Fee Dragee

This was a pattern (qualification round) for Sock Madness 12, a speed knitting contest. (see the [SockMadness Group][1] for more information). “Danse de la Fée Dragée” (Танец Феи Драже, dance of the Sugarplum Fairy ) is a piece of The Nutcracker Suite, Op. 71a, by Peter I. Tchaikovsky. First performed in St. Petersburg in March 1892, the suite was an instant success and became very popular on the concert stage. Of the 8 musical numbers that form the suite, the most famous is probably the "Dance of the Sugarplum Fairy". It features an unusual instrument, the celesta, whose “divinely wonderful sound” was described by Tchaikovsky as “midway between a tiny piano and a Glockenspiel”. He found it to be perfectly suited to represent little drops of water splashing in a fountain as the Fée Dragée - queen of the Land of Sweets - floats and dances around. Do you recognize the droplets of water in the main pattern of these socks? Or do you think those little dots look more like handfuls of brightly colored sugar-candy sprinkled there by the Fée Dragée? In any case, pick your favorite yarns – be they turquoise and aqua-blue or candy-colored - and have fun knitting your pair of socks. [1]: http://www.ravelry.com/groups/sock-madness-forever