How to make your own Everlasting Gobstopper Yarn Ball!

Hi, Knitters,

The other day I posted this photo to Instagram and Facebook sharing the hand wound 50 gram balls I made from the skein of Quaere Fibre self-striping sock yarn in the Patchwork colorway. I have done this winding technique with lots of other striping sock yarn skeins. I think they always look like candy in the end, kind of like the Willy Wonka Everlasting Gobstoppers. The Patchwork versions are especially eye-catching due to the beauty and colors of the yarn.

Click here to visit the Quaere Fibre Etsy shop!

I had quite a few people ask if I would share how I wound the balls this way. Of course I will!

Here is my wordless video on winding. I will write out the simple steps below the video.

Click here to see the video on YouTube!

How to create an Everlasting Gobstopper yarn ball:

Note: The yarn in the video is Vesper Sock Yarn in the Rainbow Love colorway.

1.  I usually just drape the yarn over the back of a chair for winding but you could wind it on a ball winder first or place it on your swift to start. For video purposes today I pre-wound the ball on the ball winder so I could keep my range of motion small. I don't usually take this extra step.

2.  Wrap the end and yarn around several fingers until you have a good amount. Remove the yarn and make a sort of figure eight with it and fold it in half to make the start of your ball.

3. Begin wrapping the yarn around this tiny ball in all directions until it is about the size of a walnut or quarter.

4. Now start paying attention to the spot where the color changes in the yarn. Each time the yarn changes stop winding at that spot.

5. *Place your thumb on the color change spot and turn the ball to start winding in a different direction. Wind each stripe of color in the same direction/spot until you reach the next color. Then repeat from *

Keep working in this way until all of the yarn is wound! If you want two 50g balls for socks you'll have to weigh as you go. Also, make sure you wind the yarn in different directions, side to side, up and down, and diagonally. This will help the ball end up more even.

Here is the finished result!! I wound the 100g skein in one ball this time.

The yarn is Vesper from KnitterlyThings, one of my longtime favorites.

Click here for the Knitterly Things shop!

Enjoy!

I'd love to see your Everlasting Gobstoppers if you make some.

best, susie
p.s. #everlastinggobstopper    maybe? let me know. i'm in if you are.

Yarn Share

Hi, Knitters,

This week is flying by and before it's over I want to share some super cool yarns I have been collecting. Some of the skeins I have purchased and some have been sent to me to review and try out. I am excited about all of it and I think you might be, too. I can't wait to get to dreaming, winding and knitting. I might do some designing with a few of these pretties, maybe new sock or shawl designs and others may become simple How I Make My Socks.

Let's get right to the yarn. Click over, look around and share some yarn-y love on these hardworking indie dyers' websites and shops. 

Above is the TurtlePurl Yarns, Striped Turtle Toes in the Trenchcoat colorway, fingering weight, 460 yards. The two skeins are self-striping. Both strands were dyed together so the socks will be perfectly matched when started from the same end of the skein. I LOVE that fact.

I love the camel color with the black, cream and red. What a classic combination. That's my mom's scarf sitting under the yarn. Soon I will have socks to match this beloved scarf that's a Burberry inspired fabric and super soft and cuddly. I ordered this sock set awhile ago.

Click here for Turtlepurl Yarns!

I was sent these two beautiful skeins by a new-ish yarn shop on Etsy, Red Sock Blue Sock Yarn. The dyer, Ashley, lives in Ontario, Canada and her yarns are just gorgeous. I have to say that I liked her colors and yarns on the Etsy shop but I was blown away by the depth and vibrancy of Twilight (left) and the subtle tones of Steel Blue on the right when I saw them in person. Steel Blue is BFL Sock yarn, fingering weight, 435 yards. I love BFL sock yarn and I can't wait to dig into this one. The Twilight yarn is the Basic Sock 75% Merino, 25% Nylon, 460 yards of fingering weight. I just love this variegated colorway. 

Thank you, Ashley for the lovely skeins! You have beautiful yarns.

Click here for Red Sock Blue Sock Yarns on Etsy! Tell Ashley I say hello if you order from her.

Pagewood Farm has beautifully dyed wools. This one is the Chugiak base, which is 100% super wash wool, 450 yards of fingering weight, in the Army Girl colorway. I want to make socks with this skein.  I love it so much. The yarn has a very tight twist and I love the olive green with the flecks of red, blue, darker green, brown, and lighter shades of green. It is stunning. 

I purchased this skein right here at Webs! There are so many other beautiful colorways. I really like the MapleLeaf colorway.

I think I shared this skein before. It is Caterpillargreen yarn and honestly I am afraid to crack this one open. It is so extraordinarily beautiful in the skein. It kind of takes my breath away. This skein is called Concrete and Tulips. It is an MCN blend, 405 yards of fingering weight. It feels like butter. I will be making socks with this in the very near future when I get my nerve up to wind and knit with this yarn. There is something about it that I can't describe. It's kind of incredible.

Click here to see the Caterpillargreen Yarns in Classic Stripes. These are some of the most unique striping patterns I have ever seen. I love how you can see the striping patterns run under the photo of the skeined yarn, so clever. I think there are pre-orders and then it takes awhile to get the yarn. It is well worth the wait. 

Well much to my surprise.....

these new Caterpillargreen Shawl Stripes skeins showed up at my door. Thank you, Cat (the dyer)! I had to sit down for a minute. These are the most stunning skeins. There is no filter on the photos you are seeing. It is that good. The heft and squish and the subtle rich colors are too much to take. This unique take on striping yarn specifically for shawl knitting takes striping sock yarn on a new and fresh journey. 

Click here for the Caterpillargreen Shawl Stripes skeins! These skeins are XL, MCN fingering weight, 170 grams, 548 yards. They are squishy, soft, and the colors are simply stunning. The skein on the left is called, g biv (as in ROY G BIV without the ROY, which is again very clever), and the skein on the right is called, Concrete and Tulips, more of my favorite things.

The smart cookies at Caterpillargreen have figured out how to keep the stripes even when knitting triangular shawls. You know when you are knitting a shawl with striping yarn how the stripes start out really wide and then as you increase stitches your stripes get skinnier and skinnier. Caterpillar green has solved this issue for you and me.

Just look at this:

(photo from Caterpillargreen Yarns. Shawl is in Concrete and Tulips)

I want this shawl. I want to knit this shawl, wear this shawl, gift this shawl, be this shawl. Okay maybe not BE this shawl but you get the picture. I want to knit something just like this sample. It's really cool and stylish and it's a striping yarn concept I haven't seen anywhere else. Amazing.

Thank you for the lovely yarn Caterpillargreen Yarns! I will put it to good use and share away. Great work.

I've talked about Quaere Fibre on Etsy before. I knit her striping Patchwork socks and the yarn is simply magnificent. Click here to see them! After those socks, I ordered both of the skeins in the photo above. The Sunset skein on the left is a wonderful 85% super wash Merino, 15% NEP Nylon blend. I love a tweedy sock yarn.  I can't wait to knit this up into some squishy tweedy socks. I have no idea what the variegation will do but I am anxious to find out. I'll keep you posted.

The skein on the right is a Super Sock skein, 150 grams, 600 yards of deep rich navy blue with splashes of bright yellow, orange and a lighter blue. It is Starry Night meets Doctor Who, thusly named Vincent and the Doctor. I LOVE this colorway and it will become a shawl at some point. Yes. This will make the coolest garter stitch shawl of some sort. I want to start this right away.

Click here to one of my faves, Quaere Fibre on Etsy!

Well, today I was going to post about my new color work hat knit out of Starcroft yarns but I was waiting for a couple of things to fall into place first so I went with the Yarn Share today. So next up will be Starcroft yarns, my new Starcroft color work hat, Gale Zucker's fantastic sheepy postcards photographed on Nash Island where the Starcroft sheep live (I have a cool set of these), and a quick view into the Starcroft Pop Up Shop I visited when I was in NYC a couple of weeks ago. It was a super fun night.

All that and more coming up next. Love ya, knitters.

xo ~ susan

Sock Report

Hi, Knitters,

I have a quick sock update for you today. I have finished the first sock blank sock. Sock blanks are machine knit pieces of fabric that are then dyed. You unravel the knit fabric and knit straight from the blank so the yarn is tightly kinked up. I worried that I would not enjoy knitting with the kinky yarn pulled straight from the sock blank but I actually don't mind it at all. In fact I really enjoy it.

I haven't washed the first sock yet so the fabric is still a bit rippled from the kinky yarn. When I finish the second sock I will wash both of them and show you how they turned out. The sock blank I am using is from Gale's Art. Gale does this unique and colorful stamping on the sock blanks which is her  original idea I think. I've never seen this done before. I don't know how she thought this one up, it is so creative and fun. The spots where Gale stamps the sock blank makes the yarn beautifully speckled and it knits up like a dream. I really love the effect. 

My socks are going to be mismatched, which I love. You can get double-stranded sock blanks for two at a time socks or you could knit one sock at a time and wind the other strand. You would then get matching socks. 

Click here for Gale's Art!  It looks like she is taking orders for her Special Secret Sock Blanks and they are taking about 10 days to ship. 

Click here for information on the Special Secret Sock Blank in the photo above! Gale has other sock blank choices and colorways and she'll even make custom sock blanks with messages. 

Click here to see the other sock blank I have that is next up. I keep thinking I want to knit a simple shawl from this one..... I think I will do that.

I am using Signature Needle Arts dpns, US size 1, 6-inches in length.

I finished the Regia Colourmania socks. I love this yarn so much. I have a couple more balls of Colourmania yarn and will be knitting more of these. I think the fabric looks fantastic, like watercolors all blended together. The yarn number for my socks is #4067.

I purchased this yarn at Simply Sock Yarn Co.

The sock blockers are from The Loopy Ewe. These wooden sheep sock blockers are my all-time favorites, hands-down. It's the shape and the wood that I love so much.

Last but not least, I finished the Over the Rainbow Gradient Matching Socks Set by KnitCircus Yarns. I love these so much. For this pair you get two matching cakes of yarn so your socks match exactly.

The yarn is: Over the Rainbow from Knitcircus in the Pirouette base: 75% Superwash Merino Wool, 15% Nylon, and 10% Tencel, 385 yards, 100 grams.

Click here for KnitCircus Yarns on Etsy.

Click here for the Over the Rainbow Custom Gradient.

The sock blockers are from The Loopy Ewe. They are red plastic.

For all of the socks I am using my free pattern, How I Make My Socks.

I knit the cuffs extra long, 8-inches, because I wanted to get to all of the colors. I should have made the cuffs 9-inches because I barely broke into the green section at the end and I had quite a bit leftover. The top sock in the photo doesn't show the green due to the lighting but the lower sock shows that a bit of the green is there on the toe. Regardless I love these socks. I wasn't quite sure about the Tencel content of the yarn but it was lovely to knit. The yarn and fabric are silky soft and I know it will be a sturdy sock.

Anyway, two more for the drawer! That's a win.

How's your sock knitting coming along? I'd love to hear what you are working on.

Have a good end to your week.

xo ~ susan

Sock Report ~ Hudson Bay Socks Finished and More Started!

Hi, Knitters,

I have a quick sock update for you on this fine summer Sunday. This morning I finished up the toe on my Hudson Bay Socks and couldn't wait to slip the pair on my feet before using the Kitchener stitch to close up the toe. This is one lovely pair of socks. 

Here are some links if you are interested:

Yarn: Canadiana by Fishknits Yarn

Needles: Signature Needle Arts dpns, US size 1/2.25mm, 6-inch length

Pattern: How I Make My Socks ~ my free pattern!

I have been in touch with Jo Dee, the dyer and owner of Fishknits Yarn, because I wanted to warn her to get ready for a lot of orders of Canadiana sock yarn. I had a feeling this one was going to be super popular. Over the last week or so she has sold way over 200 skeins of Canadiana (I'm sharing this information with Jo Dee's permission). It has been really crazy!  Congratulations to Jo Dee. She is working hard to fill orders.

Now I know I will get some questions about how this yarn works when you are knitting socks. It is dyed in an interesting way. Each skein is dyed to make two socks with one striping repeat on each sock.  What I did was to get out my scale and I handwound two 50 gram balls, one for each sock.

I did do a little shuffling around with the yarn at the top to get it to work the way I envisioned the socks. I started at the top of the cuff with white. I did a 2 by 2 rib for 12 rounds. Then I knit 4 rounds. Next I found the start of the blue stripe in the ball which was right toward the start so I didn't have to look far. I cut the yarn and added in the blue stripe. The rest of the sock was completed by simply knitting the rest of the ball. Then I just repeated this for the second sock.

You could do toe up socks and just knit the yarn as is in the skein. The cuff will be quite long if you do it this way.

The cuff on my sock measures close to 7-inches before the heel flap begins which is the perfect length for me. I do have some of the white sock yarn left over.

Now I'm on to my next pair.....

Awhile back I heard about a new to me Etsy shop called Coloring Book Yarns. I think The Knit Girllls' Laura and maybe Amy Beth of The Fat Squirrel both used this yarn and I loved what I saw. When I popped on the Coloring Book Yarns Etsy shop there happened to be a couple of skeins available. I quickly purchased the SF Giants (on the left) and the BMO (on the right) colorways.

I wound the balls in separated stripes. I have a video tutorial on how to wind like this right here.

Click here to go to the Coloring Book Yarns Etsy shop! I see the shop is empty and there is going to be an update on September 5th. I don't know much more about it and if you have questions you'll have to contact the shop owner through Etsy.

I put up the photo above on my Instagram and my Facebook and asked the knitters to vote on which sock yarn I should start next. The vote tipped toward BMO but there were lots of votes for the SF Giants colorway as well. For me the orange, black and white is more for Halloween not so much for the Giants.

If you are wondering what BMO is click here. I still am not exactly sure what it is but people seem to like it.

So when I was on a car trip last Friday I cast on the BMO socks! How cool is that striping pattern? What I really love about it is the use of the black stripes to outline the sections or color changes. Genius! The colors are really vibrant and stunning, too. 

Great work Coloring Book Yarns!

Here it is a little further down the cuff, I'm still in the car here.

See that gorgeous orchid colored bag?

Here it is on the dashboard. I love this little project bag so much. I like the bright orchid fabric surprise on the inside. It is from Molly of A Homespun House podcast. I really enjoy her so much. Molly is from a little city right outside of Madison but now she lives in Berlin with her daughter and husband. 

I'm not sure if she's still sewing project bags. I bought this one through Etsy but it looks like Molly has a new website. You'll have to contact her if you are interested. I've had my project bag for awhile but this is the first time I've used it. The teacups are so sweet as are the polkadots. It is very well constructed.

Click here for A Homespun House website! Check out Molly's new shawl.

Molly just released a new shawl design called Whispering Pines. It is so pretty. I really want to knit this one up and soon. Great job, Molly! I can't wait to cast on.

Isn't there so much fun stuff out there for all of us to enjoy? What a great and interesting world of talented people we live in. And they share!

Have a wonderful weekend. I'll be back soon with more on #projectsweaterchest. I have some great ideas brewing.

xo ~ susan

One Love Shawlette ~ and a sock blank club giveaway!

Hi, Knitters,

I want to quickly announce that I am off to Vogue Knitting Live this weekend in NYC. I am having two book signings for my new book, Kids' Knitting Workshop. One is Friday night about 5:15pm at StevenBe's booth and the second one is 5:15pm on Saturday night at the Knitty City booth! I hope to see any or all of you there if interested. My books will be sold at the booths, too, during the event.

Thank you for the many wonderful comments for my book and yarn giveaway! I read every single comment and loved your stories of learning and teaching and hoping to teach others how to knit. We all have a story and I enjoyed them all. I have randomly selected 10 winners from the comments pool and the winners are....

kimmin121, stripesandpolkadots, zip022, vermilliongirl, fromkersey, Lynette Larkins, GrAnLu, blondie11, bookboxer1, and VCR!

Congratulations to all of the winners! My book publicist, Breanne, will be in touch with you shortly either via Ravelry or through the email address left in your comment. Arrangements will be made at that time for you to receive your prizes. If your name is listed please be checking your Ravelry messages or emails so you can respond to Breanne.

Today I have a super fun new shawlette design to introduce to you and a fun giveaway (information at the end of the post). You can make this shawlette with ANY 100 gram sock blank or sock/fingering weight skein of yarn.  

I knit my new shawlette pattern out of one of Gale's Art's Secret Sock Blanks called, Blue Love. 

Click here to see more information or to purchase the One Love Shawlette on Ravelry! 

I am running a special discount price celebration for the week (the pattern is already marked down, no codes necessary). The pattern is on sale for $4.00 starting today Jan. 11 and will go up to $5.00, the regular price, after January 18, 2016.

Click here to go to Gale's Art on Etsy! The Blue Love Sock Blanks are up for pre-order right now if you are interested.

 The new pattern is called One Love and here is why.... 

One Love Shawlette

One sock blank or one skein, one hundred grams and a one row increase repeat! The word one kept popping up all over the place when I was thinking about a name for this crescent-shaped shawlette. The shawl is knit in a Blue Love single sock blank from Gale’s Art. So I combined the two and One Love it is!

We all have a 100 gram sock blank or skein of fingering weight yarn sitting in our stash. Often times we are not sure what to do with it besides knitting a pair of socks. Well, I have the perfect solution with the One Love Shawlette. As the name implies this shawl takes one 100 gram sock blank or sock skein of yarn. The shawlette couldn’t be any easier to knit. You can either follow your yarn striping pattern as a guide or you can use the specific instructions provided to make a shawl like mine in any type of fingering weight yarn. I’ll share how to do both versions in the pattern.

Finished size: 15-inches in depth, 60-inch wingspan; finished shawlette weighs 99 grams.

Shape: Long-shallow crescent-shape

Yarn: Gale’s ArtSecret Sock Blank (single strand), 75% Superwash Merino, 25% Nylon; 463 yards/100 grams. The sample is made in the Blue Love colorway.

Sock blanks are individual works of art and may be the same colorway but striping will vary due to the artistic nature of the dyeing.

Yarn Note: Any 100 gram sock blank or fingering/sock weight skein will work fine. Also, any striped, variegated or tonal yarn will all work great! If you have more or less yardage you can stop or keep going at any point.

The Blue Love Sock Blank (photo from Gale's Art)!

  

A note on using a sock blank:

I knit the shawlette straight from the Gale’s Art Secret Sock Blank - single strand (Gale has double-strand blanks but you'll want the single-strand for a shawl), unraveling as I worked. The yarn was very kinky while I was knitting, but it smoothed out significantly with a good soak and block when it was finished. However, some of the unevenness does remain in the final shawl. I like this appearance and think it makes for a fun watercolor-like fabric. If you don’t want this look you could unravel the yarn before knitting and make a skein (with lots of ties) to soak and straighten out before starting the shawl. After the smooth yarn is dried wind it into a cake or ball and then begin knitting the shawl. It’s up to you!

Needles: US size 6/4mm, 32-inch circular needle or size to obtain gauge

Gauge: 5.5 stitches per inch in stockinette stitch

Materials:

Yarn needle

Stitch markers

Optional: Scale to weigh yarn in grams for starting the final edging. If you don’t have a scale you can just estimate.

In the pattern I have provided two options of choice in the pattern.

Option 1: Let the yarn be your guide. Gale’s Art Sock Blanks, like the one I used in the sample, are often striped. Instead of following or counting rows, I just changed sections in order every time the color changed until I had a certain amount of yarn remaining to finish off the final border (all details are included in the pattern).

Option 2: Row-by-Row Pattern. I wrote out exactly how many rows/repeats I did of each section, including a row checklist for your counting convenience, if you’d like a more detailed pattern to follow. Every aspect is written out in full-detail, step-by-step.

In progress photo before blocking.

Photo from Gale's Art

Do you remember the Gale's Art Sock Blank Subscription Club that I gave away a few months ago? Click here to see it.  

These three sock blanks would be perfect for a One Love shawlette!! 

Today I am so happy to be offering another chance for one lucky winner to win a 3-month Sock Blank Club subscription for February, March and April! For each of the three months you get a new exclusive sock blank in the mail from Gale. The club membership is worth $99 and the sign-ups are running now through January 15, 2016. Click here for the Gale's Art club information. I'll tell you how to enter at the end of the post.

That's a lot of information I know but here's where you get to enter to win a subscription to Gale's Art Sock Blank Club. The photo above shows the three sock blanks you will receive in February, March and April. They are so beautiful, works of art!

Please leave one comment on this blog post to enter to win the 3-month Sock Blank Club subscription. Please leave your Ravelry username or an email address so we can get in touch if you win. Please only click on Publish one time. There is a delay before you will see your comment appear.

Click here for the One Love shawlette pattern!
Remember the shawlette can be knit with ANY 100 gram skein of sock yarn (mine had 463 yards), not only a sock blank.

Good luck if you enter to win! Thank you, as always, for the support.
Let the comments begin!
xo ~ susan