Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Pain d'épices socks...

Pain d'épices socks
I had all the best intentions when I brought that Hedgerow pattern and Colinette Vincent's Apron to France, but let's get real for a moment, shall we? Was a sock that required a pattern really the most appropriate choice? The second I boarded than plane and was seated amongst High School French Class Traveling With Loud Ipods and Multiple Decks of Uno Cards with room enough for Anxious Sneezing Hypochondriac Lady With Personal Space Issues to be seated right next to me, I knew that I was going to require a. a lot of those adorable little $5.00 gin bottles and b. low cognitive load I'm-not-really here-right-now-am-I knitting. So I pulled out a lil project that I had started right before Christmas and hunkered down.
Pain d'épices socks
These socks were the perfect knockaround pals for me on my trip. So easy to whip out for just a few moments of restorative knitting at various points in the day. I even made a new knitting friend because of them--one of my colleagues on the trip saw me bring them out to work on and exclaimed "
Oh my God, you're a knitter!", which of course she was, too. So we had immediate rapport, kind of like when celebrities meet and instantly have something to talk about (i.e. paparazzi, getting hosed by your manager, best plastic surgeons in Poland) except for we gabbed non stop about all the usual issues. I even turned her on to Ravelry. (Evelyn, I'm waiting. You've had enough time to think of a cool handle, now come on!) It was fabulous. Knitters: we are legion.
Pain d'épices socks
I am calling them the pain d'épices socks, although gingerbread and pain d'épices are not exact equivalents, they merely belong to the same semantic field. But I'm saying that they are close enough. The yarn has a nice striping effect and because we're talking Socks that Rock we're talking springy sproingy.
Pain d'épices socks
The Specs
Yarn: Socks that Rock Lightweight Gingerbread Dude
Pattern: Wendy's Toe-Up
Needles: Hiyahiya 1.5 Magic Loop
What I did in France
Now I didn't actually eat any pain d'épices which seems to be more of an Alsatian treat and not necessarily ultra-common in the South of France, but Lord knows I did frequent the above-pictured
boulangerie-pâtisserie on a daily basis and had my fill of pain au raisin, which is basically my idea of sex in food form.

The colors in the above socks are truly fantastic (especially against our horrid green outdoor carpeting!) but aren't exactly seasonally appropriate, so naturally my thoughts are turning to the lovely shades of green that are threatening to make an appearance any day now. Luckily Wendee of Hazelknits did a recent shop update and solved my problems.
Hazelknits duo
Above you see Hazelknits Artisan Sock in Euphorbia and Shady Verdant, both stunners that are fitting the Project Spectrum Earth bill as well as my desire to knit something in every shade of green imaginable.

26 comments:

BEESTLYproducts said...

YAY!!!!

i just finished the same pattern!!!!

i love toe-up now!

i'm off to see if anyone is selling that STR colorway on ravelry :-)

Anonymous said...

Why must you temp me with gorgeous sock yarn and yummy pastries? Why? Now I'm either going to spend money on Etsy or go to the kitchen and eat! No, really, it's not your fault...

Love the simple socks. How you survived that plane trip is beyond me.

Yarnhog said...

"sex in food form" indeed! (But without the risk of all those nasty potential side effects.)

Love the green!

Socks are perfect airplane knitting--something I learned only after taking multiple inappropriate projects with me on various trips. Anything that requires a chart, a cable needle, or its own seat is out.

Sarah said...

Let's just say it's a very good thing those pastries are on the other side of the Atlantic from me, because I could easily eat one of each right now.

Remember how you were envious of my sock club yarn? I think I know how you feel, because you are seriously tempting me with those greens. I lurve the greens!

peaknits said...

Another exapmple of how much knitters rock - we are a legion- I love it! The socks are gorgeous - love the name! And the Hazelknits - yowza!

nicole said...

Miam miam!!!

Anonymous said...

First off I love that color of STR I have seen numerous people knit with it and have drooled every time. Also I have been seeing a lot of the Hazel Knits yarn lately on people blogs and I have loved all of the colors but that one is especially beautiful because it just screams Spring. I can't wait to see it all knitted up.

...Sarah said...

I could do a lot of damage in the South of France. Thank you for doing it for me. Gotta love the gingerbread!

Anonymous said...

Those are wonderful socks!! Love it when you meet other knitters - another kindred spirit!

indieknits said...

The socks are lovely... I really hope I'm not sitting with loads of noisy people when I fly out this weekend. I have cabley socks and the yarn is a bit rough, which often leads me to pulling the needles too hard and half of the stitches falling off!!

Anonymous said...

Ooh-la-la!

[Am I the only knitter on the planet that hasn't tried toe-up?]

Amy said...

I don't think there could possibly be anything better than knitting great socks in France in spring.

Love the colors of the new yarn, too! Just luscious.

Veronique said...

How could I forget about pain d'epices?! I think I was forced to put it out of my mind in order to survive... It's funny how growing up in Alsace, I assumed everyone was a plouc, but now I'm nostalgic about it :)

weezalana said...

J'aime les chaussettes!

(Wish I knew how to say that, but I, uh, had to Google the translation. But, if I ever blow the dust off that French language CD course in my bookcase, I *could* know how to say that!)

Alison said...

Fun stripey gingerbready socks! So sorry about your plane experience, but very cool make-uppence to find a knitting coworker out of the ordeal.

Love, love, love those greens, and I just happen to be looking to enhance the stash for some summer sock knitting. First you cause me to grow my queue and drool over knits I never knew existed (as if I didn't have enough to knit already) and now you go and get me scrambling for more yarn. I'm beginning to think you're a bad influence on me...

Happy knitting-
ali

nova said...

I am in a green phase right now as well. I love the socks too, I have to say, I wondered about how you would make much progress on anything patterned what with the kids and what-not.

Also, I don't know Hazel, but I like her.

James said...

Dude. Forget sex. Give me a beautiful french pastry any day. You have inspired me to start a spring sock. Screw almost finished sweaters.

Jennie said...

Oh wow! The Vincent's Apron colorway is sooo lovely.

And I'm drooling over your exquisite Hazelknits yumminess. I heart greens. :)

Lolly said...

those socks are SOOO fun! love the closeup pics ;)

...and the yarn is perfect for PS Earth!

Kim said...

Love La Gingerbread Dude socks! I made the mistake of bringing a pattern sock for my plane trip to Miami (where I am now). I think I'm going to rip back to the ribbed cuff & just do a plain old sock. That way I can sight-see and knit at the same time. Those French pastries are big time food porn!

Karen said...

What a fun post that was. Love the socks too!!

Spinning Ninny said...

Wow, between the lovely socks, delicious pastries and a little green yarn pr0n and I'm a happy camper.

Jessica said...

Very cute! Hope your re-entry is going well after your trip. That's always the hardest part to me.

a friend to knit with said...

oh, socks, pastries, knitters, oh my!!!
it really sounds like the perfect trip!!

Knittymuggins said...

Love the new socks! And can't wait to see what you make with your new Hazel Knits lovelies. I'm so digging on green this season! Weird because I've never been hot on it before....

Enjoy!

knittymuggins

Emily said...

Love the Gingerbread socks. Can't wait to see what you do with the green sock yarn. I just ordered a similar skein in Smooooooshy.