How Many Socks Can You Make Before Christmas?

As crafters, we all know the mad rush to the yarn store so we can make ALL the presents before the gift giving season only to realize once again that we really need to start these projects on Boxing Day for next year.

To make life a little easier this year, make socks or mitts TAAT (two at a time), hats, baby or child sweaters, and even shawls from sock yarn. It comes in various sizes (thicknesses) from 3 ply (for light airy shawls) to 8 ply (for sturdy work socks).

You can see from the photos that the store has a large range of colours (neon bright to subtle) and styles from bold stripes to fades to solids and hand-dyed's. There are also some merino, cashmere and bamboo blends available!

Make sure to get into the store this week, especially if you are in the Camrose area. This is the last week for the outdoor market there and I can't bring the rv indoors when they resume the market inside the Bailey Theatre for the winter months. All the other markets will be winding down as well with most ending by September 30. Lacombe and Red Deer will be finishing up just before Thanksgiving so that gives you less than a month to take advantage of no shipping costs.

written by Lori, TCL owner, who took almost six months to finish a birthday sweater (just squeaking in under the deadline) so I hope you are more successful with your handcrafted gifts this year than I have been so far.
 

Countdown to Christmas (Projects)

It's that time of year.

Last day of November and you've realized that Christmas is around the corner and, once again, you did not work on Christmas presents every month of the year so you are in the midst of a mad dash for yarn and ideas. Complicated further by the pandemic that has so many people hoarding even when the stores (and their wholesalers) are having trouble stocking their shelves in the first place. (Ask me how I know.)

Lucky for you, even though I may not have everything you think you want in stock, I may have exactly what you need. I have a number of new sock yarns (3 ply and 4 ply) that have recently arrived, with more to come, that can be used to make socks (obviously), gloves or mitts, hats, scarves, shawls and even baby sweaters. (You can further support local by purchasing my very own patterns, many of which are single ball patterns, for the above mentioned projects!)

I have also recently brought in wood sock blockers. I personally don't use them for anything other than 'production photos' but many people swear by them for their handknit creations. I have two adult sizes as well as a small child size which I'm considering using for Christmas decorations.

For those very last minute gifts, my stock of cotton for dishcloths has been replenished.

And for a little levity while you're frantically finishing your projects, I 'borrowed' the Christmas Knitting Bingo card from Yarnspirations. I may no longer deal with them because they want to sell to you directly, but they still have some fun ideas occasionally.

written by Lori, rushed TCL owner, whose reason for the blog being late today is because I was working on some Christmas socks into the wee hours of the morning and forgot to write the blog. 😉

Hung by the Chimney with Care...

How are your Holiday preparations coming along?  The first night of Hanukkah is two weeks away -- and Christmas Eve is a hop, skip and jump past that.  Whoa!

The Feast of St. Nicholas was just a couple of days ago...and communities all over rural Alberta are readying their halls for the annual visit from Santa.

According to Wikipedia, the tradition of the Christmas stocking is thought to originate with St. Nicholas, even though there are no written records about that connection.  But one of the legends about the good Saint -- the one wherein he secretly leaves a dowry for each of three daughters of a poor townsman, so that they would be able to be married and have some sort of future security -- sometimes involves the idea that he left the dowry (gold coins) in their stockings at night while they slept.

Nowadays, there is a tradition of leaving 3 gold balls -- or perhaps an orange -- in the bottom of a  child's Christmas stocking, symbolizing that gift from St. Nicholas.  Certainly, when I was a kid growing up in the fifties, oranges were not common place in the grocery stores in the winter -- but we seemed to always get one in our stockings at Christmas, a tradition I carried on with my own children, even though at the time I had no idea why.

By the time my children came along, mandarin oranges -- never heard of except in tinned form when I was younger -- were in the stores at this time of year, so sometimes we used those oranges instead of the "regular" ones which, by the nineteen eighties, were available pretty much all year 'round.

Several years ago now, friends of my daughter were expecting their first child.  I offered to make the baby a Christmas stocking, and asked the parents if they preferred quilted or knitted versions.  They chose a knitted stocking, which I made, and a few years later, followed up with another one for their second child.

Pattern: Scandinavian Stocking
Designer: Donna Kay

Later, another family chose quilted stockings for their progeny, which I happily made...but you can guess, can't you, which children like their stockings more?  After all knitted stockings stretch to accommodate what's put in them... 😉  Just sayin'!

As Lori mentioned in her post last week, there are no longer any "Super Special Sales" on offer at The Shop...but each week for the next month or two we'll endeavour to feature one of the yarns that is on sale.

Though it's highly unlikely that you'll manage to knit up a Christmas stocking between now and December 24th...this week we're featuring the ideal sock yarn, whether for hanging on the mantel with care or wearing on your tootsies, especially if you can't abide wool:

A Trio of Synthetic Sock Yarns!

Regular Prices: $10.50 to $12.00

Sale prices: 25% OFF!

$7.88 to $9.00

Berocco Comfort Sock

100 grams = 409 metres (447 yards)

50% Nylon

50% Acrylic

Available in solid colours and self-striping combinations

Universal Yarns Little Bird Colors

100 grams = 315 metres (344 yards)

100% Acrylic

AND

Wisdom Yarns Allegro

100 grams = 430 metres (470 yards)

93% Acrylic

7% Polyester

While a single ball of any one of these will make a fine pair of socks for an average-sized adult...if you're planning to make a full-on Christmas stocking...you might want three or four!  😉

Don't forget that sock yarn works well for other things too.  As a fingering weight yarn, it can be used for shawls, gloves, mittens, hats, cowls...whatever your fancy.

And now a reminder: Our Christmas Store Hours will be our regular 9am-6pm Monday through Saturday, except Thursday which is 9am-9pm as usual. We will close early Christmas Eve (exact time will depend on foot traffic) and we will be closed Christmas Day and Boxing Day.

See you in the shop!

*Written by Margaret, who squeezed this blog post in between finishing one gift sock and starting another.  'Tis the Season!

Summer Soltice

Sunshine - most people in northern countries crave sunshine, fresh air and if you can have both with a topping of water - WOW - you have summer at it's finest.

Ellis Bird Farm is celebrating Summer Soltice this Saturday, June 22! As I sit here writing this, the sparrows are singing, the bluebirds and robins are hunting the worms/bugs in the grass - and the noise the crows are making in the spruce trees!! And the Soltice is still 6 days away!

Quoting Wikipedia: "Sun worship was prevalent in ancient Egyptian religions. The earliest deities associated with the Sun are all goddesses: Wadjet, Sekhment, Hathor, Bast, Nut, Bat and Menhit. First Hathor. Then Isis gave birth to and nurse Horus and Ra. Hathor, the horned-cow, is one of the 12 daughters of Ra, was gifted with joy and is a wet-nurse to Horus."

A solar representation on an 
anthropomorphic stele dated from between the 
Copper Age and  the Early Bronze Age, 
discovered during  an archaeological excavation
 on the Rocher des Doms, Avignon, France

Taiyang Shen, the Chinese solar deity

Buddhists, Celts, the Aztec, Hindus, Indonesians, peoples of the Baltic regions - all worship a sun god.

In Chinese culture, the sun chariot is associated with the passage of time. For instance, in the poem Suffering from the Shortness of Days, Li He of the Tang dynasty is hostile and even deviant towards the legendary dragons which drew the sun chariot as a vehicle for the continuous progress of time. A relevant excerpt of the poem:

"I will cut off the dragon's feet, chew the dragon's flesh,

so that they can't turn back in the morning or lie down at night.

Left to themselves the old won't die; the young won't cry."^[1]

Knitting is not nearly as old as sun-worship. The Egyptians are famous for their woven linens, many so fine you could see through them. Weaving is not an easily portable craft especially for larger items. Many of the beautifully woven pieces in South America are woven on a back-strap loom, which is looped around the waist of the weaver and hooked around the weavers toes, a pole or a doorway. 

Earlier pieces having a knitted or crocheted appearance have been shown to be made with other techniques, such as Nålebinding, a technique of making fabric by creating multiple loops with a single needle and thread, much like sewing. Some artifacts have a structure so similar to knitting, for example, 3rd-5th century CE Romano-Egyptian toe-socks, that it is thought the "Coptic stitch" of nalbinding is the forerunner to knitting.

Whereas knitting uses two needles to make loops within loops with string, nålbinding uses one needle to splice and knot string together – a process more akin to sewing. However, both knitting and nalbinding produce near-identical looking fabric. In a police lineup, you’d be hard-pressed to pick out knitting from nålbinding.

Nalbinded socks originally thought to be knitting. Can you tell the difference? Circa 250 – 420 AD (Victoria & Albert Museum)

Unlike weaving, knitting does not require a loom or other large equipment, making it a valuable technique for nomadic and non-agrarian peoples.

Some of the earliest known knit items in Europe were made by Muslim knitters employed by Spanish Christian royal families. Their high level of knitting skill can be seen in several items found in the tombs in the Abbey of Santa Maria la Real de Las Huelgas, a royal monastery, near Burgos, Spain. 

The oldest knit artifacts are socks from Egypt, dating from the 11th century CE. They are very fine gauge, with complex colour work and some have a short-row heel, which requires purling. These complexities suggest knitting is even older than archaeological record can prove. 

Most histories of knitting place its origin somewhere in the Middle East, from where it spread to Europe by Mediterranean traders and later to the Americas with European colonization. 

These cotton socks found in Egypt are some of the earliest knitted pieces. From L to R: Textile Museum, ca. 1000 – 1200 AD; Victorian & Albert Museum, ca. 1100 – 1300 AD; Textile Museum, ca. 1300 AD

Many knitters and crocheters believe summer is a time for smaller projects. Working on a bulky weight afghan is not practical to drag around, or have on your lap at the beach/park. Small projects like squares, hexagons or socks are very do-able. 

This week's very special 75% off sale is perfect for summer projects - you can buy the scarf as a pre-made gift or knit a shawl or a pair of socks directly out of the scarf. 

Creativ

by Regia

100 g/366m

75% Wool

25% Manufactured Fibers - Nylon

Reg. $20.00

75% OFF

$5.00

Written by Anne, who is also knitting socks 

[1] Bien, Gloria (2012). Baudelaire in China a Study in Literary Reception. Lanham: University of Delaware. p. 20. ISBN 9781611493900.

More Diamond Yarn and Some Very Special Needles:

New yarns! Remember to click on the links so you can get a much better idea of how these yarns look. They do a far better job of taking pictures than we do.

Diamond Alpaca Gold

We've brought in some more colors of Alpaca Gold. This is 100% baby alpaca sport weight (2) and it's sooooo soft. You'll want to buy a hundred skeins and lay them all on the floor and strip down naked and roll around in them until you fall asleep.

L-R Ruby, Damson, Azure

That's not the way we recommend using this yarn, but, if that's what you want to do, we won't tell.

We have the following colors in stock:

1400 Pearl
1401 Anthracite
1402 Natural
1403 Sand
1408 Azure
1409 French Navy
1410 Ruby
1411 Damson

133 m $13.00

Diamond Soxy Lady

Who doesn't love sock yarn! And remember, sock yarn isn't just for socks anymore. Fingering weight (1) is versatile. Shawls, scarves, mittens, cowls, even sweaters! Sure it takes a little longer but knitting isn't a race - well, unless you have a bet going or something. It's a pleasurable cruise, breathe in, breathe out, admire the view, stretch, get the most out of your yarn by taking the time to enjoy it.

L-R Tunisia, Green River, Caravan, Mood Indigo

Soxy Lady - now there's a name! - is made up of 60% superwash wool, 20% alpaca (we love alpaca) and 20% nylon. This yarn is soft. You will be running on clouds. We would suggest wearing them with high heels so your feet don't ache at the end of the day or evening, but frankly that's not a very good look.

We have four colors in stock.

19 Night in Tunisia (now wouldn't I want the adventure that goes with that name)
25 Green River
26 Caravan
27 Mood Indigo

400m $17.00

Okay, all these names take me to different places in the world. I'll have to knit the socks and travel.

And now, as promised, those very special knitting needles.

We have several sets of Lantern Moon needles for you straight needle knitters. These wooden needles are a thing of beauty. You'll want to wear them in your hair or on your lapel instead of just knitting with them. Just think, a hair decoration that you can whip out and make a sweater with.

Sizes:

10"
4.5 mm Rosewood

12"
4.5 mm Rosewood, Blondewood

14"
4.5 mm Rosewood, Blondewood, Ebony
8 mm Rosewood

Christmas Hours and New Yarn

We have Christmas Hours.

Monday to Friday 9am - 9pm.
Saturday 9am - 6pm

Sunday we're closed as usual because we have to rest sometime from all the crazy. Besides, our knitting is calling to us.

More time to shop!

More time to shop for new yarn.

Guess what? We have new yarn!

Schachenmayr (say that three times real fast).

Schachenmayr has come out with Merino Extrafine Color 120 which is a DK weight and comes in fun patterns, and Merino Extrafine 85, an aran weight that comes in solid colors that match the 120. So you can make a beautiful solid color sweater out of the 85 and a matching vest or scarf with the funkier colors of 120!

Hint: If you click on the highlighted yarn it will take you to more info about it.

Regia Stadion Color

We also have red and white candy cane sock yarn. Or you could proudly wear the colors of Canada. Either way, you'll be all bright and cheery for the holidays.