lagging behind

We're really sorry, guys, that the blog's been so... well... boring recenty. The Blogger and I have been extremely busy as of late with also sorts of things, like:

• revamping the website in general,
• photographing (and color correcting) all the new goodies we've received,
• organizing the sock club,
• battling demon slime monsters,
• and building a new, super-high-tech, web site.

All in all, it's been an exciting couple of weeks. To start with, we've had two very successful No Mean Feet nights in a row, with all sorts of knitters coming in to show off their socks:

Then we had the International Quilt Market Trade Show from May 16 - 18 at the Portland Convention Center. Now, some people might think that since it was a quilting show, it wouldn't affect us. Ha! We were happily overrun with visitors from all over the world: Spain, Japan, and Canada were the most memorably represented. Especially since we were visited by the Ladies of Scent - the creators and owners of Soak Wash. I made The Blogger and Fearless Leader pose with Jacqueline and Patricia for a photo, as proof:

(Left to right: The Blogger, Jacqueline, Fearless Leader, and Patricia)

It was so cool meeting the ladies behind such a fantastically inventive and fun fiber-based company. They were very friendly and showed us some of the new projects their working on. They were frighteningly good sellers, too, since they also managed to talk us into buying a starter pack of their Labels of Love (not available online yet, sorry!). Which added another product to be photographed onto The List. See? We have been busy.

In fact, we've been so busy, we broke one of the cardinal rules of blogging. We forgot to get a picture of a knitter and her blog address. The guilt! A lovely lady came into the store to show off a project she had knit with ShibuiKnits Sock she had bought from us. She had made the Mamluke Socks (by Nancy Bush) for an expecting mother and had worked out a matching hat for the expected one:

It was an amazing amount of work. The original sock pattern is based off traditional Middle Eastern mosaic and knitting motifs - including, quite especially, the word "Allah" in Arabic in bands around the ankle and toes. Our intrepid knitter had tweeked the stitch patterns to fit onto a baby's hat and had included the "Allah" band around the brim:

Aside from being completely awe-inspiring and beautiful, I was stuck by the connection this project had with thousands of others from the past. Traditionally, friends and relatives of expectant mothers would make all sorts of prayer-infused gifts to protect her and her unborn child through the pregnancy and birth. The pairing of the two gifts seemed perfectly synchronized and poetic.

And, of course, The Blogger and I were so enthralled by the FO's we forgot to get all the info you all'd want to learn more about the project :( Sorry! Hopefully, our talented gift-knitter will leave a comment with more details.

Sadly enough, that's not everything that's keep us from you. I couldn't recount half of it, to be honest. May has been a very colorful blur. But The Blogger and I do know that we owe you several posts - like this month's Rock Star Knitter and a couple of True Plies. We'll try and post those as soon as we get the chance.

Honestly.

Oh! And before I forget, again, to post this - the deadline for Gratis Knits: Summer 2008 is on June 1. The Submission Guidelines are here. And, really, guys, it doesn't have to be a complicated pattern - our most popular ones have been the simplest. To be perfectly honest, I'd looove to see a summery headband or kerchief pattern come across our inbox...

Shameless yarn (and sock) pr0n

It's no secret that Knit Purl is starting our very own Sock Club in September...


In fact, I have to be careful what I say to whom, let I spoil the surprises we have in store.

But, luckily, I have a treat for those of you who are sock-inclined - a sneak peek at one of our dyer's work. Now, the yarn I made these socks with will not be the same colorway we've commissioned. Still, it's intended to give you a taste of what Knitted Wit's yarn is like.

Now, Knitted Wit is a brand of yarn dyed locally by Lorajean K. Who is currently expecting a little one of her own to knit for. So her line of yarn will be a bit hard to get for a while :( Still, congratulations are in store.

I found the skein in question on the PDX Knit Bloggers Sock Yarn Crawl a while back and agonized for too long over the "perfect" project to make with it. Enough time passed that I finally CO the first pattern I could find and went with it. Very quickly, I was glad I had been adventurous and felt duly rewarded.

The socks below were knit with Knitted Wit's Superwash Merino Fingering in the colorway "1970's Locker Room" (great name, huh?), using Jean Townsend's "Pretty Petals Socks" pattern.








I wish I could give you more sneak peeks, but I don't want to ruin the surprise entirely. Of course, if you search around online, you might just find out who some of our very talented and very cool other Portland-area dyers are.

True Plies: By Shepherd's Crook

True Plies: Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock

When I first started knitting socks, one of the great names in handpainted sock yarn (this was before the indie dyer/ yarnie explosion) was Lorna's Laces. Their Shepherd Sock was spoken of with reverence and lust. Fascinated, I tried to find it locally (I lived in Eugene at the time) but no one carried it. When I finally found some whilst visiting my sister in the Bay Area, I suffered sticker shock of the worst kind. I'd had no idea sock yarn could cost so much. Hey. I was young and naive and new to sock knitting. Koigu was a painful learning experience as well. Anyway. I finally bit my lip and bought a couple of skeins, determined to do something "special". I did. My mother received these:

At the time, I enjoyed knitting with the yarn but wasn't too keen on the on the fact that I was knitting at 9 SPI (stitches per inch) since I was still a sock newbie.

But, after seeing how they've worn (like iron, y'all), I decided the yarn was definitely worth the investment again. So, a couple of weeks ago, I bought two skeins of Shepherd Sock in "Gold Hill" and decided to make up a pattern as I went:

Now, the yarn specs and I aren't quite simpatico. They say:

Fiber : 75% Superwash Wool, 25% Nylon
Yardage: 196.6 m / 215 y
Skein weight: 56.7 g / 2 oz
Yarn weight: fingering weight
Recommended gauge: 2.8 sts/cm or 7 sts/inch
Recommended needle size: 2.25 mm / 1 (US)

I say this yarn needs to be knitted up at a gauge of 9 SPI (stitches per inch). But we're required to advertise the information on the label the company prints. But, really, I highly suggest sock knitters go with a denser gauge. Your socks'll last longer and be more comfortable to wear.

By last Thursday I had a sock and a half and was really, really enjoying myself...

(The Blogger also seems to have enjoyed herself taking photos)

And look at that great flashing:

The pooling, especially, of the colors and the feel of the yarn and how it looks when it knits up? I'm sold. I am so completely and utterly pwn3d. I need more. Lots more. The stash is going to be a terrifying thing when one considers how many colors of Lorna's we carry.

On a completely different note, I decided to try the Crystal Palace 2.25mm/ US 1 DPNs (since I couldn't find my 1.5's at home :P) and they're wonderful. The best bamboo sock knitting needles I've ever worked with. I totally have to reevaluate my needle collection now.