What great friends I have. Really . . fantastic friends. You all know my friend, Denise. She’s the one who gets me in so much trouble. Even Vince knows that most of the time when the credit card bill is just a little too high . . . it’s Denise’s fault.
As usual I’m minding my own business, not even thinking about yarn shopping . . not thinking about much at all, in fact. I check my email and find a long one from Denise. She has put a lot of thought into this. You’d think that she thinks it’s hard to convince me to buy yarn, or take a challenge.
Her reasoning scares me. But, because I’m such a good friend, and because she seems like she really needs a partner in crime for this project, I’m going along with her. Please understand . . I’m not doing this because of a yarn sale, or because I want or need yarn . . I’m simply doing this to make Denise happy. And, I’m inviting all of you to do your part in making Denise happy!
Here’s her email . . all broken down with my response to each of her numbered items.
Denise: 1) Socktoberfest is approaching.
Me: Yes, Soctoberfest happens every October. You try to make as many socks as you can during October.
Denise: 2) the birthstone for October is an Opal.
Me: I didn’t know this simply because my birthday isn’t October and I only care about my own birthstone! But, I do love opals.
Denise: 3) Opal makes me think of Opal yarn (actually I believe I thought about the Opal yarn first and then realized it is an October birthstone)
Me: I’m wondering if Denise might not have too much time on her hands!
Denise: 4) Opal yarn made me think of the recent flyer that Simply Socks still has a bunch on sale (I did briefly think of the stuff I bought on sale from them last time and haven’t used yet but then quickly dismissed that from my mind)
Me: Exactly! All that Opal yarn I ordered last time is still sitting in the box in which it arrived.
Denise: 5) opal yarn on sale has now been purchased from Simply Socks today
Me: Yep, me too. Thanks Denise! Yesterday I looked at the yarn, put some in my cart, remembered that I had not used what I bought last time and closed it all out. Today . . a totally different end result. There’s yarn on its way to me now.
Denise: 6) see how many pairs of Opal yarn socks I can make during Socktoberfest.
Me: Sure! I can do that. I think I can make 6 pairs. I always think I can make more than I actually get made but . . you never know til you try, right?
Seriously, if you want to make socks for a gift and you aren’t sure how they will be cared for, you cannot beat Opal yarn. My Opal socks often end up in the washer and the dryer. The yarn isn’t as soft as yarns like Madelinetosh or String Theory Caper but it definitely holds up to lots of wear and abuse.
So . . anyone want to join us. Simply Sock Yarn has a good sale right now on some closeout Opal yarn, as well as some other yarns. Will you join us for our Opal Socktoberfest? You can use Opal yarn you already have too.
Shirley Albertson Owens (sao) says
I would LOVE to join you – you ae the one who gets ME into trouble…..I seem to be able to knit anything (including a 5 foot long dinosaur and all of the Camp Loopy Ewe projects) but socks continue to allude me. Maybe I should challenge myself to make it happen!
Maybe I should forget all of the double loopy and single loopy special methods and just try using double pointed needles?????
sao in Midlothian
Shirley Albertson Owens (sao) says
BTW – I did knit ONE SOCK using about 3 different patterns and several needle methods….and NOW I CANNOT REMEMBER HOW I DID IT TO MAKE THE MATCHING SOCK…..and not only that…..I LOST THE SOCK that I made (but I did take a picture BEFORE I lost it)……..and I promise that I am not making this up! LOL
sao in Midlothian, VA
Mary Ann Parker says
OK, you convinced me – – I ordered yarn and “a very simple pattern” and will try socks. I may be picking your brain in order to do this but will give it a try. The opal yarn looks wonderful. I like yarn as much as I like fabric! I knit very loosely, any suggestions welcome on how to stop doing that. MAP
Sue H says
I’m in. I’ve used Opal yarn before and it makes good socks. I figure I’ll have some days on a train in October (Minneapolis to Seattle), and that will be perfect for doing some knitting. Ordered some new colors that look pretty fun.
pdudgeon says
if i were a sock knitter i would grab all 7 colors of the Opal Schafet 3 yarn. those are beautiful!
so what did you get, Judy???
carol fun says
Oh you had to go and tempt me with Opal yarn – I LOVE Opal! I was just looking at what was available at Simply Socks last night. Sooooo I suppose I MUST go complete my order – count me in! Sounds like lots of fun!
MaryD in SC says
Well I have a skein of Opal which I am planning on knitting in October for my own little Soctoberfest but being part of a group sounds like much more fun than going solo. Count me in! Now I’m off to Simply Socks to check out the sale.
Denise ~ justquiltin says
My rebuttal has been posted. LOL
Mel Meister says
**shaking head*** This blog is really bad for my pocket book!
ROFLMAO!!
Judy says
Yep, I fell for it. Just what I need is more yarn. Oh well. I still have one more Socktober sock from a while back that needs finishing….. Got a ball of Opal and the Crystal Palace. Love that stuff!
BethL says
Gee thanks…Just what I needed, another excuse to buy more yarn LOL. I just bought 5 skeins of Opal from the sale and they should arrive this week. I’m in for the challenge. My excuse was that I couldn’t decide what to knit for Christmas gist this year and this will make it easier (and less pricey since each skein was only $9), so I bought girly and non girly colors to knit gift socks!! Now time will tell if I actually get them all knit LOL
pam says
I am canadian and just started using Opal yarn 2 pairs done and 3rd pair in process so i will have to tell my hubby judy made me order Opal yarn LOL
going to see if i can get a young childs socks out of leftovers