Monday, December 29, 2008

Socks and Scarves







Did you know that The Special Olympics has a drive to give each athlete a blue and white hand knit or crocheted scarf for The World Winter Games this year? You can use any pattern you like, and the scarf can be knit or crocheted, but you MUST use Red Heart Super Saver Yarn (no, they don't want wool or any other yarn or fiber or brand. ONLY Red Heart) in the following colors: Delft Blue and Soft White. The deadline for scarves to reach them is Jan 15, so there's still time to knit a few. I bought some of the yarn, and will start a scarf tonight. Here's some info, with more links:


I finished the Aunt Helen Variation Variation Socks, and they came out exactly as I predicted: joyfully unmatched. This yarn, Melody from Yarn Treehouse, is sort of like Noro, in that the colors repeat, but they repeat at their own leisure and in whatever order they want. This colorway is M06, with pink, yellow, green, blue and purple in a lovely jumble. The yarn is worsted weight, comes in 50gr balls and 11o yds, 100% wool, non-superwash. I used a bit of a 3rd ball for these Ladies Size 8 socks. Yarn Treehouse yarns are very reasonably priced and they have a ton of colors and weights. Link in Stash Enhancers.
And since I'm on a worsted-weight sock kick, I started another pair. This yarn, Freedom Spirit, from Twilley's of Stamford, is gorgeous- colors, again like Noro, repeating at will. The yarn isn't, at first glance, sock yarn. It's a softly spun single. But I've learned that these yarns, if knit tightly enough, wear just fine, and make super warm and comfy socks. The yarn comes in 50gr balls and 120m, the colorway is#511, rusts, oranges, browns. I'm already past the heel on the first sock, again with the Aunt Helen Variation Variation. The texture doesn't show as well as on the Yarn Treehouse socks, but it adds a nice heft to the fabric. I am pretty sure I can get a pair of size 8 socks from the 2 balls I have on hand. If it looks like I'll run short, then I'll make these size 6 instead.

You don't wanna hear that these (along with the finished Valkyrie Socks) are going in the tub for next Christmas, do you?

6 comments:

Stacy Kraus McDonald said...

I'm also a big fan of slightly mismatched socks.... love 'em!!!

Karen said...

Freedom Spirit is the yarn I used for my first top-down cardigan. Lovely yarn, and it mixes well (I found) with KnitPicks Andean Treasure....I think it would make fabulous socks, if knit tightly enough. (As a sweater, it's a bit prone to pilling, but then what softly spun yarn isn't?)

Anonymous said...

Mismatched but Beautiful!!! They will be agreat gift!!

Fríða said...

beautiful socks! and boy, am I delighted to hear that I´m not the only lunatic who´s started thinking about gifts for next christmas!
best wishes from Iceland
Frida

Anonymous said...

I love the socks! Thanks for the information about Yarn Treehouse. Gorgeous yarns, and the prices are very nice. I have a feeling I'll need to make a little room in the stash bin :-)

Anonymous said...

Nice rainbow shade. I like rainbow shaded thing.