Socks for Inez

I've been working on a pair of green striped socks for my friend, Inez Stannert. Inez is not a real person. She's the heroine in the Silver Rush Victorian mystery novels by writing pal, Ann Parker. It took quite a little while to find some green stripey yarn, and this is the new Felici by KnitPicks in the Arugula colorway. It's a lovely, soft 100% merino that's knitting up nicely.

But, I am rather disillusioned by the tangling from the center of the ball, and I even had this obnoxious knot in one!

I'm also a little unhappy that the yarn in the two balls didn't begin at the same point in the pattern. I tried to match them up and clearly failed despite my efforts. These little irritations seem to be a regular occurrence with KnitPicks yarns, and my major complaint with them. Ordinarily, unmatched stripes don't bother me - I think they're rather quirky and stylin'. But, these socks are for a Victorian Lady, and though she's hardly prim and proper, I don't believe she'd wear mismatched socks! I mean.... what would the Reverend say??

Your Local Yarn Shop

Or LYS as we refer to it in knitting circles. No matter what the yarn choices online or through catalogs, everyone has a favorite LYS. That's because there's nothing quite like touching yarn in person, and being in a lovely space packed to the rafters with fibers of every color and texture. Add to that a knowledgeable staff who become your teachers and friends, and it makes for a combination that's pretty hard to beat.

My favorite LYS is still the one where I learned to knit socks years ago. Green Valley Weavers and Knitters was transported from California and made its home in Colorado Springs, Colorado, tucked in a little strip of shops amongst a long row of westside homes. The ownership has changed, but Judy, who taught me to knit socks, is still there along with Carolyn.


The shop has only gotten better, and I just bought another $350 Yarn Club account for $265 + tax. That's a 25% discount on all their yarns just for paying upfront, and my stash gets pretty spoiled because of that clever marketing ploy! If your LYS doesn't have one, you might suggest it to the owner. It's a win/win situation for the shop and for the customers.

It's so handy to drop by anytime and grab a few skeins of something and just deduct it from that prepaid Yarn Club. Here are a few balls of sock yarn I picked up just to try out some different brands.