Sock yarn stash swap!

I can’t kid myself – I have waaaay more yarn in my stash than I could knit even if I did nothing but knit for the next several years. And my sock yarn stash makes up a healthy sub-section of the whole.

When I was playing around with the mini-skein options the other day, it occurred to me that there were some skeins in there which I had no immediate plans for, but which someone else might really love. And with the recent huge influx of once-upon-a-sockers, and memories of secret pal swaps years and years ago, I just wondered… wouldn’t it be nice to share some of the gorgeous yarn I have with someone else? And I wonder what skeins are out there which are from yarn vendors I’ve never heard of? What does everyone else’s stash look like? And lo, the sock yarn stash swap was born!

Do you want to join? The aim is that it’s fun, low-cost (just the cost of postage really, as it’s all about re-homing your existing stash, though it might be international postage) and means you get both the joy of sharing something nice with someone else AND the excitement of getting a mystery package in the post.

Here’s how it works:

1. You tell me you want to take part by sending me a message via this contact form (don’t forget to include your blog link, and your home address!).
2. Blog about the sock yarn stash swap on your own blog (linking to this post), to spread the word and get more sign-ups. (This could also be an opportunity to drop some hints to your future yarn-sharer about the kind of things you do and don’t like, if you wanted to be clever.)
3. The deadline for signing up is next Wednesday, 11 April 2018 (or maybe earlier if we reach a huge number before that – let’s say 20 – though I think that’s unlikely!). I’ll post when we’re past the deadline (the deadline really will be the minute before I wake up on Thursday morning, so US-based peeps don’t need to worry about getting in before midnight UK time).
4. Once sign-ups are closed, I’ll allocate everyone someone else from the list (emailing you their details) – and your job at that point is to slightly stalk that person to find out about their yarn and sock likes, dislikes, general vibes etc. But do it subtly, because at this stage you’re still a secret admirer (in a non-creepy way).
5. You then pick some sock yarn from your stash to post to that person. The only rule here is that it must be enough to knit a pair of socks (so approx 400m/100g of fingering weight sock yarn). Beyond that, anything’s fair game – a homemade set of mini-skeins made up from leftovers, two 50g skeins for fraternal socks, or just a single skein of something lovely. Whatever you have, that you think they would like.
6. (You don’t have to use your stash, if you’d rather buy the person some yarn instead, but the goal here is that this doesn’t cost people very much, so please don’t go overboard.)
7. Package it up safely, with a note letting them know who you are (and your blog address) and put that lovely yarn gift in the post! If possible, it would be great if you could post it tracked, to make sure everyone gets their gift, but I appreciate that might be too spendy for some people.
8. Sit back and feel all happy with yourself for having done something nice.
9. BUT WAIT, at some point soon you too will get a mystery sock yarn package in the post! Lucky you!
10. Post a nice blog post (with pictures, if you can) of the gift you’ve received, bigging up your no-longer-mystery admirer. And go all around the group seeing what other people have sent one another – I’ll try and work out some kind of link arrangement.
11. Then knit a nice new pair of socks with your exciting new yarn.

What do you think? Wanna join? Send me a message! I am already VERY excited and thinking about the yarn I could share with somebody else. Who am I going to get? Exciting times!