My Sister's Knitter

February Indie Dyer~ Long Dog Yarn

 

Happy Sunday! Hope you week was kind and gentle to you.

Today  I have the pleasure of introducing you to this month's featured indie dyer. As you know this year I am introducing you to some talented indie dyers in the hope that you find some new loves.

And here is Brandy dyer extraordinaire and the face behind Long Dog Yarn.

 

 

When did you start your business?

Formally, I first started selling my hand-dyed yarns online in May 2016. I was on the verge of defending my Ph.D. thesis, so that seemed as good a time as any to jump into something completely new and different and try to start a whole new business endeavor. 

 

 

 

 

What inspired you to dye yarn and what inspires your colors?

I had been knitting for about 3.5 years and had been designing my own knitwear patterns for about a year when I jumped into seriously dyeing yarn. I was initially inspired by the idea of creating my own custom color palettes for my designs and having complete creative control over the entire process, from the yarn through to the finished project. After I started, dyeing yarn became a new and different creative outlet for me that related to my passion for knitting, but gave me a bit more instant gratification in what I produced. I just began playing with different color palettes and dyeing styles - fortunately, people seemed to respond to it and my business has continued to grow in exciting and unexpected ways. 

 

My colors are largely inspired by nature, but sometimes different color palettes from billboards or people’s outfits on the street will inspire me and I will immediately jot down new colorways in my phone. I also use Pinterest a lot to explore graphic art and different color palettes to get inspiration when I get in the mood to try dyeing up something new for the shop.

 

 

 

 

How about a little about you?

Well, I’ve finished my PhD now and am focusing most of my attention on the dyeing and design aspects of my business to try to grow and make an actual living from my creative work. 

 

I have a wire-hair dachshund named Rufus who was the inspiration behind my yarn company name and logo. 

 

And finally, after crocheting for years and years I finally taught myself to knit using online tutorials because I wanted to make myself a warm pair of socks while my husband and I were going to school in Toronto for our PhDs. I had always felt before that knitters were a bit snobby and thought themselves better than crocheters, so I had stayed away due to pride. But once I knit my first pair of socks, I was completely hooked and I have been knitting nonstop ever since. It’s proved to be an amazing creative outlet, helped relieve a lot of the stress associated with graduate school, and now I feel very fortunate to have the chance to knit and work with yarn on a daily basis as my job!

 

 

 

Where do you see yourself and the business in 5 years?

I would really love to continue the growth I’ve been able to experience these past several months and continue to expand my line of yarns into more retail stores throughout North America and maybe even overseas! I’d also love to team up with other knitwear designers to put together a collection of designs featuring my yarns - something in the vain of the Brooklyn Tweed model. I’d even like to explore the idea of opening my own small yarn shop that showcases the beautiful work of independent hand dyers and the creativity and hard work that goes into dyeing beautiful skeins of yarn.

 

Lovely chatting with Brandy, right?

 

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I am currently knitting up some of this beautiful yarn and if you can believe it, I went for a more muted color. This is despite the fact that all of those beautiful bright colors pictured above spoke to me. Something about this color (Champagne Toast), captivated me and I see the final socks in my sock drawer.

 

 

 

The yarn is incredible. Some of you avid sock knitters may already know this, but you can tell by how a yarn knits up, how it is going to wear. Despite being  super soft and lush, I can feel that these socks are going to last. Good thing because I am smitten.

 

 

Pattern~ Pillars by Lisa Stichweh

 

I really cannot get enough of this yarn.  It is soft with an occasional pop of dark grey and it sings to my sock knitting soul.

 

Thank you so much Brandy for allowing me to chat with you and share a bit about you on my blog. Now Brandy not only accepted by request to be a featured as my indie of the February but also sent a little gift your way-

"I’ve set up the coupon code MSK15 for my Etsy shop and longdogyarn.com to save 15% on any order until March 12, 2017. "

 

 

 

 

Have a the best day today!

 

XO,

 

Andi

Talking socks...a review and knitalongs.

 

Hello! Happy Sunday!

Today we are talking about socks. I have a review for you as well as some great KALs that are going on that will allow you to get your sock knitting on.

 

If you are like me and one of your New Year's knitting goals is to knit more socks then Sock Star may be for you.

Sock Star is an E-book that was created by Jody Richards of Knotions. In case you are not  familiar with Knotions it is a brilliant resource for knitting and crochet that is chalked full of patterns, tutorials, resources...and the list goes on.  Back to Sock Star, whether you are a seasoned sock knitter or a newbie this E-Book is for you.

Everything you need or ever wanted to know about sock knitting is included in Sock Star (here are just a few ).

 

• Anatomy of a sock
• Toe up construction
• Cuff Down construction
• Heels
• Toes

 

Like I mentioned these are just a few. One of my favorite things about this book is how it goes into informative topic such as how certain yarn content can effect the strength, stretch, stitch  definition, super wash and absorption of your sock. Information like that is priceless for all sock knitters. I admit on more than one occasion I have knit socks that didn't fit or stay up due to the wrong yarn choice on my part.

As if all the written information wasn't enough, Sock Star also has amazingly detailed photos to assist in the translation.  Everything you can want and more is included. Seriously think of something that you would like to know about sock knitting- it is in Sock Star.

Thank you Jody I for offering up this smart resource for me to be able to review. Jody is also offering up a discount code for Sock Star using the code msk when checking out here.  This will get you $1.00 off the $5.95 price. If you ask me, $5.00 for a E-Book with this amount of information is a steal. This coupon code will be good through Sunday January 15th.

If you would like to know about Sock Star you can also visit Knotions.

 

 

Now how about knit-alongs? One of the best things about Ravelry is the community it has created for us. We can get support, make friends, share pattern ideas and knit along with other's like us who have similar tastes and interests.

Here are a few groups that are hosting sock knitting themed knit-alongs.

 

• Yarngasm group- Box O' Sox
• My Sister's Knitter- Personal sock yarn club2017
• Sock knitters
• Sock Knitter's Anonymous
• Grocery Girls- Socktawk

 

I am positive there are many more. Please feel free to share in the comments if you know of any others.

I will leave you with a video from Arne and Carlos.

 

 

Have the best day today!

XO,

Andi 

Sock Series Part ~ Mina

 

Happy Sunday!

We are now into our 3rd post of the Sock Series and this Sunday I have the pleasure of posting about another of my sock heroes. Mina is an avid sock knitter and is yet another knitter who inspires me to continue with my love affair with socks.  Just like Staci and Jesse, Mina is an all around good person and I feel lucky to "know" her.

Let's talk about some socks with Mina, shall we?

 

Photo courtesy of Mina

How long have you been knitting socks?

I've been knitting socks since December 2014 ... Then I started knitting one pair a month at the start of 2015 and by May of that year I had seriously caught the sock knitting bug and was starting to do more than one pair a month, until the start of 2016 where I took part in the Sockathon Challenge between myself and Marsha where we both ended up knitting 35 pairs of socks each in the month ... I'm not sure I'm in any hurry to repeat that again but it was a fun challenge and the knitting community was a great support to both of us. Now I tend to take my time over a pair of socks and usually get through them at a rate of about a pair every 3-6 days depending on pattern and what else I am working on at the time.

 

 

Photo courtesy of Mina

 

What is your favorite method...top down or toe up and why?

I am most certainly in the cuff down camp of sock knitting ... i actually started out as a toe up sock knitter but was having real issues with fit and getting the correct foot length so I switched to cuff down and haven't looked back since. I am looking forward to trying toe up again soon ... I'd like to have both techniques to a point where I am comfortable knitting either so I have that choice. There are certainly times where Toe Up is a better choice either for the pattern or the yarn you are using.

 

 

 

Photo courtesy of Mina

 

What it is about sock knitting that appeals to you?

Its small, portable, can be as simple or as complex as you want it to be and frankly there are so many gorgeous yarns that all look amazing when knit up as socks! But most of all you can never have too many socks, they make great gifts and are very practical.

 

 

Photo courtesy of Mina

 

Favorite tip or technique you would like to share?

I have always knit my socks two at a time, from my very first pair to now I have never knit my socks one a time as I know myself and I know I would seriously have issues with second sock syndrome so if you suffer from that I would strongly suggest working your socks two at a time (I have a video tutorial to show you to get set up to do that to avoid tangling your yarn) but if that is still too fiddly and not enjoyable then I'd suggest working your socks concurrently on separate needles so you still finish them together. 

 

 

Photo courtesy of Mina

 

Favorite patterns?

Well pretty much all the socks I knit now are based off of my vanilla sock recipe - Mina's Two At A Time Socks - even if I follow a different pattern I always use that basic sock formula and work the stitch pattern into that. I've recently been loving knitting simple textured socks as they are the perfect amount of thinking when plain vanilla is maybe not quite engaging enough

 

 

Photo courtesy of Mina

 

 

Questions from readers:

 

A reader Lynn as about thoughts on toe shaping. Recommendations on finishing toe techniques that don't require grafting? I love doing a rounded wedge toe ... I find it fits well and I like the shape it gives both on and off the foot. I have instructions for how to do that in all of my sock patterns including the free one I have on Ravelry. As for alternative finishing techniques that don't involve grafting, I personally have always used the Kitchener stitch myself so can't really suggest anything else, however I have heard of people turning the sock inside out and doing a 3 needle bind off on the inside of the sock. Although this would leave you with a seam on the inside which may or may not irritate the toes.

 

 

Photo courtesy of Mina

 

A reader Rebecca asks how to avoid laddering when knitting socks on DPNS and magic loop?

- This is actually a question I get asked a lot and one I'm afraid I don't have a great answer for. I don't do anything special to avoid ladders in my socks other than ensuring the first couple stitches after I've changed needles have a firm tension on them. I only knit socks magic loop, I'm not a fan of DPN's personally. Having said that I do still get ladders in my socks, but they are never too pronounced, so they usually come out in the blocking/wearing and if they don't well then I don't let myself get too bothered by it. At the end of the day its just a pair of socks that are going to be worn one your feet and likely in shoes ... no one is going to be looking at them so closely to notice if there is some slight laddering going on. I try not to get too caught up in making everything perfect ... but to enjoy the process of making.

 

 

 

As you can see Mina is amazing. In addition to being a prolific sock knitter she is also an amazing designer, you can check out her patterns here.  You can also find Mina on Instagram, her podcast Knitting Expat and on her blog.

 

Thank you Mina so much for sharing with us your sock knitting adventures!

 

Have the best day today.  I am leaving you with a video tutorial from Mina on how to avoid holes when knitting your heels. I will be back next week with a close to our sock series. Stay tuned as I think you are really going to like it and there may be a giveaway on the agenda. (hint-hint). ;)

 

 

 

 

 

XO,

Andi

Sock Series Part 2~ Jesse

 

Happy Sunday to you! Here we are at the end of another week and lucky us we get to be inspired by another one of my sock knitting heroes! Thank you all for the love you showed Staci last week. It was wonderful to hear that she inspired you as much as she inspired me.

This week Jesse is going to share with you her sock knitting experience. Jesse has been a long time friend and an overall wonderful knitter and person...enjoy!

 

Photo courtesy of Jesse

 

How long have you been knitting socks?​

 

I have been knitting socks since 2011. My first pair took six months to finish, and I was not hooked. By the time I was on the third pair, however, I was obsessed! Socks were the reason why I wanted to knit in the first place. It took me one year of learning the basics of knitting before I felt comfortable with socks.

 

 

 Photo courtesy of Jesse

 

 

What is your favorite method...top down or toe up and why?

 

My favorite method to knit socks is cuff down and one at a time, with a heel flap and gusset. These fit me the best so I mainly stick to this method. For the most part, I like sock knitting that is mindless. So, knitting cuff down means I can start the heel flap whenever I like, and since I know how many rows to knit the foot, I only have to count them. There’s minimal measurement fuss.

 

 

 Photo courtesy of Jesse

 

 

What it is about sock knitting that appeals to you?

 

There are so many reasons why sock knitting appeals to me. As far as projects goes, socks are incredibly portable. I always have a sock in my purse and pull it out whenever I have to wait. When we travel I bring a sock to work on, and so then afterward, I think of that trip when I wear those socks. I love that sock yarn comes in every color imaginable, it stripes and patterns, and it glitters. I don't wear a lot of wild colors or prints in my daily wardrobe, except for my socks!

 

 

 Photo courtesy of Jesse

 

 

Favorite tip or technique you would like to share?

 

My favorite tip for knitting socks two at a time on one circular needle is to safety pin the socks together. It keeps them together and makes knitting easier. If I’m standing and knitting, and the sock is long and heavy, I sometimes roll it up so it doesn’t swing. It’s a little easier on my elbows and wrists. I also like having a progress keeper that I move when I pick up my knitting; it visually shows me how much I’ve knit during that period and it can be motivating.

 

 

 Photo courtesy of Jesse

 

 

Favorite patterns?

 

It’s no secret that I love Hermione’s Everyday Socks by Erica Lueder! I’ve knit at least six pairs and I use her modified Eye of Partridge heel in just about every other pair I knit. The sock has everything I love: it’s easy to memorize, has amazing texture, fits wonderfully, and just about any yarn looks beautiful in the stitch pattern. Also…Harry Potter !

 

 

 Photo courtesy of Jesse

 

 

Questions from readers~

 

What do you feel is the best type of heel for self-striping? Have you ever knit self-striping in a gusset and if so did you do anything different to help the colors stay in sequence?

 

I have become very unfussy about self-striping yarn and heels. I don’t mind knitting self-striping with a gusset, because to me, the fit of the sock outweighs the appearance. I also don’t mind if the stripes line up or not! That said, I have used both afterthought heels and Fish Lips Kiss Heels with self-striping yarn and it does look really nice when everything lines up.

 

One new sock knitter has a problem with their heels lining up. Any thoughts?

 

This is one reason why I stopped minding if heels line up. Even if you ensure you start at the same stripe sequence for both socks, gauge could be just a smidgen off and the heels won’t line up perfectly. Sometimes I got lucky and without much planning, ended up with two matching socks. I think using a contrast yarn for the heel helps, because you can always cut out extra yarn if the sequence gets off.

 

 

Thank you so much, Jesse for sharing your wonderful thoughts, tips and photos with us.

You can find Jesse on Instagram, Ravelry and via her podcast, The Hungry Cat.

 

Stayed tuned for next weeks sock star...Mina!

 

Have the best day today!

XO,

Andi

 

Sock Series Part 1~ Staci

 

Hello loves! Happy Sunday to you. :)

As promised this month is going to feature some serious sock-talk in the form of a sock series. I virtually approached a couple of my sock heroes asking them if they would be interested in answering some questions, sharing with you some tips, providing photos and basically just chatting about socks. For the next three Sundays you will be entertained and inspired by people who inspire me. I also pulled some questions that you all posted about sock knitting and threw a couple their way.

To kick off these fun shenanigans is a longtime inspiration, Staci. I drool over her Instagram posts and keep up her latest updated projects on Ravelry as often as I drink tea.

 

Photo courtesy of Staci

Q~ What it is about sock knitting that appeals to you? 

A~ Let me count the ways! The ability to customize the fit. The vast array of yarns and patterns available. The reaction of people shifting from that puzzled "why on earth would you knit socks" to their delight when they wear their first pair. And that romantic feeling of being connected to knitting history all through a humble sock.

 

Photo courtesy of Staci

Q~ How long have you been knitting socks?

A~ I've been knitting socks for 20 years.

 

Photo courtesy of Staci

Q~ Favorite tip or technique you would like to share?

A~  I always cast on with needles 2-3 sizes larger (especially helpful for cuff down.) I pick up as many stitches that fit, no gaps, along the side of the heel flap regardless of what the pattern states. 

 

Photo courtesy of Staci

Q~ What is your favorite method...top down or toe up and why?

A~ Top down, because that's how I learned and I'm a creature of habit.

 

Photo courtesy of Staci

Q~ Favorite patterns? 

A~ Monkey by Cookie A and Socks of Kindness by Cauchy. They both work with a variety of yarns; striping, variegated, tonal. And they both look more complex than they are.

 

Photo courtesy of Staci

Now to the questions from you all.

One of the readers Angela asks:

Avid knitter, dreams of knitting socks some day not sure where to start. Recommendations?

 

Staci:

The only knitting class I've ever taken was to learn to knit socks. I'd recommend that or a friend who could help you out. I'm sure there are probably tutorials on You Tube or a class on Craftsy.com.

 

 

Thank you so much to Staci for sharing her love of sock knitting with us. You can find Stacy on Instagram and Ravelry as Snippetsandstash. I did ask another question of Stacy about her favorite yarns...this question will be answered in the last post of the month. Stay tuned.

 

Next week you will get to meet a dear friend Jesse another sock hero of mine. Till then, have the best day today!

 

XO,

Andi