Contredanse

While I was in Australia in July I was contacted by Michelle at Artwear Publications wanting me to create a design for Yarn magazine. The problem was I was in Australia with no knitting equipment and she needed the design by September 1st so it could be prepared for the December issue. On the plane home I came up with the idea for the Regard socks, so I plunged in as soon as I got home and knitted them and sent them off thinking I'd done pretty well. But I had misunderstood. Michelle was keen to have a Fair Isle design. Fortunately the weather turned really nasty and stayed that way for a week. I designed, watched George Eliot DVDs, knitted and came up with these socks. I had them done and sent away with about a week to spare. The George Eliot films gave me the idea for the name. The country dance or contredanse where one couple dances while the others stand and watch. This is what happens with Fair Isle knitting - one yarn does the work while the other waits. The vertical design is based on the Fair Isle knitting from Sand Lodge and I made all the motifs different so there would be no possibility of boredom setting in.
This is my first real official publication and it's very exciting and was lots of fun to do. Thanks to Michelle and the team for the editing and the great photos (as seen in the magazine, not here).
The yarn is, of course, Renaissance Dyeing Troubadour.