My stash is like an archeological dig. Although I do toss it at regular intervals to keep an eye out for trouble, mostly the oldest stuff is in the deepest, and the newer stuff is up in the canopy of the stash – and that’s particularly true when I’m not tossing it as often as I should. (I aim for a ritual tossing of the stash spring and fall. It’s the time of greatest activity for insects and rodents- so I figure that I’m most likely to spot any interlopers then.) Still, it’s like the old stuff sinks to the bottom, and every once in a while when I’m tossing it (think salad) I come across something I’d totally forgotten I had. Such was the case with these two little balls of a old friend of mine, Fortissima Colori Socka Color #9069. (I love it when they have romantic names.) I think the yarn is probably at least a few years old, since I couldn’t find it on the Schoeller + Stahl website, but there’s no way to know. (Donna knit them in 2005.. so I think maybe that’s the year.)
I cast them on the other day when I realized that a had a couple of things going on that I wouldn’t be able to knit the Spiral Scarf at. I sure love that thing, but although the pattern is as easy to memorize as the locker number of that dude in 10th grade that you liked so much (476, right by the history room) it does require counting and looking at, so a new pair of socks were born and have been zooming along in the background. 
I love these self-patterning yarns. I’ve said it before, I’ve said it again, they make me feel clever, and I love the way that they make the muggles think that I must be a genius to manage such a complex colour pattern. I’m not telling them otherwise either, not unless they look like they could be converted into knitters with the knowledge. In any case, I get big results without doing much, which pleases me to no end, even though I know its just all mouth and no trousers. As a reward for being so entertaining, I am taking these socks out tonight. I hope they aren’t too worried about the rain/hole/mudslide potential to have a good time, poor tykes. It’s been raining all day, the contractor hasn’t been back in three days (I believe something must have happened to him. It’s so unlike contractors to do this sort of thing. Dreadfully worried.) and I’ve taken the advice of several friends to avoid seeing the hole and the basement at all costs. There’s no point in knowing what’s going on, since there’s nothing I can do and it’s only going to upset me. I’ve agreed, since there’s really not a lot of liquor in the house.
I just hope that contractor’s okay.
I loved that yarn too. Don’t have any in the stash since my stash is only about 4 years old now.
And I am sure that once your contractor realizes how much he has you worried, he will be right there finishing up your project
I knit the same color and have a purchased sweater that they match! And the Muggles think that I did it all!
Still going strong after four years, too!
Edie
Oh yes, I’m worried about your contractor. It’s not like a contractor to fail to show on a rainy day!
Love Fortissima sock yarns in all their glory. They’re the total opposite of the documentary about Helvetica Fonts that I’m currently watching.
Your house saga makes me slightly nostalgic for our old farmhouse in Wisconsin. The day we moved it, there was a big rainstorm and we found out that we had (no kidding) a seasonal spring in our basement. Honest. No Kidding. Our first night wasn’t as happy as we’d expected.
Good luck, dear.
I do think you knit a great sock with this yarn, (I like something that thinks for me every once in awhile). As a mother you are right, what you don’t know or see can’t bug you. I a fun free evening.
I second the recommendation to stay far far away from the hole. You can’t fix it, looking at it won’t even make it any better, all it will do is worry you. When I’ve had my house torn up I have a firm policy not to look. It’s like going to the dentist…there is no reason at all to look at the pictures or (shudder…video) they offer to show you. Ignore the hole.
And keep a good thought for the contractor!
Yep – dig that yarn for the very same reason – makes me look clever to the non-knitting types and I get knowing nods from other knitters…like its a secret self-striping yarn club.
Hope the basement is okay and that you seen the contractor soon…
Too bad that yarn is no longer available—great color choices and it’s so important to have socks in the background.
The contractor will be back as soon as the rain lets up.
I have finished several projects recently, so perhaps I should consider a self striping pair? I’ve been eyeing some pidgeonroof studios that I just got in the store, though. Right now, I could go either way….
Very, very pretty. Stash tossing keeps you out of the hole in the foundation too. Did Joe suggest this to you?
I made my very first pair of socks from this exact yarn. Huge kneesocks, from one skein. Still wearing well, after 4 or 5 winters….. Happy to see an old friend!
Those are my very first pair of socks! I didn’t knit them, a knitting friend gave them to me, but they did inspire me to learn to knit my own.
Oh, I love those socks so much that I go out of my way to buy sweaters that match them.
I think I’ll wear them tomorrow. . .
Great yarn! Just looking at pic makes me smile, and I really needed a smile about now!
I feel sure the contractor is absolutely frantic with worry about your basement and will turn up soon.
*sends alcohol and chocolate*
2005 for sure as I am wearing their fraternal twins this very minute and bought the yarn because my daughter had knit socks and I was determined to try. Not one bit competitive!
Your contractor is probably at my place. I’m into the fourth week of a kitchen renovation; it took me 20 years living in the same house to gather the courage to do it, and I have since November 2nd gone through all the stages of grief. Stress, denial, anger, resignation, etc. Try not having running water on the main floor for four weeks, the fridge and the microwave in the living room, the stove in the dining room, and the contents of the kitchen scattered everywhere. The kitchen designer and the contractor don’t communicate with each other, the cabinet installer from hell messed up big time, the plumber shows up when he feels like it. The electrician and the painter are okay, as long as they are not on another job. What is it with Toronto and the trades? Why do I have to pay so much money to get that much aggravation? Anyway… wanna swap?
Those socks are great fun, and so perfect that the pattern is all in the yarn. Hope your basement hole is dealt with soon, it sounds like a nightmare.
“All mouth and no trousers”? Here in Texas, it’s “All hat and no cattle.”
I think it’s been longer than that since that yarn was made. I loved it (they also made a great cotton blend yarn) but mine is all gone. I used the last of it (a gorgeous forest green, gray, black colorway) to knit some socks for my older daughter about 4 years ago. She still wears them. Contractors in Toronto must be a lot different than contractors around here if you are surprised at not seeing him for a few days. here, they always have several projects going at once & rotate between them.
Um, honey, you don’t want to count on a contractor too much. Didn’t your mom tell you this? You do know that you’re not his only one, right? That he has other houses he visits on a regular basis, that he’s doing intimate things at each one? Maybe you and Joe should have a talk.
Love the socks. As soon as the Stealth Knitting is complete (one more hat and a bit to go!) I’m casting on some self-striping sock myself.
OMG — “All mouth and no trousers”! We have an expression just like that here in northern Colorado: “All hat, no cattle.” What WOULD the knitterly version be? “All needles, no sweaters?” “All stash, no socks”? “All Addis, no afghans”?
Our contractor ditched us first for an Olympian and then for Mitt Romney (former presidential candidate). Over ONE YEAR into this project he said he’d be back “sometimes after Thanksgiving.” There were no outward bounds on that time limit.
The only reason contractors stay in business is because they already have your money.
Those colorways were part of the “Mexico” collection.
http://www.ravelry.com/yarns/library/schoeller–stahl-fortissima-socka-mexiko-color
P.S. I know where you can get more. 😉
They must have made a lot of that yarn. I finished a pair from the stash in that color last month. When the cast comes off, I look forward to wearing them.
I’ve been thinking of you with all this rain! Hope the basement stays dry.
Wow, does that yarn take me back! The very first sock-in-progress that I was ever exposed to — when I stood there like a weirdo and asked “You knit socks with FIVE NEEDLES? At once? I could never learn to do that!” — was knit in that very yarn.
Dang. Guess all those anti-rain dances and positive thought vibes didn’t work, huh? Well, at least you have cute (IMPRESSIVE!) socks to keep you warm.
I’ve been worried about a contractor of mine for 5 years. He must have been dreadfully ill (possibly amnesia?) to have never come back to finish the last tiny bit of that tiling job.
I love that yarn. I made my first pair of socks from that exact color and I still love them. Self-striping yarn is a real confidence boost for a beginning sock knitter. Best of luck to your contractor–I’m sure only something dreadful would have kept him from your basement.
Yeah, it’s much better that you knit calmly and worry about that contractor. If you get up, just go for a beer and then sit down again.
The problem with contractors here in Vermont is it’s HUNTING season, and so they often don’t show this time of year. Might that be the case in Toronto?
I love your socks, and I love reading about whatever you are doing. You inspire me. I have wool out to spin tonight while watching a movie, to make a baby hat for a dear friend, and even though it’s not THanksgiving in Canada, I am thankful for you on the eve of our Thanksgiving. Blessings on you and your family, (and your basement). Love, Kathleen
“There’s no point in knowing what’s going on, since there’s nothing I can do and it’s only going to upset me.”
Hey, that’s my feeling about life in general! If knowing more about something is just going to upset me (and I know it would), then why do that?
Love the patterning in those socks! I’m no good at predicting what a skein like that will look like knit up, but I likes it.
Don’t worry- the contractor’s fine. He’s juggling jobs, or dealing with an emergency, or (if you’ve seen that instant classic movie Up) SQUIRREL. And they worry that our children have short attention spans- I think they’re just in training to be tradespeople or contractors. He’ll be back.
Nice socks.
Great socks and they’ll be around a lot longer than the contractor….my concern may need to be for the contractor when he actually does show up again…nah, he deserves anything he gets! Wishing you the best of luck and the least of mess!
I really like your socks! You hit the nail on the head about why I like self-patterning yarn. At Knot Hysteria, you saw my plain jane first socks and everyone there knew it was self-patterning yarn. But when I wear those babies and non-knitters see them, I can see the awe on their faces. The look is usually followed by, “Wow, you did that? It looks complicated.” I just smile and keep my little secret. I wear my self-patterning socks on days that I need a little self-esteem boost as I can usually get at least one “wow” a day. Oh the reasons we do what we do…
My fence man vanished for two weeks. He turned up in the end, I think there was some kind of time warp thing going on there because to him it was as if no time had passed. Me, I’d had two weeks with a small puppy, no fence and my washing on display for all to see. So much for private space.
I do my stash turn just before Christmas and the wool festival season, that way it looks small and manageable before I buy more.
I love self-patterning yarns, too. Yours look fabulous. I think I have some of that yarn, also at the bottom of a bag.
As for the contractor–are you sure he’s not still in the hole? I know you don’t want to look at it, but it wouldn’t hurt to check…
Hmm.rain…. we never get that here. Perhaps you will have a swimming pool to keep out the skunks. Contractors are a slippery lot, they come and they go on contractor time and only they know when that is.
I love self-patterning yarns for the same reason. Plus I seem to knit them faster…which I think has to do with knitting longer on them at any one time because I am always wanting to see what will come next and saying Oh, just a few more rows to see the next color… Our roofer hasn’t come in the last couple of days either…and it is raining into my bedroom, so there is no way for me to pretend it isn’t happening because even if I were to sleep on the sofa, I’d know it’s because there is a shower in my bedroom. And I can’t drink at all because of some medication that I am on….heaven help me!
My very first pair o’ socks was with a self-patterning yarn. I hated it so much I made a second pair. REALLY hated it after that. But I like yours.
Squeeky wheel gets the grease, CALL THE CONTRACTOR
I so wish I could reprimand you and tell you that contractors are just people and blahblahblah. Well, I’ve been in construction for 37 years and when I have work done on MY house, the very same thing happens to me. Of course, I don’t worry about them. I just tell their widows where their bodies will be when I find them.
I wonder if contractors are susceptible to sock bribery.
He’s probably on a beach in Tahiti, sipping on one of those umbrella drinks with all the money he already sucked out of you.
That’s exactly what my contractor would be doing given the opportunity. But in my case that would be me. I’ve been slowly renovating my bathroom. Refinishing the bathroom vanity seemed like a much better idea six months ago.
Oh man! That’s the exact colourway that my first secret pal mailed me when I was a beginner knitter, and which became my first pair of socks.
I was so thrilled by it that I even took a whole pile of photos and put them up online: http://www.flickr.com/photos/pixeldiva/sets/72057594059518797/
Then I gave the socks to my mum, who loved them too.
Ahh, the nostalgia…
Hmmm, must revisit stash. I think I got some of that in a grab bag from Bette Bornside’s, and didn’t care for it then. What was I thinking?!
Tonight’s to-do list could read:
knit on fun socks
buy booze
knit more on fun socks
buy booze to take home.
Don’t worry about your contractor. I’m sure he’s fine, since he must be safe with the entire crew who are supposed to be roofing my house. (And they’re fine, because they assured us this morning that while they wouldn’t be by today they were planning to come Friday — when we have a house full of company. I’m regarding huge packs of shingles on my roof as evidence of supporting the local economy.)
Hey! Those are my husband’s socks! Or rather, more correctly, I knit a pair of socks for him using that same colorway. He loves them and has affectionately dubbed them “Tibetan socks” since the colors are remind him of Tibetan prayer flags.
I’m a big fan of self-patterning sock yarn too. They look great and wear really well. And you’re right — the muggles really dig them.
So, what, explicitly, does “all mouth and no trouseres” mean? It sounds dirty. 🙂
I knit those socks about three to four years ago. They have survived many wearings and washings– that stuff wears like iron I tell you. I love those socks, they are some of my favorite.
mmmmm… very nice and impressive indeed!
Just think – all that rain is keeping that skunk you were imagining away! See — glass half full!
Fortissima Colori — I love that yarn! Got six skeins in three colorways from someone who was destashing (can’t quite get my brain around THAT idea, but never mind) and the two I used for my socks were the same as yours. I knit another pair for a friend in a colorway that was all black/white/gray and am looking forward to making a second pair for myself, this time with more red and yellow.
Your friends are right. Avoid the basement at all costs. Wear your pretty new socks out to a cozy pub instead.
I have that yarn! Very nice.
Nice self patterning! Maybe I’ll try some out. After all, you’ve seduced me into so many yarns and projects (latest is Starry+Lenore). But the spiral scarf? NEV-AH, EV-AH!!!:-P
Funny that you should mention an archeological dig. I staged a dig this morning, on the piles of yarn and magazines at the end of my sofa. Since there were magazines in the mix, I could date the various yarns with a fair degree of accuracy. They went back to June of ’07, and included some lovely yarns I had forgotten I owned. Now, what to do with all that hand-dyed alpaca…
I haven’t used that exact yarn, but I’ve used that brand in other colorways. Yes, the muggles think I’m sooooo clever, to make all those neat stripes while I’m intently listening to a lecture on elephant seals.
The closest expression I can think of here in Washington is “All bark and no bite.” I’ve got Fortissima in my stash, too, and now I’ll have to go dig it out… for _after_ Christmas! Good luck, Randmknitter
I love that you said “muggles” and I love that you talk about sock yarn. I have a love of sock yarn…and no socks (yet – I’m working on them).
I am knitting a pair of socks out of that exact colour yarn! I’m doing the butterfly bows pattern out of Socks socks socks and I am loving them. I wonder if they will make it to my friend or find their way into my sock drawer… you can never tell with socks.
I have a muggle in my knit group and I just smile when she asks “how do you do that?” Thanks for giving them a name! 🙂 Wonderful as they are!
lol
A contractor not showing up for 3 days!
My neighbours should be so lucky, they’ve been paying for a dumpster that has been sitting in their driveway for a week now, waiting for the roofers to come and replace the roof.
I’m betting it could be there til spring now that we have snow.
Sombra said, “Squeaky wheel gets the grease, CALL THE CONTRACTOR.”
I’ll go one better: Post the contractor’s number and/or email address and let us squeak for you.
(Lovely socks.)
I knit my first pair of socks out of that yarn – same colorway! They were too big but I still have them and sometimes layer them over another pair of white cotton socks for warmth and color. Today I was thinking how much I appreciate your term “plain vanilla” socks as opposed to plain Jane socks. While I usually shrug off the connotation related to my name, I do appreciate your choice of the word vanilla. Who doesn’t like vanilla now and then?
Tradies (what we call contractors here in Oz) are the same the world over. My friend’s dad is a tradie and he always says ‘I’ll get it done by Tuesday’, but he never specifies exactly which Tuesday.
The only socks I have knitted so far have been from self-striping yarn and I really enjoyed the knitting and wearing of them.
“all mouth and no trousers”?? is that as naughty as it sounds?
I have that yarn in my stash! I love how it looks knit up…maybe I’ll have to actually make some socks. It’s been so long.
Pretty socks. I love how self-patterning yarns turn out, too. That is a pretty colorway.
I hope the contractor didn’t fall in a hole.
I have those same socks on at this very moment!
“all mouth and no trousers” is relatively polite; it could be “fur coat and no knickers” where I originate.
I am on the same page with you! I cast on the Freshisle Fiber watermelon socks today and was thinking the same thing: how amazed the muggles will be at Christmas when I give these cool things to my mom.
Wow. These are great. My “self-patterning” yarns are pretty much self-striping–which is fine with me–but these are more than that. If this yarn is unavailable, can anyone tell me a good alternative? Mucho gratefulness would come your way.
The Contractor’s Code: Show up as late as possible. Leave as early as possible. While there, do as little as possible.
My first real socks were done in this yarn. Love ’em. Mexiko. Let’s see, I think that was back in 2003? 2004? I found some in a shop with old stock and seized two more balls of the stuff.
i wish i had access to your stash one day. just take some stuff from the bottom and run lol!
Dude. Don’t waste your time watching for the contractor. Tuesdays are for spinning.
“just all mouth and no trousers”??? What the hell does that even mean? Must be a Canadian thing!
I am wearing a pair of those same socks right now. Too funny!
Take a page from Peter Mayle’s ‘A Year in Provence’ about the contractors…when the contractors won’t come and finish your house, just go and invite their wives to your house for a party. Sure enough, they will be scrambling to finish the job so they don’t look like a tool in front of their wives. 🙂
I just love them too.I can never get them to come out the same. They’re alway faternal twins.
“All mouth and no . . .”– DOES that really equate to “all hat and no cattle”? It sounds worse, actually. Anyway, thanks to Susan for “all stash and no socks”! There’s a phrase with a future.
i totally have that romantic yarn in my stash!!!
I love the yarn when it’s knitted. Those pictures have made me realize that I cannot judge a colorful yarn like that before it’s been knitted, because truthfully I would have passed it up in ball form.
Good luck with the contractor. You might want to have your hubby give him a call for you.
hmmmm….. somewhere in one of the myriad of boxes, I have some of that yarn I think. Pretty socks! I miss my stash dreadfully.
Beautiful!! I’ve never used self patterning before (I know…I can’t believe it either). Any favorite yarns to try? I haven’t worked on socks in quite awhile, but have been itching to get a pair started. As soon as I finish my Christmas gifts, I’ll be ready. I appreciate any suggestions for self patterning colorways.
Yep, I bought a lot of that yarn in 2005. I remember it clearly because I was a brand-new knitter, and I hadn’t been to many LYSes yet. This one was in Plano, TX, where I was attending a science-fiction convention. One of the Guests of Honor was the knitter who blogged about how cool it was to knit two socks on one set of DPNs, which was the last straw that made me go OMG MUST LEARN TO KNIT.
Now I wonder where I put it. Hmmmm….
Yes it’s raining here in T-Dot and doesn’t look like it’s going to stop any time soon. I do wonder though how you have such bad luck with contractors. My husband is one and he never ever leaves a job unfinished. The only time in 25 years was when his mom died in the spring but the client was aware of it, he didn’t just disappear. I hope it all works out before the skunks get in…ciao
I have used that yarn many times – but for hats. After making one pair of socks, I had enough for one hat. That went to my son, who had other friends want hats and that has spread to others. I must have done at least 30 hats in self striping yarn so far.
Oh! I remember that yarn–I’ve had one sock made out of it (or something very close to it) for, oh, ’bout seven years now? I found the other ball while tossing my stash trying to make way for visitors.
I have no idea where I put it. The sock, yes. But…
I love that yarn! I want to find stuff like that but I never know if it will do that until I’ve knit it up.
Sorry about the hole. But I think out of sight, out of mind is definitely the way to go. Maybe you should put a bulletin out on that contractor. Totally unlike a contractor to disappear. It’s downright freaky. lol
Contractor problems are bad enough but when the contractor is a relative, well, it’s worse. I don’t want to talk about how I know this. The socks are a welcome and cheerful distraction.
I’ve never tried it myself, but I’ve heard that if you present baked goods in the afternoon, your contractor will stay closer to home. (like milk and cats)
All mouth and no trousers? One of you Canadians has got to explain that one.
Are you telling us you have no furnace, now, at the end of November?
Hmmm…I made a baby hat out of that for the 2002 baby. There was no knitting in 2003, and by then he was an expert at removing any clothing that was touching his body. He could be out of a one piece sleeper that was zipped up the BACK and a five point stroller harness in the time it took for me to say ” I’ll just take that coffee black, and to go, NOW” No way he was wearing a hat in 2005.
Ah well, at least tomorrow isn’t Thanksgiving up there!
I have been delving into my stash. I have to pack it up and take it home or dispose of it. Argh! My stash! My preciouses. You can probably understand how much stash (particularly fleece) can fit into a one bedroom apartment with a little ingenuity!
I am committed to knitting a pair of self-stripings for my kids this Christmas (I am not very fast so have given myself some time). I have completed sock 1, pair 1 (S1, P1) and am now knitting S1, P2 in an attempt to trick myself into making sure that I knit BOTH pairs. I struggle enough to complete a pair of socks, never mind two. I have spread the word re self-striping yarn – I love seeing the amazement on people’s faces, even the ones that have been knitting for years and haven’t had the pleasure yet.
I keep saying that I am not a sock knitter (I do knit socks, but love to knit sweaters and shals so much more), but reading your blog always makes me go rushing and see what sock yarn e-bay has to offer…
Oh that poor poor contractor! I’m not surprised you are so worried about him ;o)
Loving the socks though!
And really loving reading your Yarn Harlot book – although I’ve been getting some rather strange looks on the train to work when I suddenly start sniggering loudly!
Lucy x
Ohhhh…..I made those socks! While I was knitting them outside at a park cafe a few years back, a lovely older man came over to tell me that he had made his own socks as a soldier. Once he had seen THAT yarn (and what it does) he said that he might start making socks again! I so hope that he did…….
I LOVE that yarn! A friend gifted me everything I needed to make my first pair of socks in 2005, and this was the yarn. I now understand that my so-called friend is a pusher of exquisite taste. About 10 pairs of socks later, but those first ones are still my absolute favourites.
I love the yarn. I love it because my friend made me my first ever pair of knitted socks from this yarn, probably back in 2005! That year I also got back into knitting and have been happily knitting socks ever since. Those socks represent the moment I returned to the knitting world. I think they hope they have good knitting karma for you too.
Best wishes Christina (Glasgow, UK)
“All mouth and no trousers” is used here in the UK, too.
It refers to anything that seems impressive, but isn’t really.
Like the guy who chats you up, giving off a great impression but turns out to be… how shall we put it… a bit of a disappointment when you get him home.
So yes, it pretty much is as naughty as it sounds!
LOVE LOVE LOVE Fortissima yarn!!!!
LOVE LOVE LOVE self-striping yarn!!!
Sometimes I wonder if you live in a parallel universe with me. So many things in your life are so similar, it makes me laugh. Old house, cranky appliances, 3 teenagers, and of course knitting. Just wanted to share. Have a great day!
We have lots of contractors here in Ottawa just sitting around waiting for all those unskilled DIY’ers who don’t follow code, don’t get permits to destroy the market value of thousands of homes to call!
It’s funny how those balls of yarn look like clown barf, but the sock itself looks great!
I have that too! Still raining north of the city too. Just remember, if it was colder, we’d have to call in the army again…..
Just read one of the comments where the person (a guy?) said you might want to have your hubby call the contractor! Don’t they realize that just because we have breasts, we can’t call the contractor ourselves! To Heck with the little woman sitting in the background letting her husband do these types of things. That way leads back to the dark ages (1950s at least)!!
Things that make a person — Muggle or non- — feel clever are things worth having. Or pursuing. Or whatever. I am a Muggle who feels nonclever when it comes to making fabric with pointy sticks so I am always happy to peek and see these knitterly secrets revealed.
Hi, This is Laura I have posted a few times in your comments over the years. I am a knitter from Eau Claire, Wisconsin. I got to meet you when you were at The Yellow Dog. Well, being that you’ve been to Wisconsin you can appriciate our love for beer. I was wondering if you could view my beer chugging video, and share it. It originated on youtube. I think the next video I make should have a WIP sock in it some how 🙂 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8BUfVbRsnac
I love my contractor. His crew came on time every single day, they worked all day, and if there was going to be a delay, they told me why and for how long… and it was for that reason and that long. AND he came in $4000 under budget because he found a deal. I LOVE my contractor.
beautiful yarn great patterns and colours!
Awesome blog!
I get more compliments and comments about my self-striping socks (weren’t all those color changes really hard?) than all the fancy-schmancy pattern socks that I do. This should tell me something but I haven’t figured out what yet.
That sock looks so much like a sweater to me. Is this just the cleverness of the self-striping yarn? Have I fallen into its trap? Am I doomed to buy some? Help me…or not
That yarn is older than 2005 (although maybe it was still being sold then.) That’s what I knit my very first pair of socks with, and that would have been back around 2003! (I still have them too!)
The best thing is that you can take all the little bits and ends left over from all self striping prtojects and if you are careful, combine them in to a woop-de-do wild pair of scoks which are really colourful. my pair alwasy get comments – usually good – as for contractor – two words ” Deer season”
I made my very first pair of socks with that same wool – and I think that is what caused my obsessive need to knit socks (especially stripped ones)….that and your blog : )
I made my very first socks with that yarn (colorway 9073, very similar to yours), in late 2005/early 2006:
http://www.ravelry.com/projects/peekaboo/socks-101
The self-patterning yarn is great entertainment!
These socks are much more to my taste than the scarf you are working on, in case you ever need to know. I like loud colors and I wear them proudly.The socks look like they would enjoy a night on the town. And I think it is good to avoid the basement. Keep on knitting.
Be gentle with the young sockies on their first night out, it’s such a big event for any knitted garment.
Add me to the list of folks that have that same yarn. I knit socks about 4 years ago for myself and another pair for my MIL. She asked to be buried with them when she past away later that year.
I love that yarn! I did a pair last year! Great socks, except, it was one of the first I did without a pattern sitting in front of me….and I forgot to turn the heel…just did a flap, picked up gusset stitches and went on my merry way….some weird looking socks, I tell you!
I’m curious…how long does it actually take you to knit up a pair of socks like that?
Goodness – I’m cool! Thats the yarn I used to knit my first pair of ‘proper’ socks and I still have 2 balls squirreled away in my tiny one bin stash. ::faints::
“Fortissima Colori” Is Latin for “the Very Bravest Color”. LoL, good to know my college degree won’t be wasted and will be put to good use. 🙂
I used that very yarn to knit my very first pair of socks. Around 2004. I looooveeed the striping of that brand. Enjoy the socks. I still do.
I love that yarn. I bought it for my very first pair of socks. Self striping yarn may have been a new thing. I remember I went into a local yarn store and asked the yarn store employee to show me where the sock yarn was. She took me over to their sock yarn section, pulled out that yarn and said, “I haven’t seen this knit up, but I’m told you get really cool stripes and patterns.” I did knit the socks and all the muggles thought I was so clever!
That’s exactly how I feel about the self striping yarns. They are perfect for the inner knitter. Enough color and pattern changes to feel smart without being hard to work up. And it is the little burst of smartness that helps me keep knitting (a sock done in under a week, certainly!).
I love that yarn. It is the very same yarn, in the same colorway, that I used to learn how to make socks. I started with mini socks for my daughter’s doll. I agree heartily with how smart it made me feel as I watched it grow and stripe and pattern all by itself!
Oooo… some days self-patterning yarn just totally does it for me! And don’t worry–your contractor was probably working a little harmless black magic in his own basement… when that pesky demon releases him from his contract, he’ll be back…
Oh, those are pretty!
A ritual “tossing” of the stash, eh? Hmmm…know what I’ll be doing this weekend.
(((hugs)))
Ahh, memories….I made my first ever pair of socks in that exact colourway of that same yarn. I still wear them, and the mistakes are legion, but lovable, the gusset decreases are all over the place for example.
The annoying thing about muggles, incidentally, is how impressed they are by a pair of vanilla socks in a funky yarn, yet not by something elaborate that one has sweated buckets over.
Here in Montana, I’ve heard “All hat and no cattle.”
Nope, I got it wrong. It’s “All hat and no herd.”
Good heavens! You have yarn that is only 4 years old? I just did a toss to look for some Christmas present yarn and found some yummy Rowan Kaffe Fassett mohair/silk, DK and Magpie that must be from the early 90’s. It’s like a treasure hunt under the bed or in the closet’s back and beyond. Almost as good as Christmas morning. Good luck with the rain and foundation. Wishing a nice Canadian High comes your way.
I was able to venture into our dentist’s surgery unafraid (for the first time ever) thanks to a yarn purge. He has a friend who sends oddments to a Taoureg women’s group in Niger to weave into wondrous things.
Thanks for the tip on self-patterning wool. I had never heard of it and now can’t wait to buy some. Thanks again for your inspiring blog!
I was able to venture into our dentist’s surgery unafraid (for the first time ever) thanks to a yarn purge. He has a friend who sends oddments to a Taoureg women’s group in Niger to weave into wondrous things.
Thanks for the tip on self-patterning wool. I had never heard of it and now can’t wait to buy some. Thanks again for your inspiring blog!
You’re killing me – I’m knitting more Mom-socks (merino and cashmere) right now. They’re lovely, and I’m ready to forsake them for the oldest sock yarn in my stash, the very first self-striping I bought from EBay, some blue and green Regia 4-ply. Love it!
That yarn is the same pattern as yarn that I knit my first pair of socks. I loved that pattern. I have repaired the wholey toes several times. I didn’t know how to Kitchner the toes so I just ran the yarn through the stitches. I still have a little hole on the toes where my grandbaby likes to stick her finger in and wiggle her little finger around. Ah, good memory.
egads! that’s the same yarn i found this spring, unlabelled, at value village and just finished my first pair of socks with!! see? i’m so excited to have the same yarn as you, that my sentence structure has gone to pot. 😛
I knitted that yarn into socks for a friend in 2003. And then I made a couple of sweater ornaments with the rest.
Talk about a surprise ending! You beat Alfred Hitchcock any day! I cannot imagine anyone swinging those earrings next to their face! (Although very good for keeping healthy…. no one will get close to you!
I love that yarn! I learned to knit socks with it. Bought it from a Mary Maxim catalog waaaay back in ’02!! Ahh the memories of being a beginner. I bought two skeins in every colorway because I loved the way the stripes made me look like a better knitter! Love it! The easiest and best way to deal with stress! Easy, happy memories, and beer! Love it Steph!
Those were my first socks, and still my favorite to wear. They are tall, soft, and I still get oohs and aahs when I wear them.
“I’m not telling them otherwise either, not unless they look like they could be converted into knitters with the knowledge”
This sentence made me smile 🙂
Wow! My daughter has a pair of socks knitted in that yarn that were sent to her by the lovely Heather at http://www.lectio.ca/ back when she was just a little toddler and I couldn’t imagine these giant socks would ever fit! Now… they’re getting too small, but I still insist that she wear them because I love the feeling of connection with a knitter I’ve never met who sent my daughter socks just because.
Don’t you just love how contractors just disappear? I also like when you try to call them about a job and you have to call about 5 times before they’ll call you back. Then, when you say, “well, I left 5 voicemails,” they don’t even have the decency to apologize for being unable to return a call.
Thanks for the last link of your chosen Christmas presents for this year. Made me laugh out loud!
Thanks for the last link of your chosen Christmas presents for this year. Made me laugh out loud!
“All mouth and no trousers…” You learn something new every day around the Yarn Harlot!
Fun socks!
I’m catching up, here. A couple of years ago, I submitted some fingerless gloves to the State Fair that I’d knitted using the self-striping yarn. They were so cute (the ones from the cover of “Not Just Socks”) and I thought ‘what the heck’ – I got a first place ribbon, so I was happy. What freaked me out was this: On the back of the card attached to the ribbon, the JUDGE had written “Clever use of color, the patchwork design is quite pretty” – or something to that effect. I figured if the STATE FAIR JUDGE didn’t know the difference, I certainly wasn’t going to burst his/her bubble.
I love your blog and your great sense of humor. I would find a colour (single even) as they seem to have some with lots of colour in them and some with very little variation and finish the last swirl with it. Easy peasy!! Hope you have a lovely holiday.