2006 Winter Olympics Team Knittyboard

BAA BAA BLACKSHEEP: I am smitten

2008-04-24T04:40:00.000-07:00

I agree with the K3tog. What a pain! I hope you can find a way to salvage the project though. It's pretty!

I love, love, love the swatch. I can't wait to see what becomes of that yarn!

Completed Clapotis and Then Some

2006-02-27T14:18:00.000-08:00

I finished my Olympic Clapotis within a week. The Olympic challenge there was maintaining interest long enough to actually get it done! I posted pictures to my blog.

Because I loved the completed Clapotis and felt guilty about fussing that it was a boring pattern, I did more knitting--sort of to pay penance to Clapotis! I completed a Branching Out scarf last night--got it pinned to the blocking board. I also finished a Booga Bag. Photos of the finished BO and Booga are not yet posted, but I do have progress photos on the blog.

Can I have credit for doing 7/8s of a Gioia scarf before deciding I hated the yarn and wripped the whole thing out? I adore that pattern, but the yarn was driving me to drink. No photos exist, either progress photos or otherwise!

Victory!

2006-02-27T11:54:00.000-08:00

Finished the sweater yesterday. Pics on the blog soon!

Two-thirds an Olympian

2006-02-27T08:48:00.000-08:00

As some of you may recall, I am the one who planned to make three incarnations of the knitty pattern, Coronet. That didn't happen, so, zib, you're not alone in your flakiness. (:

My second Coronet, though, I am happy to report, was completed as the pattern instructs (with a fold-up brim) and looks great. Unfortunately, for me, it, too, is slightly pinky--it's more of a raspberyy color than the first painful pink one. The second will go to my friend in Texas.

The third, which was going to be for me, isn't going to get made right now. I can't bring myself to knit the pattern again. It's a fine pattern, it's just that I just knit it twice and I want to work on something else now. So, no gold for me.

I did start my Tempting, though, so I have some boring k2p2 rib in my immediate future: 14 inches of it before anything else happens! Yikes. It will be nice to have an article of clothing, though.

Congratulations gold knitting medalists! I shall admire your shiny goodness from the corner.

Done

2006-02-27T05:27:00.000-08:00

Done and done. I wound up scaling back from my original plan (the proposed recipient of size-13 men's socks didn't want 'em, so plan B was to make them for my brother who has size 10 feet). There's a picture on my blog, and I'll try to post one here later today (or, more likely, sometime this week).

Not done, and not defeated.

2006-02-27T04:41:00.000-08:00

Congratulations to all of you sporting shiny medals. Well deserved, well earned, and I'm enjoying seeing the variety of finished projects. Much applause to you all.

I'm still plugging along. Done? No. Surprised? No. Bummed? Actually, no to that as well. I've learned quite a bit, about myself and about my knitting. Tracking this project as compared to others, I've actually accomplished more in this particular short amount of time than ever before. I'll still have a nifty sweater when all is said and done. And I'm pleased to have been part of this effort with such a grand bunch of folks.

The Thrill of...

2006-02-26T18:41:00.000-08:00

Victory: I finished my Clapotis about four (4) hours ago!!!! It's even almost dry now.

The agony of: No internet connection for the past four (4) hours, and no pictures until tomorrow.

Congratulations to all of my teammates!!! High fives for those who finished, high fives for those who gave it their best, and high fives to all the pets and people who let their Team Knittyboard member knit, rather than attend to them. In my particular case: Jerry, Maxy, Cassidy & Abby.

Rock on, 2006 Winter Olympics Team Knittyboard!!!!

ETA: Pics finally up on my blog!

It's so bright in here...

2006-02-26T17:25:00.000-08:00

from the glare of my Gold Medal! Yay! But never again. I'm stiff all over and am going to slather myself in Ben Gay later.

It still needs a proper blocking (it's only been lightly misted and blocked) to force those points out.

I love it.

Congratulations to all who finished and all who tried!

Pictures

2006-02-26T17:19:00.000-08:00

I finally got around to posting some pictures of my completed Olympic project on my blog. Check it out!

Hand over the Gold!!

2006-02-26T15:08:00.000-08:00

hey all! i finished my lovely sweater and wore it today. full report on my blog.

YAY US!!!

And the medal

2006-02-26T13:03:00.000-08:00

for getting utterly distracted by the local at that little cafe in Torino who offered to show me around his paese.

My Olympic project shall be done! Before the World Cup even!

C'mon, I can't be the only flaky Knittyboard team member out there.

Ta Da!

2006-02-26T12:00:00.000-08:00

It's Done!

A morning sprint to the finish - GOLD!

2006-02-26T09:44:00.000-08:00

Ladies and Gents, may I present EVE! A true palindrome.

Phew! We did it! Congrats to all! More on the blog.

2006-02-26T08:24:00.000-08:00

Congrats to everyone who competed! This has been a lot of fun!

According to the ticker on Yarn Harlot's site, I have 2 more hours to finish. I have seven baby hats done. I am happy with that result. And that's all the matters right?

Now I better got play with my dog. :)

Go team knitty!

Theresa shakes a bottle of champagne and sprays it around the room

2006-02-26T07:43:00.000-08:00

More pictures, mostly of steeking in progress, on the blog.

Ta Da!!!

2006-02-26T04:24:00.000-08:00

Here she is:

Top Down Sweater from Knitting Pure & Simple in Noro Korchoran. Full details are on my blog.

Everyone's projects look fabulous, whether completed yet or not. Yay for Team Knitty Board!!

With 9 hrs left to go.....

2006-02-26T01:08:00.000-08:00

I had to withdraw. Fellow Knittyboard teammates....I am unable to finish, due equipment difficulties. Meaning, as you can see, strap is not finished but skein of yarn is. The only color I wasn't worried about running out of...did. I have enjoyed knitting with everyone, it has been fun and congrats to all who competed whether you finished or not. It happens...I am not upset or bummed. Just trying to order new yarn to finish....now if I can't find anymore..I will be upset!! ;)

Elle sont finies!

2006-02-25T22:01:00.000-08:00

Only the thought of Olympic glory motivated me to finish my second sock. I don't know how you all do it normally. They were SO BORING!! I thought socks would be hard, so I intentionally chose a simple pattern. I guess I should have listened to the infinite wisdom of Knittyboard.

Gold Medal Winner!

2006-02-25T18:48:00.000-08:00

I finished my blanket yesterday. I love the way it turned out.

Pattern: Big Bad Baby Blanket from Debbie Stoller's Stitch 'n Bitch: the Knitter's Handbook

Needles: Size 9 circular Boye needles

Yarn: Knit Picks Shine in Blush (8 skeins) and Cherry (4 1/2 skeins)

Modifications: I worked eighteen rows of seed stitch on the top and bottom borders. If I made this blanket again, I would only do sixteen rows of seed stitch.

I made this blanket for my husband's best friend’s baby, which should be arriving any minute now. They're going to induce labor on Monday if she doesn't arrive this weekend. I'm so excited to visit next month! Can't wait to see the little girl all cozied up in my creation!

It's crunch time.

2006-02-25T15:58:00.000-08:00

I've got 5 baby hats done. I need to make 3 more.

I'm trying to decide if I make 3 teeny tiny baby hats, if that would be cheating the olympic gods, and spoil the olympic spirit. I want to do it, but not if I have to cheat to get it done.

Oh... what to do!

Finito!

2006-02-25T09:36:00.000-08:00

Falling Leaves are done! I actually finished a couple days ago (as CBear can attest), but didn't have the chance to take a photo. ;) Please don't mind the pasty, white calves. Block them from your mind if you must!

I LOVE this pattern - I made a couple of mistakes, but they weren't terribly difficult nor confusing to fix (or fudge if I needed to). By the end I had the chart memorised, and that second sock really flew!

Go Team Knitty, Go!

Success!

2006-02-25T09:34:00.000-08:00

My Top Down Sweater came off the needles Wednesday night. Washed and blocked it Thursday morning - it's taken 2 days to dry! Finally got the ends woven in this afternoon. It fits! It's snuggly, and soft and warm. Pics will follow tomorrow when the houseful of relatives have gone home!

Progress!

2006-02-25T07:53:00.000-08:00

I'm not sure I can finish by tomorrow, but I'm knitting steadily anyway. I've finished the back armhole shaping of my vest, using a method I've haven't done before--it's what Jacqueline Fee calls the Finished Armhole: you begin and end each row with S1, P1, S1, P1, resulting in a nice, even, finished-looking edge. And that means you don't have to pick up stitches and knit ribbing around the armholes when you're done! I wasn't sure I'd like how it looks and was prepared to rip back and start again, but I'm pretty happy with it. Thought I'd share a scan, for those of you who might want to try it sometime.

CONGRATS to all our gold medal winners! Your projects look beautiful.

I did it! A Gold Medal!

2006-02-25T00:32:00.000-08:00

I did it y'all!! It ain't the most complex project out there but she's all mine. And it fits!

I used a pattern I made up from Sweater Wizard so I'm calling it my---get ready for a moment of out-of-the-box creativity: "Olympic Sweater." Used Knit Picks "Decadence" 100% Superfine Alpaca.

another gold for Team Knittyboard!

2006-02-24T22:47:00.000-08:00

Done in right at 2 weeks, the Fir Cone Square Shawl is finished! The yarn is about 4 ounces of 1/14 cashmere from ColourMartUK in "Everglades". The cost of the yarn was about $15 - not much more than Zephyr! I used 3.5mm needles; finished size is, eh, about 50" square. Plenty big.

A couple of quick pictures (click to make 'em big and useful)-

and

Fritty has more fun with it here. I'll try to get a more verbose post on my blog in a day or two.

Knitter Down

2006-02-24T15:04:00.000-08:00

Alas, I have withdrawn from the Knitting Olympic due to arm strain, which pre-existed the opening ceremonies and which I foolishly thought would just go away. I did finish the back of my sweater, but have had to put the rest of it on hold for another week, doctor's orders. :-(

Good luck to the rest of Team Knittyboard!

Woohoo! Finished!

2006-02-24T11:21:00.000-08:00

I finished my tank top last night, only to discover that it was about 4" wider than I am. Eek! After some much-needed altering this morning, now it's REALLY finished. (Negative ease... should have remembered negative ease.)

Details and all that on the blog.

I'm settling in now for a celebratory viewing of Goonies on AMC. :)

I think I can...

2006-02-24T10:27:00.000-08:00

FINALLY, a real update and a backlog of pics. I'm on the last piece of the sweater now. Just hoping to finish the knitting with enough time for seaming and a neckband before the ceremonies!

http://schmern.com/knit/

Mitten Progress

2006-02-24T09:57:00.000-08:00

Hi Everyone!

It's been a lot of work but I'm nearly done with my project.
I'm linking to my blog as my first picture messes with the TeamKnitty template. :-)

Olympic Mittens

Woo hoo!

2006-02-24T07:48:00.000-08:00

I'm done! I finished I Do last night, and I'm wearing it to work today. I'll have my husband take some pictures of me in it when I get home. For a while there, I didn't think I was going to make it, but I really gained momentum last night. And I somehow survived grafting the two halves together while trying to watch women's figure skating. I'm impressed that I didn't make any major mistakes!

I stumbled too

2006-02-24T00:27:00.000-08:00

I ended up having to pull 12 rows out of my project today because I messed up on one row and it threw my pattern off. Oh well!

sprinting to the finish line!

2006-02-23T14:38:00.000-08:00

so. last night in chat, monkee *gasped* because i actually finished my knitting before she did. especially after she got off to that fabulous start. so i blocked it today! ends are already woven, just need to be trimmed. then i can seam, and wear it sunday. here are crap-tastic pictures of sleeves, then body:

Uh oh. Twice stumbled!

2006-02-23T11:32:00.000-08:00

So, I got over the first "problem," mismatched sleeves--

but now I'm stuck as to the hood part of my sweater. I've got a twist and I don't know if its part of the pattern or an error on my part... :(

::sigh::

I'm going to take a walk and try to wrap my mind around this before i have to frog twice in 24 hours :) I've got more explanation and more progress pics on my newest blog pos t. Also larger pics than the ones above. Any advice? I think I should trust the pattern, but it doesn't look "right" to my eye as it stands now.

half-way done...

2006-02-23T07:24:00.000-08:00

apologies for not posting more, I have extremely limited internet access (which sucks big time for blogging).

anywho, the project is legwarmers with sparkly mohair yarn. I think I started them about this time last year and frogged. then started towards the end of summer and frogged again. (post frogging #1 shown here. ribbing yarn shown here whole and during frog round #2

we're doing ok so far. I'm sort of making it up as I go along. legwarmer one is as complete as it's going to be for a while - I ran out of colored yarn and I'm not sure how much black there will be for the ribbing at the ankle. so it's on hold until I finish #2 and can divide up the yarn.

I started the ribbing on #2 last night. didn't get too far though. *sigh* that's ok though, cuz my weekend is less busy than last. I can make up the lost knitting time, right? (and it should also go quicker, since I realized #1 is too big. nothing a little elastic can't fix, I hope. if that fails, we'll frog and fix. after it's completed and I get my gold. ;) assuming I finish #2 and get the gold, that is.)

Done!

2006-02-22T19:09:00.000-08:00

Today was a good day. The flower Basket shawl is done blocking.
Crazy speed skating Dutch 'Orange' fans go wild!

Pattern: Flower Basket Shawl, IK
yarn: Knitpicks dye your own laceweight Cushings' acid dyed in terra cotta
Notes: Yarn doubled, 9 lower shawl pattern repeats

Withdrawl, er failure

2006-02-22T16:12:00.000-08:00

My valiant attempt at the Hallowig has failed. It seems that anything that could go wrong did.

The yarn was too nubby

it was also too floppy

Quite difficult to catch error until several rows past.

and last night when beginning the crown decreases I realized that it was way too big for my head, much less my intended recipient. So rip-it I must.

I'm too heartbroken to frog now, So i've cast-on Tempting in a happy color to cheer me.

Anyhoo, I respectfully withdraw from Team Knittyboard and the Knitting Olympics.

To Hell With It, I Say!

2006-02-21T17:20:00.000-08:00

Actually, that should be, "...I said!" Several days ago I simply ran out of steam on my Olympic sweater, a bit shy of finishing the left front (which was the first piece I started).

I would have liked to make witty and valiant remarks about how I'm volunteering to be last, so the rest of you can win gold, or how it's the trying not the winning that counts, and other such blather, but in reality, I didn't like knitting the sucker. Plus, I'm wicked overloaded at work and my tummy aches in a viral sort of way and I don't have a TV to watch the Olympics on and my hands ache and tingle when I knit and whine, whine, whine.... but, naaa, I just quit. Poop, I say, with conviction.

On the bright side, I picked up a WIP-pish raglan sweater again, after I've left it hanging for years. Years, I say! How many years, I don't know, except I know I bought the yarn in 1999 (receipt's still with the yarn; that's how I know). I'm damned close to finishing the decreases towards the top, which means only the neck shaping and the collar to go and I'll be done! Woot! And I bet I'll have enough of the lovely Berroco Europa wool/cotton yarn left that I can make myself wristwarmers, which I need. So perhaps by Sunday at (what time does this nonsense end?) I'll have myself a lovely new sweater, which may even fit, and quite possibly a pair of wristwarmers.

I never was much of a team sports kinda person, anyhow. But you all out there - keep it up! You're doing great! Just four more days and you'll be a winner! If you're not already!

And if you don't finish in time, console yourself the way I did - ordered myself some Kureyon and Schaefer's Little Lola from Little Knits. Almost as good as gold. Which is a color I look lousy in, come to think of it.

I'm cheering you on between coughs

2006-02-21T17:11:00.000-08:00

To all of you with the finish line in sight . . . go, go go! As for me, I'm not sure where I'll end up. I've been sidelined by a nasty chest cold that kept me in bed almost all weekend and all day yesterday. Felt well enough to do a little knitting last night, then attempted going to work this morning. That was a mistake--I was back home in bed by 2 pm!

I'm going to watch the women's figure skating now, and hopefully get a couple more inches of my vest knit. And then we'll see what tomorrow brings.

Striping finally started!

2006-02-21T16:19:00.000-08:00

And not a day too late!!! Yikes I like to cut it close or what!!! have 2 more aran stripes to do and the wild oak (I like to call it caramel) will finish the bag and strap! Knitting up a storm...no one is unclothed, unfed, or unloved!At least it keeps me from snacking LOL!....tic toc...gotta go!!! can't type and knit...darn toes ;)

By the numbers

2006-02-21T15:55:00.000-08:00

32,640 stitches needed for the Gold

15, 360 sucessfully completed

17, 280 remain

115 hours of Olympics yet to be played

That's only a little over 150 stitches needed per hour. No biggie, right?!

Dear Maude...

2006-02-21T14:28:00.000-08:00

I see by the Harlot's countdown clock we have 4 days and some 20 hours. I'm exactly 1/10th into my Olympic Wrap.

I got distracted, to say the least.

Tomorrow I will put it back on the needles and hope nobody noticed the roids (ster, not hemm) while I do my best to get 'er done.

All these Olympic FOs already! Sheesh!

Rib and Cable Sweater Update

2006-02-21T13:58:00.000-08:00

I should have been more faithful to the sweater... I'd not be worrying about not finishing if I had been! But it's turning out well, one more sleeve and the hood to go. Oh, and finishing, which I've never done (well) and really want to shine. So, fingers crossed for the finish line!

(Another pic and a little more exposition on the blog.)

SWoosh!

2006-02-21T10:10:00.000-08:00

Yay! GOld Medal Lacey is finished! Picture to come!! Well, as soon as I get a camera from someone....

Man all of that 1x1 ribbing at the end. I thought I'd never finish. I was saying "knit, purl, knit, purl, knit, purl" in my sleep!

Well, off to beg a camera from someone...

Gold Medal Socks!

2006-02-20T21:19:00.000-08:00

CHECK THEM OUT!

I once said I would *never* knit a pair of socks... I officially eat my words! In fact, I am now addicted!

I came, I knit, I conquered! (I'm done!)

2006-02-20T19:03:00.000-08:00

I just completed my Knitting Olymics challenge.. the Hurry Up Spring armwarmers from SnB Nation. I used Manos Uruguay yarn, instead of Noro Kureyon, because of availability issues with my LYS. I'm really happy with how they turned out, except for some tense moments with a few vague directions, and an evil stitch or two. My high school stepdaughter fell in love with them, so they are hers. I plan to make another pair for myself, and will devise my own decorative pattern for the next ones, just to mix it up. There is a quick photo shot with my cell phone. I'll post a detailed shot later, when I drag out my real camera. Just was sooo excited to finish these! woohoo! -Diana

Compulsory exercise completed!

2006-02-20T16:14:00.000-08:00

I finished the hat for the hubby today. I would have finished it sooner had I been able to find my dpns sooner. (Note to self: Don't put bamboo needles in the bottom of a wicker basket!)

I couldn't decide on the purse pattern, so I got started on the sweater. I went about five rows, decided that I'd mucked something up and frogged it. Then I started over. It's moving along, but I'm concerned. The pattern didn't have anything about yardage on it. I had three skeins of coordinating TLC yarn from ages past. (It's so old, it doesn't even have anything for the name except "TLC"!) Now I don't know if I'm going to have enough. I can't even find anything on the Net that looks similar.

Slowly but surely...

2006-02-20T14:19:00.000-08:00

Baby blankets are the worst! I'm slowly plodding along with my Big Bad Baby Blanket. I really like working with Knit Picks Shine, even though it's cotton. I'm afraid I didn't order enough red, so I placed an order yesterday for a few extra skeins. I paid extra for quick delivery so hopefully it will arrive in time for my Olympic finish!

Really, I'm here!

2006-02-20T11:16:00.000-08:00

Okay, so I've been a big-fat-Olympic-lurker. I really have been working toward my Olympic goal - I just haven't had much knitting time until the past few days... but the games are not over yet!

Here's the first look at Twisted Sisters' Eve, a ribbed reversible cable scarf. Knit in TS's Petite Voodoo (50% silk 50% merino). Since this photo was taken last week, she's been frogged, restarted and is now progressing quite well. (I decided to move down a needle size to US5). As I'm a pokey knitter, I should get back to work on her... Plus the Women's Bobsled competition (one of my faves) is on right now, complete with a big wipe-out run, so there is be no better time to knit Olympic style. Knit on!

Final Laps to go...

2006-02-20T09:18:00.000-08:00

Everyone has such beautiful projects!

I finished the body of my sweater last night, have 2 partial sleeves and then I have to put finish it and add the turtle neck.

mucho progress

2006-02-20T09:02:00.000-08:00

so...last week, i couldn't knit for two days due to school and work. and then i had marathon knitting friday night and sunday night in front of the Olympics. gotta love that ice dancing! this allowed me to entirely knit the front piece of my sweater.

(i am currently at school, so no pics. then again, it is rare that i am home during daylight hours, so you wouldn't get pics anyway. maybe wednesday)

this morning on the train i cast on for sleeve 1. more endless ribbing, but hey, at least it is 30 sts less than the body pieces, so it shouldn't take as long, even though it is 3 inches longer. grrrrr. i think i will get done. it really is turning out to be a challenge though.

And for this, they invented rulers.

2006-02-20T08:08:00.000-08:00

Color me the cross-country skier who finishes three days after the rest of the pack. 'Cause that's the way this sweater's coming down.

After spending Friday evening making spectacular progress (for me, anyways) on a sleeve, Saturday found Tubey hitting ye olde frog pond with a most spectacular splash (earning a 9.5 from the Slovak judge). Why? Because my befuddled brain lost the ability to make mathematical comparisons. Specifically those regarding measurement. Nothing that can't be easily fixed, mind (in fact, it already has), but it was time spent in repair that should have been spent otherwise.

It's little wonder I ended up in bed with a migraine all yesterday. So now I'm on injured reserve… again…

Though this Encore's making a lovely fabric, so I WILL finish. And maybe, when I have enough to make it worth taking a picture of, I'll include one!

Finish line in site

2006-02-20T07:20:00.000-08:00

Finished a baby sweater (Debbie Bliss - cardigan w/ contrast ribs) and now all I need are buttons. Also - since the shower that it was for was postponed one week, baby may get a matching hat! Woo HOO Pictures soonish. I didn't bring any photo equipment to work today.

Very bad

2006-02-20T00:40:00.000-08:00

I haven't done hardly any work on the project I signed up to do for the Knitting Olympics (a baby afgham). However, I have finished three UFO's so now I don't feel guilty if I start working on it. Hopefully, I can catch up now.

And a little more progress...

2006-02-19T20:52:00.000-08:00

I'm at about 50% right now. I would be worried, but the reason I'm only at 50% is that I haven't been entirely faithful. I kind of finished my Jaywalkers. Oh, and I knit to the heel flap on my Conwy sock. And I'm sort of almost done with the back of a sweater.

I'm sorry Danica.

Done!

2006-02-19T20:34:00.000-08:00

Finished my project this evening!

I still need to try and block it, though it's acrylic so I don't know what good that will do. The bottom hem curls a lot, thought the collar sits beautifully with no coaxing. I loved this pattern, and I may make a matching sweater for my daughter's doll with the ball I have left over. Perhaps she'll even get a similar sweater, this pattern was SO easy and had almost no finishing, a dream for me!

Progress Day 9

2006-02-19T11:23:00.000-08:00

Here is an up close picture of my Cozy

(full progress photos on my blog, by clicking the photo.) I'm about halfway through ball 3 of 5 skiens of yarn. The pattern is starting to go more quickly, as I'm not looking at the pattern every 2 seconds now on the more complicated rows.

I like how it is the color and abstractly the pattern in the Torino Olympic Logo. That was a happy accident, as I hadn't seen the logo until after I piced my color and pattern.

A,lmost halfway....

2006-02-19T03:52:00.000-08:00

I think at this stage I am just about as far along as I need to be to be in with a shout of finishing in time. Here's where we're at as of 11:00 GMT today:

I have about another 4 inches to knit, then the body will be done. I'm hoping I'll get this done by the end of today. I've some time off this week, so I should be able to get some extra knitting in to get the sleeves done. I have just one small problem that might hinder me - as of today I don't actually have the right size needle to do the collar! The Addis are ordered, but out of stock. I'm hoping they'll arrive this week, otherwise the collar is going to be have to done with an alternative needle!

Insomniac Update

2006-02-18T23:34:00.000-08:00

I just realised I haven't posted an update on my progress... I nearly didn't get started on time, but I'm really cranking these socks out. Current state of Falling Leaves:

The second sock is now past the heel. I only have 2 or 3 more lace repeats before I start the ribbing. I LOVE this pattern! I'm a big fan of toe-up sock knitting, and I now see how people get addicted to lace knitting. Combine the two, and I may be in trouble. This pattern is easy and has a neat effect on self-striping yarns.

Ok, so like almost 7 days left

2006-02-18T10:38:00.000-08:00

Here is the base (you can see the ridge separating the sides) and about 3" or so up the sides. Almost through 1 skein of yarn. I feel it is going well so far. Still have a ways to go, but I am usually a crunch accomplisher, so I am not nervous....yet anyways! ;)
Have plenty of yarn...about to storm here, next 2 days off...stocking up on food and supplies...the best part, if we lose electricity..so what...don't need it to knit!

Best of luck to everyone! To the ones who have finished, awesome...to us still plucking away...still awesome..We Can Do it! Rah!

Argh!

2006-02-18T09:11:00.000-08:00

Would you feel sorry for a member of the ski team if she travelled to Turin without her skis? Probably not. But I'm still hopin' for some sympathy.

This is a long weekend away from home in which I know I'm going to be able to get a lot of knitting done. I pack carefully--extra balls of yarn for all that progress I'm going to make (check), needles (US 5 circs in two different lengths--check), pattern (check), dang I'm doing good. In car on way to airport, I realize that I don't have my contrasting color yarn. It's Debbie Bliss wool cotton. Right, you read that correctly, a discontinued yarn. I'll never be able to get a ball to replace the one I left behind. My SIL is unable to Fedex me the ball (and yes, I was willing to pay for Saturday delivery to get it).

I'm stuck, only 1/4 finished on my sweater(and unable to make any more progress) until I get home on Monday. I considered flying home to get this ball of yarn. I want to cry.

Carry on, knittyheads, carry on for your fallen team mate (who still hasn't given up on a late push for the finish line).

Second Time's the Charm

2006-02-18T07:40:00.000-08:00

I put my Happy Vest on two circs a few minutes ago and tried it on over the shirt I plan to wear it with. Perfect fit! And I like this ribbing much better than the ribbing I used on version #1. So now I'm glad I started over.

I plan to get a LOT of knitting done today, because I'm too sick to go anywhere. Fever, chills, aches all over, sore throat, horrible cough. But this cold won't stop me - I'm staying the course. Go team!

Ooops

2006-02-18T04:08:00.000-08:00

I seem to have fallen over part way through and am struggling to get up and carry on.

My cardigan was going very well, but the apres-ski got a bit too tempting and I've been partying in the village instead.

The progress so far, you'll have to excuse the dodgy photo (and my smeary mirror).

The top half of the body is complete and I've made a start on the sleeves. Once I've done those I'll turn it around and work the other way to shape the bottom. I'm not quite sure how it will work, but you can see the sketches on my blog to see what I'm aiming for.

It's going to be a desperate scramble to the finish line.

Hot Dogging

2006-02-17T21:38:00.000-08:00

Tonight I started the last main pattern repeat of the Flower Basket Shawl. My ball of yarn left over still seems kind of huge. Even though my LYS owner weighed and estimated and warned me not to drop in any more pattern repeats, I think I'm going to anyway.

Look at all that yarn.

(I need something nicer then a dishcloth for a backdrop someday).

So I figure I can either stop now and finish several days early, or push on for at least 1 more repeat. Then I'd be rewarded with the smidge longer shawl I really desire (only 1 repeat adds more then 2") and I get to maximize my precious handdyed. If it doesn't work out, I can always lifeline and rip back, and still finish on time.

Or maybe I'm pulling a Lindsey Jacobellis- I'm out in front and pulling a backside method grab. If I make it will be cool, but if I don't...

Qualifying round completed!

2006-02-17T20:04:00.000-08:00

After a four-day lay-up for bronchitis, I was finally able to get back to knitting and finally finished the clapotis. I still need to wash and block before sharing pictures, but I'm pleased. (Pictures to come later.)

I immediately pressed on to the compulsory exercise. The hat is now 1/3 done. Barring further health set-backs, I'll likely finish it tomorrow. (Just in time, too! Texas is getting hit by a cold front!)

I'm impressed at all the folks who are done, espcially those super-humans who have knitted an entire sweater in a week! I feel like one of those Olympians that nows that they have no chance of winning but who are just thrilled to be in the same contest with the superstars. Y'all amaze me!

Could I be more freaked out

2006-02-17T14:08:00.000-08:00

that some of my esteemed Knittyboard teammates are DONE with their Olympic knitting? Why, yes, I could be. The sweet story is here. Now you understand why I can't recount it in more than one place.

Here's proof that I am knitting a Clapotis for the Olympics. And knitting on despite complete CRAP equipment (the lovely pink locking row counter pictured does not lock, in fact, I believe it's programmed to move ahead when you lock it). I'm persevering in the face of adversity, just like Lindsey Jacobellis.

Rock on, Team Knittyboards!!!!

2006-02-17T11:20:00.000-08:00

I'm nearing the end of this sweater. I started the placket neck part, so not much more knitting, then just the underarms to seam. I LOVE knitting in the round for the lack of seaming!!

Down the Tube(y)

2006-02-17T09:50:00.000-08:00

Made the back of Tubey and worked on both sleeves for a bit so I could try it on.

Too small. Way too small.

Thoroughly disheartened, I swatched 2 yarns in 3 sizes and started making a Pure and Simple Top Down V Neck sweater. I debated switching patterns all Tuesday night and finally decided it wasn't cheating since I only signed up to make Ye Dreaded Sweater, not any particular pattern.

So I have only CO for this late Wed. afternoon, will have to be the Knitting Ninja or some other knitting superpower to get it done. Why did I think the sportweight yarn looked the best?

I am beginning to see the appeal of big yarn and big needles.

I will make Tubey at a later date, thinking it over while knitting the 'new' sweater I can see what I need to do to make it fit.

And may I just say - Wow, reluctantmango! You go, girl!

Olympic Yarn

2006-02-17T08:23:00.000-08:00

Here's the first hank of yarn for my Knitting Olympics project.
Now for a slew of adjectives: it's 2.5 ounces of hand-carded spindle-spun heavy worsted 2-ply woolen natural shaela shetland. I used my homemade mini cd spindle and it worked well.
I cast on for Spinderella's Felted Mittens using size 11s and mitten the 1st looks good so far.

Success!

2006-02-17T07:07:00.000-08:00

I finished the seaming this morning - my Olympic project is complete!
Now, on to my secondary event - fixing the neckline on the sweater I made for hubby.

Halfway there!

2006-02-16T20:56:00.000-08:00

My first Hurry Up Spring Armwarmer is done! I hesitate to show a photo, as I'd like to show them together. After a few false starts, I dove back in and finished it. Now.. on to the next one. I have already committed to giving these to my stepdaughter in high school. She loves them (well, she loves the one I finished so far). I am going to make another pair for myself, using that same structure, but doing my own celtic cable design, and customizing the length for my own hands. So.. here I go to cast on again!

Calzini Progress

2006-02-16T10:05:00.000-08:00

Check out the bloggity-blog for progress on the socks! I am ready to work the heels and then I am on the home stretch!

GO TEAM GO!

ETA: Link to bloggity-blog

Making progress

2006-02-16T08:12:00.000-08:00

Since I haven't posted since before the Olympics began, I thought I should check in and prove that I am making progress. I did have a few setbacks along the way. First, I had a last minute substitution of a team member, so to speak. At the last minute, I freaked out and decided that if I used the alpaca yarn from my stash that I was planning to use, I would be cutting it too close in terms of having enough yarn to finish. So a Thursday evening trip to the LYS resulted in the purchase of four balls of Lily Chin's Chelsea yarn. Crisis averted.
My next setback was that Friday turned out to be busier than I had expected, and I didn't have time to do anything more than cast on. Actually, the whole weekend was busy, so I didn't really have any time to devote to knitting until Sunday night. I began knitting the first row of the pattern, and the connector on the cord of my Denise needle broke! So I transferred the stitches to a new cord, and I was finally on my way.
Since then, it has been fairly smooth sailing. I'm close to starting the flat knitting section of my first I Do sleeve, and here is the picture to prove it:

Finish line in sight!

2006-02-16T07:42:00.000-08:00

Well, I finished the major knitting last night - we have a front, a back, and two sleeves.
The hard part is coming up - turning those four separate pieces into one actual sweater. Wish me luck!

Bangs!

2006-02-16T05:33:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I cast on the bangs for the Hallowig. As usual, when I joined the round it was twisted. Somehow, I fixed it without having to Frog! Woohoo!

I just might make it after all.

Will post pictures soon.

Grrr. Or - you fall down, you get back up and keep going.

2006-02-16T05:19:00.000-08:00

I've reversed the colors. But I am SO not frogging those hard-earned rows.

Oh no! I fell off the starting block!

2006-02-15T14:57:00.000-08:00

OK, here's the deal-e-o. I was on vacation last week. Got stuck (in the Caribbean, poor me) by snow in NYC, and only got home yesterday. I brought yarn with me on vacation to make size-13 socks for my husband, but then found out while there that he really hates the yarn. In fact, he has no interest whatsoever in having me knit anything for him. So, on Friday, instead of casting on for size-13 socks, I cast on for size ten socks for my brother (also going to be challenging to complete in sixteen days).

Wanna know how far I am? I've done the toe of one toe-up sock. Mostly because I realized I love this yarn and don't want to give the socks away. I want to make them for me. But did I rip back and cast on for me? No-o. Because doing so would be changing the project *during* the olympics. And do athletes get to enter new events mid-olympics? No. So instead, panic set in and I have done nothing since, oh, Saturday evening.

Not even on the plane on the way home on Monday.

I'm in trouble now. But I am also re-energized by, oh, being away from the rum drinks, the pool, the beach, the warm Caribbean breezes, the vacation attitude. That, and reading all the stuff on various blogs about how others are panicking has really lighted a fire under me.

Here's hoping I don't go down in flames. Or at least, if I do, that they are Olympic Flames of Glory.

shawl progress

2006-02-15T13:32:00.000-08:00

As members of my fan club may remember, I'm knitting the Fir Cone Square Shawl from Folk Shawls in some 1/14 cashmere from ColourMartUK in the colour "Everglades". (google will show you a couple of finished shawls) The most wonderful Trillian42 made a spreadsheet for me so I could see how far through I am. So far I have been averaging about 8% a day, which is just right if I expect to have time to block this beastie.

The shawl starts as a simple square; stitches are picked up from around the outside and is knit in the round from there. It's finished with a short little edging.
This is the center fir cone pattern -

And about 20 rounds past picking up the stitches around the outside -

extreme close-up of the row of picked-up stitches, eyelet round, and inner border lace pattern 1, with bonus turtlegirlicious stitch marker! Stitch markers every pattern repeat would be excessive, but I keep 4-5 every side just to keep myself on track.

Yarn notes - this yarn was bought on a cone, all oiled for machine knitting. It's not too troublesome to knit with, but a bit different. I have to keep fondling my washed swatch to remind myself what it will become. It's also single-ply, which accounts for some of the twisting shown in the pictures; I haven't knit with many single-ply laceweights before, so I'm not quite sure what I think about it. Stay tuned. By now I have over 700 stitches per round, so it'll be slow going and not much to blog. The next 40 rounds account for about 40% of the knitting - oy!

Chugging along on those armwarmers.

2006-02-15T10:08:00.000-08:00

Finally, I got into a groove on those Hurry Up Spring Armwarmers. I do find that one stitch (wherein you knit through 3 stitches at once, then knit front, back, then front, to be a bit sadistic. I noticed my wrists ached last night after doing a few of those. Today, as I was surveying my work, I noticed that the pattern is appearing on the reverse side.. I was starting to worry, as it looked very wrong. So, I'll finish up the right one, reverse the pattern and do the left one, and apparently wear them inside out... d'oh!

Wow!

2006-02-15T09:33:00.000-08:00

I can't belive all the progress everyone is making!
It's awsome!
Here's a pic of my progress so far, 3 hats done, 5 to go.
Yesterday I didn't knit at all for the olympics, and I feel guilty. I think I need to sneak my knitting into work today.
Notice the ends aren't woven in. I hate that part. I'm saving them up to the very end. :D Knit on!

flip-up band gone wrong

2006-02-15T09:31:00.000-08:00

Oh well. I picked up the stitches from Coronet's band all wrong. I honestly was trying to do it according to the pattern, but I somehow picked up the wrong way. So, this first one won't have the flip-up band. I did pick up the stitches with the wrong side of the band facing out, as instructed, but I guess I picked up off the bottom of that and I was supposed to pick up off the top? I'm not sure. I swore I was doing it right, but, no. Next time. This one will just have no flip-up band and a very strange purl row that shows on the outside after the cable band. Whatever. I totally meant it to be that way. That's it.

So, now I'm into about 8 inches of stockinette. I guess I'll probably do most of that vegging in front of the Olympics, because I can now concentrate pretty well when it's that simple. woot!

Progress Report

2006-02-15T06:30:00.000-08:00

I am three whole repeats into my Branching Out - it took about 6 false starts to get this far but here I am - I just wonder if I am going to need another skein of yarn to make it a big scarf! Does anyone have a skein of Andean Silk in Lettuce that they want to donate to the cause?

Blocking!!!

2006-02-14T16:48:00.000-08:00

I have oficially crossed the finish line! My Flower Basket Shawl is drying in the spare bedroom while DH and I have our Valentine's Day dinner. Here's a quick pic before I set the table... Isn't it GAWWWWGEOUS! I ended up doing two extra pattern repeats, and I'm so glad I made that decision. It measures 58" across, and 24" long. Perfect!

Happy Valentine's Day everyone, and keep those needles clicking!

Little Baskets

2006-02-14T08:08:00.000-08:00

Here is my progress on the Flower Basket shawl:

Flower basket

I'm done the ripping and screaming stage I seem to have to go through while learning the lace repeats. Note all the lifelines. It's not a hard pattern, but those YO's near the markers are easy to miss, and it took me a while to notice the pattern isn't exactly symmetrical on both sides.

It's now halfway through the 3rd repeat of the lower chart (out of a total of 7/8 repeats, depending when my yarn runs out). I think I'm going to make it.

Little Baskets:

closeup of baskets

At the Torino Olympics, I love the American Snowboard team! I was so upset when Kelly Clark washed out! I think she could have scored better. She flew so high, she could have taken on any Flying Tomatoes. Her run isn't getting enough press, it was historical!

Pairs Free... wouldn't that mean there are no pairs?

2006-02-14T05:07:00.000-08:00

Oh, my gourd... did everybody see Zhang Dan fall? If you didn't, and you're in a country that NBC allows to see its videos, you can see it here... I think.

The fall was horrific... but they had never landed the throw before? And are therefore insane. But they continued! And are therefore perhaps advanced robots, infiltrating the Olympics. But brave! And won silver!

And how cute is Tatyana Totmiyanina? So cute. And it was her that fell on her head in 2004! And "lay twitching on the ice"! That video makes last night's fall look mild. But their gold winning performance last night was breathtaking. Breathtaking.

And I'm past my 5th round of lus on the Setesdal baby sweater!

All is well so far... mostly

2006-02-13T23:31:00.000-08:00

Well, 4 days of knitting has yielded 4.5" of my Ribbon X-back. I'm working at a good pace; I think I'll be done in the required time, but I don't feel like I have to spend every spare moment working on it in order to finish.

Back on round one or two, I apparently dropped a stitch, which meant that my seed stitch wasn't lining up. I declared it to be a design feature and just worked like that for about 3"--it ended up with two stitches of garter stitch at the join to get the stitch pattern corrected for the next round. I went ahead and added an increased stitch in today to even everything back up. It's very bright, colorful yarn, so the stitch pattern isn't super-visible... I think I can get away with it with minimal noticeability. If I decide later that it looks completely weird, I may try to pull the stitch up from the bottom with a crochet hook.

I also don't have enough yarn to finish the whole thing in one color (which is actually ok, because I had a feeling it might happen), so I'll need to pick another yarn to use as a stripe, or possibly for the whole upper part.

Despite the little setbacks, it's going really well. Go Team Knittyboard!

progress at last!!

2006-02-13T21:35:00.000-08:00

yeah. DBF was mean to me. after two days of Olympics, he's like 'you're not 1/8th done with that sweater.' thanks dear!!

until today, i only had 60 rows of ribbing done. today i did 20 more and like 40 rows of yoke cabling. it is soooo lovely!!

i have a question though....raglan shaping doesn't make sense to me. THe pattern says from arm bind off on front/back to where mock turtleneck begins is 9.5 inches. i am getting 5.2 rows to the inch; pattern calls for 5.5. so that's good. and according to calculations, i have 34 rows/6.5 inches done. 16 rows left to knit, which at my gauge would be about 3 inches. so that is cool. but is a raglan shaping really that long?? yes, because the width of the sleeve needs to stretch that far? argh!!! any advice? i really want it to fit!!

Back to the Drawing Board

2006-02-13T19:02:00.000-08:00

Having done about 5 inches of my center-cable vest (in the round on a circ), I decided it was time to slip half the stitches on another needle so I could try it on. Good thing I did! It was too large, and once I checked my gauge I could see why: in my swatch (also knit in the round, but on dpns) my gauge was 4.5, almost 4.75 st/inch. But in the actual vest, I was getting just under 4.5 st/inch. On top of that, the yarn is really quite stretchy (Knit Picks WOTA). So, I frogged it.

I worked out the math for a better fit based on 4.25 st/inch. So I'm all set to cast on again tomorrow morning. I may also revise the overall design, maybe throw in some garter stitch rib in addition to the center cable, since the excessive stockinette was getting tres boring. That would probably help me get a better fit. I really don't want a baggy vest.

Or, I might totally abandon this vest idea and instead use the yarn for the Highland Triangle Shawl in Folk Shawls.

Clearly, I have to sleep on this!!!

Progress...slow but sure!

2006-02-13T18:28:00.000-08:00

This was my progress after 1 day. Half of the base done!

After day 3 (well almost over), only about 6 more inches done, I still need about 4 more then I can start the body. Stockinette puts me to sleep....truthfully...it does..! I just gotta do only 4....more....inches.

On a good note! My rescue skeins came in today thanks to Jerry & Maxy!!! Phew! deep sigh of relief....I will have plenty to do the bag exactly as I want.

Hopefully sides of bag shots tomorrow :) Good luck everyone!

Calzini Olimpici

2006-02-13T16:18:00.000-08:00

I have gotten the toes on both pairs done... off to watch more Olympics and 24 - so I should get plenty done! Cannot wait to get to the insteps and heels! YEAH! GO TEAM KNITTY GO!

I'm not extraordinarily happy with it yet, but...

2006-02-13T15:29:00.000-08:00

I made the join right where my nose is. It was easier than I thought, but will take practice to perfect. Because I'm crazy, I didn't try it ahead of time; just went at it on the first Coronet band.

Sidelined

2006-02-13T14:07:00.000-08:00

On Saturday, I woke up with a bit of a cough that got worse and worse as the day went on. Sunday, I woke up with a 101 F fever. (For me, that's huge. I almost never run a fever, even when I feel like death warmed over.) I didn't knit much on Sunday out of fear of getting even more germs all over the clapotis. This morning, I went to the doctor and was told that I have acute bronchitis. No knitting for me today... I spent the whole day sleeping.

Now I'm worried. I was obviously sicker than I thought on Saturday. Do I need to worry about germs on my knitting? I can see it now. "Here's my gift for you, wonderful friend who has been going through a hard time." Two days later, friend is hacking and coughing and looking like crap on toast.

:(

When can I go back to knitting?

I'm smokin' along!

2006-02-13T08:40:00.000-08:00

wOOT! I am just crankin' on my "Lacey" shrug. Granted I had mucho time this weekend to knit, and do not see nearly that much time again until next weekend. But for now I have "first run" glow.

I am finished with the first 8" cuff, and the first 8 lace repeats for the arm, AND 1 repeat of the back!

Now if I cans sick the second run this week and finish the back, I can make it to the finals!

And they're off!

2006-02-13T08:31:00.000-08:00

I can't believe how many people are taking part in the Knitting Olympics! I'm so proud to be a part of this group...

My Olympic event is lace. I've been training for this for the last year or so, casting on for lace projects, getting woefully lost in charts, and eventually throwing down the needles in defeat. This time it's different. I don't know if it's the creative energy of over 4000 knitters pushing themselves toward excellence, or if it's just that it finally clicked for me, but I spent most of the weekend snowed in, watching the Winter Olympics on TV, and knitting. Did I mention I'm knitting lace? With black Jaggerspun Zephyr doubled? Sure, I've had to tink several times, but I've found my rhythm, hit my stride, and the Flower Basket Shawl I've been lusting after for a year is coming closer and closer to completion! Late last night I finished the last repeat called for in the pattern. Poised to tackle the border chart, I made the decision to add a few repeats to the body of the shawl. Why? Because I'm having too much fun to stop!

Whoah, do I feel behind!

2006-02-13T08:13:00.000-08:00

Well, I managed to swatch during opening ceremonies, but didn't finish casting on until last night. At this point, however, I'm doing 23cm of stockinette (with a diameter of roughly 13" [sorry to mix my units]), so it's moving along. Ok, not so fast as how I want to post a pic or anything, but moving.

Higher, faster, etc., etc., etc.

Progressing Along Nicely...

2006-02-13T06:37:00.000-08:00

I'm almost 5inches into the Child's Placket Neck Pullover. So far just seed stitch and stockingknit - mindless knitting - but the fun yarn makes up for it. I'm using Schachennmayer Bravo Crazy Color which has an almost fake fair isle effect. I's fun watching it knit up. I'm also finding it really soft for an acrylic, so it's pleasant to knit with. I should get to starting the arms later today.

A little progress....

2006-02-12T22:43:00.000-08:00

So I've done a few inches on my Midwest Moonlight scarf from Scarf Style. I started and frogged it twice. Eek. And I haven't worked on it at all today, because I've been writing the midterm for my class that I'm teaching. I keep looking longingly at my scarf. It is sitting enticingly on the coffee table!

On another note, I'm not sure how I am liking how KnitPicks Elegance is knitting up with this pattern. Hmm. It looks okay. Maybe it needs a little blocking?

And she's off!

2006-02-12T20:40:00.000-08:00

I was very fortunate enough this weekend to have a lot of knitting time to work on my project. I'm finally getting the hang of knitting two socks on two circulars at the same time. It's a little awkward, but manageable.

I'm using two 24" size 1 (2.5mm) Addi Turbo needles and Lorna's Laces Sock yarn in Charcoal. The leg is going pretty fast since it's basically K2,P2 (and I'm doing the shaping). I'm looking into doing a short row heel since I've never done that type of heel before.

Fudging on Tubey

2006-02-12T20:35:00.000-08:00

Hi, all!

I am doing my first sweater, Tubey. Had to start all over when I found I did not like the yarn or fabric I was getting on Friday but as of tonight I have the back done and 5 rounds on each sleeve.
I needed the smaller sized back but was afraid it would feel too tight on my arms. I added some increases in the last 6 rounds before going to dpns.(This is the fudging part. *G*) I hope it works out.

I plan to work partway down both sleeves, then put them on cables and do the 'belly'. If I get enough time I may try something special at the bottom of the sleeves.

Hope your projects are going well.

And Way to Go, USA Women's Hockey!

darbyrose

Cables are my friends

2006-02-12T18:28:00.000-08:00

Hey there, knitting olympians. Just checking in to let you know that I did cast on and I have begun the trio of Coronets. I couldn't figure out the provisional cast-on, so I just knit in a different color for a few rows, then I can use the first row of correct-color stitches for the grafting part. I read that someone had done so (can't remember who for the life of me) on the knittyboard and it worked out fine just taking that alternate color out and working with the live stitches there, so, we'll see how that goes. I have a few more repeats before I have to kitchner stitch the band together. See above.

Yay! Cables are easy. I can't wait until I finish this one, because I hate looking at this horrible color. It's a gift for someone and she chose it. (:

Still at the starting gate

2006-02-12T18:02:00.000-08:00

Again and again and again :( I keep frogging my progress because I am not getting ahead really - I am planning on taking a break away from everything and everyone tonight and try to make progress! I'll let you guys know how it all goes...