London Yarns
Janet Filipchuk
1615 North Routledge Park, Unit 24, Open For In-Store Shopping And Still Offering Curbside Pickup
London, Ontario N6H 5L6
519-474-0403 | phone
Hours of Operation
| Monday: | Closed | | Tuesday: | 11:00 am - 4:00 pm | | Wednesday: | 11:00 am - 4:00 pm | | Thursday: | 11:00 am - 6:00 pm | | Friday: | 11:00 am - 4:00 pm | | Saturday: | 11:00 am - 4:00 pm | | Sunday: | Closed |
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SURPRISE SOCK ALONG
Monday, July 3, 2023 – Surprise Sock Along
Pre-order now!
July’s Colour of the Month
Ancient Arts Colour of the Month for JULY is now available for pre-ordering…it is a LIMITED EDITION colourway that puts you in mind of the lush vegetation that thrives in Japan.
EDO CASTLE, JAPAN
You shouldn't be surprised that the next stop in our tour of Famous Archeological sites is in Japan. Caroline came back from her trip inspired by the places she visited and the things she saw while away, and she picked one of her favourite places as the site for us to feature this month!
Edo Castle was built by Tokugawa Ieyasu who emerged as the most powerful daimyo (feudal lord) in the country after the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600. In 1603, the Emperor made Ieyasu Shogun ("Commander in Chief of the Expeditionary Force Against the Barbarians"), which in effect was the military ruler of Japan. As Shogun, Ieyasu was allowed to establish his own government, and instead of moving his residence and his military headquarters to the capital of Kyoto where the Emperor lived, he turned the small fishing village of Edo into his stronghold.
View of Edo on a pair of six-panel folding screens, 17th century.
The new shogun used the construction of Edo Castle to keep the wealth and power of the lesser daimyos in check, by requiring them to supply both building materials and labour, in proportion to their own level of wealth. The wealthier the daimyo, the larger the stones and the more in number were required.
The less wealthy daimyos had to supply labor for flattening the site and digging the large moats. It took 36 years to complete (1603 -1639), and the end result was a walled city that included separate enclosed residences for the daimyos, merchant districts, entertainment districts, parks and gardens, and a system of roads, bridges, canals, moats and watchtowers for defense. The castle was surrounded by an outer moat that was estimated to be 16 kilometers (10 miles) long, and inside that, a stone wall which had 36 guarded gates.
Outer Moat
photos Caroline Sommerfeld
It is estimated that by 1650, the population of Edo Castle was 300,000. However, a massive fire in 1657 burned through the castle, killing approximately one third of the inhabitants. Parts of the castle were re-built and efforts were made to reduce the likelihood of another fire. By 1720, the population reached one million, making it the largest city in the world at that time!
In 1868, the Tokugawa surrendered power to the Imperial Family in what is known as the Meiji Restoration, and the Emperor made Edo the centre of power and renamed it Tokyo.
Below is an aerial photo of Edo Castle and the grounds showing how it looks today.
The Emperor built his Imperial Palace on the western part of the grounds, and that area is not open to the public except for special tours.
The ruins of the original Edo Castle are in the East Gardens, which are open to the public. There you will find stone walls which were the foundations of some of the original buildings, along with three watch towers and three guard houses that date from the Edo era.
Photos Caroline Sommerfeld
The East gardens are also the site of many museums, a tea house, the Tokyo National Museum of Modern Art, and a variety of botanical gardens.
Photos Caroline Sommerfeld
Introducing…
EDO CASTLE, JAPAN Colourway
The “Edo Castle, Japan” Colour of the Month (COTM) colourway is dyed on Ancient Arts Socknado base (fingering weight #1); made of 80% superwash fine Merino wool and 20% nylon with 350m/100g; $32.98 each.
To Pre-Order: call us at 519-474-0403 with your name, payment information and number of skeins needed. Pre-Ordering deadline is Saturday, July 15, 2023.
Have a look at how beautifully July’s COTM pairs with contrasting colours…
Edo Castle Japan and Cypress Tree
Edo Castle Japan and Chai Spice Latte
Edo Castle Japan and Where the Giant Squid Live
Left to Right: Where the Giant Squid Live, Chai Spice Latte, Edo Castle Japan, and Cypress Tree
Do you want to ‘knit along’…??
Here is a new acronym that not many of us in the knitting world have heard before…SSAL.
‘SSAL’ stands for Surprise Sock A-Long! It’s a mystery knit along (KAL) for your feet! We all knit the same pattern together during the specified time frame. The Surprise Sock Along adds an extra level of spice, because you won't know what the socks will look like until each week’s set of instructions (or clues) are released. A section of the pattern (clue) is released each week, and at the end of the SSAL, the final design is revealed!
The name of the SSAL is…
Welcome to the first Westknits Surprise Sock Along!
It’s a mystery knit along for your feet!
We are going to knit a new pair of socks together with surprising new details and design elements each week during July with the first clue launching Thursday, July 6.
The Westknits Sock Along is all about learning fun new techniques with detailed video tutorials as we knit a part of the sock each week for a total of four weeks. At the end of the Sock Along you will have a beautiful pair of finished ‘Contrast Blast Socks’.
All you need are two colours of fingering weight sock yarn, some knitting needles, a cable needle, and a few stitch markers. Stephen is going to guide you through every step of the way as we experience an inspiring month of sock knitting together.
Never participated in a mystery knit along before? The Surprise Sock Along is the best way to start because each week's clues (instructions) are much less knitting than a standard mystery shawl knit along.
The Surprise Sock Along is a mini mystery knitting adventure with bite-sized sections to accomplish each week.
At the end of July you will have a complete set of socks featuring an amazing symphony of stitches!
To Sign Up – we can purchase the pattern on your behalf (about C$10.59) and you will receive an introductory PDF with the entire Sock Along details sent directly to your inbox.
The SSAL begins July 6!
Clue Release Dates
Clue 1 – July 6
Clue 2 – July 13
Clue 3 – July 20
Clue 4 – July 27
The pattern is suitable for adventurous beginners (who already know how to knit, purl, increase, decrease, and read a pattern), and it will be enjoyable for seasoned knitters too.
There will be photo tutorials and videos to assist you with visualizing the techniques and construction. Stephen will teach you everything you need to know!
A few notes about yarn choice:
- If you use self-striping yarn, definitely use it for the CC and make sure your solid MC contrasts well with your CC.
- Variegated and highly speckled yarns will disguise some of the design details, but it is okay to use one as the CC as long as your MC has a high contrast against your CC.
- Stephen designed the Contrast Blast Socks with solid and semi-solid yarns in mind, so stick with this type of yarn to make sure you love your finished socks. Use multi-coloured variegated yarns at your own risk.
- We are going to play with lots of stripes and fun colour interactions, so he recommends a high contrast colour palette to clearly see the crisp design details.
About the pattern…
Sizes 1 (2, 3, 4, 5)
To fit an actual foot circumference of 7.5 (9, 10.5, 11.5, 13)” / 19 (23, 27, 29, 33) cm
Finished Measurements
6.5 (8, 9.5, 10.5, 12)” / 17 (20, 24, 27, 30) cm leg and foot circumference after blocking. These are the measurements of the sock, not your foot.
Notes about Sizing:
The socks are designed to fit with negative ease. Choose a size with a finished foot circumference measurement that is approximately 1” / 2.5 cm smaller than your actual foot circumference. Measure your foot around the center part of your foot. For example, if your actual foot circumference is 9” / 23 cm, then knit Size 2 of the sock. The sock should fit nice and snug on your foot with negative ease. The length of the foot is easily customizable.
Yarn
MC – 100 gr fingering weight sock yarn (#1)
CC – 100 gr fingering weight sock yarn (#1)
Yarn Note: 100 gr of each colour is more than enough yarn to complete a pair of socks in any of the 5 sizes. You will have leftovers of each colour.
Exact Yardage Required (see note below)
MC - 180 (200, 310, 340, 380) yds / 165 (183, 283, 311, 347) mtrs
CC - 120 (160, 240, 280, 300) yds / 110 (146, 219, 256, 274) mtrs
**Yardage Note: It is recommended to have a bit more than the exact recommended yardage amounts shown above to ensure you do not run out of yarn. These yarn amounts will produce a complete pair of socks, the right sock and the left sock.
Needles
US 1 / 2.25 mm DPNs or size needed to obtain gauge*
*Gauge Note: The socks are knit with a firm tidy gauge. You may need to go down one or two needle sizes to achieve gauge and that’s okay. Getting a similar stitch gauge is more important than the rounds gauge.
Gauge
32 sts & 52 rnds = 4” / 10 cm in stockinette stitch after blocking
36 sts & 64 rnds in slip stitch pattern after blocking
Westknit Ravelry Group
There will be lots of fun chat in the Westknit SSAL 2023 Ravelry group. Share your SSAL 2023 colour combo in the group and share your knitting progress each week during the KAL!
Share your colour combos and knit along progress on Instagram with #SSAL2023 #WestknitsSurpriseSockAlong2023
Can you help…?
HOSPITAL HATS
Victoria Hospital (LHSC) Birthing Centre is in great need of baby hats!
Hats can be knit or crocheted in any colour you enjoy working with; even the simplest of hats would be appreciated.
Here are few guidelines…
- Please use a soft yarn – may we suggest Sirdar Snuggly, Bamboo Pop DK, Softee Cotton, Vintage Baby or Comfort DK
- Desired sizing: approx. 12”- 15” circumference (= premie to small newborn sizes)
- Hats can be knit or crocheted, as long as they have enough stretch to be soft on the head
- Note: please make sure that the cast on edge has some stretch to it
- Choose any colour that you like to make your hats
- Hats can be a solid colour, striped, multi-coloured or variegated
- Hats can be dropped off at London Yarns
- When bringing in your finished hats, please seal them in a Ziploc bag or something similar.
Need a pattern?
Marianna Mel has shared over 100 free hat patterns with us! Tap the links to view either the knit patterns or her crochet patterns.
Choose from any of Marianna’s free hat patterns, but here are just a few suggestions to knit….
We thank you in advance
for your contribution to this
very worthwhile cause.
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