Black Olive Is: In The Loop

It's Another Sock FO!

It's another sock FO!

And, to top it off, I cast on for another two pairs yesterday!

Yes, people, this is quickly becoming The Sock Blog.

With everything going on, it's been really hard to focus on a large project. So, the socks have been VITAL to my sanity. VITAL. Once these were finished, I actually experienced something akin to WITHDRAWAL.

You laugh, but I'm not kidding, people. I could actually feel the tingle in my fingers, BEGGING for more Lorna's Laces on teeny, size 0 Addis.

It was that bad (or good, depending on where you're standing).

Of course, choosing a pattern worthy of The Lorna's wasn't something which could be accomplished in a matter of minutes (a feat which I attempted, despite the knowledge that it would prove futile -- which shows you just how desperate I actually was). Instead, it took about two days. TWO DAYS, while my fingers ACHED for the Lorna's.

I ended up casting on for the Ribble Socks from the "Socks Socks Socks" book in Ultramerino4 on size 1 Addis just to have something to tide me over.

But, it wasn't the same.

The Lorna's is like CRACK.

Since it isn't the easiest thing to come by, I feel I need to honor it's lusciousness with the right pattern. Plus, I wanted something challenging after knitting this nifty lace pair. The winner was the Aran Sandal Socks from the aforementioned book (pics to follow later this week).

Oh, right, The Child's Sock. That's what this post is supposedly about. :-)

I sort of went off on a tangent there...

What can I say? It was an awesome pattern, fleshed out with amazingly luscious yarn, on fabulously smooth needles. Just the right amount of challenging to keep a person engaged and interested without being so high maintenance as to require the baggage of row counters and post-its.

Sublime.

Plus, look how this pattern beefs up my skinny, birdie ankles!

Sa-WEET.

I followed the pattern faithfully with the exception of the cuff.

I added a little purl row in there to bump up the edge a bit. But, for the most part, when knitting Nancy's patterns, I try to remain faithful to her instructions. I see them as learning experiences and I usually end up picking up some fantastic new cast on or nifty little accent which I then incorporate into other projects.

I found I had quite a bit of The Lorna's left over. Not enough for another pair, but possibly enough for some fingerless gloves. Hmmm...

So, that's that.

I promise I will be knitting something other than socks. Soon.

Really.

Even MORE Socks...

Remember this?

It's been a while since I've picked these up, and for some reason -- after finishing the Jaywalkers -- I had this uncontrollable urge to knit with Lorna's Laces on size 0 Addis. Just as the urge struck, I glanced over at my papasan chair -- a chair which has been relegated to Yarn Bowl For As Yet Unpacked, UnZiplocked, and Unclassified Yarn (in other words, it's covered in bags which contain all kinds of juicy yarn stuffs) -- and there it was: my baggie which contained a half-finished Child's Sock in a celery green, almost solid Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock.

Ahhh...

People, I sailed through completion on the second half of the first sock and am sailing through completion of the second sock.

Somehow, I clicked with the pattern and haven't so much memorized it as I've intuitively picked up on the logic behind the pattern. I can figure out what needs to be done just by looking.

It's great!

I'm not sure what happened, but the reason these were left "on hold" was because they were too complex to serve as a good, portable, mindless sock pattern. But now, I can pick these up anywhere, anytime and just knit.

Go figure.

I forgot how much I adore Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock. YUM.

In any case, there has been knitting on Elizabeth I. Really. I'm not kidding. I'll show progress reports sometime in the next couple of days. That one requires more thought than I'm ready to devote on certain days and so it goes a bit slower. But, I'm getting there. Slowly getting back into the swing of things.

Bear with me, peeps. :-)

Bad, Bad Knitter!

I was a bad, bad knitter.

A couple of weeks ago, I purchased the new Nancy Bush book, and despite Rogue and several other WIPs, I cast on for this baby:

I felt I needed to put it on since I'm using Lorna's Laces on a size 0 needle and you can't really see the pattern unless it's stretched. So, PLEASE ignore any evidence of poor grooming on my part.

Ahem.

Anyway, I can't really explain why I cast on for yet ANOTHER sock, except to say that I simply fell in love with this pattern and I had just purchased some luscious Lorna's Laces in this gorgeous lime (the photos were taken in gloomy light conditions last week and aren't very accurate -- picture something more on the lime side...) colorway and well...I just couldn't resist.

I crave small needles and fine yarn. And after working on Rogue exclusively every weekend, I just needed a break.

And here it is.

Sadly, it's been in this state for a couple of weeks because I can only devote large chunks of time to knitting during the weekend and my weekends have been taken up knitting Rogue.

In any case, I'm so excited about this sock. It could quite possibly be the first sock pattern I can knit straight through without modification for my painfully narrow feet. The lace pulls things in just enough for a snug fit and the pattern itself is intended for a small woman's foot -- hence the name "Child's Sock." Hehe.

Lest you think I am copying Miss Grumperina, think again, people! I cast on for this baby a couple of weeks ago. Not that it matters, since she'll most likely finish WAY ahead of me, as my attention is focused on finishing Rogue already -- but still!

Hehe.