Thursday, January 11, 2007

socks SOCKS socks


as i promised, i did cast on for the mate immediately, though i've not had as much knitting time as i'd like. i am in a somewhat hurry to get this pair finished so i can knit some green socks!


i collected some of my green sock yarn stash ... but have decided i'm going to knit with the jitterbug (olive mix in top right corner) because it's very koiguesque, and i want to see what happens when it's washed.

joy documented a little mishap when she washed her reddish colorway the first time. the colors faded ! (gasp !) so, of course, i'm dying to see what happens with mine. i have not settled on a pattern yet, but i was thinking about knitting the embossed leaves socks again. the yardage of the jitterbug is seriously skimpy, so i may have to go with a plan B.

i have had sock yarn bleed before ... my bearfoot socks bled like crazy, and still bleed when washed. i noticed this last winter, when i was washing my socks in the shower.

okay, sometimes in the winter, i do laundry in the shower ... when i turn the water on and i'm waiting for it to warm up, i toss whichever handknit socks i slept in over the shower curtain rod, and squirt a little shampoo on them once i'm in the shower. it sure beats doing it in the sink.

... so, i got in the shower, blind as a bat (without glasses, i cannot focus on anything 11" from my nose ...) and freaked out because the bottom of the tub was a blood bath! i called mountain colors to ask about this problem. they said that with some of their colorways, they couldn't keep the yarn from bleeding. they'd tried all kinds of methods and treatments, but couldn't find a solution. i had not noticed this problem before because the other washes had happened in the washing machine, thankfully on dark loads.

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

mmmm, loven all your green sock yarn! Do you have the Sensational knitted socks book?

sgeddes said...

Great green gobs of sock yarn! Love it. I was going to check my stash tonight to see what I have too.

jackie said...

jackie recommends: wash the socks for the first time in warm water and vinegar--the vinegar will help set the dye.

Anonymous said...

I think I have some synthrapol if you would likey: we used it in school as a post dye rinse to help bind extra dye particles to the fibers, meow.

Anonymous said...

What pretty green sock yarn! I can't wait to see how your Jitterbugs look before and after washing. That vinegar tip sounds like it's worth a try.

I think it's rather strange a company would sell a yarn they know will bleed!?

Anonymous said...

I'm a bad friend and I can't even remember the last time I actually knitted- sweater? what sweater?. UGH. Moving at Christmas when you own your own business is seriously stupid... I'm taking yarn and needles on the plane to Puerto Rico tomorrow. I hope I get to keep them...
No green yarn cause I can't find the pattern for the embossed leaves. ( I wanted to do a single panel for a more boyish look as I've not totally graduated to knitting for others yet, but I've got big plans for you know who...)
oh well...

f. pea said...

I will second Jackie on the vinegar. I add 1/2 cup vinegar to the wash whenever I wash something new that is a bright color - particularly red - and it seems to do a great job of preventing bleeding!

Peggy said...

Good luck with the mate socks! I'm sure you will finish them soon as you sound very excited to start the green socks.

Anonymous said...

Wow, lovely green yarns and very nice photography.

Lisa Carney said...

You're going to finish your trekking socks before I finish mine, wah!

Anonymous said...

oh, good to know about that jitterbug—i also bought an olive/brown/pinkish colorway before the new year that i couldn't resist, and i hope it doesn't fade!

Anonymous said...

Love all that green sock yarn! So pretty. And the one knitted up sock is pretty too!