Pair number two

Since I had good momentum going, I knitted a second pair for THE box.

What: Emmer Wheat Socks / Susanna Winter

How: Circular needle 2.25 mm

From: Ikke Glitter Sock, 58 g

Unlike last time, now I chose the perfect pattern and the perfect yarn. I went stash diving again and selected this special colorway by Ikke Yarns that was only available for purchase at a knitting retreat a few years back. At the time, I had a no-yarn-shopping policy in place so my dear friend, Susanna , bought the yarn and I bought it from her once my yarn shopping ban was lifted. You might say, the ban didn't really work - but who cares?

It is almost outrageous that I haven't had the time to knit any of Susanna's designs yet. It was about time! I chose her Emmer Wheat Socks that have a lovely combination of lace and cables.

The socks are worker toe up and after the heel, the stitch pattern is worked at the back of the socks as well. The heel was new for me, a kind of a French heel toe up. I prefer knitting socks toe up but I can never remember how to make the heel in that direction. When knitting cuff down, I often don't even read the heel instructions but just work my favorite heel, the French one.

The stitch pattern in these socks is gorgeous. In the middle there is this winding vine and on the sides two stitch cables to give rhythm to the pattern. It took me a while to memorize the chart but after that I didn't have to think about anything except the heels.

In fact, I stopped thinking to the point that I started the heel and the cuff ribbing on the wrong row of the chart. Luckily, it didn't really matter as the cuff chart could easily be modified to fit the row I was on.

Now, let's get back to the yarn! So, a few years ago, I was at Ikke's knitting retreat and despite of my no-shopping policy, I had to have this special yarn. The warm, yet icy mint green color is a pain to try and catch in a photo but it seemed as if Ikke had dyed it especially with me on her mind.

To top it off, the yarn has my favorite twist. It's light and springy, making the socks fitted but not too thight. Also, a little bling never hurt any sock yarn. I especially love how subtle the silver bling in this yarn is - even the pics give you only a hint of bling somewhere in there. If anyone has a trick up their sleeve for capturing bling in photos, please let me know!

So then there were two. I have the next yarn and pattern already waiting in line.