Black Olive Is: In The Loop

Crazy From The Heat...Again

What is that, you ask?

It's the beginnings of a swatch.

For yet another project.

But first, let me just say: It was a busy, busy weekend, people. I ran a TON of errands, helped set up and participate in a Baby Shower, went yarn shopping and somehow managed to meet up with a Knit Pal in-between. The knitting meetup was my attempt at not having my ENTIRE WEEKEND overrun with obligatory Baby Shower-related tasks.

And, I have to say, meeting up with this gal is always fun. This time, I was finally able to meet these little guys AND I got to try on the fabulous Tivoli! Why? Well...uh...because I'm planning on making one.

And before anyone says anything...it's HOT, people! I need a tank! I will eventually finish Cool Cagoule and the two other sweaters I have on hold, but it's almost the beginning of July and all I can think about are socks and tanks. So, leave me alone! (hehehe...just kidding, of course).

Anyway, I'm afraid I'm going to have to modify the Tivoli somewhat and make the strap into a cap sleeve. You see, I am not pleased with the state of my upper arms this summer, and until I can whip them into shape, there will be nothing more revealing than a cap sleeve.

In any case, the Tivoli is quite the little number, with it's darts and it's raglan sleeves and the nifty waist shaping (which gives it a nice flare at the hip) -- I love it!

So, Miss J, I have finally found the perfect project for that GGH. You can now breathe a sigh of relief ('cause I know you were just sitting around thinking about it, right? hehehe). :-)

In any case, despite the oppressive heat, I managed to have a great time. I even snuck out early from the shower on Sunday for a little trip to Wickford to pick up...

you guessed it! MORE Ultramerino4!

I also worked the measurements for the Tivoli, reworked the design for the sock I'm making with the Ultramerino4 and started this Feather and Fan sock for Granny:

See, Granny sort of fell in love with this pattern and prefers this over the Padded Footlet. Which is COMPLETELY FINE by me, since I don't think I can bring myself to work on that sock again. I love the Rowan 4-ply Soft and the lace pattern, but all the back-and-forth and the uncomfortable knitting with the double-strands is just too much. It never seems like I make any progress and it isn't even enjoyable. So, I may frog it and start over. Someone suggested just double-stranding along the heel in a basic double-strand way (not using the fussy method in the pattern) and retaining the rest if the pattern with modificatons to account for the lack of the extended thickness of the sole.

So, that sounds like a good plan.

In any case, I'm enjoying the Feather and Fan pattern and am modifying and playing around with it somewhat. I've kept two purl rows on the top of the cuff, but changed the frequency with which it shows up (after two repeats on the first purl row and after one on the second).

I'm also experimenting with just adding a purl section above the feather stitches and excluding them where there are fan stitches because I like the major uninterrupted wave the fans make across several repeats. (It isn't very clear in the pic, but in person you can really see it. Trust me. Hehe).

I haven't forgotten about my PDA posts. It's just that I'm crazy from the heat right now and can't handle another minute in front of the hot laptop. I'll also post images of my stash from the yarn crawl at A Good Yarn with Kathy.

Soon, my people, soon.

P.S. There were so many furry critters out and about this weekend! It was SUCH a treat. I needs to get me one. :-)

Blame It On The Heat

They're finished.

I was right down to the wire on these. It was 8:23 pm at the Knitting Clinic when I handed them over for steaming. Phew!

Interestingly, they softened up quite a bit after a simple steaming. So, I'm holding out hope that they'll soften up a bit more after a washing.

We'll see.

Now all I need is a tie box and some other goodies and I'm set!

Of course, I can't be content with just plowing ahead on my Cool Cagoule sleeves. I'm all about the socks this summer and I'm already planning some sock designs. I can't help it. Somehow, I've lost steam on Cool Cagoule -- which is sad, really, because I am SO CLOSE. It just seems like those sleeves will take forever and I'd really like to start working on the Subway Sweater so I can wear it to work at some point. And, it would also be nice if I could work in a tank or two before the Summer is over. In the back of my mind, I know I won't get much mileage out of Cool Cagoule until Fall and it's probably affecting my interest.

I'm fickle. What can I say?

But, I won't stop working on it. However, it will have to be a project I consider on-going.

Granny claims to not be interested in her socks until the Fall, although she is really loving them. She had been bothering me to finish them until the heat wave this past weekend, but after the sweltering weather, I don't think she can imagine wearing socks for a while. Hehehe. So, there's no time-pressure on the IK Padded Footlets anymore -- although, I do crave them and will probably continue, despite their snail's-pace pattern.

So my main focus will be some sock designs and re-working the Subway Sweater pattern. And, of course, I am weak and will most likely be lured toward some other project (I actually already have one in mind).

I think my lack of satisfaction with my knitting -- which I described in yesterday's post -- may have more to do with the fact that the projects I was working on were either; 1) not for me, or, 2) not things I could reasonably wear anytime soon. And, for me, that's all part of the excitement.

Let's face it. I was a crazy woman to actually think I could restrict myself to knitting on just one project at a time. Let's just forget about what I said yesterday and blame it on the heat. ;-)

She's Sneaky And She Steals Apples

Meet Ginger.

She is PISSED.

It took about a week or so for her to get over the trauma of being photographed. Hehehe.

Sadly, I'm not her Human. My friends Dan and Karen -- who are blogless, otherwise I'd link them -- are her Humans. And, let me tell you, she is HIGH maintenance! But very loveable. Hehe.

As you might've guessed, there is still no established posting/photographing method, which is why Ginger is filling in for today (she's fiber-based, just not all spun and dyed). However, I just found out that we get these 15 min. breaks at 10am and 3pm at work (a RI thing and a remnant of an old factory/mill town mentality-- but I am SO not complaining!), and I also found a GREAT spot out of the sun to photograph my knitted goodies. So...

For now, however, Ginger and my word will have to do.

The Father's Day Socks chug along on schedule. I finished the first one and promptly cast on for the second.

I also made some progress on the IK Padded Footlet. The gusset decreases are VERY slow-moving. The decreases only happen once every fourth row. Between that, the lace pattern and the finicky (Hey Kathy, new word!) back-and-forth of the sole stitches with it's slips and double-knits and dropping of the strands only to pick them up again at different spots...I don't think these will be done anytime soon.

I have to say, though, I love the tiny dpns and the Rowan 4-ply Soft. And, I even love the lace pattern. I thought I hated lace after my experiment with Rowan Kidsilk. But, that was mainly because it was impossible to knit with the Addis and I just don't think lace weight is for me. Now, a lace pattern in this gauge is WAY better and quite enjoyable.

I also managed a few rows on the Cool Cagoule cabled sleeve.

It's all bits-and-pieces knitting until I get a large block of time again (hopefully this weekend and next week).

So, stay tuned. Hopefully, I'll be able to post some pics today. In the meantime, enjoy Ginger The Cutie Pie. She's sneaky and steals apples. Hehehe.

Padded Footlet: Part 2

I'm still working out the kinks of a new work schedule, and forgot to photograph progress on The Father's Day sock this morning. So, instead, I'll treat you to my thoughts about the Interweave Padded Footlets.

I have to say, this pattern was very well thought out. It's a fussy little sock to knit, but you can't accuse the Designer of not being detail-oriented. The sole is worked by carrying two strands of the main color yarn across the set of sole stitches and then dropping one of the strands as you make your way across the gussets and instep section. However, it isn't that simple. Carrying two strands all the way through would add to much bulk and expand the sole far beyond the rest of the sections, so to address this, the designer works one row double-stranded, another as a slip, k1 row and yet another as a purl1, slip1 row. And each end stitch is a purl stitch which helps make the transition to the extra bulk of the sole more finished.

I was worried about having chosen Rowan 4-ply Soft for socks, but with the added padding in the sole, it is not only super-soft but sturdy as well.

My only worry is that these socks are meant to fit a women's size 7-9 shoe size and mine seem to be working up a bit on the large size. But, they do seem more like sock/slippers than anything I'd wear out, so I'm not too worried.

In any case, it is a bit odd and fussy and not for the faint of heart, but it's a great pattern which can probably be adapted to other sock patterns for a sturdier house sock.

Of course, I'm only about one-third of the way through. So my pleasure could take a turn somewhere down the line. We shall see!

In any case, it's a fun knit and the lace pattern is quite nice. Look at the first instep repeat:

And, if you notice in the image above, a version of the pattern is carried through on the heel as well. This is what I mean by attention-to-detail.

There is one typo in the pattern listed in the Interweave web site's errata page, but I'm way too tired and lazy to look it up right now.

Oh, and a few people have requested the cuff pattern for the Surf Socks. It's very simple and just something I came up with on a whim. I'll post it tommorrow when I'm more lucid and can actually count rows.

My Name Is Black Olive And I'm a Sock Start-a-holic

I cast on for the Interweave Knits Padded Footlets -- found in the bowels of the current issue -- using Rowan 4-ply Soft in Splash (Turquoise) and Expresso (Chocolate).

I cast on for these a few days ago. I was just too ashamed to admit it. Isn't that silly? So, in order to make myself feel better, I rationalized that since these socks were lacey and involved focusing the attention -- they were justified. I'd have one mindless sock and one complex sock going at once.

See how nifty rationalization can be?

I then realized how close Father's Day is and remembered my Dad's request for a pair of socks. There was nothing else to do but to promptly cast on for yet another pair using Lana Grossa Meilenweit Multiringel (I have no idea what that means, but I'm guessing it means self-striping, because that's what they do). I've never used this Lana Grossa before. It's 80% New Wool and 20% Polyamid. They're a bit scratchy, but I knew my Dad wouldn't like the craziness of the Koigu, so I branched out for a more "manly" sock. I plan to do a pre-wash, and hopefully they'll soften-up a bit.

Now, in my defense, I did finish the Surf Socks -- not BEFORE casting on for the other two (so technically I did have three socks going at once for about one day) but soon after.

I love the surf socks. Very comfy and just the right height.

I'm calling this my Summer of Socks. Since, for whatever reason, I have a few sock designs in mind for Sockapal-2-za and for my own amusement. So, I probably should just admit right now, that there will always be multiple socks on the needles while I work on the other non-sock projects.*

*That's how I refer to my projects now -- they're either, Sock Projects or Non-sock Projects -- because somehow, socks are excused from the overrall project count in my mind.

I told you people I was a little nuts.

(I have much to say about the Interweave Padded Footlet, but I'll save it for another post).