January Sock Yarn Review - Cherry Tree Hill

I liked this yarn a lot - and I think I'll like their new base even more. This was the Louet Gems base, and it's a good yarn - well milled, nicely twisted and very even. There was one slub in the whole thing.

The final stats for my Toffee Sock:

Yarn: Cherry Tree Hill Louet Gems in Foxy Lady.
Gauge: 8.5 (actually a titch under, but that's the closest. I don't do fractions of fractions and my feet wouldn't know the difference.)
Needles: 2.25 mm

One slubby area - and it wasn't bad at all. No knots. The colourway neither pooled nor flashed, but was consistent throughout the sock.



I have no complaints and I would use this one again - although it would be from stash.

Next up for February: Shaeffer Yarn's Heather in the Simply Sock Yarn colourway. Another pair of bright socks.

More King Charles

The bead idea came from the Sock Knitters Anonymous group on Ravelry - although I must say that unlike AA, this group doesn't do anything to deal with the addiction - if anything, it fosters it. Nuff said. One of the January challenges was beaded socks. The mystery sock has beads, and although I'm plugging along on it, I'm having much more fun designing my own.

My first King Charles sock is done - beads and all. I eventually realized that the most important part of beading the stitch is to ensure that the crochet hook is small enough to go easily through the bead with the yarn: too large and there's no chance of getting everything through, even if the hook itself fits.



You can barely see the beads - they're much more visible on this close-up:



And - just because I can, there's a second King Charles sock - one of my Variations on a Theme: this one has beaded ribs, with the brocade pattern on the bottom of the leg and the instep. The yarn is Blue Moon's STR Lightweight in Citrine. As usual, not a slub, not a knot. I added the beads to the yarn first, because I wanted them to lie between the stitches, and of course, I added too many. Because I'm too lazy to cut the yarn, I just keep sliding them down, reminding myself I will need them for the second sock.



The beads aren't the easiest to see because the cuff will be rolled over and then, they'll be much more visible.

King Charles Brocade

That's the name of the stitch I chose for the Ravelry Sockdown challenge for January. This month's challenge includes beaded sock (the mystery sock is a beaded sock), and since I can't resist a challenge, I went through my Harmony guides to find a stitch that had good texture and would support the addition of beads.



This is after the cuff has been finished and the first round of beading has begun. The cuff has a foldover picot edge hem, and the pattern starts with a beaded round, although I think when I do the next test I'll put in another starting row that won't form part of the pattern.

Cherry Tree Hill - finished

Oh, my. Can you tell I've been in trial for the past week? I can - nothing else matters when I spend my days in the courtroom. It's almost as if there are entire days gone from my life - and when I think back, or review my notes, I can hardly believe how much paper I've used in the pursuit of what I hope is justice.

My Cherry Tree Hill socks are done. This is the Louet Gems Merino base - and yes, it's not the current base yarn, but I still like this one. There was only one slubby bit and me being me, I simply knit it in. No-one will know but me, and my feet will certainly not feel it.



I'll do the stats on them for the end of the month, but I can report that this is a yarn I would use again .... and I these are socks I would enjoy wearing.

More Cherry Tree Hill

I like this yarn. It's easy to knit, slips well through my fingers and I've had no problems with splitting or loose plies.

The leg is finished and the photograph shows some barber-poling, although truth be told, more in the photo than what you see on the sock itself.



It's finally warmed up a bit here, although when you think about it, it says more about us than about the weather when the temperature reaches -5 degrees Celcius and we all walk around without mitts or gloves, with our coats open and talk about how warm it is. We all know it won't last, but it's worth enjoying right now.

Mitred Squares

Finished my Mitred Squares socks. These were a right royal pain in the you-know-where to knit, but they fit beautifully and the yarn was a delight.



The yarn is Fireweed Dyeworks Superwash Self-striping in the Midnight Sun colourway. The base is Cherry Tree Hill and I was so impressed that I went and ordered more from the dyer and ordered more from CTH. I've been working on my monthly sock in the Louet Gems - and this is different. The twist is a bit tighter and it knits to a denser fabric.



The close-up of the cuff shows the squares themselves. If I had this one to do over again, I'd use garter stitch, as I think the squares would sit better. Since I'm curious, I ordered more from Fireweed and will do it all over again.

CTH - cuff finished

Cherry Tree Hill is as nice to knit as I expected. This is the Louet Gems base and although the plies are not tightly twisted, it knits up to a firm fabric.



So far, Foxy Lady looks as if it will spiral down the sock. We'll see.

January Yarn - Cherry Tree Hill

January's Sock Yarn Review will be Cherry Tree Hill's Louet Gems Merino. I'm contacting the company because I'm certain that in the last two years, CTH has changed its base yarn.



The colourway is Foxy Lady - one I ordered from Pick Up Sticks in Brantford, Ontario about two years ago.

I pulled out my CTH for a test knit because I had a wonderful compliment about a pair of socks I've been working on for the Sock Knitters' Anonymous group on Ravelry.



The yarn is dyed by Fireweed Dyeworks in Alaska. Nancy puts right on the label that this is a CTH base and I am really enjoying it. I may get brave and publish the pattern for the sock - after doing another version with garter stitch squares, which I think will work better.