Through the wonders of the internet, an intrepid knitter has at his/her needletips an amazing selection of sock yarns. The indie dyeing community is expanding everyday with beautiful new color combinations and dyeing techniques. I do a little dyeing myself, and I am usually on a tight budget. This makes justifying yarn purchase a difficult task. If I spring for a $20 pair of socks (that might spend a very long time as yarn) it has to be something good. I have two favorites that I can justify purchasing at almost any time: Socks that Rock and indie-dyed self-striping yarn. You have probably already heard about Socks that rock, so let’s talk about some of my favorite indie-stripers.

Lovesticks

Lovestick’s yarn makes an awesome striping pattern using three colors… Two colors make wide stripes separated by a thin stripe of a third color. Here – just look:

Photo from Flickr user Sock-a-holic

And my favorite thing about her shop… she has Sport-weight yarn. Perfect for a quick pair of socks.
Ravelry Yarn Page

Twisted

I first found Twisted on etsy, but she has since graduated to her own site. There is always a wide variety of base yarns available from sport weight SW merino to merino/bamboo or merino/tencel blends. I like nearly every colorway that Meg has produced, and I don’t think there is anything else like her subtle striping effect. Now she even has coordinating mini-skeins of heel and toe yarn available with come of her colorways.

Photo from flickr user Meg of Twisted

I use the Twisted Ravelry group to stay in the loop about shop updates and fiber clubs.
Ravelry Yarn Page

i have too many favorites for one post, so stay tuned for one more installment

When we arrived at the Frontier, we discovered that it is closing in two weeks. This made for a general sense of impending doom around our hotel, so that was a bit depressing. Nonetheless, I was happy to admire the old decor and awesome neon sign before it is gone. It is possible that I am a bit of a curse, since the Westward Ho faced the same fate shortly after my first visit.

from abmatic

I felt so vegasy sitting by the pool in 100 degree heat looking at palm trees and casinos (and no, I did not get in).

I also did a tiny bit of knitting (some by the pool). Socks from the top down of my own design for my lovely Twisted sock yarn. I am definitely reconsidering the idea of socks from the top down.

Thinking of knitting on vacation? i just noticed that the new Stash and Burn podcast is about just that. Check it out!