Winners

Well the Summer Sock contest is over. The winners are

Rebecca A (socks at the beach)
and
Sokk Girl (socks in the garden)

Congrats ladies. Pick up your prize at the store anytime after Saturday August 23.

Thanks for playing.

On a slightly sad note we will be taking a vacation from Socks In The Cities. I'm not sure how long this will be but it seems to be slowing to a very dull roar and we want to revamp it to make it better and more interesting. I know we can do it. But until then keep your eyes on the Yarnery Blog where we will keep you posted on when we will have more knit-alongs.

Thank you to everyone who were a part of this KAL. It was great fun, I met a ton of wonderful people and new friends. See you in the store and at The Yarnery Blog.

Sarah W.

The Promise Blanket Is Done!

In case you haven't been in the store since Wednesday you should know that The Promise Blanket is complete. And displayed.

Thank you so much to all who created squares, donated yarn, and donated time to seam the blanket up. You all really stepped up (as I knew you would) for a great cause. The Woman's Advocate.

Now for some stats: The Promise Blanket measures 55" x 61" (or approx 4.5 x 5 feet, or 1.39 x 1.54 meters). In these picture (which are pre-blocked) it is on a double bed so you can get an idea of what the size looks like in real life. The Promise Blanket is completely machine washable, however I do recommend you dry it flat.

I must say it turned out better than even I had hoped. It is beautiful and would make a lovely addition to anyone's home. You can see who made what square by visiting our flickr page. Which leads me to the next bit of info... how you can own it.

As you may have read in an email The Yarnery is going to be throwing a birthday celebration on August 16, 2008. At the celebration there will be items for auction such as old Rowan and Alice Starmore books. I'd like to point out that the proceeds for those items will be going to Knitters Without Borders.

But also at the auction will be our Promise Blanket. It will be a silent auction and if you want to be the one who takes it home you just need to be the top dollar amount at the end of the party. And I assure you, it is worth it!! And has been stated before, all of the proceeds for The Promise Blanket auction will be going to Women's Advocate. The WA provides shelter and resources to women and their families who are victims of domestic violence. And should the auction get too rich for your blood you will have the opportunity to give a donation at anytime during the auction. With a donation of $10 or more you will receive a gift from The Yarnery.

So I hope to see all of you at the Birthday Celebration (there will be cake) and I hope to see all of your generousness (is that a word?) shining brightly.

Thanks again. You all did such a wonderful job.

Sarah W.

Knitted Sock Display

For all you sock fans, below is a message from the MN Knitter's Guild regarding their current display.

Got Socks?
Minnesota Knitters' Guild to display examples of knitted socks in the Textile Center's Community Gallery July 20–Aug 28
Work of the Minnesota Knitters' Guild will be featured in the Community Gallery of the Textile Center of Minnesota. This year, guild members chose to display examples of their knitted socks. The exhibit will be in the main hallway of the Textile Center from July 20 through Aug. 28. The exhibit is free and open to the public.

Promise Blanket Update

The Promise Blanket is getting done. Thank you so much to all of you who have sent in a square (or two, or three). We will have a lovely throw-sized blanket to make us some good money for the Women's Advocate.

Here's a little preview of some squares:

1. Square 23, 2. Square 28, 3. Square 33, 4. Square 36, 5. Square 14, 6. Square 15, 7. Square 10, 8. Square 9, 9. Square 4

We do have a flickr account now that has some of the squares uploaded so you should click over and see all the pretties. I must admit that being as I have been dragging this blanket home then back to the Yarnery, then home, then (you get it) I've misplaced a few names and yarn info. If you see your square and it has no info let me know asap and I'll get that fixed right up.

I also wanted to let you all know that for the most part the sizes were just right. However, we do have a few squares that are too small to fit nicely into the blanket. Never fear, your work is not for nothing. As soon as the main blanket is done I'm settling in to seem together a smaller (aka baby) blanket. Everyone's hard work will be paying off, I promise.

And a shout out to the New York Knit Wits who sent in seven squares all the way from (you guessed it) New York. Ladies, thank you so much!!

Red Socks

After reading Lene's Blog this morning, I need stash enhancement. She just makes red socks sound so special. My less-special brown socks are seeming dull. This might be sock envy. I am loving the yarn and the fact that they are "chocolate". Really. That is the colorway. It's the color's name. Chocolate.

Somewhere in my remembering, I think I am supposed to take a photo of my sock on one of my travels this summer. With all of my plans to tend the garden, that seems the furthest and best place that I have been.

The Promise Blanket

Today marks the official one week countdown to the Promise Blanket Square deadline. So many people have taken the info from the store and now is the time to get those squares in.

Remember that the squares need to be in by July 15, 2008. Hand deliver them or send them. We just want to make sure that they are in this beautiful blanket.

Also, stay tuned for information about how you can have your shot at owning this great blanket... as well as helping a great organization.

Mulberry Hedgerow Socks Started

It's kind of hard to see them in this photo, but here is the start of my next pair of socks. I'm doing two socks on two circulars, this time starting with cuff down. I used a tubular cast on. This is ShibuiKnits Sock yarn, Mulberry colorway. I'm doing the Hedgerow Sock pattern from Knitter's Review.

June update

There wasn't much knitting this last week. Summer of socks started and my knitting mojo went on vacation.

I have worked a little on my promise blanket square.



And my knitting mojo may have just come back:



Both yarns are from Twisted Fiber Art, the square in Ariel in the Netherfield colorway and the sock in Playful in the Tonks colorway, which was part of the sock yarn club.

I have finished my first socks.  I took them off to get a picture of them off of my feet, but my cat Sophie decided she liked them.  I can't say they were a resounding success.  The toe on my second sock turned out a bit tighter and I took the picture in a way to hide my not so great kitchener stitch.  I think I need to learn to knit toe up socks.  But, I will wear them and start my next pair.

Socks on the Beach

My Kureyon socks just got back from a trip to the Jersey shore. Here they are cavorting with a couple of rockin' Jersey Boys! We had a lot of fun at the beach and later we hit the Pt. Pleasant boardwalk and rode the Dizzy Dragon and the Choo Choo Train. I actually finished these socks on June 7, but waited to photograph them on my vacation in New Jersey. I started a new pair on the plane and will post a progress photo soon. I'm also hoping to work on a square for the charity afghan.

First Socks

This is my first pair of socks.  I took a class earlier this year and am finally getting around to finish them.  I joined this KAL to help give me incentive to finally get them done.  I have to move on to the next pair and start using some of the sock stash I have been accumulating.  You have permission to give me a hard time if they are not done by the end of June as by the time I figured out how to get this picture in this blog, I am even farther along than the picture shows.

The yarn is Reggia, Design Line by Kaffe Fassett.  I used the Knit to Fit pattern by Nancy Lindberg.

I Knit My Square

I knit up a square following the pattern Sarah linked to - it's a fun pattern, though I didn't do as well with the cast on as I'd have liked:



It's knit with leftover Tess' Designer Yarns, which I used to knit a pair of Jaywalkers.

Seagull Lake Socks

Now I know I'm not eligible for prizes but my socks have already been traveling.
These are Cascade Sassy Stripes knit on 1 1/2 needles. The pattern is reminding me of a coral snake. Don't know why.

They are sitting next to Seagull Lake all the way up the Gunflint Trail in Minnesota. They had a great time there, they said so.

Happy knitting and summering.

The Promise Blanket

Dear fellow fiber artists:

The Yarnery is very excited to let you know about The Promise Blanket project. We are asking anyone and everyone to knit a square made of fingering weight superwash sock yarn and send it to us. Then we will sew the squares together into at least one blanket (more if you’re generous) to auction off for charity.
The charity we have chosen is the Women’s Advocates, Inc., which provides shelter and resources for women and their children who are victims of domestic violence. Something that shouldn’t exist, but sadly does. Domestic violence affects too many families and if the proceeds from our project can help even one woman start anew we’ve made a step in the right direction.

Inspired by Socks In The Cities and Knitalong: Celebrating the Tradition of Knitting Together by Larissa Brown and John Martin Brown, we are hoping to create a beautiful blanket knit by people near and far. We will display the blanket(s) in our store and online and hold the auction on Saturday, August 16, 2008. The auction will be open to knitters and non-knitters, with all of the money going to the Women’s Advocates, Inc.

If you would like additional information about the Yarnery, the blanket, or the Women’s Advocate visit yarnery.com for links. If you have any questions please email me at sitckal@gmail.com.

We would appreciate your help in any of the following ways:

• A 7 ½ square made of sock yarn (the Knitalong book has a pattern - you can find it in our store or at the library).
• Donate any of your left over fingering weight sock yarn to The Yarnery, 840 Grande Ave., St. Paul, MN 55105
• Mention our project with a link on your website, blog, store, class, etc.
• If you are in the Twin Cities, MN area please join us at The Yarnery on July 20, 2008 from 6:30 - 8:00pm for an “old-fashioned” sewing bee to seam the blanket together.

Thank you for your support and good will.
Sarah W.

When you bring in your square please attach a note with who you are, where you are from and what yarn you used. Thank you.

Under the Wire

I've been busy with other projects this month, but I did manage to finish a pair of socks (thanks to a bit of movie knitting).



Curious Creek Fibers Serengeti Autumn in New England knit with an Eye of the Partridge heel and toe on US 3 DPNs.

I couldn't resist and started another sock to keep me occupied during the fourth Indiana Jones movie.



Fiesta Yarns Boomerang in Rhubarb.

I've joined the Summer of Socks in an attempt to finish up some of the sock projects I've already started.

Completed Socks for May

A "springy" pair of anklets for golf and other warm weather activities. I found the pattern online and really enjoyed it despite a few out of sync rows on the first sock. It was the first sock I've made with any sort of pattern and it was a great introduction. The pattern is Nasturtium Anklets by Kristen Kapur which I found on her website http://www.throughtheloops.typepad.com/. I used and OnLite yarn from the Beach Color collection - #942. I really enjoyed using this yarn. It is super soft, behaves well and is just a joy to work with.

Summer Sock Contest

I have been planning a few ideas for our great KAL. Today I am going to concentrate on getting a contest started.

Spring has sprung and summer is right around the corner. Ball games, graduation parties, vacation and camping are just some of the things in our future. Another great part of summer? Knitting socks. The perfect summer project, sock knitting can be taken just about anywhere. It isn’t so large that it makes you sweat and as we all know socks are just cool!!

So here’s the deal. I want to see your socks en route. Take a picture of your socks in progress on the carousel at Como Zoo, running the rapids in Colorado (don’t endanger yourself for the photo though), at a café in Paris or even sitting by the fire at a nearby state park. Maybe your sock went to cousin Jason’s grad party and ate too much potato salad. Perhaps it is planning to have fun at the family 4th of July picnic. Take a picture. We want to see it!

Truth be told we have all brought along our knitting with no real intention of working on it - only to break it out for just a few rows. This may be the very best part of sock knitting.

This contest will run over the summer. I will keep track of everyone’s posts and the great pictures. I would also like your permission (via an email or a notation on your post) to use any photos on this and our other Yarnery Blog so that all might see the great places we have been and the wonderful socks we have knit.

There will be prize categories. And they will be (drum roll please):

Furthest Traveled Sock

You Brought Your Sock Where?
(most unique spot to find a sock)

Knitter’s Are Everywhere
(get a picture of you and your sock with a fellow knitter you met on your travels)

Best in Show Sock

There will be one prize awarded for each category. The prizes are still in the making but I’m thinking you’ll love them.

The contest will run from today until August 15. Final entries must be posted by midnight, August 15, 2008. You may post as many entries as you would like. Posts without photos will not qualify for prizes but we would like to hear from you anyway.

And just to give you extra incentive: check your email for all of this info and a 10% off coupon.

Last socks of spring

I finally finished up my Cable Lattice Socks:



These took way longer than they should have - mainly because I knit them about 1/2 to 1" too long on the foot and because I didn't have a ton of knitting time. No problems at all with the pattern or yarn, which is always what you want. I was holding my breath as I finished the toe of the last sock, though, because I only had a couple of yards left at the end. Here's how they look on the foot:



Here are the specifics:

Project Name: Cable Lattice Socks
Designer: Coats Patons
Pattern Source: Knitnet
Yarn: Socks That Rock - Little Bunny Foo Foo Colorway
Date Started: 2/16/08
Date Completed: 5/18/08

And now I'm taking a short break from socks. I'm participating in the Summer of Socks KAL and so I'm going to wait to cast on my next pair until summer officially begins. I'm not trying to compete in the most socks contest since I probably won't knit more than one or two pair over the summer, but it'll be good to start fresh anyway.

Socks in the Garden

Please forgive the blinding white legs!
I'm slowly, but surely working on my Kureyon socks. I love the colors. My next pair of socks will definitely be two socks on two circs. This is the second pair in a row that I've knit one at a time and both have had slightly tighter gauge on the second sock. Luckily, my left foot is slightly smaller than the right. At least if I knit two at a time, I'll have the same gauge.
On another note, I've decided to resurrect my blog. I'm posting pictures of my garden and sometimes I throw in a little knitting. If you'd like to check it out, it's at www.onspock.blogspot.com

Completed Socks in April

I forgot! It's May already... but I did finish 2 pairs of socks in April. The first one is from the Rockin' Sock Club's Leafling Socks:



This is the March Mystery Socks from the Ravelry's Sock Knitters Anoynomous KAL: (using Socks That Rock Lightweight in Socktopus colorway)