“Breezeway” Noro Socks
Yarn: Noro Silk Garden Sock, colorway S269
Pattern: Classic Socks in Folk Socks, by Nancy Bush
Needles: Size US 2 / 2.75mm

Started for the Project Spectrum AIR element back in June, I finally finished these socks in Socktoberfest. I have never met a Noro yarn that I did not like – but I am not wholly convinced that this yarn is suitable for small gauge sock projects. The yarn broke on me several times, all while doing k2tog decreases (and I don’t knit particularly tight) for the gusset, heel, and toes. The yarn would be much better suited for a project on bigger needles with looser tension: shawls, scarves, and garments. The yarn created a thick and warm fabric with the size 2 double pointed needles.  The yarn does have some thick and thin spots – another factor that led me to think that this yarn would be better suited for a different kind of project.  I will definitely wear these socks – their thickness relegates them to boots more so than my regular work shoes.  They would also be perfect house socks, but that feels a touch indulgent, considering they are silk, and they would just end up with dust bunnies and dog hair all over them  

Completing these socks, and my Laila’s from the last post means that I actually met my goal for this year’s Socktoberfest!  I finished both of the single socks on the needles.  With a few days to spare even… in the meantime, I am already planning ahead for plenty of warm sweaters and scarves, and even another pair of socks too…

You may recall a day back in April of this year… I had an idea to pair two sock yarns from the ol’ stash and to cast on for some stranded colorwork socks en route to the Big Apple.  Like so many of my socks, the Laila’s were inspired by Terhi at Mustaa Villaa, who made a lovely blue/white version last year.  (Sidenote:  Terhi cast on for her for her first socks ever during Socktoberfest a few years ago and now she is well-known for her amazing collection of sock creations!)  The socks have taken me many many months to complete – I set them down for most of the summer as I lost the “sock mojo” as it is often called – and returned to them during Socktoberfest this month.  Now they are complete!

Laila’s Socks
Pattern: Folk Knitting in Estonia by Nancy Bush
Yarn: Cherry Tree Hill (Loden), Louet Gems (Mustard)
Needles: Size US 1 / 2.25mm

The stranded colorwork was a lot of fun.  The pattern was easy to remember, and the colorwork is ideal for a beginner.  The heel was fun to make – combining short rows and a heel flap, with a little padded cushion of slipped stitches at the bottom of the foot.  I chose to make a solid heel to match the toe – the pattern calls for single row stripes of the two colors.  (You can see all the others that people have made on the Ravelry Project Pages.)

 Once I got rolling on the second sock, I had it finished pretty quickly (for me).  It wasn’t until after my sister’s wedding reception that I realized that the sock was the same color as my bridesmaid dress… of course, I would not have worn them for the ceremony (strappy brown heels with folk socks, anyone?) but it definitely would have made for some fun photos if I had finished it up a little earlier   By the way,  thanks to everyone for your kind comments about the wedding photographs – my sister and Andrew read my blog, so once they return from the honeymoon, they will be thrilled to see so many well wishes from all of you! 

These are my seventh pair of socks for my long-term Nancy Bush Compendium Project (you can see all of the completed socks for this project in my Gallery), and the second pair from this book, Folk Knitting in Estonia.  The book includes some beautiful mittens and gloves, as well as socks.  With so many charted colorwork (and some lace) patterns, I could easily use the mitten charts to make socks too… The book has a great history section at the beginning too.  If you have read my blog for awhile, you know that I love Nancy Bush’s work.  I was even honored to interview her for the 2006 Socktoberfest (you can read the transcript and listen to that here!) Her new book on Estonian lace looks beautiful – and someday when I have the courage to do lace like that, I will definitely turn to this book   …In the meantime, I have four other Nancy books to keep me busy!  I am planning to focus on Folk Knitting in Estonia and Folk Socks for my next few sock projects – there are some great patterns in both that really jive with my newfound love of stranded colorwork! 

The Ravelry Socktoberfest group remains a busy discussion area for all things SOCKS, and a great place to show off your finished socks and your works-in-progress.  The Socktoberfest group on Flickr is also brimming with new activity.  Add yours to the pool!

Well, my little sister is married. Here’s how it happened (yes, a picture-heavy post is ahead!)

Thursday: Setting Up / Decorating

Entitled: My sisters are tulles

Hanging Wreaths :: Aisle Decorations

Friday: Bachelorette Brunch / Decorating Hall / Rehearsal at Church

All of the ladies met up and went to brunch at a local diner (hey, it was Sarah’s choice!) Afterward, we headed to the reception hall in order to set up the tables and chairs and number the tables. We went back to my parents’ house to prepare for the rehearsal at the church and the dinner following. We ran through the ceremony twice at the church and had a lot of fun doing it Andrew’s family hosted the rehearsal dinner at a lovely restaurant in nearby Annapolis. (It was so great that I didn’t take a single photo…)

Saturday: Wedding Day!

I snagged Andrew for a few seconds to get a photo with my new brother! I have to say, they have been together for so long (six years) that the wedding just made it official. He was already a part of the family After the lovely ceremony, we did some photographs, and then headed to the reception hall. It was a perfect crisp fall day; complete with a light breeze and falling leaves. Couldn’t have hoped for anything better!  We got inside and had a lovely meal waiting for us, some fun music, and a perfectly delectable cake to photograph.  Mimi and I had a lot of fun putting together a list of the “Top Ten Things that Andrew Needs to Know About Living With Sarah” to share at the reception (a little sister roast) and it was so funny – we got the intended reaction out of Sarah! 

 Everything turned out so well!  They are so happy together!  When they return from their honeymoon, they will be heading to their new apartment in Virginia. 

[The whole wedding photo set is here!]

Congratulations Sarah and Andrew!!

I like charts and graphs and visual representations to prove a point…

And my point this time?

Socktoberfest is a worldwide phenomenon!

Make yours @ BigHugeLabs.com

(updated 10.15.08)

Over 80% of you are from the US, so I wanted to show which states have Socktoberfest participants.  I am basing these stats on the questionnaire over on Ravelry.  Is your state green?  (nope, I did not make them “red” or “blue” on purpose!)  Please leave a comment and let me know and I will fill it in!  I would love to see all 50 states (+DC) represented!  (As you can see, we still need WV, AR, WY, and SD!)

And on the world stage!

Is your country represented?

Make yours @ BigHugeLabs.com

(Accounted for: Austria, Belgium, Canada, China, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, Pakistan, Portugal, South Korea, Sweden, United Kingdom, United States)

Are you from a country that is not on the map?  Please let me know!  I would love to have an idea of where everyone is!

Yesterday morning, I awoke early to prepare for my 7:45am yoga class.  The early morning hours are truly my favorite of the day – I feel like I am experiencing something special.  My thoughts were confirmed when I walked out of my front door and headed to the studio.

The crisp morning air.  The pink sun rays across the sky as the sun rose above the horizon.  An errant leaf falling from the oak tree in the front yard.

This is my favorite time of year.   I am taking my time to enjoy every moment.  Instead of rushing to my car to drive away, I gazed up at the sky and took a deep breath.  This is the “something special” I was referring to.  My neighborhood was still asleep – very few cars on the road.  I got to see all of this beauty for myself!  and I felt so lucky to experience it.

We have been making the most of this season – a few weeks ago, we headed to Larriland Farm again to pick raspberries and apples.  These yellow raspberries are especially delicious – slightly sweeter and more honey-flavored than the regular ones.

The berries are frozen for future use, and the apples were peeled and cored for the dehydrator.  The apple chips (soaked in lemon juice with a touch of cinnamon before dehydration) were a hit, and the 60 apples we had 2 week ago are now down to a single baggy.  Looks like we need to go back and pick some more!

The real celebration this autumn will happen next Saturday, October 18th.  My sister, Sarah, will be getting married!  The time has flown by so quickly.  The last few weeks before the event were filled with bridal showers, wedding preparations, and dress fittings.  Kris and I are both in the wedding, so I am hoping that we can still get some photos… definitely at the reception!  Sarah chose a lovely autumnal color palette (remember mom’s wreaths?).  The bridesmaid dresses are an olive green, and many of the flowers and decorations will have oranges, reds, and browns.

My family and friends will be coming in this week before the rehearsal dinner and the wedding.  It will be so wonderful to see everyone!  The last time that everyone was together was at my sister Mimi’s wedding in 2005.

As you can imagine, this is going to be a busy week before the wedding, but I do hope to steal a few minutes to knit a few rows on my socks and to take a few photos to share with you!