rewrite my original Penny Candy Socks pattern completely different ~~ very soon~~ so , I’m madly knitting the above pair (in Malabrigo Sock) for another fun photo session with them !
Then there’s this madness , heaps of skinny Knit Picks Stroll sock yarn (which by the way, like Shibui and Malabrigo, is from Peru) and very fine Lana Grossa (from Italy) . . . over-dyed and drying still . . .
I nearly spent a mint on some fancy hand-dyed superwash Malabrigo Arroyo (I sooo wanted to) , which is a sport weight, for I am erupting with ideas already for Autumnal Equinox sweaters, but decided instead to over-dye a mess o’ sock yarn I had on hand which was bound for nowhere. Was 4 balls of light blue Stroll — now cayenne red, 4 balls of light grey Stroll –now mustard yellow, 1 ball of hot pink Lana Grossa, — now deep garnet. All now a very lovely array of Autumn tones, achieved with Dharma Trading acid dyes in colors “cayenne” , “mustard” , & “maroon” .
I had spent hours going color crazy at the kitchen last night ~ while cooking dinner (a habit I always seem to get into ). Today all is calm, and quiet, winding off like a busy bee hive, immersed in this lovely yarn-scape.
I’ve been pattern-writing furiously, and it’s been raining furiously, everything around here has been a bit excessive, and so, just before noon I needed a break. I got in my car and drove down the mountain into town, to the , um…Local Yarn Shop. I brought home two new sock yarn brands to add to my existing sock yarn stash, so that now I have a bit of a selection for some serious sock yarn tasting !
Lets start with perhaps the top names in sock yarn, Madelinetosh’s ‘Tosh Sock’.
Label says: 100% superwash merino wool fingering weight -395 yards, color Ginger. Hand-dyed in USA , from South Africa.
Next, Shibui Sock.
Label says: 100% superwash merino 191 yards, color Wasabi. Made in Peru.
Next, Sweet Georgia ‘Tough Love Sock’.
Label says: 80% superwash merino / 20% nylon, 425 yards, color Cayenne. Hand-dyed in Canada, doesn’t say if it comes from elsewhere originally.
Last in this line-up, is perhaps my favorite, Malabrigo Sock.
Label says: 100% superwash merino, 440 yards, color Impressionist Sky. Made in Peru.
I am very attracted to Malabrigo for some reason, the skein is stout and heavy and has so much yarn, and it is also the finest/thinnest of all I’ve seen yet, which to me is a real lovely thing… cuz I am smitten with ultra-fine knitting. I designed my Pretty Little Things gloves with it and I’m sure I’ll not stop there.
I am loving the feel and visual texture of all four of these leading brands (well, from the LYS at least) and though there are more brands, I figured, I’d start with these. I will let the knitting and the knitted fabric & feel of the finished sock be the judge, as I am challenging myself to a bit of a sock-fest, reasoning thus far undisclosed, but expect some posts about it coming up in the next few weeks.
Have you tried any of these brands ? What do you think?
Jenjoyce Design 