Isn’t it amazing what can be done with one little skein of sock yarn? Maybe it’s the put-up, usually 395 – 450 yards per skein, so perfect for so many things. Maybe it’s the weight. Light, gentle and easy on the hands, sock yarn works for everything from sweaters to gossamer shawls. And these days, with so many clever dyers out there, the color of modern sock yarn is very enticing indeed! Self-patterning, self-striping, and the long color changes of the effectgarns give knitters no end of inspiration.
One of my very first knitting projects was a scratchy pair of socks (in all honesty, a single scratchy sock) and I distinctly remember staring at a rack of the ol’ Beehive 4-ply thinking bleh. We’ve come a long way, baby.
Let’s face it, there are those skeins that are too truly delectable to bury beneath pants and shoes. They need to be seen, front and center. Such is my feeling for this luscious offering from Blue Moon Fibre Arts that I picked up at Twist this summer. I’ve been racking my brain and scouring the web for some truly grand state of being for this yarn.
I love this. I love the way it sits around the neck and on the shoulders and I like that there would be no fiddling and pinning with Luna Viridis there way there often is with shawls. I’m intrigued by the construction; the pattern notes say “It begins as a semi-circular shawl with a Stockinette Stitch center worked flat, and is then joined and worked in the round to create a circular piece that mimics a shawlette wrapped around the neck.” Yeah. I need to try that.
I did a little experiment this week. I wondered just how far a single skein of sock yarn would go. I’ve come up with a pretty cute little pattern, “Wind in the Wheat”, a single skein design that could be worked with a solid or a self-striping yarn. The lace pattern is easy to memorize and quick and easy to work, and at 50″ in diameter, just the right length to hang around the neck or wrap twice. Should be ready to launch within the next day or two 😉 Happy Knitting!
