Concrete & Tulips and a CaterpillarGreen Yarns Giveaway!

Holy smokes! Is this a post about a finished pair of socks?? 

Why yes, yes it is. A quick peek at previous sock related posts suggests that I've been knitting on a lot of socks but there hasn't been a post since February that present any actual finished sock. Well, here you go. Here's a finished pair of socks. There's more, trust me. But these ones in particular make me overly happy. And how could they not? They're stripe-y, they're colourful, they're made with the softest of MCN yarns, and they fit perfectly.

As per usual with self-striping yarns, I went with my go-to plain vanilla toe-up sock with afterthought heel recipe. This kind of mindless knit usually works up fast for me as I'm always wanting to knit "just one more stripe". Although I have to admit that I probably spent more time admiring the yarn, the sock, and the stripes than I did knitting. But can you blame me? Just look at this yumminess!

I'm pretty darned pleased with myself for taking the time to measure out my yarn before the first green stripe so that the pair could be somewhat identical. I think I did a bang on job too. I did mess up on the heel the first time around (well...ok...not really 'messed up' per se, more like I didn't like how the stripes played out when it came time to graft my heel together) but it all worked out in the end without losing too much knitting time. This yarn was such a pleasure to work with that I honestly didn't mind ripping out and re-knitting the heel a few times.

When it comes to plain vanilla socks there's usually no need for mods, but this time I did a teeny, tiny little one - on the cuff. To avoid the unsightly purl bumps of contrasting colour when the stripes changed from grey to a colour (in my case that would be green), I stopped knitting in the 2x2 ribbing pattern and would just knit all the stitches until all the stitches on the needles were in the new colour, then I'd switch back to ribbing. This little mod is more for the nit-picky perfectionist knitter but I figured that if I already went through the trouble to get my stripes lined up and to make the pair identical, then I might as well go all out knitterly crazy.

For the record: I'm generally not this picky when it comes to my stripes. At least I don't think so. I do like to cast on my socks and start them with the same colour but never to the point where I take such actions like measuring out my tail and the amount of yarn I have until the first stripe. The only time I've ever done that was for my Hudson socks, but I think those were a special case in which mismatched and noticeably uneven stripes would just make the final product look sloppy.

These little details are definitely things that no one would notice but me. Little things that no one would care about but me. And you know what? I get that. But I'm also the one wearing these. Every knitter and crafter has their own little quirk and things that they can and can't handle. This is mine. Sometimes I pay way too much attention to detail and can drive myself nuts with something as minute as a wonky stitch, a tiny gap...it's even worse when it comes to sewing - uneven topstitching makes me cringe and 99% of the time I have to force myself to look the other way when I spot a single stitch is a little off. Yet it doesn't bother me in the least when I see this type of stuff on other people's work. Crazy, right?

I have a good amount of yarn leftover. I had originally planned to knit up every last bit of yarn until I realized that going that route would result in the most awkward of lengths - I'm short but not short enough that one skein of yarn could produce knee-high socks. Next time (trust me, there will be a lot of next times when it comes to knitting with CaterpillarGreen Yarns!) I think I'll either nab an accent skein (I love how Catherine, the dyer of CaterpillarGreen Yarns, dyes up the accent skeins to ensure the yarns are from the same dye lot) or splurge and get CaterpillarGreen Yarns newest addition to their product line-up: the behemoth XL hank that is 548 metres (599 yds) or 170g for those of you who think in grams, of pure self-striping yumminess!! You can squeak out 2 pair of socks with that amount! Or, if you're of average height, a pair of knee-high socks without worry of running out of yarn! 

Before this pair of socks I've knit with one other CaterpillarGreen Yarns, in the Ocean Sunset colourway (a project that I have yet to blog about, oops!). The yarn itself was so, so soft and smooth to knit with and the colours were such a treat to watch as they gradually changed from one hue to another. CaterpillarGreen Yarns specializes in self-striping yarns - some colourways are the usual thick stripes of colour, some are long colour repeats, and some utilize both the thick stripes and long repeats (like in the Finger Paint colourway, which I can't wait to get my hands on!).

I first heard of and met Catherine of CaterpillarGreen Yarns at last year's Fibrations event and by the time I got to her booth (sadly, at the very end of the day!) it was completely raided with only a few skeins left (which is awesome for Cat!). I walked away with a skein of Ocean Sunset and it took me forever to decide what that skein should be. I'm super excited that Catherine will be back at Fibrations this year, and you can bet that I'll be stopping by her booth first thing and that I'll be stocking up (I have my heart on scoring at least 4 skeins)!! So watch out if you get between me and the CaterpillarGreen booth!! I'm also really excited to hear that Catherine has been working on a self-striping shawl yarn and can't wait to get my hands on a skein when she does finally release it. I think it's going to be glorious!

:: Sock Details ::
Pattern: My own go-to pattern
Yarn: CaterpillarGreen Yarns MCN Fingering
Colour: Concrete and Tulips
Needles: Knitter's Pride Karbonz Fixed Circular Needles in 2.25mm (US 1)
Ravelry Link: MisoCraftyKnits Concrete & Tulips 

Want to hear something exciting?? Catherine of CaterpillarGreen Yarns has generously donated a skein of yarn to give away to one lucky reader!! And that's not all, not only does the winner get to choose which colourway they get, but they also get the option of picking up an accent skein or not. How incredibly awesome is that?? Thank you so much Catherine for this fabulous opportunity!! ♥

I know a fair amount of people have been eyeballing both the CaterpillarGreen Yarns website and my Concrete & Tulips socks, so here's your chance to win a skein of your very own!

Images via CaterpillarGreen Yarns, used with permission
Clockwise from left: Finger Paint, Skyline, Spectrum, Ocean Sunset

** GIVEAWAY is now closed! **

** Thank you to all who have entered! **

:: THE PRIZE ::
One lucky winner will receive a regular skein (that's 115g of yummy yarn) of their choice from CaterpillarGreen Yarns AND an accent skein, if desired.

:: THE RULES ::
:: The giveaway is open to everyone (yay!!).
:: The giveaway is open until Monday, June 30, 2014 at 11:00pm PST.
:: All comments must include either a valid email address or Ravelry ID so that I can contact you if you are the winner.
:: Winner will be chosen via random number generator and will be contacted within 48 hours after giveaway ends.

:: HOW TO ENTER ::
:: Check out the CaterpillarGreen Yarns shop, then leave a comment below and let me know which colourway is your favourite and which one you'd pick if you were the winner (in case you already own your favourite!).

:: Don't forget to include your email or Ravelry ID with your comment because how else can I get a hold of you if you are the lucky winner?? ::

Good luck!!

If you're too impatient to find out if you're the lucky winner, you can check out CaterpillarGreen Yarns at the following places:

:: Shop :: Blog :: Ravelry :: Instagram ::

♥ Happy Knitting! ♥