The final installment of Nellie’s Never Enough Socks Club Inaugural year is inspired by one of owner Anne’s absolute favorite areas - Venice and the Northern Region of Italy, where bold red wine reigns and the summer months exude warm shades of green and yellow.

In this vein, Pico Accuardi Dyeworks has created a romantic colorway exclusively for us called “Veneto” - a playful blend of greens, golds and burgundy red, created using the thickened skins of Walla Walla onions and Calendula petals.

David Castillo’s pattern design inspiration was the sense of adventure and brave spirit elicited by the yarn’s colors, like the “Golden Compass” character, Pantalaimon - a spiritual companion to author Phillip Pullman’s heroine, Lyra.

The pattern works either toe-up or cuff-down. If you do one of each, you’ll find them remarkably identical, with just a very subtle difference. And the heel is an Afterthought Heel, knit last.

Indulge your own sense of adventure and brave spirit by exploring both sock making techniques!

From The Designer

In Philip Pullman’s “His Dark Materials” trilogy, many of the characters come from a universe where all person’s souls or spirits manifest as an animal companion, called a “daemon”. The heroine of the story, Lyra Belacqua’s daemon is where the name of this sock comes from. Pantalaimon (or just “Pan”) was an extension of Lyra’s brave spirit. He flew seamlessly from one animal form to another, helping Lyra through the trials that were set before her.

When Deb Accuardi handed me this yarn, i was immediately drawn to the spirit of adventure and joy it seemed to embody, and it reminded me of this character. The combination of the stitch pattern and the yarn felt like a natural choice. How could you not want to show off all these gorgeous colors? This sock pattern works either two up or cuff down. If you do one of each, you’ll find them remarkably identical, with a subtle difference. It’s my hope that you’ll enjoy a chance to explore the separate sock making techniques. Blockquote