A Rare Occurrence

Rarely do I drop everything to start knitting something the moment it arrives. However, a couple weeks ago I received my latest Pick Up Sticks Sock Club kit and I actually did just that. I pulled out the swift and winder, wound up the balls, pulled the needles out of another sock, and started knitting. Unfortunately after a couple inches I realized I was knitting part of the pattern incorrectly, but I decided to continue on. Then about an inch later I made a larger mistake. So...I cast on for my Posh Yarns socks and put this new club kit away.

Well, as you know, the Posh Socks are done and now the Duet socks are nearly complete (pictures Friday!), so I will be casting on (again) for the club socks and this time around I know I will be successful. The yarn is Apple Laine Apple Pie in English Garden. It's a wool, silk, mohair blend and it's just lovely to knit. The pattern is another winner from Meghan Jackson. She designs all the patterns for the sock club and honestly they are the some of the best sock patterns I've used. They are all really unique and they go so well with club selection of yarn.

And as usual I have many more yarns waiting in the wings. I recently bought some of the new Crystal Palace Panda Cotton (left: blueberry-grape. right: painted iris). It comes in the cutest little skeins and it feels really soft. I'm going to hold off on knitting this until I actually have a need for warm weather socks, but I expect great things!


In my pursuit for more alternatives to all wool sock yarn I decided to give Regia Bamboo a shot and picked up a couple balls for a good price on ebay (the color is descriptively called Red Dot). The yarn is a bamboo and wool blend. It has a terrific shine to it and I look forward to seeing how it knits up. I'm a little dubious about how well it will wear since it feels so silky, but Regia makes some great yarn, so I'm hoping for the best.

Finally, I came across this gorgeous Lisa Souza color on a couple blogs. I've been wanting to try her yarn and when I saw that she created this color to help someone out with her medical costs associated with potential breast cancer I just couldn't resist. The colorway is named Violet's Pink Ribbon and it is simply one of the most creative and lovely sock colors I've ever seen. Some of you may already know this, but I am a huge fan of splotchy dye spots (that's what I always look for in Koigu). This yarn has both splotches and a solid section. So pretty! I recently purchased the Survivor sock pattern from Wild Horse Farms Designs and I think it will be the perfect pattern to go with this yarn.

***Knitting Group is tonight (Wednesday) at the Borders' Cafe in Wilmette (corner of Lake & Skokie). We meet from 6:30 until 8:00 and any yarn enthusiast is welcome!***