Tag: sock yarn

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Always a sock on the needles

That’s my motto. I always have a pair of socks on the needles at my house. Oh did I tell you that I knit them 2 at a time on one circular needle? Well I do. I learned to do this many years ago. I prefer this for so many reasons. First, I hate DPN’s. I have a hard time managing stitches on them and typically lose stitches off the back side of the needles. Secondly, I never have to worry about the second sock syndrome. I will always have a matching or someone matching pair of socks. They will be the same length and the same width. The gauge will be the same for both socks.

This is the pair on my needles right now. Truth be told, I haven’t knit on these for a month or so, since I’m focusing all my knitting time to my Shifty sweater. These socks are made with our Chinook Sock Base which is a blend of superwash merino, cashmere and nylon. And they are so soft and great. Because there’s nylon in there, they should were well too.

Want to learn how to knit socks 2 at a time? I have a class for that. Click here to find out about it. I have EARLY BIRD pricing on that until Sunday at midnight. The class is totally self study. There are 4 parts from cast on to bind off. And you have access for 60 days which should be plenty of time to knit your socks. You just need a skein of yarn (or a sock blank), a stitch marker and a circular needle of 32-40″ in length. I prefer to use size 1 US needles for fingering weight yarn. But pick the needles that work with the yarn you are using.

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shop update: sock blanks

I dyed up a whole lot more sock blanks. Remember that I’m giving you free access to my knit 2 socks at a time class with purchase of a sock blank.

What’s a sock blank? It’s not a sock….not yet. It is hand dyed knitted fabric that you UNKNIT and then REKNIT into some other garment. You can knit socks with it, of course. Or you can knit it into a shawl or cowl, anything you want really.

The ones I’m adding today are dyed into gradients of color. They are so pretty. They are ONE OF A KIND!! Go here to grab yours!

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How to knit 2 socks at the same time

Do you have second sock syndrome? Do you get excited about starting a pair of socks but only get 1 knit? Learning this great technique is for you…by the time you finish knitting one sock all that is left of the last sock is the bind off….

Socks from these blanks will have some discontinuous stripes.

Are you sick of losing teeny tiny sock stitches off the end of your double points? I was until I learned how to knit 2 At A Time socks knit on 1 long circular needle. Do I still drop stitches occasionally? I’m not gonna lie…I sometimes still drop a stitch.

Socks from these will be a gradient from light to dark or dark to light

My new e-course teaches you how to knit socks 2 At A Time. I’m offering this free with purchase of a sock blank. I have some great blanks left. What I love about sock blanks is that there is somewhat of a mystery to what the final socks will look like. Gradients? Spreckles? Striping? What will happen? That’s the fun of it. The class is available on July 25th. You will complete it on your schedule. All lessons are recorded.

Socks from these blanks will be spreckled
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FO/WIP Friday Sock Edition

9 pairs minus one that I gave away

I really love knitting socks, but I don’t spend a lot of time knitting. I always think I will spend the time. I’m at the lightning speed of 1 pair a year. I know, I know….most people do 1 pair per month. Still I love my hand knit socks!

I have 2 pairs going now. One, the bright pink and orange from a sock blank and the other from our chinook yarn…a luscious blend of SW Merino, Cashmere and Nylon in my Nautical colorway.

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sometimes I get wild ideas

So, dear reader, you already know that all the yarn shops are closed. The restaurants are closed. The fiber festivals are closed and going virtual. There aren’t any sports. And our homes are now our offices and schools.

I always do a special colorway for large festivals. And Maryland Sheep and Wool is in 2 weeks. I had to get up off the couch and put together a special colorway.

My wild idea was to make a corona virus colorway. But then I thought, Lisa that’s really weird. Maybe people will be upset or put off about it.

Corona colorway on Chinook

Then I thought some more. I relied on my Biology Major background and thought about viruses. And it lead me to think about how miraculous our bodies are. How our bodies make antibody particles that basically neutralize the virus or bacteria that has invaded the body.

So my corona colorway uses the colors in the electron microscope image that we see online and on the news every day. And my antibody colorway uses complementary colors that “neutralize” the virus colors.

Antibody Colorway on Chinook base

I’m taking pre-orders for these. I am offering them in the Chinook base, Corrie Sock base and Sparkly base. Click here to grab a few for yourself and gifts for your knitting friends. I will be dyeing these to order. I will keep you in the know about when you can expect them. I expect to be able to dye and dry within 3 days of your order, then out in priority mail so from the date of your order you should have this yarn in your hands in one week.

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new classes scheduled

It’s a new year and it’s the time when I think about what I want to learn. It is the time of year, when the fiber festivals are all done and I have more time to devote to teaching you a new skill, such as dyeing, knitting, spinning or weaving.

Hand Dyed Sock Yarn

First up is my Dye your Socks workshop, I have scheduled 2 dates for this: Jan 20 (MLK holiday and Feb 8th. I limit the number of participants so that you have lots of individual attention. All you need to do is come with an idea of what color(s) socks you would like. You will leave with a variegated skein and a semi solid companion skein. Click here to register.

sock class
Painting your sock skeins

Dawn Viands will be offering a needle felted chick class to get you in the mood for spring. This class will be on Feb 9th. Mark your calendar and join our mailing list to be the first to be able to register for this class when it is available.

Dawn Viands will also be teaching pysanka–Ukrainian Egg painting class on March 8th. These are beautiful and can be put in your Easter basket or an egg tree for the spring holidays. Mark your calendar and join our mailing list to be the first to be able to register for this class when it is available.

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Autumnal Yarn Collection

hand dyed yarn in autumn fall colors

I’m working on my Autumn yarn collection that will make their debut at the three fiber festivals in September and October. I have a booth at Shenandoah Valley Fiber Festival, Fall Fiber Festival at James Madison’s Montpelier and Rhinebeck Fiber Festival. I’m still deciding which yarn will be the featured yarn at which festival. As you can see these are fingering weight yarns. They make excellent socks but I also love this yarn for making shawls. Click here if you would like to join my mailing list so that I can let you know about new colorways, patterns and which of these yarns will be available a specific show.