More sock questions

[Drac]

I didn't get the bamboo for being green. One was to try it out for my wife's company. They use me as a product sampler. They figure if it can hold up to my wear it's a good recommendation to their customers who will get things to, as you say, green wash their company.

The other reason is we like bamboo. We have a floor out of bamboo. Several cutting boards. I've made knives using it for the handles. We even will plant some in the backyard some day. It comes from my wife's love of pandas. Good thing they eat a different species.

Jim

[fluter]

We even will plant some in the backyard some day.

Be cautious: it can take over if conditions are favorable. We must not have enough pandas to control them.

[guitarmatt]

I remember from my visits to the Carolinas being struck by the amount of bamboo. And you're right, in all those years I've never seen a single panda.

[Drac]

One of the nurseries that sells it recommended planting a horse troth in the area you want to grow it in. That will keep it from going feral.

Jim

[Mrs. Farlander]

Wow, it would really suck if pandas ate your hand-knit kilt hose!

I've knitted with the "bamboo" yarn and found it slippery and not very stretchy or elastic. There's no give to it, like there is with wool. You also have to keep the ball of yarn in a Ziplock bag or something, so it doesn't fall apart. I really wouldn't expect it to be good sock yarn, so I'll be interested in your results.

I generally make socks from the wonderful new yarns designed for sock making. Superwash wool with a little nylon is just perfect. My husband has a nice pair in gray, which seems to go with everything. It helps that they're in a bit of a lace pattern so they're not so warm. Nancy Bush wrote a book called Folk Socks that I highly recommend, and his hose are from them.

I just finished a fun pair of socks using Cascade 2/20 yarn. Way too heavy for regular socks, so they're more like slippers.