Ravelympics: Results, part 2

I still haven't had a chance to finish uploading pictures of all my FOs, or download my awards, but I'll get to it slowly. Here's a picture of the tank top I finished last week. I wore it last weekend and felt really proud of myself! I still wish it was an inch or two longer, but it's quite comfortable. I haven't washed it yet, need to do that soon so I can wear it again!

I also have quite a bit of blocking left to do. First up is my sister's headscarf, so I can give it to her this weekend if possible. I looked for T-pins at Michael's the other day, but they didn't have them (or 16" 10.5 circulars, either. Grrr....)

I calculated my total yardage for the Games. For non-WIPs (that is, projects I started and finished during the Games) I knit 403 yards. My WIPs, excluding the felted bear, came to 961 yards, but much of that was knit before August. When I get a chance I want to estimate how much I've knit this year (and compare it to how much I've bought this year!)

Ravelympics: Results

I finished all my projects! I finished the last one, the Marigold Bear, Friday morning. Whew! I didn't think I was going to be able to do it all, especially the Bear, but here I am with 12 FOs under my belt!

What I knit:

• 4 cotton washcloths (gifts)
  
• 2 pairs of socks (for E and L)

What I finished:

• Dog walking mitt
• head scarf for my sister
• hot water bottle cozy
• wrist warmers
• tank top for me
• felted Bear (started 1996!)
  

I've got medals to download and save, pictures to upload and share, and a heap of knitting to wash and block. But now it's definitely time to take a break and tackle that pile of laundry!

Ravelympics: Day 7, part 3

I finished my second WIP and 5th project total. Woot! This is a hot water bottle cozy in Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride Worsted...yum! I finished knitting the neck ribbing and whip-stitched the bottom closed. I was a little nervous about how I was going to sew the bottom, but whip-stitch seemed to work well, with a bunch of safety pins guiding the way.

I'm not sure if I'm going to keep this or give it as a gift for Christmas. Or make a second one.

Ravelympics: Day 7, part 2

I finally finished my Irish Hiking Wrist Warmers this afternoon. I started them in April!!! This is my first FO for the WIPs Wrestling event. I had some problems with the mattress stitch on the second one, but after redoing it several times, I finally got it. The seaming is off by a couple of rows by the end, but I think it looks fine and I'm calling it finished. I also had to redo the first one because I made the thumb hole too small. Bring on the cold weather!

Ravelympics: Day 7

Yeah! I finished the second sock this afternoon. They look great, and I think they'll be perfect for L this fall.

I'm not sure what I'm going to work on next. Probably my wrist warmers, since all I need to do with those is mattress stitch the seam in one and redo the seam in the other (I didn't leave a large enough space for my thumb).

Ravelympics: Day 6

Started and almost finished the second cabled sock yesterday, but it got late and I didn't want to make mistakes. Should be a relatively easy finish today. And I'm hoping to knock off at least one WIP today.

I discovered a few days ago that I am missing a ball of yarn! I had a WIP (the dog walking mitt) on the bookshelf next to the bed; I had last worked on it less than 2 weeks before the start of the Games. I went to work on it a couple of days ago while G was reading to E in bed, and the big ball of yarn that used to be attached is no longer there! I've done a quick scan of the bedroom, but can't find it anywhere. It wasn't cut, and it doesn't looked chewed, although the cats are prime suspects. What's weird is that the needles are still in the project, the cable needle and row counter are still there, just the yarn is gone (which is why I don't suspect E, who would have taken the counter first). As this is one of the WIPs I'm hoping to finish in the next week, I've got some serious hunting to do today.

Ravelympics: Day 5

My second FO of the Games! This is a washcloth in the Flickering Flames pattern by Maile Mauch, in Lily Sugar'n Cream cotton. I made a mistake and bound off (and sewed in my ends!) before realizing that I forgot to do a final garter stitch border at the top. It still looks okay, but it curls a little bit. I might try to undo it and add the border, but it's a low priority right now. I also found a few mistakes in the pattern, but nothing major.

I now have 6 WIPs to finish and 4 new projects to do (3 1/2, since I finished one of the socks already). That means I need to finish a project a day for the remainder of the Games! Yikes!
(edited to add awards!)

Ravelympics: Day 4

Finished my first toddler sock this afternoon. It was supposed to be for E, but I tried to get it on his foot part way through and there's no way it's going to fit. So this pair will be for L, and I'll make a larger pair for E. The pattern is Cabled Toddler Socks by Rosemary Waits.

Finished one shoulder of my Lacey Vee Shell last night, and hope to finish the second one tonight. Then all I'll need to do is the neck! Woohoo!

Ravelympics: Day 2

Didn't do too much knitting today, as I was up late the night before watching the Opening Ceremonies. Worked on my Lacey Vee Shell, up to the point where I am supposed to divide for the left and right shoulders. I stopped there, since I really don't want to mess this up, and I already need to figure out how to decide which are the center 31 stitches and why I have a couple more stitches on one side than on the other. I thought about starting my socks for E, but instead just dug out the needles and wound the yarn into a ball.

Saturday afternoon I also broke my car. I was pulling out of the garage, and somehow neglected to close the back door. Now it won't close at all! I can't believe I did that, I feel *so* stupid! Luckily no one was hurt (L was in the car with me), and G isn't mad at me. I now need to find a body shop, and figure out what we're going to do for driving until my car is fixed.

Free Tibet!

None of us are free
until ALL of us are free

China's record on human rights is dismal, and their stance on Tibet is deplorable, to put it nicely.

None of us are free
until ALL of us are free

Please visit the International Campaign for Tibet website for more information.

None of us are free
until ALL of us are free

(thanks to PoMo Golightly and Pippi for raising awareness!)

Ravelympics: Day 1

Okay, it's not the end of the day yet, but I can't help wanting to blog! The Ravelympics 2008 officially started at 5am PDT, and I was up and knitting by 6. I am working on Washcloth #3, which uses the Tiny Cables Washcloth pattern by Nanette Blanchard, in a bright blue Sugar'n Cream cotton. This project qualifies for several events: Home Stuff Hammer Throw, Gift Knits Pentathalon, and the Cable Steeplechase. The pattern is pretty and very easy to memorize, and probably looks a little more complicated than it really is. The yarn, however, is very hard on my hands. I've found I can't really knit for more than 30-40 minutes at a time, which is probably just as well, as I've got other stuff to do. The last time I knit washcloths was over a year ago, and I don't remember it being this bad. I was pregnant at the time, though, so maybe being uncomfortable all over made my hands hurting seem negligible.

I hope to finish the washcloth today, let's see what I can do!

*********************************************************

3pm: I did it! One FO for Team Resolutions 2008! Finished at just before 3pm, knit in 4 sessions of about 30-40 minutes each. I even wove in the ends!

8:55pm: edited to add my awards! Woot!

Ravelympics!

I have joined Team Resolutions 2008 and entered a whopping TWELVE projects into the Games. Six of them are WIPs, 4 of them are washcloths, and 2 of them are socks (a pair each for E and L). Some of the WIPs I should be able to finish in a day or two. Some of them (like my Lacey Vee Shell) are going to take several days or more. I don't think there is a good chance I will complete half of what I am setting out to do, but it's fun to have a challenge and see how much knitting I can do in 17 days.

I can officially cast on Friday at 5am. I have a lot of training to do before then, including printing patterns, picking out yarn, finding needles, and getting it all organized into my Ravelympics Box.