Here is one of two new books that I ordered last week:

So far I have really enjoyed it.  It’s no secret at this point that I enjoy the relaxation and stress relief that I get from knitting, and reading other people’s knitting stories is something that appeals to me.

This book not only has tips about ‘Zen knitting’, but it also has patterns in it.  I immediately fell in love with this one: 

Watermelon socks!!!  Not only are they the cutest thing ever, but they are knit from self-striping yarn…AND it is hand dyed self-striping yarn….AND it is naturally machine washable wool from sheep called Suffolk sheep.  It supposedly gets loftier and puffier with washing, and it makes great socks.

If you are anything like me, you are now thinking “I must have this watermelon, self-striping, hand painted, washable wool from Suffolk sheep”!!!  Right?!

Well you, me and everybody else in this country and probably the next one over (apparently).  It’s a little hard to get. 

Where do you find such magical wool, you might ask???  It is produced by an eco-friendly company called Freshisle Fibers, located in Ontario, Canada.  You can learn more about the company and shop their wool here:  www.freshislefibers.com

If you do, you will notice that all of the self- striping, watermelon yarn is SOLD OUT.  Bummer.  I guess there must be a lot of people trudging around out there in watermelon socks.  With a quick email to the shop, I learned that they try to replenish the more popular yarns at the beginning of each new month.

Since I was dying of anticipation to try this wool, I ordered some of the yarn that was on sale.  Here is my little Suffolk stash:

Isn’t it pretty?  All of the colors are derived naturally, and the wool still contains some natural lanolin, and it even has bits of straw in it!  Ha!  That’s some home-grown wool!  I started some socks on size 4 needles, but they are too big, so I will have to frog them when I get a chance and recalculate all of that business.

In other news, I finished the first Alpaca Sox sock on Sunday, and I have started the cuff for sock #2.  They are so soft and I am totally in love with this yarn.  It is 60% alpaca wool.  These socks are being done on size 1 needles in a standard K3 P1 cuff pattern.   

 Here is one stretched out on the blocker so you can see.

~Happy knitting!