Spud & Chloë Stripey Fine :: Review & Giveaway!!

 

TGIF mes amis!! I know it's been a week since I last posted but what can I say, life's not so crafty when you've got tendinitis in both of your wrists. But I'm happy to report that I've started a weaving project a few days ago and it has been great fun so far. I haven't used my loom in years but I've discovered that weaving is like riding a bike: once I started the process of setting up the warp everything started to feel familiar again and everything fell into place. Even the Mister agreed, since he's usually the one that has to help me wind the warp onto the loom. For those of you who don't weave, as far as I know at least, when doing a direct warping onto a rigid heddle loom there's one person holding the free end of the warp with some tension as a second person winds the other end onto the back apron rod. Technically you can do a solo warp and I've seen video tutorials on how to do that, but I definitely haven't reached that level of weaving confidence yet! There's probably other ways to do a direct wrap but that's as far as my weaving knowledge goes.

 

Anyhoo, guess what? I've also been knitting these past couple of days!! Well...I've only been able to knit for a few minutes here and there but still, I'm knitting! YAY!! Even though the knitting is slow going and it's so hard to put down the needles once you get back into the groove, I really don't want to push or injure myself any further so I have to work hard to limit myself to just a few minutes of knitting at a time. To avoid putting any excessive stress on my wrists I have to refrain from working on any large and heavy projects. Obviously that means no cardigan knitting for me and only knits that can fit entirely in my hand. You know what that means, right? Socks!

Unfortunately the two pairs that I currently have on the needles are just too fiddly for my fragile wrists, so it was absolutely perfect timing when a lovely package from Spud & Chloë arrived in the post containing a skein of their new Stripey Fine fingering weight yarn and a sock pattern for little ones! Ok, I'll confess straight up that I knew that these little gems were on their way, I just didn't know that I would have a legit reason to cast on something new and that it would be within my knitting parameters! But first, let me introduce to you the newest yarn added to the Spud & Chloë line up:

 

Clockwise beginning at the top: Blueberry Cheesecake, Tootie Fruitie, Grape Freeze,

Cherry Sundae, Neopolitan, Orange Crush, and Mint Chip in the center

 

That there is the yummy Stripey Fine!! If you're familiar with Spud & Chloë yarns and have knit with their Fine yarn before, than you'll be pleased to know that Stripey Fine is made with the same base comprising of 80% superwash wool and 20% silk, and comes in seven fabulous (and deliciously named!!) colourways as pictured above. Each variegated colourway is composed from the solid-coloured Fine palette, meaning not only can you mix and match for colourwork, stripes, and whatever other effect you can think of, but you can also find the exact colour(s) needed to create a contrast in your project - like for example the toe, heel, and cuff for socks! Due to the fine gauge and the superwash capabilities, this yarn is perfect for socks, baby knits, shawls, and cowls.

 

The Stripey Fine Wristlets pattern is the first design to be released that features Stripey Fine but I chose the Lots O' Socks pattern so that I could knit the Munchkin a pair of socks and let him pick the colourway. Even though the pattern is written for babies and toddlers, the kiddo has teeny, tiny, skinny legs that work perfectly with the numbers in the pattern and all I have to do is knit a little extra length in the foot to fit him. As much as I would have loved to knit with the Cherry Sundae colourway (which I'm sure you all probably thought I would have picked), the kiddo's choice was this beauty of a skein, Mint Chip:

 

 

Random factoid: both mine and the Mister's favourite ice cream flavour is Mint Chocolate Chip. True story!

 

Anyhoo, due to my wrists I've only managed to knit half of a sock, but it was enough to at least get a feel for the yarn. I've only ever knit with Spud & Chloë Sweater yarn before knitting with the Stripey Fine so from that experience I kind of knew that I was going to be dealing with a standup, quality yarn. Sure enough, before I even cast on the sock I could already tell that this yarn was going to create knit wear that was going to last. From sight alone you can see just how wonderfully round this yarn is and that it would yield excellent stitch definition, especially in lace and texture work. Upon closer examination and a little manhandling, I discovered that the yarn is composed of three strands - each consisting of two plies - all twisted together to form a bouncy (re: so, so squishy!!) and super strong yarn. Yes, even if the Munchkin wore these socks on a daily basis I'm quite positive that he'll outgrow them before any holes could form in the heels or toes! Did I mention that Stripey Fine is also superwash and therefore machine washable? Total bonus. I can't wait to get these socks finished and onto the kiddo's feet. With these rainy, cold, and dreary days that we've been having, these Stripey Fine socks are going to be fantastic when worn with his rain boots!

 

I'm seriously contemplating knitting in an afterthought heel so that I can add length and replace the heel as the Munchkin grows. Even when the leftovers are all gone, I take comfort in knowing that I can always pick up a skein in one of the solids that make up this colourway (in case any one wants to know, Mint Chip consists of: #7804 Cricket, #7814 Shitake, #7806 Calypso, #7805 Anemone, and #7800 Popcorn) and replace the heel or toe as needed. Cool, right?

 

Now, the only thing that might be confusing to some would be the stripey reference in the yarn's name. Depending on your gauge and pattern I suppose you can produce a self-striping effect, like how it is in my sock pictured above. Please don't knit this yarn expecting a true self-striping pattern, it is a variegated. When you take a peek at all the Spud & Chloë colourways you'll see that they're all solids, Stripey Fine is the only yarn in their product lineup that isn't. I just wanted to clarify that.

 

So...would you like to give this yarn and pattern a try? The lovely people at Spud & Chloë gave me an extra skein of Stripey Fine and copy of Lots O' Socks to give away to one lucky reader! If you're too impatient and need to have this yarn in your hands now, good news: Stripey Fine has already made its way to a bunch of yarn shops and if your LYS carries Spud & Chloë they might have it already in stock too (and if your LYS doesn't carry Spud & Chloë there's no harm in asking them to!). And if you've been looking for a sock pattern for your wee ones, here's even better news, use the code "STRIPEY" from February 6 to the 14th (Valentine's Day!) and get 50% off the Lots O' Socks pattern!! Link for the socks here.

Ok, back to the giveaway. Once again, you can win this duo:

 

:: THE PRIZE ::

One lucky winner will receive:

:: 1 yummy skein of Spud & Chloë Stripey Fine in the Mint Chip colourway

:: a copy of the Lots O' Socks pattern by Colleen Powley

 

:: THE RULES ::

:: The giveaway is open to everyone!! YAY!!

:: Giveaway is open until Friday, February 13, 2015 at 11:59pm PST

:: All comments must include 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 ::

Simply leave a comment below telling me which Stripey Fine colourway is your favourite and what you would knit with it. Don't forget to also include your email or Ravelry ID with your comment!

 

 

Good luck!

 

 

A huge thank you to Spud & Chloë for inviting me to be a part of the Stripey Fine Blog Tour. Follow the Blog Tour by visiting the other stops for more giveaways, information on the other colourways in this collection, as well as more discounts for other Spud & Chloë patterns:

 

Week One :: Subway Knits

Week Two :: Miso Crafty Knits

Week Three :: Little Things Blogged

Week Four :: Hands Occupied

Week Five :: Candy & Bagel

Week Six :: Stockinette Zombies

Week Seven :: Handmade By Stefanie

 

 

♥ Happy Knitting! ♥

 

 

Please note: unmarked photo(s) in this post are by Spud & Chloë and are used with permission.

 

 

:: Disclaimer ::

I am not affiliated with the company mentioned in this post. I received no monetary compensation from said company for my review. I was sent a skein of yarn for review purposes and a pattern to knit the yarn with in exchange for posting the review. The opinions I've written are my own and I will not be receiving any commissions from the links provided in this post.