a small sock yarn preview

The first batch of sock yarn is about dry. Here are a few samples.


I'm really happy with this yarn. The bamboo gives it such nice qualities. While a few knitters take it for a test drive on socks, I'm going to crochet a super lacy shawl out of it. I've already got a stitch in mind. I will insist that I finish the green cape first before starting this, but otherwise I can wait no longer.
I also dyed one skein of my other sock base. This one is 75% superwash wool, 25% nylon. It's finer than the bamboo and not as drapey, but it absorbs the colors more intensely.


I'm so pleased with how this yarn has come out. I've heard about all these problems people have had with hand-dyed yarn and the dyes not setting, and then when someone goes to knit the yarn, they turn blue or whatever. I resolved before I started that I will not put this yarn on the market until I'm absolutely sure that will not happen. Well, it looks like all systems are go! I followed the proper procedures and made sure I applied plenty of acid and heat to set the dye, and I am using professional dyes. When I rinsed the yarn, there was not a speck of color anywhere but in the yarn--the water was perfectly clear. I'll observe how it behaves when I crochet it and get feedback from the test knitters, but it looks like we're good to go.
Meanwhile, I'm still working on the green cape. I was really hoping to finish it over the weekend, but I didn't. I hoped maybe I could finish it last night at knitting night, but still no.


What's left is one row of the spangly yarn at the bottom, and maybe a little embellishment near the top to unify it a bit more. Also, I keep staring at that white fuzzy trim yarn at the top and thinking it doesn't really go. I may take it back out. (Any opinions?) When you look at it close up, it's really cool because the colors in the fuzzy yarn are exactly the colors in the yarn below it, which is practically a miracle considering that all this yarn was ordered off the internet and none of it is related. But the white is so white, and there is no other white on the cape. I keep thinking it might look better without it. Of course, when I had it on just part, I thought it looked better with it, so maybe I should just stick with that. Anyway, thank goodness I added it on instead of starting with that yarn--I still have all options open! (I didn't want to be trying to crochet into a chain of that fuzzy convolution, and I figured nobody else would either, so I started with the next yarn, which is more normal.)