Black Olive Is: In The Loop

Yarn Porn

Once again, Miss Kathy and I headed out for some yarn crawling and knitting this past Friday. Almost all of these images are from my personal booty (as in acquisitions, not "ass" or other assorted naughty things...ahem!).

Let's just say, I spent much more than I was planning. Bad Paula!

It's been quite a while since I've been yarn shopping where I've actually found exciting treasures -- things I later fondled at length while pouring over the stash and eating chocolate in the comfort of my own home.

Such a good feeling, no?

Pictured above is Mountain Colors Bearfoot in the Meadow colorway which I plucked from deep within a wicker basket, way off in the corner at A Good Yarn in Brookline. I literally gasped at how gorgeous this colorway is. It is BY FAR, my favorite of the skeins I've come across.

While at AGY, we were greeted by the adorable Victoria -- an enchanting, sweet little West Highland Terrier who steals my heart every time I see her. SO CUTE. It was a treat, because I've only had the pleasure of seeing her twice before.

In addition to Victoria, I got to meet the lovely Dani of Knitting Sunshine. This was a big treat since she and I had only chatted via email and hadn't yet met in person. Hi Dani!

Aside from three more chocolate balls of GGH Scarlett, I found a bunch of ArtYarns Supermerino #128 in this snappy "pepperminty" colorway. These are slated to become some holiday stockings for...ME!

AGY also proved quite fruitful in the book department. Get this, I found a HARDCOVER copy of Alice Starmore's "Tudor Roses" in PERFECT condition! The paperback is going for $110+ on Amazon's used book section. I paid the original price.

Needless to say, I was a VERY happy Black Olive. :-)

Before AGY, Kathy and I met up at Woolcott, where I was one of about FOUR Paula's to walk in that day. My name is fairly uncommon, so this resulted in a bit of cooing among the staff. Totally embarrassed, I slinked off the buy some Louet Gems Opal in a very nice blue (sorry, no pic).

After a few minutes, Kathy appeared, shoving this treasure ball of lacey goodness in my face:

Just LOOK AT IT!

Have you ever seen such perfectly plied laceweight? Instead of being thready, it looks like a very mini version of fingering weight! It's unbelievably soft -- and I mean SOFT, people -- and so springy. It's just amazing!

The best part is the exotic Chinese label. LOVE THAT.

My god, this stuff is great.

Did I mention how great this stuff is?

It's Lacey Lamb in a Burgundy color. Like a good table wine. SOOO good.

Kathy also came over with some other gems while I was book browsing . She was carrying books in ziploc bags which shall remain nameless for now -- mostly because they're in a foreign language and I have NO IDEA what they're titled. All I know is they contain some exquisite cable stitch patterns unlike any I've seen.

Apparently Miss Kathy had a whole list of items in mind just for me and my trip to Woolcott, and it was all great stuff!

She is very sweet, and SUCH an enabler!

Afterward we headed to the Trident where I was still giddy with the Purchasing Tonic and couldn't focus properly on my knitting. But, at least the conversation was good. Hehehe.

And now, for my last Yarn Porn offering, I leave you with this:

Yep. It's the fabled Vesper Sock Yarn from Knitterly Things, available through the fabulous KPixie (formerly KnitPixie) website.

I chose the Midnight Knitter and the Knit and Tonic colorways. Aren't they yummy?

All I have to say is "That was FAST!"

It only took about a day to get here! And the yarn was packaged very nicely with a sweet note. LOVE that! Attention to detail, is what I think they call it. Hehehe.

You can't beat that, yo'.

What I Did With My Summer Vacation

Ok, people. I know I've been a bad, BAD blogger. There has been quite a bit of knitting and stashing going on and I've negelected to blog about it because, well...I've been busy. I've been SO busy that when I do have a free moment, all I want to do is KNIT.

In fact, I did manage one full glorious day of knitting yesterday, but that is a whole OTHER post that will probably make an appearance today since I really need to catch up.

So, What Did I Do With My Summer Vacation?

I cleaned. I sorted. I purged. I organized.

Now, this was no small task. Having moved recently, and started a new job almost concurrently, the organizing portion of the move was left in a state of limbo. My car literally looked as if I was living from it! There were sweaters in their dry cleaning bags, a Christmas stocking filled with stuff, a winter coat, a Swiffer and a whole bunch of assorted fare.

It wasn't pretty.

And the trunk? Let's not even GO there.

Then, there was the office room. This is the room where I basically do my living. I have my computer, TV and yarn in there and anything else I need at hand.

Now, if I were a better blogger, I would've taken a "before" shot of the PILE of yarn-filled bags that were all over the floor for lack of anywhere else to put them.

But I'm not, and it was too embarrassing anyway.

Suffice it to say that it took me all day to sort through everything, bag it, organize it and then stare lovingly at it.

Can I just say that Target continues to impress?

After cleaning my car out on Saturday, I headed to Target for some organizational stuffs and managed to find those nifty wire, modular cubes you see above. I've seen these in a few yarn shops. Also, I was able to find the perfect little bookshelf to house all of my knitting books:

Isn't she cute?

AND, the best part was that there was assembly required!

Have I mentioned my sick love of assembling things? I feel all manly and powerful wielding my Philips Head screwdriver and my little hammer.

So fun!

When all was said and done, I was one tired but satisfied Black Olive.

I know I have a large stash, but I love it! I love that I can walk up to this shelf and immediately see everything in my stash. No more forgetting what I own or poking through bags! I feel like I have a small piece of a yarn store right in my house.

Hehehe.

I know, I need some serious help...but still!

Next weekend I tackle the bedroom. And for that, my peeps, I need ALL the good wishes I can get!

Isn't She Lovely?

Isn't she lovely?

In lieu of no real progress content, I decided to post a bit of fiber porn.

Was it good for you?

Yarn: Malabrigo Laceweight in both Dark Brown and Emerald LC (100% wool)

Intended Purpose: Feather and Fan Shawl (blue) and Shetland Tea Shawl (dark brown) from "A Gathering of Lace."

Big Story Behind This Acquisition: A while ago, I became acquainted with one "Grumperina" via a comment I made on her blog concerning a perfectly hand-rolled ball -- the likes of which I'd never seen -- of laceweight Malabrigo. A while and a few emails after, I had occassion to see this ball and it's resultant fabric, live and in-person during one of the Grumperina/Black Olive knit-togethers.

Of course, being me, I didn't consider it much until I became obsessed with knitting lace. Sometimes you just need to be "ready" to receive information. Know what I mean?

So, off to the Malabrigo site I went. And the result is what you see above.

Now, the quality isn't quite the same as Grumperina's ball and the reason has to do with fiber type. Hers is 100% merino and mine is simple "100% wool." It's a bit rougher and tends to felt a bit with over-handling. However, the colors are GORGEOUS and I actually adore those little hank balls as objects of art in-and-of themselves.

Because that's just the sort of crazy I am.

Pinwheel Hat

In addtion to the Tivoli and the Sockapal2za sock (I know I'm not speeling that right but am too lazy to check right now), I've started the Sideways Hat from the "Not Just Socks" book. I like to call it The Pinwheel Hat because the best part of this hat is the Tam-like pinwheel top.

Other things to like about this hat:

1. You knit one long strip with any type of sock yarn you like and you Kitchener the ends to create a seamless, sideways strip.

2. It usually only takes one hank of Koigu -- unless, of course, you're ME and you have a particularly LARGE head.

3. With the right yarn, it keeps it's nice flat top shape.

4. It completely covers your ears if need be!

Why am I knitting a hat in the middle of July while experiencing 97 degree temperatures with outrageous dewpoint levels and sky-high humidity?

It's for an amazing woman in my knitting group who is undergoing a rough round of chemo. She thinks Chemo Caps are depressing -- and so do I -- so we're knitting her cool, fashionable hats she can actually wear.

Now, I know everyone always refers to anyone with Cancer as "amazing," but in this case, the adjective applies. She has a particulary viscious form of cancer and by all accounts, it's shocking she's beat it this long. Also, she's had it for several years now and most of the people in our group had NO CLUE. This group has been around for years and the people who had no clue are all regulars from way back.

Why did they have no clue? Because she has never complained about her Cancer or the side effects of chemo. Now, if this were ME, I'd be complaining! I get upset when I have a tummy ache and usually those around me are made aware. I don't go overboard but I do let others know if I'm not feeling particularly well on any given day. I can't imagine what I'd be like if I were experiencing some of the stuff I know she's experiencing.

The amazing part is that she's handled most of it with the support of only close friends and family. And, whatever she's been doing has obviously been working. There have been no quilts or afghans or funds or races or anything in her honor. No polished conversations about what she's been through and her feelings about it. She just accepts that this is how her life is, tries to make the best of each day and manages to maintain a positive attitude saying things like "I'm lucky I've lasted this long!"

There is no need to define herself through her illness. THAT's the amazing part.

Now, this doesn't mean she's secretive about it. Not at all. If you ask, she'll tell. She's very matter-of-fact and open about all of it. Otherwise, I wouldn't be writing about it online.

Anyway, like me, she is a MASSIVE fan of the Koigu and has singled out this particular colorway on several occassions. So, I broke into my personal, highly-guarded stash to share the Koigu love.

I worried Koigu might be too warm for July, but apprently, she's in air-conditioned environments most of the day and claims that her head gets very cold, which makes the rest of her very cold. So, according to her, Koigu is perfect. Although, I have a sneaking suspicion that even if the Koigu weren't perfect temperature-wise, it would still be perfect for her. Hehehe.

I mixed things up a bit and am using a stranded stitch pattern instead of the called-for stockinette.

I'm hoping this will be a nice, relaxing knit that will be finished in the next week or two. I really just want to give it to the recipient because I know how much she loves Koigu and this particular hat pattern.

It's always fun to give people things you know they'll love and appreciate. :-)

Step Away From My Stash!

Score!

Or, at least that's what it felt like, anyway.

See, the second I placed these babies down on the table -- next to the other hanks of Lorna's Laces I was deciding between -- a most annoying woman landed in my periphery and started to grab at them TOTALLY INVADING MY PERSONAL SPACE.

Now, here's the thing, if I can SMELL you, then you are WAY TOO CLOSE.

And she was. TOO close.

I politely mentioned that I was deciding between the hanks and she actually said "Oh, so you might be taking those?"

Uh...YEAH!

So, her grabbing and fondling of the hanks was actually an attempt to scoff away with my find!

I managed to stave her off for a bit so I could think about what I was doing. Did I really NEED more sock yarn? Then, I realized that it was a moot point. I stopped actually NEEDING sock yarn about six months ago. The real question was whether I should purchase this stuff or hold off so as not to break the bank.

You see, I was on yet another yarn crawl to both Circles and A Good Yarn to pick up specific things. After meeting up with the always lovely and highly entertaining Colleen at Circles, we headed over to AGY specifically for more Lorna's Laces (well, that was MY reason, anyway...hehe). I was looking for more solid hanks -- another green hank for swatching and working out my sock pattern and two hanks of this gorgeous colorway...

for another sock design I'm planning.

I had no idea I was going to fall in love with the variegated colorway above. And there were only three hanks! I could feel that this was clearly a situation where if I didn't get them, I'd definitely regret it later. I have to give Colleen credit, though, she did try to talk me through it so I could really get a sense of whether it was an impulse buy or something I really wanted or even needed at that moment.

Nice try, Colleen. Hehehe.

Anyway, back to the odiforous vulture looming over me as I tried to concentrate and make my decision. This woman was SO ANNOYING. She walked around eyeing me the entire time and actually came over and asked me if I'd decided yet.

And no, I am NOT -- I repeat, NOT above buying them just for the sake of pissing her off.

I'm evil that way. ;-)

But, it turns out, I really did love this colorway and despite my dislike of the infamous Lorna's Laces pooling tendency, I purchased them with glee. The plan is to find a good stitch pattern to break up the pooling.

Also, there was Tivoli action last night. It was so hot (how hot was it?) that I just parked myself in my room and knit. There was no media of any kind. Just me, the birds chirping, an open window with a cool breeze and my knitting.

I was totally in The Zone.

And BOY did I need that!

However, I was so much in The Zone that I completely forgot that I needed to leave the sleeve stitches on a holder for modification at a later date! Thankfully, this only means unravelling two rounds.

But, I'm pretty pleased with my progress.

More stash photos tomorrow and possibly a sock thrown in for good measure.

Out-And-About With Kristin And The Tivoli

Last night was a fun night of knitting and sushi -- ALWAYS a good combo, if you ask me. I was able to catch up with Kristin before her wedding mania begins and she becomes completely unavailable (hehe, just kidding, Miss) and the Tivoli was treated to a public outing -- it's first (aww).

You can see my progress on the Tivoli above. It doesn't look like I've gotten very far, mainly because I'm using a finer-weight yarn, but all things considered (work schedule, social obligations, sleep deprivation), I think I'm progressing along nicely.

In addition to adding a chocolate bottom with a striped degradation, I'm planning on adding a very subtle chocolate edging to the neckline for color balance. And, if the cap sleeves work out, there may be some minor degradation to a slight chocolate band to match the body treatment.

Why do I always have to complicate everything? This is supposed to be my ZEN project!

Oh well. :-)

Below, you can see another one of my recent stash acquisitions: Reynolds Odyssey in the Brown Mix colorway.

I can't believe people don't mention this stuff more often. It is amazingly soft and luscious and the colorways are gorgeous. I'd like to make an entire sweater out of this colorway, but ASA only had two balls. So these will end up being...you guessed it...SOCKS!

It IS The Summer of Socks, after all -- in MY world, anyway. ;-)

Saturday Adventures With Black Olive And Grumperina

Isn't that gorgeous?

That will be my Fourth of July Sock. Probably at some point in late Summer/early Fall, but it'll still be my Fourth of July Sock because I purchased it this weekend on a little jaunt down to Wickford with the always fun and interesting Grumperina (I enjoy referring to her by her blog name because...well...it's just charming and it's a built-in nickname!).

Before I go on, I have to say that we caught a matinee of Batman Begins and it was...INCREDIBLE. SO good. So, SO good.

It was SO good, that I didn't even have the urge to pull out a sock for theater knitting. I was completely engrossed. However, I will probably see it a second time and will make an attempt to knit on a sock so I can dub the sock my Batman Sock.

Is this weird?

But, I digress. Let's get back to Saturday's Adventures With Black Olive And Grumperina:

After Batman Begins we headed to Wickford Village -- one of the few places I can take visitors, that seems to have a little something for everyone. We stopped at And The Beadz Go On so Kathy could peruse their offerings and so I could pick up more of that scrumptuous Ultramerino4 (pictured above) and this beautiful hank of mohair blend goodness:

It's put out by a company I'm not familiar with called Mountain Colors and is a Mohair/Wool blend with 9% Nylon. Someone had given a cables workshop and I was able to fondle a cabled sock made with this stuff and all I have to say is "YUM."

Afterward we headed out for some sushi and then over to Borders to wait for the train back to Boston. In between all of these stops -- at the movie theater outdoor table area, the cafe at Borders and other randon spots -- Grumperina graciously explained the logic behind working the Maths for a garment knitted in the round.

Since I've never actually knitted anything other than socks and mittens in the round, this was most helpful. You can see our copious notes:

Once it was all explained, I was able to work the specifics yesterday and FINALLY cast on for the fabulous Tivoli!

My initial measurements were based on another fitted shirt which fits the way I like. Below is the schematic:

I am also planning on modifying the Tivoli sleeves and using some short-row action to work some cap sleeves.

Hopefully I can figure this out without too much stress.

All I can say is that I am SO happy to finally be knitting something I've been dieing to start and which I might possibly be able to wear before the end of Summer.

There is much more to tell about yarn acquisitions this past week and weekend, sock design swatching and note-taking, my crisis involving a complete lack of knitting for almost a WEEK and my glorious weekend of indulging my whims with good friends. But, I'll pace it out a bit. No need to overwhelm. ;-)

Plus, the sock really does deserve it's own post. Hehehe.

Wash Your Swatch

I washed my swatch.

I need to really thank this woman for talking me out of that whole "I'm living on the edge feeling" I was experiencing last night. It was hot and everything just seemed like so much effort -- even brushing my teeth was tedious (the A/C is scheduled to be installed this weekend). So, after swatching in the round for the Tivoli, I just wanted to jump in and cast on. My emotional IQ was fairly low last night and had it not been for Kathy's numerous warnings in her last email, I would've been a sad gal the day I washed the finished Tivoli for the first time.

My gauge went from 8 spi to 6.5 spi! That would've resulted in some MAJOR excess fabric across the boobage and other areas. NOT good!

Thank the good Buddha for the moral support of my Knit Blog Buddies -- specifically Miss Kathy. :-)

Phew!

I worked a bit more on the Feather and Fan sock and I think I've settled on a variation/modification I like, so I'll probably rip out what I have (or save it as a swatch) and start fresh with a more solid plan. I have to say, it is fun playing around with a tried-and-true pattern.

As promised, here is a picture of a new stash acquisition I made while at A Good Yarn with Kathy:

Solid Lorna's Laces!

I've been dieing to try LL out, but always resist because I'm not a fan of the infamous pooling, so imagine my delight at this little find. Also, I've been wanting to design a cabled sock pattern and what better yarn to try that out with than a nice solid Lorna's Laces?

I can't believe all the good yarn finds in the past two weeks!

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. :-)

Stash "Enhancement" (or, More Obsessive Purchases of The Fiber Kind)

Update: I received a comment about the ArtYarns Ultramerino which reads:

"I saw your post on Artyarns Ultramerino4 and wanted to let you know that it is brand new fall yarn and just started shipping! It will be available widely in the next few months. We are a little behind on updating our web site, but should be there shortly.
Take care,
Iris"

So, yay!

----

Saturday started out cloudy and dreary and I began to get that icky feeling I get when I've just about had it with crappy weather -- that feeling that alerts me to the fact that my Inner Cranky Pants is about to make an appearance. Thankfully, as I got closer to Wickford Village (a cute little coastal town in Southern Rhode Island), the clouds started to disburse and the Golden Orb made it's way out to save the day. Literally.

Oh yeah...

It was gorgeous. Perfect weather for some walking, shopping and yarn shopping -- which is, OF COURSE, different from plain 'old shopping,

I must admit, though, as soon as I parked my car and headed toward the Wickford Gourmet to meet my friends, I started feeling twitchy and could think of nothing else but the yarn shop just MERE FEET AWAY!

Is this bad?

Should I be worried?

Anyway, after popping in and out of a few stores, we finally made it to And The Beadz Go On. I Know, it's an odd name for a yarn shop, but none of that matters once you walk in. Once inside it's just "ahhhhh" all the way.

The first thing I noticed was a couple of bins of Koigu containing at least four colorways I haven't run across. Can you believe how bright and Summer-y, orange-y and pink-y this yarn is?

There is NO way I could've left without it.

I was then confronted with some luscious ArtYarns Ultramerino4 which, for some reason, isn't listed on their site (PLEASE tell me this isn't discontinued!) I own some Supermerino -- which is fabulous -- but have never actually seen or fondled the Ultramerino4. The colorways were beautiful and rich and it's strikingly similar in feel and weight to the Rowan 4-ply Soft I'm currently using for Granny's socks.

So, of course, I had to have some of that as well.

By this point, I could tell my friends were glazing over, so I decided to make another trip this weekend to inspect the inventory more thoroughly and to pick up a hank of this gorgeous yarn whose brand, price, make-up -- or anything, for that matter -- I don't remember. I was trying to be considerate and yank myself away from the store before I had a mutiny on my hands, hehehe.

All I can say is that it was thick and silky soft. It really feels like there's a touch of silk in there. It's handpainted and I think it was from a local company.

Oh, and did I mention that I loved it so much I can't stop thinking about it and obsessing over whether or not it'll still be there when I go this weekend?

I think my lust for this hank is fueled by the vision of the sock the owner was making from the same yarn. I never knew a thick sock could be so luscious!

Pray for me, people, and for the successful acquisition of the nameless hank.

(Oh, and for World Peace).

In other news, for those who care -- and there seem to be quite a few of you -- Granny and Grandpa have resumed their regularly scheduled programming. I visited this evening and walked in on them cuddling under the blanket while watching the WWF. Granny LOVES the WWF -- but that's a WHOLE other story!

There you go.