The last two of my favorite self-stripers hold their own with creative color combos that always look good to me.

Sknitches

Photo courtesy of flickr user Wannabeknittin’

Take sknitches for example. Yes, I am clearly a fan of blue and brown, but don’t these socks look so good? Sknitches also has a wide array of non-striping yarn in beautiful colorways, so if you order from her site, you can get a great mix of sock yarns in fabulous colors.

Ravelry Yarn page

Knitterly things

Photo by Flickr user Wooly interlude

Some of the first handmade self-striping yarn that I ever heard about was Vesper sock yarn. As a spinner, the shop’s curator also has a beautiful assortment of hand-dyed roving. It can still be kind of a challenge to snag the sock yarn, but it seems like there are shop updates many Wednesdays, and the Ravelry Group can a be a useful guide to shop stalking.

Ravelry Yarn page

Speaking of ravelry groups…. a long time ago I started a Ravelry group for those that love stripes – Better with stripes. Pop on over and say ‘Hi’ if self-striping yarn is your sort of thing.

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

The big ticket item in my shop right now is my Atari 2600 themed altoid tin.

complete with silver beads for levers and wood grain interior

I am wickedly proud of it. The price is steep, but there was just too much hand stitching in there…. There is also a tin just for SF Bay area commuters.

The button-maker (named Stampy) was put to work making treats for knitters

and moustache lovers.

There is also some roving and yarn, but I have been having a heck of a time trying to get good photos of it. Here are just a few:

I don’t know if I will be able to let this one go

see anything you like? If you buy anything leave a comment saying you are one of my blog readers and I will throw in something special for you.