Well, as you can see I love to knit socks these days. I have several pair going at the same time. That's how I like to work. I know I'm not alone in this approach. I did realize that I could easily suffer from the one sock syndrome so I like to work on both at the same time. Not on the same circular though. I'll cast on to two sets of double points or two sets of circulars. This really helps me get a pair finished.
Currently I am in love with "Sensational Socks"and just I just got the new book "More Sensational Socks". Several of the pairs below are from her first book.
I'm using my handspun for these. It's a superwash merino that is really soft and fun to spin 2plys and it is really bouncy. This is currently one of my favorite yarns to knit with and I'll be offering some for sale at my store soon. See Saffron Dyeworks Galleryfor some of the yarns I currently have availbable.
The next pair I'm using a fine 2 ply supersock superwash merino that has extra twist for a nice crisp yarn that shows pattern well. I'm using size 0 needles with this yarn. It's another one of my hand dyed yarns but I'm currently out of stock. I'll be getting more soon.
I'm also experimenting with some shadow knitting, this is my first time using this technique for multi color and I really like it. The solid brown is a 4ply merino and the multicolor is the supersock yarn. The brown is a bit softer and thicker so it gives the pattern almost a quilted or matelasse effect that I really like. The knitting is sort of slow going with this technique at first but no slower than fair isle and you only have to carry one yarn at a time. I'm really enjoying shadow knitting. I had the brown yarn in my stash and it married well with my hand dyed supersock. You could really have some fun dying the 2 colors to work together. I think the brown is Aurora 4 which I really love. Great yarn. It's just a finer version of their popular Aurora 8.
The next pair I'm calling "Fire on the Mountain"I dyed the yarn with blacks, rust, and reds for a fun speckle effect with sublte stripes. The yarn is a superwash merino with 15% nylon for strength. This yarn is hard to find but I'm still looking for more to experiment with in the dyepots. The nylon takes the dye better than I thought it would.
Next in the line up...and I know your thinking "when will she ever finish all of these socks"? Well...at this point there almost like swatches. I love to knit swatches to see what a yarn will do. I know most people hate to do swatches but me... I love them. It's just part of the design process that I find so exciting. Being a Jacquard textile designer as my day job just rubs off on my knitting. It's my way of doing what we call a "strike off" from the loom. Swatches are my strike offs in a way. Ok back to the show...I have a lace swatch to show you that just happens to be a sock in progress or maybe it's just a cool way to play with lace and small needles and merino and silk hand dyed yarn that just came out of my dye pot and had to jump on to some needles to see what it would look like..whew! It's what I call a "subtle gradation". The colors change but very subtle. It's one of my faborite dying techniques. I have three categories in my store, Multi's, Subtle Gradations, and Dabble Solids. So here is what subtle does.
And speaking of swatches I have a real swatch to show you HOT OFF THE WHEEL.......
It's a 2ply Polwarth that was dyed first and then hand combed for a heather effect then the 2 plys were plied with a rayon slub for a touch of sparkle. I'm thinking about doing more to introduce to the store. That is if I can part with it......that might be a problem. Polwarth is my all time favorite. See the Polwarth Project Gallery for more Polwarth fun.
