Socks That Rock Yarn Fading

I have to say I am pretty disappointed with Socks That Rock. I know people rave about their yarns. And the sad part is I *love* their colorways so much.

I have several complaints about their yarns.

The problems started when it arrived. It smelled strongly of vinegar. I know vinegar is a fixative in the dyeing process. That makes sense. But the rinse process should remove that smell. It really seems like the batch I got was not rinsed out enough. It disapated with time, but it was still a bit off putting.

Then came to knitting. It knits up beautifully. The weave is tight and I had really high hopes. But the color kept coming off on my hand! I would get a grey ring around the finger where I wrap my yarn. And another finger tip got colored. This seemed odd to me. So I checked the Ravely boards. Many other people have the same experience! That seems really wrong to me.

So when the socks were completed, I washed them with Synapol and then a dye fixative. I had hoped this would help the colors to stay fresh. The dye fixative is sold by Dharma to help with any sort of dyed piece. It is supposed to help the color fastness. I figured it would be good.

The fit on my Jaywalkers isn't great. The problem is that they are hard to pull over my heel as the leg doesn't have enough give. I suspect that is more an issue with Jaywalkers. But for this reason, I only wear my Jaywalkers once a week or every two weeks.

Since I finished these on 11/25/07, I figure that even if I wore them once a week (which I think is very generous), I would have only worn them 12-13 times. And honestly, I know there are weeks when I didn't wear them.

The color really should not have faded this much in that time. I don't know if the photos really show the difference that well. The ball of yarn is the color I knit. The socks show how much they have faded.

Generated by Flickr Album Maker

You can definitely see how much color loss there is on the foot. And there is a lot of pilling and such. I guess I just expected more from the yarn given the rave reviews and the price. I mean the socks where I dyed the yarn myself don't have a different color on the sole of the foot. Why should professional yarn?

I nearly always handwash these with Eucalan. I put them in the machine once and saw such a difference that I feared putting them in again.

I am really saddened. I love the Raven colorways and really did want to purchase some yarn in those colors. But I can't bring myself to spend at least $25 a skein when the color will not stay!

Jaywalker Pics

Paul took some sock pics for me this weekend. Here they are.

Front:


Side:



Top:



I am wearing them for the first time today. They are kinda challenging to get on. And the toe is too loose, so they aren't fitting right. Honestly, I should probably have frogged them, but I didn't.

They aren't my fav socks by any means. But I have learned a good deal. I will continue to wear them, but probably not very often.

I don't think I will do Jaywalkers again. I have to confess, I don't see what all the rage is about with these. *shrugs*

Still trying to figure out what pattern to make with my Lisa Souza yarn. Still haven't finished my swatch yet.

Though I am wondering what is up with my swatches! I found the STR was looser than my swatch. Then I am finding the bamboo is tighter than my swatch. I am not sure what is going on. I cast on Jennifer's xmas socks on Saturday. Did the cuff & 1 1/2 repeats. They are smaller than I anticipated. They will stretch to wider than I need, but I still think I am going up a needle size to make sure they fit. Weirdness.

Productive Knitting Weekend

I am thrilled to say I got three project finished this weekend. The long weekend definitely helped with that. *smile*

I haven't taken pics yet. I am hoping to take some tonight. But I will be at a work conference tomorrow til Thursday. So I won't get to post them until probably Friday at the earliest.

The big accomplishment are my Jaywalkers.

Project:

STR Atomic 6 Jaywalkers

Cast on:

Wednesday, Nov. 14th

Finished:

Sunday, Nov. 25th

Pattern:

Toe UP Jaywalkers by Natalia Marek

http://azazello.org/nataliaknits/?p=36

Uses the original Jaywalker pattern heavily

http://magknits.com/Sept05/patterns/jaywalker.htm

Needles:

2 socks on 2 circs

Started with US 3 but went to a US 1 / 2.5 mm

One of each - Knitpicks Options & Harmony

Yarn:

Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks that Rock Mediumweight in Atomic 6

http://www.bluemoonfiberarts.com/colorway_detail.php?colorway_id=10&fiber_category=Animal&colorway_category_id=1

I have to say, I am torn with how I feel about these.

I really like the Socks That Rock yarn. The twist is nice. Knits up easily. It has a lot to recommend it. I can see why some people love it.

The thing I really disliked - the color came off on my hands while I was knitting with it. I ended up with rings around my fingers where I wrap my yarn for tension. And I got splotches on my fingers at the tips. Not great. I double checked on the STR forum on Ravelry. Seems this is common for them with dark colors. That is not what I expect from a pricey professional yarn. I have colored by own with dark colors and don't have the color coming off on my hands. So I was confused by it.

With the color bleeding onto me, I knew I had to wash them before I can wear them. I used a color fixative in hopes they will retain the color. It is weird though. When I washed them with some Synapol, the color didn't come off into the wash. So that is odd. I really wish I knew why they were behaving as they are.

Also, the colorway really isn't as dark & rich as I thought from the pics. There is a fair bit that looks more like a dusty rose than the burgundy shown in the image on their site. Also, I thought there was blue in it, when it is really green. Also, there isn't any black, only some grey. So while I like them, they won't be moving to my fav socks anytime soon.

I had some trouble with gauge. I did a gauge swatch. I thought I was right on the mark with the gauge. Seems I wasn't. The toe was so big I was going to be swimming in the socks. So I went down two needle sizes. It corrected the problem. So they fit in the rest of the foot. (Of course, I should have ripped out the toe and started again, but I didn't.)

Thing is the jaywalker pattern has next to no give. So that pulling the leg part over my heel is a bit of a challenge. They will go on, but not without a good deal of effort. I will be curious to see how they hold up given how hard they are to get onto my foot.

Overall, I am glad I did a pair of Jaywalkers. It was a simple pattern and easily repetitive so that was easy to knit. But there really isn't any give in the pattern itself. So I don't know if I will feel compelled to do another pair honestly.

I know next for me will be a Cat Bordhi pattern from the New Pathways book. I am definitely looking forward to that. Though they may have to wait til I finish ones for my sister in law's Xmas pressie or Paul's. I started swatching the Lisa Sousa Socks in Mars Quake this morning on size 3s. I suspect it is too loose on the 3s. So I will probably have to go to size 1 or 2s. The 2s are holding Paul's socks. I just finished with the size 1s for the Jaywalkers. But I really need to get started with Jennifer's socks if I want to complete them for Xmas. Just have to see I guess.

Project:

Drop Stitch Recycled Silk Scarf

Cast on:

Wednesday, Oct. 10th.

Finished:

Thursday, Nov. 22nd.

Pattern:

Double Drop Stitch Scarf by Amy Davenport

http://freshgroundknits.com/patterns/drop-stitch-scarf/

Needles:

Knitpicks US 8 Options from set

Yarn:

Recycled Sari Silk from Hunger Site

Have to say I picked the pattern as a way to burn through the recycled silk quickly. It is pretty rough and I really don't think I like the yarn all that much.

I am following the pattern except I cast on 48 stitches. Problem is that it is too wide for the 3 skeins I have. It only came out about 30"-35" long. So it is more like a shawl than a scarf.

I am going to give it to my sister Millie as a Christmas pressie.

Not really thrilled with it. But it is okay. I think my sister will like it. Definitely a good easy knit.

Project:

Cupcake Purse for My Niece

Cast on:

Wednesday Oct. 31st.

Knitting Completed:

Friday, Nov. 2nd.

Project Finished:

Saturday, Nov. 24th.

Pattern:

Cupcake Purse by Amy Gaines

http://www.etsy.com/view_transaction.php?transaction_id=5840116

Needles:

Knitpicks US 8 Options from set

Kit purchased on Etsy.com from AmyGaines.

Super fast project. Easy to knit.

I got the knitting pattern in a kit. The pattern on Ravelry says crochet, but she has both.

I knit it in the round so there is less seaming. Also, I did not sew the bottom it closed. I added two layers of stift felt to the bottom to make it more three dimensional.

Definitely a fun, quick project. Would do again if I ever have some who would enjoy the purse.

So it was a good weekend. Three projects off the needles. That is great.

Of course, now I am debating what to put on my needles! *chuckle* I know I need to start the socks for my sister-in-law Jennifer if I want to get them done in time for Xmas. We will do Xmas with them after the new year probably. But I need to start them.

I want to start a pair of socks with one of the Bordhi New Pathway patterns. I don't know which pattern yet. I know I want to knit the Lisa Sousa Socks in Mars Quake next without a doubt. Though I am a little tempted to do something else if I can't get the gauge on the 3s. Scary that I want more circular needles! Though on the flip side, I have the 2s in dpns. I *could* do a corealis pattern on dpns as the corealis really seems to require one at a time as there is a lot of slipping stitches from one needle to another. But I don't think I want to do that in the Mars Quake. I might try the sock yarn I got at the Etsy Trunk Sale for that. Not sure.

Decisions decisions. *chuckle*

Socks That Rock Atomic 6 Jaywalkers Cast On & New Pathways Book

I wrote part of this on Wednesday, then more yesterday. Just need to post this before dashing off to the EtsyFast sale!

I just cast on the Socks That Rock/STR Mediumweight yarn in Atomic 6 Wednesday morning. I was sooo tempted to cast something on Tuesday night. I had just gotten the latest Cat Bordhi book, New Pathways for Sock Knitters: Book One.

I was soooo tempted to change what pattern I was going to do. But I have other sock yarn. I can wait on the Bordhi patterns.

I was very tempted to do a pair from New Pathways for my sister-in-law Jennifer. There is a pattern called Rushing Rivulets. Part of her last name is Rushing. Also, the pattern could look great with the yarn I dyed for her.

Problem is getting it to fit. The Bordhi patterns all call for the midfoot circumference. Most sock patterns call for the foot circumference which is different. I have been looking at the numbers in the book. My sister-in-law Tee made Jennifer some socks so I have the more standard foot measurements.

I may take the stitch pattern to create the Rushing Rivulets and transfer it to a more standard pattern. I think that could work very well.

Here is someone on flickr's pics:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/malinkan/1690083495/

A flickr search on Rushing Rivulet shows more pics as well.

I still desperately want to do a pair of the Bordhi design. But I suspect it makes more sense to do them for me so I can tweak it as needed.

I am *definitely* loving the Bordhi book though. It is amazing. It has eight "new forms of sock architecture". Each of these has a few patterns written out patterns with pictures. And for the eight few forms are "master patterns". So you can take any design and tweak it to any size & gauge. I adore that sort of flexibility! I am so excited about it.

I am a big ol geek. I spent a good deal of Wednesday working on a spreadsheet with all the data in the various charts. This way I can just plug in the gauge, midfoot circumference & foot length and get all the figures I need for a Pathways pattern. Paul thought I was nuts. But I really do think it will save a lot of time in the long run.

Paul did proof it yesterday so I should share it soon.

Lovely Fiber...

OOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! My Socks That Rock showed up today. It is soooo pretty. It is also very soft.

I got a skein of the Atomic 6 colorway in the mediumweight superwash wool. It is so loverly.

I suspect this will be what I try the Jaywalkers pattern in toe up so I can use as much of the yarn as possible.

*in my best Kaylee voice* Shiny!

Only thing I don't like. The skein doesn't smell great. I can definitely tell they used vinegar. Doesn't seem like that is completely washed out. Not strong, but I did rub it against my face and can smell it. (I do the face rub to test it. If it is scratchy there, I suspect I won't react well.

Have to take pics tonight.