Baby Bunny Jacket

My latest baby KIP is the "Baby Bunny Jacket" by Darlene Hayes from Vogue's "Baby Knits Two." So far, it's been a quick and easy knit. I'm at the point where the front left and right neck shaping begins. The only thing I find a bit odd is the fact that the hood is knit separately and sewn on after the fact. 


I hope to finish this before next Saturday for a baby shower. wish me luck!

Baby Surprise Jacket

I've knit three of these and it never gets old. how did EZ figure this out?!

This one was for a work colleague. however, her son was so large at birth that he never got a chance to wear it!

Can you say "heirloom?"


YARN: Koigu KPPPM, 1 skein
PATTERN: Elizabeth Zimmerman's Baby Surprise Jacket
SIZE: Newborn
MODS: iCord ties as a substitute for buttons.

first post in a looooong time

I need apologize to all my knitblog peeps for being so sporadic with maintaining the blog. I've moved urls, I've switched templates and services, I've promised more frequent updates – all in the hopes of a new start. My only explanation revolves around work and the nasty time/brain/soul suck that is advertising.

Now that me and the "corp dot com ad agency" have "mutually parted ways," I've been able to catch up with knit friends and knitblogs and knitting in general. after a couple of years of knitting only socks in the simplest form (not having to think being the main requirement), I'm finally feeling the urge to work on larger, more complex and more fun projects. I finally HAVE time to actually knit. I've rediscovered why I knit and am allowing it to – once again – rescue me from the creative "blank" I've been in the last couple of years at the aforementioned "corp dot com ad agency."

Advertising is exciting and collaborative and requires both right brain and left brain thinking. Advertising is also manipulative and – in some cases – damaging. If i can avoid another job in advertising, I will.

'nuff said.

Point is: I missed my knit circle and i want back in. :)

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. :-)

The Giddy Glow of New Love

Ahhhh...

Mmmmm...

Yeahhhh...

This is how it feels to knit with the Ultramerino4.

I don't know what it is about this particular blend of merino, but whatever it is, ArtYarns has gotten it oh-so-right.

There is just something silky about it. It's soft, smooth and a bit cool to the touch-- like a silk blend. It manages to be the perfect amount of "stretchy and bouncy," without being overly tight. It seems slightly finer than Koigu (probably because of the difference in ply) and works up well on size 0 needles.**

As far as color goes, these hanks are rich and vibrant and consistent throughout. I make that distinction because I had an issue with dime-sized areas of unpainted yarn every few feet with the Cherry Tree Hill. It looked like the dye missed a spot. At first I thought it was an isloated incident until I knit two more things with Cherry Tree Hill and found it to be the norm.

Not with this treasure, though. The fabulous Ultramerino4 has rich colorways and fine dye work.

It's hard to say whether I like it better than Koigu or not. Koigu has that great beaded ply which feels a bit different on both your feet and hands. So, I'm not sure if it's fair to compare the two. A fairer comparison would be Cherry Tree Hill and Koigu.

And we all know where I sit on that one.

Also, I haven't gotten too far into my sock yet because of a scary lack of time. But, so far, I find myself thinking about it at work and counting the minutes until I can knit up a few more rows during a break or during lunch.

Here is what I have so far:

See what I mean about lack of time?

I'm experimenting with a sock pattern, so I did rip out a few times (and, the Ultramerino4 holds up nicely)...but still!

I'll hopefully be picking up more this weekend for a tank. I'd like to see how this yarn knits up in different scenarios.

In the meantime, I plan to enjoy the giddy glow of new love. Hehehe.

**The reason I'm using 0's is because I lost (LOST!) my #1 turbos. I think I left them at the coffee shop after ripping out a sock attempt and putting them aside. I must've forgotten to pack them when it was time to go. And now, OF COURSE, no one seems to have any 1's in stock. Of COURSE. I only had one pair, so this means I can't start my Socka-pal-2za sock -- or any other sock for that matter. I'm trying not to think about it, but it's really starting to make me tense. Hopefully I can find some this weekend.

And, really, why do yarn stores close so damn early?

I'd Like You To Meet Little Black Olive

This little piece of metal and circuitry is what has kept me in large supply of nutty behavior all weekend.

It looks so harmless doesn't it?

I have to confess, in addition to buying this for work-related tasks and general organization, I also purchased it with all sorts of knitting-related usefulness in mind. But, before I was able to actually DO anything with it, I had to spend a few hours -- who am I kidding, TWO DAYS -- tinkering with it, setting it up to Hot Synch, loading all sorts of nifty software and trying to get the tricky, buggy Acrobat Reader to work properly. I also tried to get a wireless connection, but I'm afraid it won't happen until I update my cell phone.

So, after all of this, the next step is actually inputting content and figuring out how to organize things, and what role this little thing will play in my knitting, design and blogging endeavors.

For the geeks among you, it is a PlamOne Tungsten T5. The screen does both portrait and landscape, the stylus has a nifty ball point pen inside and the screen is tap-sensitive on all areas (not just the input area). It has thousands of colors, a very large drive, removable storage chips and it came with a FREE wireless keyboard.

Here is the breakdown for the image above:

1. 320x480 Color Display

2. Expansion Slot

3. Stereo Headphone Jack

4. Infrared Port

5. Stylus

6. 5-way Navigator

7. Home/Favorites

8. Calendar

9. Contacts

10. Files

11. Multi-Connector

Hidden Features

12. Rechargeable Battery

13. Bluetooth® Wireless

14. Speaker (on back)

15. 160MB Flash Drive

I LOVE the wireless keyboard!

Because I am able to view PDFs, edit MS Office files (including my fabulous Excel spreadsheets which record my yarn stash totals) and input data using the keyboard, it feels like a mini-laptop. The organizational part is but a fraction of what it can do.

At this point, I am using it for so many things that it's saving me large amounts of space and sanity.

I'm sure many of you have already discovered the wonders of the PDA for knitting purposes, but I don't care! I plan to dissect my use of the PDA for various tasks in the next coming weeks. I figure I can share my info and get feedback from you guys on better ways of doing the same thing.

Also, I have a need to obsessively document everything. :-)

In actual knitting progress news, I cast on with the Ultramerino4 last night and all I can say is I think I might love this more than Koigu. It isn't just soft people, it's SMOOTH. SO SMOOTH...

Needless to say, I'll be heading back to that store this weekend to clean out her stash. 

More pics to come once I get my design sorted out.

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.

Knitting Can Lead To Marital Strife

Another Hallmark Holiday under the knitting belt.

My Dad LOVED his socks! 

(Please forgive the awful indoor sepia effect. It was later in the evening).

As you can see, they were a perfect fit. Another successful sock using The Twisted Sisters Sock Workbook Measurement/Gauge chart.

I have to say, discovering the secret to perfect sock fit is what triggered my sock obsession. I now have everyone's foot measurements -- much to their dismay.

Seriously. I've been harassing everyone I know to take off their shoes and let me fondle their feet for some tape measure fun. I do this in coffee shops, parking lots and bookstores -- pretty much anywhere anyone will let me.

Can you say Sock Fetish?

Speaking of recording measurements, I've been playing around all weekend with knitting-related organization of the paperless kind and am planning a series of posts about this very topic all week -- partly to inform and partly to record my mania.

I'm on a mission, people! (Either that, or I've completely gone off the deep end with my obsessive tendencies).

On a sort-of-related-to-knitting note, I was headed downstairs to show Granny some sock progress, only to walk into a heated discussion between her and Grandpa. Butter knives were flailing from butter tubs, voices were at high decibles and doors were being closed loudly.

I asked her what was going on and, apparently, Grandpa is in a jealous rage over her backyard conversations with the 60 year-old man who is painting their house. I guess Grandma likes to stretch her legs every-so-often and offer the guys some lemonade and cookies (COOKIES people! Can Granny be any cuter?).

Hehehe.

Grandma is EIGHTY-FIVE and Grandpa is EIGHTY-SEVEN.

How is this related to knitting, you ask? Apparently, Granny was out there showing off my knitted wares and proudly going on about me and my cousins. I guess she hung out there longer than Grandpa liked. Hehehe. He accused her of flirting in a very loud way, they argued, and she's been mad ever since.

Grandpa tried to make nice-nice this morning by offering to go to Church with her, but Grandma politely declined.

Apprently, she is still pissed.

See, it just goes to show how something as innocent as knitting can lead to marital strife. And this time, it had nothing to do with bloated stashes! :-)

The Big Eye

I received this happy little melange of snack baggies, yarn bits, Big Eye Needles and hand-written (HAND-WRITTEN) pages the day before yesterday from the very sweet and VERY "attentive to detail," Miss Kathy.

Normally, I wouldn't blog about a piece of snail mail. I can't even remember when I last received any snail mail. But, this, THIS...well, I couldn't NOT blog about it -- for two reasons: 1) It shows that there are others just as (if not more) obsessive than I; and, 2) It's just so darn charming!

Here is an Illustrated list of Reasons Why This Package Totally Made My Day and Quite Possibly My Week:

1. The dainty, perfectly spaced handwriting. FIVE pages of it! FIVE!

2. The little bits of yarn carefully placed, like thumbnails, next to their respective descriptions -- really, my favorite part (see how Hello Kitty is flying UP toward the yanr bits? hehehe).

3. The "colorway" feel of the whole thing. As if I'm pouring through a Designer's Yarn Journal.

4. The descriptions -- accurate and peppered with signature Grumperina humor (I particularly enjoyed the use of the words "spiffy" and "loosey-goosey" and may have to appropriate those word for normal everyday usage).

5. The cute little "snack size" ziploc baggies (LOVE the little snack-size baggies!)

6. The PERFECTLY ROLLED bobbins! (Nobody, but NOBODY  rolls those yarn balls and makes those bobbins like Grumperina!)

7. The LABELS -- all carefully handwritten (My God! She's even MORE thorough than I am!)

8. And, of course...the VERY best thing: HELLO KITTY STATIONERY!!! Just like mine! I even have post-its with this "Blue Angel Kitty!"

So, you can clearly see why I needed to blog about this package.

Included in the package are samples of KnitPicks Merino, Louet Gems and Alpaca Cloud Laceweight. I'm LOVING the Louet and will definitely be buying some soon.

Also included in the package was a Big Eye Needle. I forgot to pick one up -- despite the fact that Kathy reminded me TWICE -- at BeadWorks last week and couldn't start my beaded adventures without one. The place closest to me has odd hours and I wasn't sure when I'd be able to get to it, so Kathy kindly offered to send me one of hers.

Isn't she the Best Egg?

(I love how the needle package says "The Big Eye." I'll probably go around saying that all week. "Don't give me The Big Eye!" She gave me The Big Eye." Hehehe.)

So there you go. A peek into my snail mail and an example of just how nice and obsessive-in-a-very-good-way knitters can be.

I'm totally motivated now tofinally start that Yarn/Fiber Journal!

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. ;-)

34 Rows Left!

Just 34 rows left!

This is what it's come to: A Father's Day Finished Sock Countdown.

I've now started knitting to support the blog as opposed to blogging to support the knitting! I'm getting sick of posting progress shots of a sock -- especially since, by the second sock, they all start to look alike. However, since I'm working in bits on about three projects, instead of focusing my efforts on one, there isn't much of a difference on the other stuff either. So, I find myself trying to finish sections each time in order to have good blog content for the next day, and this is not good. Not good, people! But, it has made me aware that I'm not getting much satisfaction from knitting on all of these projects at once. So, I've decided to focus on each one until it is finished before moving on to the next.

So, I made the Father's Day Socks my main focus because tonight -- assuming I can finish them before then -- I can steam them at my Knitting Clinic. I know some of you think this is very "fancy" (you know who you are!) but it's such a nice thing to do when gifting a pair of socks to someone.

And, I am ALL ABOUT presentation.

So I'll be knitting these during lunch and finshing them during the Knitting Clinic.

And then, THEN I can focus my efforts again on ONE project so as to actually feel good and motivated and like I'm making progress on these things, since I'm boring even myself.

I think this method of working (a bit here, a bit there) was ok when I had all sorts of free time because I could devote large blocks to each project, but now that work has been injected into the mix, I think a new approach is in order. ;-)

I'm also planning some new things for the blog. So bear with me peeps...

And, did I mention HOW UNBEARABLY HOT IS!? NO?

Well, it is. :-)

"Fun" Socks

Saturday was a fun-filled, bead-filled, Kntting In Public Day with these gals.

It was a HOT, HOT day -- the kind of day that typically makes me a massive crankypants -- but somehow, I didn't mind so much because I was in such good company.

You can see some of my booty above (my stash, my loot...not my butt...hehe).

These vials of beady goodness are destined for a secret project to be announced soon. For now, you'll just have to wonder...

While knitting and chatting, I managed to plow through the entire leg of the second Father's Day sock. Then, on the train home from Boston, I was able to finish the heel. So, really, there is only about half a sock left before Tuesday's Knitting Clinic where I can hopefully get them steamed and packaged for my Dad's gift.

I'm a little worried, though, because so far, most of the guys I've polled -- admittedly all in their 20's-30's, have said they didn't think this sock was what they would consider "manly." Instead, they described it as "fun." Clearly, my idea of a fun sock is wildly different. I'm just hoping my Dad likes them.

Progress continues on the IK Padded Footlet. It is fairly slow-going, so I won't take a photo until there is a drastic change in appearance.

Progress also continues on the Cool cagoule sleeves.

Tomorrow is scheduled to begin a new work week/blog posting schedule. Hopefully I can start to find my posting groove again.

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.

Disorientation

One almost down, and one to go...

Forgive my meager post, but I'm trying to get used to a brand new posting/photographing schedule. This work thing really cramps my blogging style. Hehe.

There was some excitement last night (although no pictures) when my friend Kristin joined me for A Stitch Above's Knitting Clinic.

It's fun to watch another person get slowly sucked in to The Knitting Realm. Mwahaha!

She purchased some scrumptuous Lana Grossa for a baby blanket in some gorgeous colors. I can't wait to see how it turns out. Maybe next week, I'll actually take some pictures of her progress. ;-)

Afterward we went for sushi. The sushi place is practically next door. Who could resist? That was a stroke of genius I tell ya...putting a sushi place next door to my little yarn shop. Ahhhh.

Tonight, I'll hopefull begin The Maths for The Subway Sweater. I know I keep saying that, but it's been a busy week -- what with a new job and a new schedule -- so bear with me, peeps.

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).

Knitting Maths: A Gentle Intro

Calculations have commenced on the Subway Sweater. I got the nicest fabric with US6 as the label recommends. I have to say, this Jo Sharp Soho Summer is a dream to knit with. It feels great on the fingers. It's also structured in an interesting way.

Here's a closer look at the fibers:

See how it's all ropey and weavy?  I LOVE that!

Anyway, so I'm completely geeking out on the Knitting Maths. Not only am I recalculating this pattern, but I'm charting out some other patterns in progress to make them easier to read.

My only fear is running into complex Knitting Maths which require more left brain activity than I'm used to. But, I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.

As for other project progress, my Cheery Socks are almost finished.

These socks feel so good, I almost can't stand it! VERY soft. Perfect for slipping on after a day's work. And, cute enough to wear with clogs. What more can you ask for? Now, I must go hunt down more of this Regia stuff because these colors...they are shweeet!

Many people have asked for a pair of their own, so I need to stock up!

So Many Illogicals...

Drink anyone?

There were so many illogicals in this sleeve pattern, I'm not sure I can even remember them all. Aside from the obvious mistake in the increase row -- where the increases called for are not sufficient for the cables to come in row three -- the ends were completely off as well. If I'd followed the pattern as written, I would've ended up with big areas of knit  and purl blocks at each end. Since this is a basic cable/rib pattern which calls for incorporating the cables and ribs as the increases are worked, it was obvious things needed to be fixed.

There were also some other inconsistences in the pattern itself.

It was obvious that not all sleeve sizes were knitted up into prototypes and these instructions are best-guesses. This shocked me because, typically, Rowan patterns -- with the exception of the sometimes "creative" way in which things are worded -- are written very well. Also, this pattern was from The Rowan Treasury of Knits. This means, it lived it's life as a pattern in Rowan Mag 27, and was then folded into this collection. I would assume that if they missed something the first time around with the magazine pattern, they'd catch it while going through the proofing process for the book.

The only thing I can figure, is that it wasn't a popular pattern and that not many people (if any) knitted this up in my size. I say this, because, after Googling and checking the Rowan site itself, I wasn't able to find any published errata.

That being said, it was clear that I would need to chart out the pattern to figure out where the errors were and then re-chart with corrections -- which is what I did. I then charted out the increases as they occur and figured in the ribs and cables as the stitches increase along the ends.

I have to say, I am now a HUGE fan of the charting. I LOVE THE CHARTING. It appeals to all of my craziness with the details and the tiny squares and the grid and the symbols -- oh, how I ADORE the symbols -- and the way I can only really understand things if they are presented visually.

So, while it was irritating in principle to have to chart this all out, in actuality, it was a LOT of fun.

I am now hunting for ways to chart out all pattern instructions (not just stitch patterns) so as not to have to fuss with cumbersome row-by-row directions.

I should mention that since I was re-charting things, I decided to make the cables flow out in opposite directions from the center. I didn't like that they all went in the same direction on the sleeves, while on the pocket, they pointed in opposite directions.

See? See how I get?

Here is a detail of the cables followed by a progress shot:

Now, onto recalculating the Subway Sweater pattern...

Isn't She Cute?

I was a Busy Olive this weekend. It was a weekend of charting and simple maths and a cheery sock that makes my heart sing.

Still with me? Did anyone puke?

Seriously, though...isn't she cute?

I love my little anklet sock. And, the Regia is unbelievably soft. SO soft. There is only the subtlest difference between it and the Lana Grossa (the LG still being the softest).

And, for the anklet, I deviated a little from my typical cuff. I kept the stockinette curl, used a 2x2 rib instead of my 1x1 for only four rows instead of ten and I added a little garter stitch band. So far, I like the way it looks. I have VERY skinny ankles, so I need a little something to balance things out with a sock this short (I'm usually a sock scruncher with longer socks for this reason).

I've cast on for the second one already.

I'm hoping to have enough left over for another pair. If only I had a nifty scale with which to weigh everything so as to be sure...hmmm....

I also managed to work out the Cool Cagoule Issue this weekend, but I don't have the energy right now for a lengthy post, so the Surf Sock will have to do. But stay tuned because there is Bitching And Triumph to report!

And who doesn't love a good Bitching And Triumph combo? (That was rhetorical for you smartasses out there. Hehe.).

In love, I am. Yet, happy, I'm not.

In love, I am...

with this Regia Cotton in the aptly named "Surf" colorway. Look at those candy colors! And, so, SO soft. Not as soft as my precious Lana Grossa, but VERY close.

I started these after finishing up my Brightest Blue Socks Ever last night. Here they are on my tired old dogs (I love that expression, even though I struggle to understand why feet are equated with dogs):

And here they are on their own:

Is it me, or is there a tiger stripe thing going on with these?

Anyway, so even though I haven't finished my Crusoe socks, I cast on for these because it's Spring and I needed a color motivator to get me in the mood and to help me push through all of the craptastic weather we've been having in these here parts.

Not happy I am. About this.

Ok, I'll stop. Can you tell I went to see Return of The Sith last night? That is where I managed to finish The Brightest Blue Socks Ever. So, they'll forever remind me of that movie and my realization that Yoda and his annoying grammatical swtiches have completely lost their charm on my cranky 30+ self. Also, if we're going to accept all the snappy special effects and other assorted updates, can we go all the way and update that goofy Darth Vader outfit please? PLEASE? I know I'm going to get all sorts of hate mail from the purists, but I don't care. I think the weather here has finally gotten to me. ;-)

That being said. It was fun. I love a good Sci-fi landscape and storyline. And, having worked at Hasbro when all of this was still in the works, I have a special place in my heart for that lava pit. Hehe.

So, yes, I happily knitted away and perfected my not-looking-while-knitting skills at the movie last night and it was amazingly calming.  Then the calm was ruined as I drove back home, dodging downed power lines, a large oak tree and trying to keep my tiny cheese-wedge-shaped car from being flung across the highway from the unbelieveably fierce winds. I'm not kidding. What is going on, people? It's May!

So, you see why I had to cast on for a cheery sock, right? My crankypants self needed some happy fiber between my fingers.

I've also been re-working the math for The Cool cagoule sleeves and The Subway Sweater. I have more swatch photos of the Jo Sharp Summer Soho on deck for tomorrow, so stay tuned.

Hopefully the Surf Sock will do it's magic and dispel my cranky, weather-related mood. ;-)