A box o' socks!

I went to Goodwill yesterday. As I always try to do, I brought things to donate (two boxes of clothes that, alas, no longer fit) before I went into the store.

I found two sweaters that I'll be raveling (unraveling?) and two whose yarn is too tender for the ripping out process and are thus destined for the felting pile.

But that's not what's got me all excited. Check this out:

It's a sock kit!

And not a kit for just any old socks, either.

Argyle -- squeeee!

The yarn in the box hadn't even been taken out, although the plastic wrapping wasn't intact. (Sorry the pic isn't centered. I'm a reforming perfectionist, so even though I'm itching to retake this one, I'll be strong and ignore the impulse.)

The insert looks and feels fairly dated. I don't know ... maybe from the 1960s or 1970s? And now that I've written that, I guess that means I'm fairly dated, too -- ha!

And there's the chart. But wait, there's more!

Two other charts. Fortunately, the choice is a no-brainer. I'm all about the argyle, baby.

All in all, not a bad find for just $3, eh?

The $3.00 was the original sale price; you can see the Goodwill sticker in the first picture. Nice to see that inflation hasn't had an adverse effect on a box o' socks.

A Beautiful Day for the Blues

Yesterday was a beautiful day here in Dela-where. It was just the right kind of day for dying some wool. I’m nearing the bottom of a big bag o’ Romney wool ("Sally") from SkyLines Farms. This wool, from the lovely Sally, is wonderful to dye. Even though I’m a beginner at the whole dying business, I was able to produce fantastic results with my very first pot. The one drawback is that the process fills the house with the tangy aroma of vinegar. Oh, well. It’s a small price to pay. Just look at that basket full of fluffy sky-blue wool just begging to be spun into something wonderful! If I can nail down this whole posting-pictures-to-Blogger issue, I'll share.

The Sally I dyed just before St. Patrick's day is taking shape as a pair of socks. If you haven't tried knitting socks, give it a go. They're portable, quick, and a great blank canvas for trying out all sorts of fancy-schmancy stitches. My favorite part of the entire process is turning the heel. There's something almost magical about creating a gently cupped piece of fabric in just a few easy rows. Let me tell you: once you've turned your first heel, there's no turning back.

As if I don't have enough fiber to play with, I'm expecting half a fleece of CVM/Romeldale sometime next week ... mere days after this week's shearing. Such excitement!

Naturally, since it's spring, I expect to be awash in golden retriever fur starting right about *achoo!* now.