Yarnapalooza 2007, well it sounds good.

Lets talk about my sock clubs today. I started to see the joys of sock clubs when I joined the final Posh Yarns sock club late last year. That mystical package that arrived each month. I hadn't even touched the yarn from Posh before this venture but the raves were overwhelming. The idea that the club would sell out so quickly caused me to wonder why. When the first hank came to the door the questions were answered. Fast forward almost a year and I'm enrolled in three other sock clubs, Woolgirl, Yarn Tree, and Full Thread Ahead. I was enticed into the Yarn Tree club because my friend Lori Lawson from Capistrano Fiber Arts was asked to be one of the guest dyers. Yes I'm a yarn snob and I will openly admit it. The "Indie" dyers have become the main source of my recent yarn purchases.



I've been a little lax at reporting my purchases lately but real life has been taking precedence over my blog life.


Here is some of what arrived in the mail lately.

Sock Clubs? The slippery slope of knitters

• Yarn Tree Sock Club, A Yarn for all seasons. Inaugural 12 month bi-monthly
  


• Wool Girl Sock Club. Inaugural 6 month
  


• Full Tread Ahead Sock Club, Full Toes Ahead Inaugural 3 month buy in

Here is what came in the first instalment of the Yarn Tree Club.



Each instalment is hand dyed by some of the leading fiber artist. This was by Cheryl Shaefer of Shaefer Yarns. Autumn Spice



A pattern created specifically for the club and to show off the colors of the yarn.

Documentation was bountiful. It even included a DVD of the sock being knit up in various stages of the construction. But there is more.





A two sided sock/project bag with side pockets on both sides.




They even included the Brittany cable needle, needed for the pattern.



This club was supposed to be limited to 50 but they let in 62 lucky individuals. The Yarn Harlot was quoting statistics of 50 million knitters and less than a hundred of us get to play in the sock club.



Next is the WoolGirl Sock Club. Woolgirl is a popular online distributor for indie dyers. Most of the yarn snobs and lovers of indie dyed yarn have purchased from one of these distributors.


Wonderful documentation and clear pattern for the yarn. Some nice additions besides just yarn and a pattern. Woolgirl had a sock club journal and Woolgirl pen in the first shipment. She included stitch markers that matched the yarn too. Jen is selecting one of her dyers who creates a special colorway for the club while promoting the artist. It's a win win for the artist and Jen because if you like the club yarn you will purchase more of the dyers fiber.

This is Miss Babs hand dyes in the Waterfall colorway. Very nice color and the feel is just as good as it looks.


The third Club is the Full Thread ahead. This is a retail shop based club. We saw them last Winter at Stitches West. They had a booth and the yarns were special among all the yarn for sale. I bought some roving and overdyed yarn in her booth. I was alerted when she started a Group on Ravelry. Each shipment came with a plastic sock project bag and she included a pattern for each with a needle gage as a bonus.




I bought backwards one month and was rewarded with reduced shipping and a beautiful hank of Seacoast Handpaints Merino Tencel in colorway "San Francisco Surf"



I know there are people who belong to 10 or more sock clubs but I can't knit fast enough to use what I am getting from the 3 I'm in now. Mrs. Twisted loves to see the yarn come in colors I don't really like because she adopts it. You all know that she can have anything really if she really wants it. I have a couple select hanks but the rest is fair game.

The rest of the purchases were from sock yarn surfing on Ravelry or from the enablers in the knit groups we associate with. Very bad people to hang around with. :P


Wooly Boully in the colorway Wisteria. If you haven't touched the Wooly Boully yet you owe it to yourself. This is the softest squishiest superwash merino/nylon sock yarn I have ever felt. http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5087261

The same yarn in colorway Strawberry Moon of June

My Small Wonders Hand Painted Sock Yarn in two similar but different colorways. They offer a mega hank of 459 yards. Aquamarine on the left and #120 on the right. I think they called it Sea Foam Green on the Etsy page. http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=58758

In transit, I have some Mama Llama Silk/Seacell in a deep purple ( are you surprised?) Available through Woolgirl. http://www.woolgirl.com/

Some semi-solid colorway yarn from Yarn Addict Anni a source in the UK I found on Ravelry. http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5176497 She is going to be the Lime and Violet yarn shop of the day on Monday October 1st. Buy now before they are sold out.

Life Is Good