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!

Now that the weather is actually turning, I am feeling a greater need to get these socks off the needles and onto my feet.  Second socks are truly one of my downfalls.  I just don’t understand – perhaps I never will – how I can finish a sweater in a matter of weeks…  BUT SOCKS - Socks take me months!

Whatever the reason, I decided to be proactive in my approach – multilateral and disciplined. I cast on for both of my outstanding socks at the same time. No more excuses. Once I knit a few rows on each, there was no turning back.

The “Breezeway” Socks that I started during Project Spectrum’s AIR element – finally making their way back to the needles.  This is a wonderful and simple pattern (the Classic Sock pattern from Nancy Bush’s Folk Socks) and perfect for all the TV shows I have been watching lately… Noro Silk Garden Sock yarn has the same quality as the regular light worsted SG.  If you like working with that, you would like this one too.

Laila’s Socks from Folk Knitting in Estonia.  A simple and fun pattern that is perfect for beginner stranded colorwork.  I love looking at all of the different color variations that people have used on Ravelry – each pair is so beautiful and unique!  I am using Cherry Tree Hill in Lichen (green) and Louet Gems in Mustard (yellow).  I commented on Flickr about the way that these 2-ply yarns twist so much as I knit, and I picked up a good hint from Amber on how to fix it:

There is a method of putting a giant slip knot around your ball with the tail end of your yarn – you then hold the ball up by the tail of the slip knot and the ball spins to let out the twist. I learned this technique in Beth Brown Reinsel’s Estonian twisted knitting class. It works great.

I will be trying it tonight!  Thanks A!

I am so inspired by all of the Socktoberfest spirit around – specifically on Ravelry and Flickr.  Please add your socks (and socks-in-progress!) to the pool.  I would love to see!

I forced myself to finish these two socks so at least I could have a pair… albeit, not a matching pair.

1/2  Noro Silk Garden socks  – 1/2 of Laila’s Socks

The lovely Noro Silk Garden sock yarn was purchased before the yarn was even on the market – I lucked out at an NYC yarn shop.  The sock is a 4 x 1  ribbed pattern because I wanted something simple.  I started the Laila’s sock back in April, and just now finished sock one.  Of course, now that it is done, I am completely loving and admiring it, but I have zero desire to cast on for sock two anytime soon.  *sigh*

I am hoping that the sock love will roll back around in time for Socktoberfest… but the thought even crossed my mind that Socktoberfest may have reached expiration. With the amazing amount of KALs and Ravelry, it doesn’t seem like there is room for this sort of thing anymore. And that is okay with me.  I would even venture to say that that takes some of the pressure off… but it also means that these socks may not get mates until the year 2012.  I am not making any final decision here… just throwing it out there.  So, if you strongly object, let me know.  If you agree, let me know too.

~

My sister’s wedding is about 11 weeks away, set for October 18th. (Remember their engagement story?) Quantifying it this way makes me realize that I had better hurry up and get my bridesmaid dress… but it also means that my parents’ home is becoming wedding central.  When I went over last weekend, mom and I worked on ribbons for the wedding favors, and she showed me the lovely wreaths that she finished to decorate the church windows.  Sarah’s colors are autumnal, reflecting the season, and mom’s wreaths turned out so beautiful.  She made a total of six using a twig base and synthetic leaves, fruits, and berries.  I brought over some herbs from my garden to add to the wreaths.

Addressing and mailing invitations… planning center pieces for the reception… oh yeah, and I still need to get my dress and Kris needs to get fitted for his tuxedo.

I can’t believe how fast this year has flown by…

Amazing photos by Kris, who was there when the little bee came to the collard flowers.

Steady progress on this sock. I won’t finish it before the next element shift of Project Spectrum, but I am not in a hurry. I love seeing the pattern develop.

One of the small succulents in my indoor rock garden. Growing so green and lush.

:: Slow is beautiful ::

Given the opportunity, I can definitely drop some cash on nice yarn. I have done it before. As I stated previously, New York City could appropriately be called New YARN City with all of the shops and the amazing selections on a relatively small island (Manhattan). In previous years, I have brought a second bag for my purchases… this year, I showed remarkable restraint.

…not because I am immune to the siren song of great yarn…

More like the fact that the BIGGEST yarn festival is virtually in my own backyard this weekend.

I alluded to my purchases in the last post. After spending a good chunk of time camped out on the floor at Kinokuniya bookstore, I brought home three craft books:

The bottom two are pattern books featuring lovely intricate designs. There are many colorwork projects and some beautiful accessories as well. The second is a smaller book focusing on Men’s Knits – specifically sweaters and vests. (As you know I like to knit for Kris, so one of these sweaters could very well be on the needles for the 2009 anniversary sweater!) The third and final book is a collection of Eastern European folk motifs charted for cross-stitch and embroidery. I think the charts would be perfect for knitting as well as embroidery. The simple Japanese aesthetic really appeals to me – I could have left the store with many more books in hand!

At School Products, I came away with a cone of Aran-weight wool/alpaca/silk blend. It weighed in at 2.5 lbs, so I should have approximately 1100 yards, according to the calculations. Plenty for the stranded colorwork I am planning! If you have rough estimates in mind, this is the place to go to find nice yarns and blends. I am always pleased with their selection of natural fibers. I almost walked out with some yak fiber too… but I left it behind for the next trip.

It was my first time to visit Gotta Knit! and Erin and I was happy to meet Goldie, the sweet owner. She told us that the shop had just moved to Midtown after being in the West Village for many years. They are on the 5th floor of the building, but if you look up from the street, they have a visible sign with the store’s name. There was a nice selection of luxury fibers and some “new-to-me” yarns. Upon walking in, my eyes fixed on a cream-colored Noro skein on the table. I figured it for the new Kuryeon sock yarn, but Goldie told me that it was even better – the new(er) Silk Garden sock yarn. Imagine my excitement! Goldie told us more about the shop’s expertise: when you buy yarn at their store, they will actually customize a pattern for you using the yarn. You can tell them the style and kind of garment, and they will write it up for you! An amazing and unique service. This skein of Noro and two issues of Rebecca came home with me.

The two new yarns in my stash were quickly “balanced” (as Jenna puts it) by the cast on of my new small transportable knit: Laila’s Socks from Folk Knitting in Estonia. Truly inspired by Terhi’s amazing version of these socks last year, the yarns jumped out at me when I did a quick survey of the sock stash. I made this bit of progress on the train ride to New York.

Cherry Tree Hill Supersock in Loden / Louet Gems Pearl in Mustard

…quite possibly a match made in heaven…