Finishing Up The Scottish Inspired Socks

Hey Everyone!

I finally finished up the third and final pair of my Scottish Inspired Socks.

This last pair of socks, the yarn I used was KnitPicks Hawthorne Tonal Fingering yarn in the Colorway: “Inverness”.

The needles I used were my 2.25mm US size 1 needles.

I feel like I had these socks on the needles for quite a while, since I had two pairs going of the same gauge, so I had just let these sit.

This afternoon I also started in on my first sock of the four pairs of the Steampunk Collection Yarns that I purchased. I am only seven rows into the cuff, and I am already loving how it is looking.

Evaluating My Yarn Stash

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I am definitely addicted to Sock Yarn, and ordering way more than I need. I have come the conclusion that the order I put in this morning, really needs to be the last order I put in for a very long time. I have so much sock yarn (and yarn in general) sitting around that I need to be doing some major stash busting, and knit up what I have so that I can actually put it to use!

I picked up a set of two more containers for storing my finished socks today while I was out, as the one container I was using was overflowing with socks, and I still have so much yarn to knit up.

I have seriously been considering and praying about moving, and where to move, since the economy where I am is still tough and finding a job where I can make ends meet isn’t happening here, while the cost of living is continuing to sky rocket.

I would also like to live somewhere where there is actually snow each winter, and gets cold each winter. I am wanting to put the cold weather accessories I have knit up, and am planning on knitting up to good use, on a regular basis. It doesn’t get cold enough often enough here for me to use a lot of what I have made.

This morning, before I decided to enforce a moratorium on sock yarn ordering, I put in what will be my last order of sock yarn for a very long time. I ordered two more Hanks of sock yarn from Forbidden Fiber Company. I order two more of the Steampunk Collection Yarns, that have more pink in them, even though they are more subtle than straight up pink.

I must say that Forbidden Fiber Company has become my favorite smaller / independent yarn company. Their website is really well designed and set up. I also love following the company’s Instagram account. The owner has great customer service and goes the extra mile in the presentation and packing of the yarn when shipped. All the yarn I have ordered from her has been very nicely wrapped with a branded sticker to keep it closed. Each of the packing slips that have come with my ordered, have had a handwritten personalized note thanking me for my order. I usually try to put in my online orders before 9:00 am Pacific time (Noon Eastern). That being said, all my orders from Forbidden Fiber Company have been shipped within two business days. All of this has left a positive and favorable impression of this yarn company. Not to mention I also just love their yarn. I have definitely had less than favorable experiences dealing with other yarn companies, which is why when I have a good experience with a company that also has some pretty and soft yarn that knits up really well (I will post more once I have washed and worn the socks I have knit up), I have to share my experience with y’all.

If you have been following me for any length of time, you will know that I give honest reviews of the yarn and yarn companies that I have purchased yarn from and have used. If I am not a fan of a particular yarn, I will say so, if I have crappy customer service, I will share my less than stellar customer experience, While try to be constructive about it.

Steampunk Sock Yarn

Hey Everyone!

Last week, I had ordered a couple of Hanks of yarn from Forbidden Fiber Company.

I had ordered a hank of the Victoria’s Memory yarn on the Babel base, as well as a hank of the Erie Canal Yarn, on the Fortitude Base.

I have been wanting to try the Babel yarn since I came across it and the company. Apparently it’s pretty popular since most of the colorways that were done in the Babel base were sold out. I finally found a color that I liked that still had it available on the Babel base. The Babel yarn base is made up of the following fiber content: 70% superwash merino, 20% Nylon and 10% yak. I have never worked with Yak fiber before, and I am curious to see what I think (even though 10% isn’t much). The Fortitude yarn base is 100% superwash merino, and it is the same yarn base I got the Fraser’s Ridge colorway on.

This hank is the Victoria’s Memory colorway on the Babel base

This is the Erie Canal Colorway on the Fortitude base.

There are a couple more Hanks of the Steampunk Collection that I am planning on getting in the near future.

Before I start in on the Steampunk Collection Socks, I am finishing up the last pair of “Scottish” socks I have been working on. I have recently knit up two Outlander inspired pairs of sock, and the pair I am working on is called Inverness, so I am wanting to get this pair done before I move on.

Leaving Ravelry and Finishing Projects.

Hey Everyone!

It’s a bit crazy how much has happened since my last post.

First off was the #Istandwithravelry / #byeravelry – #unraveled chaos. 99% of the time I do prefer to keep the extent of my political views to myself. Though it came to the point that I couldn’t standby and continue to support private companies that don’t share my values, who choose to discriminate against and inaccurately label a group of people who they don’t agree with. While Ravelry and the companies who support them are well within their rights to have their beliefs, and choose to take whatever stance they choose, it is also well within my rights to choose not to support Ravelry and their supporters. As a White, conservative, woman, I don’t appreciate being labeled a “White Supremacist”, when I am not, just because I chose to vote for Trump over Hillary. Honestly I don’t like the man any more than anyone else, though I certainly wasn’t going to vote for Hillary.

Since all that went down, I have been going through those who I follow on social media, and did some clean up. I choose to follow those who have similar values or are able to keep their business neutral. It did show me who I do and do not want to support.

That all being said, I intend to keep my blog about Knitting and yarn crafts in general, and keep it neutral. I don’t mind explaining something if I am asked a question that is respectful, and out of curiosity and just wanting to know why. Anything that is hateful, or looking for an argument will be deleted, that is how I have always operated.

The only reason I am even addressing it, is because the yarn I used for the most recent pair of socks I had knit up, I had ordered from a company prior to the Ravelry show down, that I wouldn’t have ordered after it happened. I am not going to waste the money I have spent on yarn, it just means going forward that I choose not to order from these companies.

I knit up this pair of socks using the hank of bubble sock yarn I had ordered from Bumblebee Acres Fiber Farm, in the colorway “Scottish Thistle”. The last time I had checked it was no longer available, though I have no idea whether it is currently still unavailable.

The socks turned out pretty, but the yarn was kind of a pain in the rear end to knit with.

This was also the same company that it took a month or so to even ship (so I had to wait for 5 weeks to receive the yarn).

That all being said, I am now definitely more mindful of where I buy my yarn from, as well as my patterns. I haven’t found a new place for patterns that I really like, besides KnitPicks, and the patterns I had gotten off Ravelry, most I had printed off when I got them years ago. I had just one left that I had printed off before I deleted my account. It’s no hard loss for me since I hardly used Ravelry anymore, it’s more the principal of the thing. I don’t support discrimination, and I try to treat people with respect, until I am treated with such disrespect that I need to walk away and tell them “Bye Felicia”.