Stash Expose: Part 2

Today we will revisit our knitter’s stash – this time focusing on sock yarns, a particular weakness of hers. You can maybe see how easy it is to succumb to sock yarn stashing when you consider that socks almost always require about 300-400 yards of yarn. So, lovely skeins can be purchased without knowing exactly which sock pattern will be knit with it.

Our particular knitter snagged skein after skein of sock yarn that caught her eye over the course of a year or two (when she was really into knitting socks). Her purchase rate has currently died down to negligible – mostly because she now has the equivalent of a sock yarn store shoved under her bed, so what’s the point in buying more? – but she did quite a bit of damage to her storage area and her pocketbook during that time.

Here’s a look at the entire sock yarn stash:

You can tell our knitter’s favorite colors in the palette represented here. Blues and greens mostly, with some pinks and browns and purples thrown in for good measure. This yarn fits in 3 of her knitting bins. Barely.

This yarn:

: Left: Nightfall -single skein in Robin’s Egg blue. Right: Nightfall sock set in Red.

is dyed by her good friend Jen of FibroFibers. The blue skein is destined to be a lace shawl, and the red skein is going to be some kick-a$$ socks.

Single skein on left, double skein sock set on right

This yarn:

Cashmere Blends. Left to right: 3 different skeins of SG Bugga!, two skeins of SG Skinny Bugga!, two different skeins of Handmaiden Casbah. Bottom two: Lotus Yarns Chakra, Dragonfly Fibers Djinni.

is some of our knitter’s most prized skeins. They are all cashmere blend sock yarns, and all very soft and scrumptious. They may or may not end up as socks. The two orange/red skeins will be a lace shawl someday very soon. Most likely the rest will end up as something to be worn on the neck or head – whether that’s a small shawl or a cowl or a hat. Why hide the gorgeous cashmere on her feet??

This yarn:

is another prized skein of our knitter’s. The ‘Holy Grail’ of sock yarns – Wollemeise. She received this as a Random Act of Kindness (RAK for short) last year. Again, our knitter thinks this will become a lace shawl. She loves those shawls, huh?

This yarn:

Left to Right: Opal Hundertwasser, Knit Witch Celestial Bounce in Starry Night, Colinette Jitterbug in Gauguin (balled) and Monet (still in skein)

is our knitter’s “Artist” yarns. All yarns inspired by artists or paintings. Our knitter’s mother is an artist (and an art teacher), so she has a great appreciation and fondness of art – and what better way to combine her love of art with the artistic expression (knitting) she loves most? One or more of these will actually become socks for her mother. Someday. (Shhh, don’t tell her mom!)

This yarn:

"Special" skein of Fleece Artist - one skein of Merino 2/6 with matching 'Angel Hair' (kid mohair) skein. Color: Stone.

was bought with no conceivable idea as to what was going to be knitted with it. None whatsoever. The knitter loves it, and doesn’t want to part with it, but she doesn’t know what to do with it.

And there’s our look at the knitter’s sock yarn stash, which some people would say doesn’t count as stash, but being that her stash is about 80% sock yarn, she considers it hard to ignore. Not impossible, mind you, but very difficult.

Join us next week when we take a look at our knitter’s worsted and sweater yarns.