I’ll be updating the Pop Up Shop with a bunch of new inventory on Thursday night! The goal is to keep the Pop Up Shop regularly stocked with previously hard to find TFA bases and colours. Rather than updating it randomly I’m going to try and keep things organized by updating the inventory on Thursday nights. Not necessarily every Thursday night but if there is an update it will be done on a Thursday. The exact time will likely be between 7:30pm and 8:30pm ET since my kids should be in bed by then and I can sit down and get to work. This week I’m adding 2 new bases and lots of pretty colours!
Ok, so let me tell you a little story about how I realized how much I love our 8-Ply Twist Sock yarn base. A few weeks ago I decided that I wanted to sit down and write out my go-to sock patterns - my Ol’ Reliable Top Down Socks and my Trusty Toe Up Socks. Since these are the sock recipes I’ve used for just about all of my basic socks for years I had a ton of already photographed sock FO’s to feature as the imagery in the patterns. The funny thing is that though I had loads of lovely toe up sock pictures I didn’t have nearly as many top down sock pictures to choose from. I wanted the pattern pictures to show off the heel architecture since socks are basically just tubes with heels, the heel is pretty key. So I grabbed my most basic pair of socks and set out to take new photos for the pattern. Such a boring story so far, but bear with me. Here’s where it gets exciting: The best looking pair of socks that I had on hand to photograph are the pair shown above knit in our 8-Ply Twist sock yarn base in the Hummingbird colourway and they are THREE (3) YEARS OLD!!! I have been regularly wearing and washing them for 3 whole years and they still look good enough to appear on the front page of a sock pattern. If that’s not a testament to how good of a sock yarn 8-Ply Twist is, then I don’t know what is.
Obviously once I realized that I made it a priority to dye up a bunch of 8-Ply Twist for the Pop Up Shop STAT! And here it is!
Crystal, Not-So-Epiphany, Stopping Traffic
Purple Punch, Magic Wand, Bouquet
Big Chill, Beach House, Driftwood
Waterlily, Mermaid, Abyss
The selection of colours is pretty fun too. Chris has been working on cleaning up his recipe book and mentioned wanting to re-visit a bunch of old faves so he had carte blanche to dye whatever colours he wanted and I’m quite partial to his choices. I think I’m going to save a skein of Not-So-Epiphany or Big Chill for my next pair of Ol’ Reliable Socks. This base also happens to be one of my favourites for making speckles pop! And don’t let my sock love mislead you into thinking that this yarn is only good for socks - it would also be perfect for sweaters and accessories since it’s really plump, soft and squishy. yeah, I’m kinda crazy for this base, should I replace my Blue Label base with it in my Core Collection?
The next exciting thing we’ll be adding to the Pop Up Shop on Thursday is our very first foray into dyeing mohair! You may have noticed that mohair is having a real moment in the sun right now and I for one am here for it. I know there will be those who are not into it and others who have always been into it and may dislike the fact that it seems rather trendy right now (I hate being “trendy”!) but wherever you fall in the spectrum there is no denying that there is something pretty magical and, dare I say, whimsical about mohair. The halo it lends to a project makes everything look like it’s glowing from within! It’s pure deliciousness.
Chris Grey, Crystal
Chartreuse, Rocket, Moody Mona Lisa
Saffron, Pink Grapefruit, Soft Bloom
Roulette, Garnet, Tartan
I’ll be back in tomorrow with another blog post about mohair featuring a few pattern suggestions. Fun times at the TFA headquarters gang! There is nothing like being surrounded by fluffy textures and pretty colours to put an added pep in your step!