Back in April, I posted a round-up of all the socks I had knit to date. I figured it would be a good idea to post all my FOs since then, along with thoughts about the yarns I used and the projects in general.

Yarn: Fleece Artist Merino
I know it’s not much to look at from this photo since the colorway is almost-solid and quite dark, but the yarn knit up very well. After several hand washings, stitch definition is still clear and the socks have a soft feel on my feet while I’m wearing them. This colorway does bleed a bit in the wash, but that’s to be expected from a nearly-black dye job. Fleece Artist is a brand I would knit with again.

Yarn: Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks That Rock Lightweight
I commented about STR on my previous post from April, but figured I’d comment again, since I’ve gone from washing my socks in the machine to handwashing only. I noticed that, despite STR being superwash, it’s really just better to wash it by hand. I’m sure that goes for anything handknit, but a lot of the appeal of superwash is that it can be thrown in the washer. Well, with STR especially, I’ve noticed a significant difference in machine vs. hand washing. These socks look exactly the same now as they do in the photo. The colors are still vibrant, stitches are still relatively defined, and the socks haven’t felted at all. I learned my lesson with my STR used for Monkey socks–which have since faded considerably to a bland colorway–handwash and air dry, and they’ll stay looking great for a long time!

Yarn: Knit Picks Memories (discontinued)
It’s now unavailable, but it was decent to work with. I was more intrigued by this colorway rather than the base yarn itself (non-superwash 100% wool). I was concerned it would pill over time, but I’ve worn this several times this winter and haven’t had any problems with pilling. It has not yet been washed, however, so I’m wondering how that will alter its appearance, if at all. It’s very warm–I wear this mini-sized Clapotis as a scarf tied around my neck, and it’s pretty cozy too. As long as I don’t felt it in the wash, I’m pretty sure it’ll last a long time. By the way, I have several skeins of the same undyed base yarn in my stash (left over from my dyeing days), which I’m debating putting up for sale/swap on Ravelry or possibly knitting as a natural color.

Yarn: Lion Brand Cotton Ease
I get so tired of people dissing Lion Brand all the time. Sure, some of their yarns are a bit impractical–and by that, I mean they’re strictly for novelty purposes as opposed to warmth and/or comfort (Fun Fur, I’m talking to you). I used Cotton Ease for this bag, which apparently had been discontinued at one point and then brought back with more colors. I had a neutral experience with Cotton Ease. I should admit, though, that I’m not a fan of knitting with cotton in general–dishcloths, bags, or garments–I just don’t like the feel of cotton on my skin while I’m working with it. That being said, it fulfills its purpose with this project. It’s a bag. It’s practical. But oddly enough, I haven’t used it once since I made it!

Yarn: Zen String Serendipity Sport
I loved everything about knitting these socks. The yarn: super squishy and soft to the touch. The colorway: food for my eyes! I don’t even like pink, but the little splashes here and there were ok since there wasn’t too much. The wear: I’ve worn and hand washed these several times and they are still as vibrant and pretty as when I knit them. This is one of my favorite pairs of socks to wear. They’re so comfy on my feet. I think it’s a combination of the base yarn–whatever gloriousness that is–and the fact that it’s a sportweight, which helps with the squish factor. This is a yarn I would knit with again.

Yarn: Artful Yarns Reality
I liked working with this yarn very much. I made this hat with the leftovers from my Montego Bay scarf. The yarn is super soft and has these really interesting color gradations, similar to Noro but without the pokey twiggy bits. I have not yet worn this hat but that’s more a design issue than a yarn one; I think I made the brim a bit too short, and might lengthen it one day since I still have another ball of this colorway in my stash. I’ll knit with this again, not just because I still have some left but because I really like the yarn.

Yarn: Koigu KPPPM
This is an interesting yarn. It comes in oodles of gorgeous colorways and it’s nice to work with. But I must admit, I don’t have that “I love it I love it OMG I must amass the Koigu!!!” compulsion that a lot of other knitters have. It’s definitely a pretty yarn, a soft one with a nice twist, but for socks I found that I had to knit it on size 1 dpns and doing lace just killed my poor fingers! I look at this photo and my fingers feel sore. It’s strange because I’ve worked with other fine fingering weights but Koigu just seems a bit finer, for some reason. It may have been the lace combined with the yarn. At any rate, I’ve worn these several times and they have held up very well. I would, and actually am, knitting with Koigu again, this time for my Charlotte’s Web Shawl. I’ll also note that working with Koigu on size 5 needles or whatever I’m using now is WAY easier on my fingers than the size 1s.

Yarn: Manos del Uruguay Wool
Like Koigu, this is another one of those yarns where I don’t necessarily agree with all the hype. Granted, this is a gorgeous yarn–it comes in so many beautiful colorways and solids. It’s a preference issue for me, I think–it’s a single ply yarn and I’m not very fond of working with those. But on the plus side, it’s very soft and I hear it’s grand for felting. (I wouldn’t know because I don’t do felting.) I have a couple more balls of Manos in my stash, which I will probably use for more hats. But if it came down to Manos vs. Malabrigo, I would definitely choose Malabrigo, which is softer by far.

Yarn: Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Sock
I know I must have commented on this on the sock round-up, but I’m a big fan of Shepherd Sock. It’s odd to me that many people on Ravelry seem to have had issues with this pilling, because I haven’t. Actually, my Hederas are the only ones that have pilled somewhat, and I suspect that’s because I machine washed and dried them in the beginning. But these socks here have held up very well. In fact, I am wearing them right now! The yarn is very fine–as fine as Koigu, if not more–but for some reason I don’t get the achy-fingers issue that I do with Koigu. I have more SS in my stash and it’s definitely getting used again!

Well, those are my thoughts/reviews on yarns I’ve used to date. Disclaimer, these are just my experiences and your mileage will vary, blah blah. Guess I should have said that in the beginning, but whatever.

This entry was posted on Monday, January 7th, 2008 at 3:51 pm and is filed under Knitting. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.