Sunday, January 21, 2007

In the interest of full disclosure

I bought yarn! Yes, it's true, I caved!

Now before you get all judgy here's the facts....

I live in a semi-tropical climate (Semi? I dunno, it's pretty damn tropical 51 weeks a year!)

I love to knit socks!

Many of the feet I knit for live in the same semi-tropical climate and/or have enough wool socks.

Many of said feet have requested cotton sockage but as we obsessed avid socknitters know the choices among cotton sock yarns leave something to be desired. Oh some are pretty indeed but since cotton has no memory there's a high incidence of Floppy Stretched Out Sock Syndrome (FSOSS), even if the sock has some wool/nylon content.

Enter the addition of some sort of "elastic" to conquer FSOSS, socknitters rejoice! But....and there's always a but, right?.....But, the cotton/elastic yarns are all on the somewhat *fluffy* side being of at least a sportweight density. Cascade Fixation and Socks That Rock Sock Candy are two that come readily to mind - both lovely yarns but of a thickness that can make any shoe a tight squeeze!

Where oh where are the soft, thin, pretty, STRETCHY fingering weight cotton yarns of a socknitters dreams??

When I decided that 2007 was to be my year of knitting from the stash, I made my rules short and sweet...don't by yarn and sock yarns DO VERY MUCH COUNT!! In fact, without sock yarns I would have a pretty anemic stash and as the sockyarn stash stands now, I believe I could cover a good many of the feet in Ft. Lauderdale and still have leftovers :)

The one caveat I did not disclose was that I had heard a rumor....yes, there was a long awaited STRETCHY fingering weight cotton sock yarn on the horizon and I knew that I would be indulging.

And so I have.....


Rosewater, Fall Herbs and Painted Iris

This is Panda Cotton from Crystal Palace. It's a bamboo, cotton and elastic blend and it's as soft as a baby's bottom! And it's fingering weight! And it's light and comes in lots of dreamy colors, both variegated and solid! Woo hoo, I'm bending my Brittany's with joy!

I haven't swatched yet but when I do I'll give y'all a full review.

So what can I say, the flesh is weak but isn't it a woman's perrogative to change her mind? :)

What have I been doing since my last post? Well, lots of knitting has occurred but not lots of picture taking. I knit a second pair the
Wine and Roses Mitts because my sis-in-law fell in love with them when she was here for Dad's funeral. I also knit my big footed brother as well as a friend some felted clogs that look very much like these....his in a dark aubergine Galway and hers in a funky grass green heather with bright tangerine trim Cascade 220.

I'm eagerly awaiting the start of the Forest Path Stole-a-long that starts on Feb. 1. We're up to 40 participants now, woot!! So while I wait it's more of the little projects for me. I cast these on this morning:


It's my first green sock for the Green Sock unKAL!!

It's the Oblique Openwork pattern from Sensational Knitted Socks by Charlene Schurch. I'm using Mountain Colors Bearfoot in the Evergreen colorway. It's hard to capture the color but it's a rich blend of spruce, olive, teal, navy and a bit of burgundy. So soft and pretty! I adore knitting with Bearfoot!

Since the knitting pics are skimpy I aim to appease with two beautiful non-knitting pics here at Chez FKD so I give you....

My first Saturday Sky of 2007


It was such a clear, glorious day with cool ocean breezes and warm, golden sunshine...it's days like these that make me realize how lucky I am to live in a place where cotton socks rule :)

As always, my handsome Florida Orange bids you adieu


(I just love it when he tucks his little feet in like this!)

and says have a great week with lots of even stitches!

29 comments:

Agnes said...

Is the new sock yarn a real fingering weight? I referred the info to Grumperina (who is also always in search of cotton sock yarn) and she told me it is still a bit thick to her taste. Since I took part in the YFC, I am not going to buy any yet ... but sooner or later, I'll try ... maybe on the free days.
I am pretty sure I can finish my husband's sweater before the start of the KAL ... at least the knitting part ... finishing should not take too long. :)

Agnes said...

Wooo hooo ... first one to comment! :)

Anonymous said...

woot!!!! Beefcat P-man! New wallpaper for me and Perry Penelope. If she weren't such an old lady (17 people years, about 84 in cat) she'd be packing a bag!

Can't wait for a review on the new yarn. Tt gets pretty tropical (hot, hazy, humid) here in the CT River Valley in July/August :)

Agnes, I'd be first except for having to sign in on the new (it's out of beta) blogger :P

Nana Sadie said...

Ok...you adhered to everyone else's rules for sock yarn being "exempt" from the use of stash...we forgive you...I thought you might be just a bit over-zealous in your exclusion of it - lolololol!
LOVE the Bearfoot socks! And the P-Man looks a little like a teddy bear there...
(((hugs)))

Anonymous said...

I see your beauties arrived in a timely fashion. Great shopping with you, kiddo. I look forward to your review.

Re: your Florida Orange, he's adorable! I love it when Niki does that "paw tuck"
too.

Anonymous said...

Great pattern you've chosen for the unKAL. It's beautiful!

Denise/CT said...

You've been a busy gal. I love that Panda Cotton Rosewater colorway. Well worth falling off the wagon for. Did your local yarn shop carry it or did you order it? Your right, cotton sock yarn in fingerweight is almost impossible to find. That is a beautiful colorway of Bearfoot I think I'll have to place an order for some sock yarn soon. I'm going to need some relaxed knitting after I start the Forest Path Stole Along. Hugs to P-Man, too cute!

Anonymous said...

What a glorious sky! (And the socks look amazing as well.)

Anonymous said...

That new yarn sounds perfect for your climate. Have fun with it!

Carol said...

I'll have to keep that yarn on my future list! I. Must. Be Good. Can't wait see what you're knitting up! Your green sock is just so pretty as always! Looks like the P-Man is showing us just how huggable he is!

Suzanne said...

Your Pandas look great! I can understand what you mean about the sock yarn weights and all. Fat socks are best for cold times!

P-man looks great--the vet told me when cats tuck their feet they are very relaxed. Kitty yoga!

Anonymous said...

That yarn sounds wonderful. Even though I live in the frozen tundra, cotton can come in handy for the summers...think I might have to get some. Have you tried Cascade Fixation?

LOVE the cat picture. That is one contented cat.

Monika said...

Mountain color bearfoot is so nice on the feet! I LOVE how you P-man holds his front paws in! ;o) And his face - always!

Anonymous said...

Lookit, at least you fell off the wagon for something really great - no judgment here!! I'll be waiting to hear how it knits up.

Anonymous said...

I look forward to hearing your review of the Panda yarn. Living in Texas there's alot more HOT then there is COLD!

Anonymous said...

I can't wait to hear about the Panda yarn! The current cotton/elastics are indeed much too heavy for those who *need* cotton socks.

Anonymous said...

Hugs to you and the Orange man...also waiting on tenterhooks for your review of the sock yarn.
p.s. it was -6 degrees this morning in southern Utah! can't wait to get back to warm.

Anonymous said...

I'd like to hear how the cotton yarn goes. I have plenty of wool, but no nice cotton socks for the summer months.

40! Wow, I really need to finish Hidcote before the end of the month!

Dorothy said...

We'll be anxiously awaiting your review on the new yarn. I've used Sockotta, which is fingering weight, but it isn't terribly soft. I'm furiously knitting away on my CIC gansey so it will be finished before Feb. 1st. I also wanted to finish my cashmere shawl, but I have an excuse - I need a longer cable and the USPS is not cooperating!
dswaite@mac.com

Anonymous said...

The new sock yarn looks nice. I hope the cotton sock yarn works out for you. So you bought yarn, but it's cotton sock yarn and that definitely is good for your climate. I was so tempted by your FPS KAL, but I cannot buy yarn for awhile,and I would need more to make that stole. I'm glad to know that it's not as difficult as I thought it might have been, since you mentioned on the KAL blog that it's only three charts, but it's the entrelac that makes it look difficult.

I like the new sock too. That design is very nice.

Anonymous said...

Oh, I just bought that book, and that's one of my favorite patterns that I've seen so far in thumbing through it. Your's look great!

I can't wait to hear your review of the sock yarn.

Anonymous said...

I can see why you caved, that's beautiful sock yarn. And as you said, warm friendly sock yarn is something hard to find, especially that is soft. My cotton sock yarn I have feels horrible on my feet!

Lorette said...

I love that Bearfoot color! And the new cotton sock yarn looks great, too.
Lucy wants P-man's autograph. He's such a handsome little devil.

Shannon said...

That cotton looks great! Lucky for me :-) I live in a cold climate where wool is almost a necessity. Otherwise I'd be on the same search for cotton sock yarn.

Crystal Palace Yarns said...

Thanks for giving our new Panda Cotton a try! We are getting great response from the 6-7 test knitters who have worked with it (and even some are doing baby clothes with it).

Here's some photos of socks made already - and so far no one has complained that the yarn is too think when knit.
We have a Panda Wool Bamboo mix, too.
http://www.straw.com/cpy/gallery/sock_gallery2.html

I'm working on new colors already - a shop in New Orleans wants MardiGras colors! And I'm going to do a Rasta mix, too.

Susan Druding at Crystal Palace Yarns,
who is doing some blog searching for CPY Panda comments tonight.

Anonymous said...

No serious sock knitter could have passed up this yarn. Besides you were stimulating the economy!

Jes said...

Hehee, Sunshine tucks her feet under like that too, except she's a little more fluffy and she rolls her pudge over her feet and it looks like she has no legs at all. It's rather entertaining =)
I'm excited to hear your reviews about the panda yarn. I don't blame you for getting some, who could resist? If I didn't have a million things on needles, I'd be right there with you ;)

Rebecca said...

Okay - I forgive you! It sounds like you have a good enough reason. I love that Oblique Openwork and have that book so I'm going to follow your progress closely :-) I really like how it's looking so far! And, I even have some Bearfoot in that very color! I love Bearfoot, too.

Anonymous said...

Oh that's a pretty sock! Hi, P-man!