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.

mistakes

I made a mistake on my tank top several rows back, so now I need to frog it. Normally I would just undo the incorrect stitches, but in this case I've got yarn-overs in the wrong places, so I don't think that will work. I am bummed. I had put this project away for a week because I needed some quiet time to work on the front (lots of shaping). I finally had some time on Monday, before L's PT appointment, and I think that's where I made the mistake. There or at my knitting group that evening. That makes more sense, actually, because I wasn't paying as close attention, since we had a swap that night and two new members sitting right next to me.

The mistake is a silly one, and one I should have caught almost immediately. Which is why I think it happened during the knitting group. The shaping is fine, but the placement of the design in the front is off by 3 stitches, and is very noticeable.

Bah. I hate mistakes.

successful swap

My knitting group had a swap this evening. I brought in a box of yarn, and got rid of most of it. I took back a few things, mostly wool that I might use for felting. I tried hard not to take too much. I picked up some black Knit Picks Swish DK, Lion Brand Microspun in white and yellow, a skein of Sugar'n Cream stripes in blue, and a partial skein of pink-purple Rowan Tweed for the Elinor Tunic I'm hoping to knit. And a Minnowknits book. I left with less than I came with, which was my goal.

no knitting, incoming stash

I've hardly done any knitting this week, and it's been frustrating. Knit lots on Monday, but got to a section of my tank top where I really need to concentrate (i.e. no kids, not in the car, not when I'm sleepy, etc.), so it was on hold until the end of the week, except I didn't work on it at the end of the week, so now it's on hold again.

In my search for a project I can pick up easily, I thought I'd make a tank top out of some Caron Cotton Terry I have from my grandmother. I've never knit with the stuff, but it seemed like maybe it might make a decent top; nothing fancy, but good for the summer. First, I spent part of a day looking at patterns, finally found one I liked. Oh, but I didn't have the right length circular needle. Went to Michael's Thursday night; they didn't have it. Went to JoAnn's Friday, and they didn't have it either. Finally went to my LYS Friday afternoon, where I discovered they are having a 20% off everything sale this month. Wheeee!!! (And they had my needle!) Bought some needles, and a few skeins of yarn for good measure. Went home, reviewed my queue in Ravelry, and went back and bought 2 bags of yarn. Yum! One bag was full of Encore, for L's log cabin blanket. The rest is a mix of yarn for specific projects and yarn that just looked fun. In retrospect I realized I got back in my old habit of just buying one or two skeins of yarn because they look neat, when that's probably not going to be enough to do much with. We'll see what happens with it. Among my finds are some Crystal Palace Merino 5 (I bought 2 skeins in the first visit, then another 2 skeins in the second so I'd have more to play with), Noro Kureyon (bought 4 total, in 2 passes; might start Lizard Ridge with them), and Crystal Palace Panda Wool (one skein in 2 different colors, so not for socks).

So what became of my new tank top? I cast on last night, and hated the yarn. I absolutely couldn't knit with it. My cast on was uneven, and I could tell after a single knit stitch that this was going to be a painful project. The yarn is nubby, but they are small, hard nubs, that make it difficult to pull one loop through another. I immediately posted all of the yarn (9 skeins total in several colors) on YarnCycle, and I hope to get it in the mail next week.

Now it's been nearly an entire week with no knitting, but I've been wanting to knit. Finally tonight I cast on for a dog walking mitten for my dad's gf for Christmas. It's not using up stash (I bought the yarn for it yesterday), but it sure feels good to be knitting again.

mindless to mindful

I've been working diligently on my Lacey Vee tank top for a couple of weeks now. Until a few days ago it was pretty mindless knitting: knit in stockinette until you've done 9". Then I got to start a bit of a pattern (ooh, a little purling to do!) Last night I started knitting the back separate from the front, and very suddenly my simple little tank got complicated. I spent some time this morning re-writing the pattern for the back (at least, up to the neckline, where I have to split again for the shoulders) because it started getting too confusing last night. The confusion occurs because I am doing armhole shaping at the same time as armhole edging, and the pattern doesn't give row by row instructions, just how many decreases to do.

While I'm looking forward to getting into some complicated knitting, I think I may need to start another project for some more mindless activity.

June yardage

I've decided to start calculating how much yarn I knit each month. I might go back and calculate for previous months, but for now I'll start with June. A problem I foresee is that because I tend to get almost through a project, then let it rest for a few months, my monthly calculations will be off. I will only calculate yardage for Finished Objects, so even if I did most of the knitting in May, the yardage will count only in the month when I finished the piece.

Yardage for June is...76 yards! Not much, eh? This is from the Nottingham hat I knit for E, although I did quite a bit of knitting on my tank top (probably another 200 yards for that), but I hope to count that next month.

I wonder how many miles I knit in a year. Hmm...better start doing some calculations....

Frog Pond

Welcome to the Frog Pond, unfinished sweater! I started you nearly 10 years ago, after knitting the sampler from Jacqueline Fee's The Sweater Workshop. Why didn't I realize then that the trim color did not go with the main color? Or that I would probably look like a large grape when I was finished?

No matter. I decided to rip you out months ago, but it wasn't until tonight that I finally had the courage, and time, to do it.

Rip! Rip! Rip!

In less than half an hour a foot of sweater is gone. I've weighed the resulting hanks and set them aside for another day, when I'll wash them and hang them to dry to unkink them.

RIP, ugly unfinished sweater!

What Would You Make?

I've started a new group on Ravelry called "WWYM?" (What Would You Make?) The idea is to look at other people's stashes and help them come up with projects they could make with it. I initially had the idea because I've been looking at my stash a lot recently, in an attempt to use some of it up, and was just getting stuck on most of it. For instance, I've got a lot of single and double skeins of yarn, and I want to use it, but don't know for what. I thought maybe if someone else looked at it, they would have some ideas that I wouldn't have thought of myself. And I figured there'd be at least a few others on Ravelry with the same problem, or who would at least indulge me and come up with ideas for my stash.

I missed my knitting group

After nearly 2 months, I finally made it to my Monday night knitting group this week. I was so happy! Since April it seemed something came up each week; birthdays, house guests, illnesses, bad traffic, business trips, and so on. It was great to get out of the house, talk to other adults, and get some knitting done.

Let's see, what have I been working on. I knit a Nottingham hat for E out of some very old blue Brown Sheep worsted. It came out ok, but the yarn doesn't really show off the cables very well. And I'm worried it's a bit feminine for a 3 year old (but I won't deal with that until the fall when he starts wearing it). I really should have used this opportunity to learn to do cables without a cable needle, because there were a lot of little cables in this hat. I love the pattern, though, and plan to make another one.

I also started a tank top for myself, the Lacey Vee Shell by Deb Gemmell, in off-white Cabin Fever Cotton Tweed. It's knit in the round from the bottom up, which I like because it means no seams to sew! It also means a lot of stitches to cast on, and unfortunately I wasn't paying attention when I started, and cast on to the wrong needle size! I did my swatch on size 5 needles (correctly), but was supposed to start the ribbing on size 3. I spent the entire Monday evening out casting on and knitting the first row (which always takes me forever) with size 5 needles, only to discover yesterday that I would have to redo it all.