Time for the Monthly Update

Someone from an email group I belong to asked about Tofutsies yarn. I've been meaning to post about this for a while, so this is as good a time as any.

I have made two (and a half) pairs of socks with this yarn. It was pretty fun; the colors are very bright and interesting, and it's novel to be knitting with crab shells. I did find it splitty, but tolerable for someone with low standards, such as myself.

But there was a very big problem, once the socks were completed.

Fade.
I mean, serious fade.

These socks were knit last summer and fall; so they're less than a year old. And I admit, I am not a handwash sort of girl; they get thrown in the washer and dryer with everything else. The nice thing is they didn't shrink. Take a look at what did happen.

The original colorway is black, magenta and gold. Each color was plied with a white strand.

The left is the socks as they currently are. Gold? What gold? Magenta faded to pink, gold is gone completely. White is almost all you can see though the black has held up fairly well.

The second item in the picture is a headband I made to match the socks. It's obviously been washed much less, and therefore isn't too bad off, unless you hold it right up to the remainder of the skein. Not sure you can see in the picture, but there is obvious fading between them.

This is the second pair I made. Green, blue, yellow. No white. Very bright and vibrant colors. I really loved this colorway, which is strange, as green is not really my thing. See how they've held up?

There is literally NO blue left. The green and yellow have faded to pastel. Sad.

I also am not sure how durable they are. The black and gold ones have worn a hole at the base of the little toe on the instep. Strange place for a hole!

Now, I do wear both of these pair at least once a week, and as I said, they get washed in the regular clothes wash. But my Trekking socks have not faded one bit with the same treatment. Regia has not faded (can't remember which one; the line that has elastic in it.) My bamboo ones have faded noticeably, but still not to this extent, and they were the first ones I made.

Now I know that cotton tends to hold dye less well; it may be a function of that. But I probably won't buy this yarn again. If you buy for color, and then the color fades, what's the point? And truly; they aren't quite as comfortable as my wool socks.

Ok, so what have the family been up to? Well, we took a vacation day and went to Knott's Berry Farm. Fun! I was worried about how Murphy would do, as he gets notoriously carsick. Instead, Eric and I got carsick on the way down, and then Eric did the "Sidewinder" coaster, and that pretty much did him in for the day. Murphy? Well, he went on the "Wipeout" which is a spinning ride that also goes up and down. Dad took him on and I was so afraid I'd hear him screaming. Well, I did. Screaming "Let's do it again, Dad!" Well Dad looked a little pale, so Murph went on alone. And then a third time. And then a fourth.

And by then, Dad was feeling better, so they went on the "Boomerang." TWICE. This ride goes fast forwards with a loop de loop twice; then goes back to the beginning backwards. LOOP de LOOP BACKWARDS! Oy. Needless to say, Mom stayed with her feet planted firmly on the ground and took pictures. This is actually THEM in the third car.

Murphy can't wait to go back. Actually, neither can I. It was a pretty awesome day.

Then there's the baseball. Murphy is on the Cardinals, and is probably the best thrower and hitter on the team. He is the oldest (it's really T-ball) and by far the most huge on the team. Here's the team picture; can you guess which one is Murph? Oh man, there is nothing as cute as six and seven year olds trying to play ball. Not even kittens.

Here is a big hit:






Here he is sliding into home for a run:








Then we had a lovely visit from Eric's grandmother, Estelle, and her husband Abe. We only get to see them once or twice a year, and it's always a treat. We had a lovely talk, a tour of Lake Casitas, and then a dinner trip to Carrow's. They're always welcome!

I think that's about it for now; we're all well and happy and going strong. I do hope to get back to some spinning and dyeing soon!

Yarn Review

I'm going to try to do a regular feature in this blog of reviewing my experiences with yarn, perhaps some knitting and spinning tools as well. I'm starting today with yarn, because I fell in love with this one.

(click for bigger and brighter)

It's Rio de la Plata sock yarn

Here's their mission statement:

Rio de la Plata Yarns supports an old Uruguayan tradition of hand spinning of wool by wives of Gauchos (traditional horsemen). Gauchos used and still use hand made wool “Ponchos” for protection of the cold and dirt when guarding sheep. They play an important roll in Uruguay’s major source of income which is wool. This noble and harmless industry supplies a major part of the wool in the world. Uruguay has not changed much of its traditions producing it. Rio de la Plata Yarns is in the heart of this tradition, creating beautiful fibers and bucket dying them.

We are their link to the world in the sense that any knitter can create garments out of this beautiful hand dyed yarn that otherwise would be unknown to the world. When you buy our yarn you are supporting Uruguayan women who work at home and are able to spend time with their children and sometimes even pay for their own college education.

The Specs:
Yardage: 437 yards per hank
Weight: 3.5 oz per hank
Superwash Merino
Three ply

It's a tightly spun, smooth worsted preparation. It's not the softest yarn I've ever used, though it softens with washing, as does most yarns. It's very smooth to knit with and doesn't split easily. The grist is slightly variable, at times thinner than usual, very occasionally thicker, but it's not enough to affect the gauge of the knitted piece. It's three ply, using a non-repeating constantly changing color technique. It is superwash, so it's easy to care for. There's enough yarn in one skein to make a pair of socks.

The colorways are varied throughout the line and have charming names; this particular colorway has Vibrant Orange, Lime Green, Ethereal Blue, Evergreen, Pointsettia, and Yellow Corn. It does not stripe, so there's no concern about matching pattern repeats. There are several lines of the sock yarn; the above is from the "multicolor" line; there is also a solid and an "Artisian" line, as well as a "multisolid" line. Artisian seems to be more along the lines of a handpainted yarn. I believe that the difference between the Multicolor and the Multisolid lines is that in the multisolid, you have three distinct colors plied together, whereas in the multicolor line, each of the three plies will be multicolored. Solids are pretty self evident, but I will comment that the colors are incredible, and range from brilliant to muted (in the Autumn line).

I can't tell you how much fun this yarn was to knit with. It's got an almost cotton-y feel to it. The color changes are interesting to watch and keep long stockinette sections from being tedious. They list six colors as above, but because of the way the plies blend, there's pinks and corals and aquas and every color you can imagine. Because it's not splitty, I was able to knit a lacy type pattern with psso's and not constantly have to unsplit the stitches. Being a newish knitter, that's a common problem for me. I've completed one sock, and just finished the gusset decreases on the other, so I'll get pics up as soon as possible (probably several weeks....) As the socks are not yet complete, I don't have a review as to their wear, but I can extrapolate a few things. I'm pretty hard on my knitting. I tend to shove a project into a felted bag, pull it out every so often and do a few rows. I also happen to keep my wrist splint in that bag, and it has velcro straps. The two have met on occasion, to my horror. It seems to have survived fairly well. Toting them around, I have noticed that newly knit areas are smooth and clean, where older areas are a tad fuzzier, have more "bloom." I expect that is what will happen with wear and washing.

One caution; if you are hard on your socks, keep in mind that this yarn is 100% wool; there is no nylon added for strength. You might want to add some wooly nylon to the heels and toes for durability.

A few more cautions; the second half of this skein had THREE knots. Not a good thing. Also, I still have about an inch on to start the toe on the second sock, and I'm starting to fear I may not have enough yarn to finish. These socks are HUGE however; for a man's size 12, with a 8 inch leg. For a normal woman's size, it shouldn't be a problem.

Later Edit: The second half of the skein had SIX knots total. The socks looked lovely when finished; but even though this yarn is advertised as superwash, it felted slightly in the first wash. Luckily for me, they were too large, and felted to just the right size! But it is disturbing that the felting occurred in a yarn labeled superwash.

This yarn was a gift from my most favorite elder child, so I'm not sure of the cost of a skein; but reliable sources tell me you can expect to pay about $18-$20 per skein online, $20-$22 in your LYS. Pricey, yes. Worth it? Perhaps. If you keep the cautions in mind.