Proper Care and Feeding of your new Duet Socks

So now that you have a gorgeous new pair of Duet Socks you'll want to care for them properly.

Many of you already have a special way of taking care of your hand knit socks, but for those of you who don't, here are a few suggestions:

As I finish a new pair of socks, I test a variety of ways to caring for them, ranging from extra gentle care to extreme roughness. Here's what I have found...

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*Prior to washing your finished item, first soak your socks in a VERY HOT bath of vinegar and water to keep colors from bleeding. This is a tip I have lived by since the day I started sewing as a little girl. This is also a great idea with new multi-color clothing or fabrics you may have.

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*Always turn your new socks inside out when you wash (you probably learned this tip long ago with sweaters and sweatshirts...it's a good idea with your socks too!) Even in the harshest wash cycles I have sent these socks through I haven't gotten any pilling, but it does start to halo. Turning the socks inside out keeps the halo on the inside.

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*It is best to hand wash your new Duet Socks and warm water is just fine. You may choose to use the gentle cycle wash load. Avoid regular aggitation wash cycles! Also, Avoid regular detergents!!!!! I have found regular detergents far too harsh for hand dyed items and causes fading.

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*You can air dry or dry on low heat in the dryer. I suggest either drying the socks seperately or with a load of socks-because of the haloing. I have ALWAYS dried the socks in the dryer and haven't noticed any bad effects.

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Obviously, the more gentle you are with your hand knit items the better, but these are tips I found from being extra rough on the socks, so I could share the results with you.

Happy knitting!!!

One Year Ago.....

One year ago....

Hard to believe that a year has already gone by! It definitely has been the best year of my life. I married the most amazing man EVER...the love of my life!

I say one year ago rather loosely, because the above wedding was May 13th, 2006

Anything that could go wrong, did go wrong, and a few extra things too...the wedding dress wasn't going to arrive in time for the wedding....Ken's wedding band wasn't going to be ready yet...and so many more things, there just isn't time to list it all.

As this wedding day approached and things kept going wrong, Ken and I were at our whit's end with the whole thing!!! Then we decided our wedding day was for us and we wanted it to be fun!

So we did want any two people would do when they had a full scale wedding happening in two months........

We ran off to Las Vegas and got married by Elvis!!!We announced that we were already married during the ceremony of the above 'wedding'.

So one year ago...give or take a couple months...Ken and I got married :) Now it is time for us to celebrate our Anniversary-WooHoo!! In two days we will be in sunny Cancun Mexico for almost two weeks!!!! We can't wait!!!

Sadly, this does mean that new yarn will not be posted next week, but you will be happy to know that Pick Up Sticks and The Yarn Grove both has lots of yarns ready for you to check out. I will be posting new yarns probably by the end of today and they will be available until Monday night...Then it's off to Mexico for us!!!! Stay tuned more some fun pictures when we return!!!!

Entrelac Socks

This photo was sent to me by Rosario (Chi)
I thought this was a gorgeous use of the Duet Sock Yarns!!!
I love the striping for foot part of the sock, then the blocks of color for the cuff!
You're AMAZING Chi!!! Keep up the great work!!!

A Yarn Shortage?!

Have you heard the rumors about the yarn shortage? Actually, to be exact, it's a sock yarn shortage.... Well, the rumors are true! Mills have actually run out of undyed sock weight yarns everywhere!!! AAAAAaaaaahhhh!!!
Sadly, this will impact the batches that get posted in the next couple weeks...At this point I am treating the yarn I do have like gold. My suggestion to you, those who are reading this blog, consider yourselves to now have the inside scoop and be ready to grab what you can when I do post new yarns because there may not be enough to go around.

There are still a few colors available from the last batch...and if you were considering snagging them, I would suggest not waiting too long. It's hard to say how much will be available in the next few weeks!!!

Good luck and Happy knitting!!!!

Can you tell I like pink green and brown?

Yep, I finished another pair of socks...ok, they were actually finished about a month ago but I never got around to weaving in the ends, then I never got around to taking a picture. Geesh!!

As I was taking the picture I realized how perfectly they match the fabric I got for the skirt I will one day make. Can you tell I REALLY like pink, green and brown? It's EVERYWHERE :) The sock colorway is Hip Chick...no, there isn't any in stock right now, but if you like it just drop me a note and I will try to get in on an upcoming batch of yarns :)

Also, over the weekend, we had a BBQ to celebrate the fact that I am now a full time yarn dyeing fool!!! That's right! My day job is now coming up with great colors of yarns and keeping all the yarn shops stocked up with them. There to celebrate were the ladies of Renaissance Yarns which was the very first shop to ever carry A Swell Yarn Shop Duet Sock Yarns!!! It all started with a little note I included with an order they placed and Renaissance's commitment to supporting their community. As you know the number of shops has since grown to include Pick Up Sticks, The Yarn Grove, and very soon The Loopy Ewe.

I know that even with all these shops carrying the yarn it's still can be tough to get your hands on the Duet Sock Yarns. But at least now I will be doing this full time instead of nights, weekends and when I really should be in bed asleep!! :)

A super big thank you to all the shops that carry these yarns, my husband that helps make it possible to even come close to keeping up with all the orders, and my yarn skeiner Liberty who makes it so I have time to actually dye more yarn !!! I wouldn't be here with out all of you!!!!!! And another big thank you to everyone of you who loves these yarns! I so love getting the pictures of the finished socks and reading the comments you add with your orders!!

Happy knitting everyone!!!!!

PS. Did you notice the new 'do in the picture? I don't think my hair looks string at all...

Lizard Rock

Has this ever happend to you?!

I decided it was time to get an update on my hairdo...since I have had the same hairstyle for about 10 years. Not because I have wanted to have the same hair style, but because hairstylists won't give me the hair cut I ask for.

The conversation always goes something like this

me: "here are 5 pictures of EXACTLY the haircut I want" (keeping in mind, they are pictures with similar type hair as me...I have bone straight hair so I take in pictures of straight hair)

hairstylist: "hmmm...we can't do that without cutting alot of length off your hair" (keeping in mind the picture is my exact length of hair and managed to have hairstyle I want)

me: "well, can we try to do some of the layers it has on the top"

hairstylist: "you will end up with stringy hair"

me: (I look at the picture and indeed the style has stringy hair (in a good way) and I still want the hairstyle)

So, I sit back quietly and let them give me the exact same haircut I have had for 10 years.

Well, yesterday went a little differently...

I actually went in for a perm (which I haven't had in almost 20 years) and haircut (figured this would through a new factor into the whole hairstyle issue). While she permed my hair I made some SERIOUS progress on my sugar's socks (my sugar is my hubby Ken). The color is Lizard Rock and it is his first pair of knitted socks EVER. When his buddies started asking me to make them socks, he decided it would be alright for me to make him a pair first :)

Anyways...so I am knitting and knitting and knitting and the hairstylist is perming.

Then we get to the haircut, and once again she has given me a handful of reasons I can't have the haircut I want....

then she realizes she can't comb through my hair and a haircut will have to wait.

I say OK and go home and tell Ken that yet another hairstylist won't give me the haircut I want...so I think this over until today and came up with the perfect solution....

This morning after my shower, I grabbed the hair scissors and gave myself the dang haircut that no hairstylist would do. And I LOVE IT!!!!!

My hair was in a pony tail today because I was painting yarn...but I will post a picture soon

And to all those hairstylists out there who wouldn't do it for me......

I was able to do it without cutting any length and I like stringy hair :)

Have a great weekend everyone!!!