Laila's Socks
Apparently, here in Seattle, we've had 24 days straight of rain. I'm not sure of the veracity of that report, but it feels true. It certainly is affecting my photography.
So dark! So dreary! But such pretty socks. I love this pattern from Nancy Bush's "Folk Knitting in Estonia." I love wearing them and their elann baby cashmere goodness even more. They are so cushy and soft. Absolute delight for my feet.
But let's break down and do a review.
This was my first time doing Fair Isle, or as I've learned, what is more properly called stranded or jacquard knitting, according to a certain Fair Isle expert whose name, as mentioned by Paula, we should not mention. Fair Isle refers to certain design details and methods done in stranded knitting by the lovely knitters of the Fair Isle. I mentioned earlier that I love it. And I do. Although the picking up and dropping yarn is really ghastly and inefficient and I've been working on knitting with one color in each hand, but I'll discuss that at a later date.
I am actually pretty pleased with how my tension looks. There are a few wonky rows on the cuff of the first sock. You can see on the white and red row between the two solid white rows in the center of this picture that the white stitches are waaaaaay to tight.
I had to think "knit loose, knit loose" on those rows. It seems to have worked. Everything else looks pretty even.
I really like the heel of this sock. The colorwork made it fun to knit, easy to count your rows and so pretty.
It's a Dutch or Horseshoe heel, also known as the square heel. I know Nona didn't like this heel, but I find it fits my feet just fine. It is the same heel I used on these socks. And those socks fit very well. The heel on these socks is a bit loose, but I think that's because I used size 2 needles for the leg and heel and I should have switched to size 1 for the heel.
I'm also a fan of the little swatch of solid red on the heel flap.
pattern: Laila's Socks from "Folk Knitting in Estonia" by Nancy Bush. No modifications.
yarn: Elann's Baby Cashmere in Garnet and Parchment. I used 2.5 balls of garnet and 1.25 balls of Parchment. I ordered 4 balls in each color, as the pattern uses a yarn with nearly 400 yards per hank. This was my one complaint. I have enough yarn leftover to knit another full pair of these socks, only switching the colors. Which I don't mind, but I would have preferred to have ordered less yarn. So if you knit these, don't buy 400 yards of yarn. Don't even buy 350 yards of yarn.
needles: Addi Turbo circs US 2/3.0mm for the leg and heel and US 1/2.5mm for the foot. If I do knit these again, I would use the smaller needles for the entire sock. When I started the first sock, my tension on the colorwork portion got pretty tight, so I upped the needle size. After a little time, my tension go better and the sock wasn't so tight, so I switched to the smaller needles for the foot. The legs are a bit loose, so the smaller sized needle would have made for a better fit for the entire sock.
Updated to add: I will definitely do a review of how this yarn holds up in a couple months. I will say that it only bleed the teensiest bit and still looks good after the first wash/block.
They are beautiful! You must be so proud! I love them. Would you use that yarn again? I've never used it and would love some cashmere socks! Let us know how the yarn wears.
Posted by: Carolyn | January 10, 2006 at 03:09 PM
wow, absolutely gorgeous. i'm so impressed with your fair isle. this pattern is nothing but beautiful. and, not to mention so ethnic, too. love it. i'm interested in knowing how the yarn wears, too.
Posted by: blossom | January 10, 2006 at 03:13 PM
They are *so* gorgeous, Purly!! You are always a wonderful knitter but I am still so impressed by these beautiful socks!! Now I'm tempted to knit them too...and I'm not even a sock knitter! Congrats.
Posted by: caitlyn | January 10, 2006 at 03:18 PM
Absolutely wonderful. Your tension looks great and I love the red and white combo. You did a fabulous job on these - you should be really proud of yourself.
Posted by: Stephanie | January 10, 2006 at 03:20 PM
Your socks are lovely...
I just got a copy of Folk Knitting in Estonia and just might choose this as my second stranded knitting project. I did a candy cane hat first, finished it, but haven't gotten a post up yet.
Posted by: Bethieee | January 10, 2006 at 03:48 PM
They're absolutely beautiful! I love the colors.
Posted by: Anne | January 10, 2006 at 03:53 PM
Outstanding! Love 'em!
Posted by: Sockbug | January 10, 2006 at 03:59 PM
Wow, these are amazing! I've always wondered about Fairisle socks, do you feel the little strands inside on your skin?
Posted by: Steph | January 10, 2006 at 04:01 PM
Very impressive indeed! I made my gloves using this yarn and it's really really soft. However, I have doubts about its durabillity ... for gloves it seems okay, but for hard wearing items like socks? Besides, it should be handwahsed.
So I heard about the rain in Seattle from the radio news ... they said it was not like the typical Seattle drizzle, but real rain. Having rain is good because it can clean up the air, but for 24 days? I wish sunshine is on its way to your city.
Posted by: Agnes | January 10, 2006 at 04:30 PM
Very attractive socks.
Posted by: Chery | January 10, 2006 at 04:41 PM
They are gorgeous and you knit them so fast! It already feels like the master study is flying by, which sock is next?
Posted by: yahaira | January 10, 2006 at 05:13 PM
You are converting me into a fan of fair isle.
Posted by: Meg | January 10, 2006 at 05:29 PM
They look fantastic! And I'm really looking forward to your next pair in the master study.
Posted by: Siow Chin | January 10, 2006 at 06:07 PM
Fabulous socks! They are absolutely gorgeous and I love the little red heel.
Posted by: diana | January 10, 2006 at 07:26 PM
Absolutely beautiful socks!
Posted by: Li | January 10, 2006 at 07:28 PM
gorgeous! they look fantastic!
Posted by: jess | January 10, 2006 at 07:55 PM
BEE-U-TEE-FUL!!!
And, I swear, I could not see the uneven tension you mentioned in those rows. Seriously. They look great!
That is one of my favorite Nancy books. :-)
Posted by: paula | January 10, 2006 at 07:55 PM
Oh, Purly, they're so GORGEOUS!
Posted by: Christina | January 10, 2006 at 08:30 PM
Holy cow! Now that's a major accomplishment. Your socks are amazing. Please do tell us how they hold up over time. I have a bunch of that yarn that I started a cardi out of, but I know I ordered too much and may have enough left over to make socks someday.
Posted by: Karma | January 10, 2006 at 10:25 PM
Congratulations, they are fabulous!
Posted by: Julia | January 11, 2006 at 12:13 AM
Beautiful, beautiful socks, Purly! It's really hard to believe that this is your first fair isle project - your tension seems perfect to me. My list of "I want these socks" grows again... :-D
Posted by: terhi | January 11, 2006 at 01:16 AM
Gorgeous, and perfect!! I love the red toes and heels. I'm so far not a big sock knitter but I'm very tempted to get those books, all because of you!!
Posted by: joy | January 11, 2006 at 01:36 AM
wow - they are soooo gorgeous! i love seeing all these two colour knitting socks and gloves...i suppose because i probably will never make some for myself.
Posted by: jacqueline | January 11, 2006 at 01:43 AM
Beautiful and inspiring as always, Miss Purly. I am looking forward to doing color knitting this year. These socks are truly a work of art!
(and the photography opportunities here are limited too - every day is dreary. no fun sunshine pics!)
Posted by: Lolly | January 11, 2006 at 04:56 AM
Beautiful, beautiful socks! And I am impressed by your cloudy weather photography, too. We've been having similar problems with the sun here, but thankfully, not quite as much rain as Seattle.
Posted by: katie | January 11, 2006 at 05:07 AM