Tag Archives: olympic knitting

… And They’re Off!

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Good morning Ravellenic Athletes!  I hope you’ve been training hard, because the next 17 days are going to be busy!

I’ve finally decided what I’m going to do (not that I waited until the 11th hour or anything).  I’ve decided to do something a little different than usual:

I’m going to see how many projects I can finish in the next two weeks.

I figure I’m not going to have a ton of knitting time coming up, so I might as well take this as an opportunity to finish up some (all?  If I’m lucky, and very fast.) of the projects that I’ve been letting languish in my WIP pile.

I’ve got my Papaya Sweater, which is really only knit down to the armpits.I’ve got an entire stack of bears that need to be stuffed, need faces, and need to be sent off to Mama Bear Headquarters.I’ve got a scarf that I’ve started and put down and restarted about a dozen times over the last three years. (I even spun the yarn for this one!  I just never got off my butt to finish the dang thing!)I’ve got the almost-finished prototype for the 15th Street Wrap– a project that I have written up as a pattern, published, and other people have knit their own versions of, before I even finished mine!I found two half-finished pairs of socks from some point in the past (I think one pair of socks might literally be from over five years ago… I really don’t remember starting them).  This might explain where all my US2 DPNs have disappeared to over the years.And of course, I’m about halfway through my sock yarn baby blanket.I don’t expect to finish everything, but it’ll be fun to try!

So, what to do first? (And when is curling on?)

What are you working on for the Ravellenic Games?

Olympics: Across the finish line!

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I did it! Woo!

That last sleeve almost killed me, but I made it across the finish line with time to spare for blocking.

And, I love it!  This might be my new favorite sweater.  (It’s the Campside Cardi by Alicia Plummer, knit in Knit Picks’ Wool of the Andes Sport in Cobblestone, if you forgot.)IMG_3052(Yes, I am indeed a dork, and still haven’t figured out how to pose for a non-ridiculous photo of myself.)

It fits like a glove, and I even managed to get the sleeves the right length, which never happens! If you’re looking for a simple-yet-cute sweater, I definitely recommend this pattern.  IMG_3071Whenever I do a speed-knit project like this, I always think “Why can’t I always work like this?”  I’d be able to make two dozen sweaters ever year! Ha!

How did your Olympics go?  Did you finish your Ravellenic Games projects?

Olympics: The Final Leg

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I’m in the final stretch of the marathon, the last straightaway of the 400 meter dash, the last push toward the wall in the 1500 meter freestyle.

Except I’m knitting, not doing any sort of actual physical sport.  (I am breaking a sweat, however.  But that’s more due to the fact that we don’t have air conditioning and I have a big wool sweater on my lap than any great athletic exertion.)

I’ve still got 3/4 of a sleeve left.  And blocking.IMG_3018This sweater feels like it’s taking forever, which is crazy, since I’ve only been working on it for two weeks.

It’s funny, I zoomed through the body of the sweater, which was the biggest part of the project- all that stockinette and all those eyelets.  It was fun, easy, uncomplicated.  But now that I’m doing the sleeves, it feels a bit like pulling teeth.  I don’t know why, it’s just plain old knitting in the round with a handful of decrease rows.  Nothing difficult.

It took me two whole days to finish the right sleeve!  Two days!  Hopefully it won’t take me two more to finish the left.

And now, here I am procrastinating on my sleeve by writing this post (which was only supposed to be about three sentences long).

Enough faffing around.  I’d better buckle down and finish up.  The closing ceremony is on Sunday, after all!

How are your Olympics going?

And have you watched any synchronized swimming?!  It’s amazing!

On Your Mark!

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Get set! Go!

It’s Ravellenic Games Time!

I’m excited, and I’m not at all prepared!  Wheee!  Let’s see how this goes!  I just decided the pattern I’m going to use- Ollie helped me choose.IMG_0542We picked out the Campside Cardi from Alicia Plummer.

IMG_8528_medium2[1]Cute, right?  I love the shape of the sweater.  It looks so comfy and versitile.  And look at the back:IMG_8540_medium2[1]I love the modern twist on lace; it’s an ombre of eyelets.  Genius!  It should be light and lovely, and it should be a nice and easy knit.  Interesting enough, but not distracting.  Perfect car knitting for our upcoming road trip.

I’m going to be using some of my stash yarn- Knit Picks Wool of the Andes Sport in Cobblestone.  I’ve got 10 skeins, which should be enough.IMG_0531I’ve got another two days to prepare and make my swatch.  That should be plenty.  Right?

Are you knitting something for the Olympics?  Let’s knit together!

And, don’t forget to sign up for the new Fair Isle pattern giveaway!

Accross the Finish Line

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Phew!  The Olympics are over, and the Ravellenic Games are finished!  I don’t know if you took part, but I had a really great time.  And I knit like a Norwegian cross-country skier (in other words- really, really quickly).

My sweater came together without too much trouble.  I did have a little issue during the first weekend of the games, when I had a little math issue (compounded by the fact that I – overachiever that I am – was trying to finish an entire sweater in a week) that forced me to re-knit my sleeves a couple times.  (Apparently my arms are not 12 inches long and pointy.  Who knew?)  But, other than that, I skated through this project at a nice little clip.

Anyway, here’s my final product in all it’s glory!  (Please ignore the slightly awkward poses.  I can make a sweater in two weeks, but I’m damned if I can take a decent photograph.  It’s a curse.)

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAI blocked the sleeves slightly too much, so they’re a smidge long, but that’s OK.  I have long monkey arms, so it’s sometimes a treat to have too-long sleeves.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAI love how the slip-stitch color-work panels turned out.  (And they were crazy easy to do!  I’ll post instructions soon.  Maybe Wednesday, if I have time.)

The sweater was worked in KnitPicks’ Wool of the Andes, and the colors were:

  • Sapphire Heather (body)
  • Bluebird (darker contrast blue)
  • Clarity (pale contrast blue)
  • Papaya Heather (orange)
  • Fairy Tale (fuchsia)

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERADespite the dorky pictures, I’m quite pleased how this project turned out.

Did you participate in the Ravellenics?  What did you make?