Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Sock Yarn

Yes, I know what a strange topic for the day after St. Patrick's day. Allow me to inform you now that I have been said to be a...little...strange. But in a good way. Or so I have been told.

Anywho, moving right along. Sock yarns. Why is it that the colors on a skein of sock yarn can look more magical than the same colors on worsted weight yarn? I'm not sure. Every time I see a photo of some creatively dyed sock yarn it triggers an inner response of "oooo I want that" But I fight the urge. Well I try. I already have a few skeins of sock yarn right now. Sitting there staring at me. They say "Alright, already. When are you going to start a project with me? You know you want a pair of Absinthe". I quietly sit there trying to ignore the fact that my sock yarn is getting uppity and impatient with me. And yes I do want a pair of Absinthe. Heck if for nothing else than the cool name. I have always been besotted with things archaic and vintage. Hence the use of the terms 'besotted' and 'hence'.

There are certain brands of sock yarn that I am drawn to. I occasionally go and drool over the amazing colors of these yarns and play with the idea of choosing one to buy. I am fascinated with Emily Parson's dyeing ability ( yes I know that just sounds all sorts of wrong). If you have not seen her yarns please take the time to check out her Etsy store. She creates a ball/cake of yarn she calls the Magic Ball(unfortunately none are listed on her Etsy store at the present time). This skein can create a scarf that looks like patchwork when knitted. I mean how cool is that. Check out this post she did on her blog What's THAT Gonna Be?. Scroll down to the Calico Cat Magic Ball. Now be honest if you don't knit doesn't seeing this make you want to try? I love the fact that all the colors you need for a patchwork scarf are in one skein as opposed to having to keep track of a bunch of different skeins. I also love the fact that this is another use for sock yarn.I have not been able to afford to purchase one of these Magic Ball's yet, but hope springs eternal, and I'm just a geyser of it. =)