JeeroSolmate

So it’s Sunday night… I just got back from yoga and decided to check my email before heading off to bed. While online, I randomly ended up on Flickr and decided to do a search for our socks. Lo and behold I find this adorable picture:

Thanks Jeero for being a furry fan of Solmate Socks!

Rwanda Knits Benefit Auction

Socklady-Sharon sent me info on this fundraiser which is all about using knitting to support a great cause! How incredibly awesome is that!  I love seeing knitting projects go towards a good cause.

Rwanda Knits was founded by Cari Clement of Montpelier, Vermont and with the annual online Rwanda Knits Benefit Auction you can bid on famous sweaters, accessories and knit and crochet items for your home and family – all to benefit the women of Rwanda Knits!

The auction begins at 10:00 pm (eastern) on Thursday, October 16 and will conclude at 8:30pm on Sunday, October 26. Just go to www.rwandaknits.org where there will be a link when the auction goes live.  Or go to www.rwandaknitsauction.org during the times of the auction and start your bidding. All proceeds from this auction will go straight to Rwanda Knits in Rwanda.

From Rwanda Knits press release: “Your winning bid on fabulous knit and crochet designs can help 1,200 Rwandan women buy yarn, learn business skills, create 100% sustainable knitting businesses and raise their incomes up from less than $1 per day. Bid on over 40 garments donated from the personal collections of designers such as Nicky Epstein, Doris Chan and Deborah Newton, magazines such as Vogue Knitting, Knit Simple, Knit 1, Interweave Knits, Interweave Crochet, Creative Knitting, Crochet, Knit ‘n Style, Cast On, book publishers such as Leisure Arts and the and yarn companies such as Berroco, Classic Elite, Tahki Stacy Charles and Caron International. These companies and designers are supporting the Rwanda Knits Project (www.rwandaknits.org) that is assisting over 1,500 women in 17 different groups in Rwanda to make a living through knitting and crochet. What a perfect Christmas, Channuka, Kwanza or holiday season gift!”

For more information on Rwanda Knits, please visit www.rwandaknits.org.

Prarie Home Companion – Listen THIS Weekend!!

Garrison Keillor on Stage in Vermont

A couple weeks a bunch of us Sockladies went to a live taping of A Prarie Home Companion at Champlain Valley Fair in Burlington, Vermont – which was part of The Rhubarb Tour. It was an absolute blast. The show was fantastic and it was just so much fun to watch – the whole cast did a fantastic job of putting on a live show for a big audience.

Anyway… the reason all us Sock-folk were there was because Solmate Socks was the official sponsor for that stop of The Ruhbarb Tour. That taping will be broadcast on this weekend’s airing of A Prarie Home Companion. We all had so much fun and even got to meet Garrison and the crew backstage after the show. And of course there was plenty of very yummy Rhubarb Pie to eat! Mmm…

So please listen in this weekend. If you’re not sure what station to tune into, you can check out the station listings here.

Garrison and Marianne The Socklady

If you miss the radio broadcast of the show, you can go to the Prairie Home Companion website and go to Audio Highlights of Last Week’s Show to hear it (top left section of the page). You can also listen to The News from Lake Wobegon as a podcast (updated every Monday). If you use iTunes, you can subscribe to The News from Lake Wobegon here.

From the PHC website:  “This week on A Prairie Home Companion, we just can’t say goodbye to summer sunshine, so we’re bringing you a show from the Champlain Valley Exposition in Essex Junction, Vermont. With Suzy Bogguss, The Guy’s All-Star Shoe Band, The Royal Academy of Radio Actors: Tim Russell, Sue Scott, Fred Newman, and The News from Lake Wobegon. Join us this week for our final grandstand rendezvous before the massive cold fronts descend, and darkness prevails once again on the Northern borders.

A Great Time In The Big Apple

Marianne and I finished up our last tradeshow of the season last week. The New York International Gift Fair is by far the largest tradeshow we attend: it fills the entire Javit Center in NYC. We had an absolutely phenomenal show and it was great to touch base with so many of the stores that sell Solmate Socks.

One of my favorite parts of these shows is seeing what all the other artists do. This time I found (and ordered) some really fun and funky metal sculptures for my garden. Fred Conlon at Sugar Post makes these hilarious Gnome-Bearers… little metal helpers to get rid of those pesky garden gnomes. You can find big and little versions of these Gnome Bearers available at UncommonGoods (where you can also find our socks). These little guys were probably my favorite new find at the show and I’m super excited to get them home and in the garden.

Next up: Prarie Home Companion taping! This past Saturday a big group of us Sockladies (and gents) went to the PHC taping that Solmate Socks sponsored. It was a blast and I’ve got some pics that I’ll put up in a bit.

Get a Sneak Peak at the New October Morning Socks

Our new Autumn Series sock, named October Morning, is almost here. It’s not available just yet (we’re still busy knitting them), but here’s what they look like. Make sure you’re signed up for our email newsletter because I’ll send a newsletter out when they’re ready… which will probably be in a month or so – closer to Autumn that is.

Psst… aside from being the Solmate Socks’ marketing chick and blog writer extraordinaire… I’m also the foot model! Finally my moment of fame is here. All the pictures of legless adult socks are me. Not that you’d know since I ask my husband (official Socklady photographer and Photoshop king) to remove any trace of my freckled legs.

The Place Where They Make the Cream Cheese

Just got back from another wholesale tradeshow, this time in Philadelphia. The BMAC tradeshow in Philly is probably my favorite show – the quality of work is phenomenal. Everything at this show has to be crafted in America or Canada (nothing mass produced overseas). Marianne and I do this show together, which just adds to the fun.

Yippee for Fingerless Mittens!

I usually have an easy knitting project I work on while at a tradeshow. I have an awesome circular needle clutch from Offhand Designs which makes traveling with my knitting stuff so much easier. I often default to making a hat, but this time I decided to do a pair of fingerless mittens. I love using Noro Kureyon yarn and when I found this easy and free knitting pattern for fingerless mittens I decided to give it a go. I only got the right hand done, but it looks great and matches the hat I knit in San Francisco last week.

I had dinner on Saturday night with one of my favorite jewelry artists, Lori of Lieske Designs. Lori is an absolute hoot and every time I see her at a show I always seem to pick up at least a piece or two of hers. I’m also very excited about a new little table I bought for the entry way of our house from Studio 78. Very fun & colorful.

Random building I took a picture of while walking around in Philadelphia

One of my favorite parts of traveling for work is discovering new places to eat. Since I’ve been doing the San Francisco show longer I’m a lot more familiar with those restaurants and I have some favorites that I revisit each time I’m there (i.e. Shaha). This time in Philadelphia, on Lori’s recommendation, Marianne & I had dinner Monday at a restaurant called Audrey Claire’s. Absolutely delicious and I would highly recommend it to anyone visiting the area. If you have any Philly dinner favorites let us know so I can try them when we’re there in February.

I usually don’t mind flying (especially since it usually means I’m starting out on some type of adventure or going home to see my dog), but this time I had a layover in Dallas… now I know that Texas is a meat loving state, but you’d think that they’d have the occasional vegetarian traveling through this major international airport. It was tough finding meat-free food and I’m surprised that the yogurt & granola I got from a coffee stand didn’t have bacon bits in it. The universe made up for it when on my flight from Dallas to Portland, OR I got to watch a lightening storm at night from the plane. Simply breathtaking. Watching a night lightening storm from above it was kinda like playing God and watching the weather from the other side. Such a neat experience.

I’m home now, but I head to New York on the 14th for the NYIGF show. If you’re planning on attending we’re in booth 6221 (handmade division near the German stage) – stop by and say hi! We’ll have samples to show of the new Autumn Series sock style with us: October Morning!

It’s Showtime!

It’s been too long since my last blog post. I’m going to blame that mostly on non-sock related stuff… taking a quick vacation to Montana for some camping and to see one of my favorite bands at a music festival they put on in the mountains outside Bozeman: Storyhill Fest (I highly suggest going if you ever get the chance).
As some added bonuses I also got to see my brother-in-law (other son of THE Socklady) who lives in Bozeman and I got to see Brian & Molly – the friends who are biking across the country. Their route took them right through the area and their timing was perfect to come to the festival and hang out with us for a few days.

Our booth at SFIGF summer 2008

I’ve also been super busy getting ready for tradeshow season. Twice a year we hit the road and visit select tradeshows with the socks. These are the kind of shows where store owners come to shop – where they find all sorts of fun stuff (like our socks!) to sell in their stores. I love doing these shows – I’ve met lots of wonderful artists and it’s great to see what other creative products people have come up with. My first show of the summer season was in San Francisco at SFIGF. Usually my husband Randy joins me, but he’s too busy with his regular job, so I took a couple girl friends (Jenn & Andy) with me to the big show.

The three of us had a blast. Since there were three of us we also arranged to work a booth for some friends – Arra & Anne at Sea Stones so they could go visit wine country and show off their wine bottle stoppers (which are so cool!) to some winery gift shops. Randy & I also have some of their coast hooks in our master bathroom and several sets of coast hooks line the entryway of Solmate Socks HQ for everyone to hang their jackets on. The show was a huge success and I always enjoy touching base in person with the stores that carry our socks – we’re really lucky that we work with such wonderful shops and boutiques.

With the SFIGF tradeshow over I get to go home for a day and then I’m off to the Rosen show in Philadelphia.

Forward From Here: Leaving Middle Age–and Other Unexpected Adventures

I love the wonderful little surprises that greet me at work. A customer recently mentioned a book by Reeve Lindbergh (daughter of aviator Charles Lindbergh and author/aviator Anne Morrow Lindbergh) which mentions our socks! Here’s an excerpt from the book:

Ladies, I give you Accessories! Hats, scarves, earrings, pins, and socks, the brighter the better, especially the socks.

I have cheered myself through two weeks of rainy weather and a set of abnormal test results, very scary ones, simply by wearing colorful socks. I have a large collection. My socks are of various colors and motifs, and may be decorated with anything from white sheep on neon-green fabric to red hot peppers against a sophisticated black wool blend. Where I live there is a “Vermont Sock Lady,” too, an entrepreneurial genius who understands the power of footwear. She has created a line of vibrant hosiery, every single sock a little different from every other, in irresistible colors and one-of-a-kind patterns. She markets these with the inspiring thought: “Life Is Too Short For Matching Socks.”

Reeve is another Vermonter, enjoying her farmstead and sharing her life’s experiences through her fabulous writing with her most recent book being Forward From Here: Leaving Middle Age–and Other Unexpected Adventures
.

Thank you to Reeve for so thoroughly enjoying our socks and mentioning them along with some fabulous compliments in your book. I love hearing how much our socks are appreciated and I hope many of our sock fans pick up and read your book!

Where Do Those Missing Socks Go?

We received an email from Phil Hammerslough which made me smile. He was gracious enough to allow me to share his thoughts on lost socks on our blog. Thanks Phil and I hope everyone enjoys this as much as I did. I’ll probably be treating my left behind socks with a little more respect now.

From Phil: Thought you’d like this story. I’ve been wearing mismatched socks since the early ’70s. When I taught 8th grade the students started doing it too! However my mismatched socks are nothing like your beauties! Best, Phil Hammerslough

Part II
Odd, Even & Perception by Phil Hammerslough

It’s astounding to think of how many socks have gone missing in one’s life! Hopefully more than lost opportunities and friends, and fewer than good days or pleasant dreams.

Never-the-less, they disappear, and like lost moments they never show up again, except for an occasional one, like de ja vu, that seems to appear out of nowhere from behind a dresser or chair, and you could swear you looked there just the other day!

The sock that is left behind is always referred to as the odd sock. This makes absolutely no sense to me. After all, isn’t it only logical to call the one that went missing odd, or at least peculiar? As in, “How peculiar for it to disappear.” Where the hell did it go, and why did it leave in the first place? Now, that’s odd!

As for the sock that stayed hooray! It should be treated as a hero. A real mench for sticking around while the other sock goes gallivanting off to god only knows where. This is the sock jilted. This is the sock left, (or right), patiently for the return of the profligate. This is the sock, now abandoned, which runs the risk of the garbage bin, the rag heap or worse! For the few creative, talented socks, they could become puppets, or horse’s heads on broomsticks. But so few achieve this status you could count them on one foot.

But what of that sock gone missing? What if it really was the odd sock? What if it didn’t fit in, or was poorly suited for the sock it was matched with? What if it had enough of being part of a “pair,” and sought dissolution of the match? What if it said, “Darn those social norms,” I’m off to look for a sock of a different stripe, or color!” What if that sock wasn’t happy to weave well enough alone and went underground, or off to seek its fortune, calling, or simpatico sock?

Yes, what then? Would we still ascribe a negative connotation to that, “Odd sock”? This sock is the sock that has taken fate by the foot and has initiated a sequence of events leaving cosmic ripples of seen, and unseen consequences! What becomes of that odd sock? Does it even remain a sock, or does it change through some weird alchemy into a hanger or some other object? What fate has that sock-gone-missing chosen for itself? Herein lies the rub.

Trek Across Maine

I spent the weekend with my sisters doing the Trek Across Maine, a Reach the Beach event for the American Lung Association. It was a great ride and a fabulous time hanging out with my sisters and niece. Here’s a pic from us at the finish line (that’s me in the middle). Enjoy!