Gold!

I bound off the last stitch of the body of Forecast a few minutes after the Olympic flag was handed over to my fabulous city's mayor for the 2010 games (!!), during the live broadcast around a quarter to 1, PST. There was a hairy bit there, when I realized I needed to wind up a new ball of yarn a mere four rows from finish, but I did it. Gold!

This photo is crap; I'll take better ones as I progress toward finishing the rest of the sweater.

Things I learned:

• Cabling
• Bobbling
• If I prioritize it, I can get a lot of knitting done in a short time
• I really do prefer knitting to purling

A secret I kept from all the internets: I gave up caffeine in the last week. Bad timing? Possibly. But since I was into making commitments, I figured why not go for broke.

I should have knitted a pedestal

Here's a quick post about the Closing Ceremonies party I had today... now I'm off to watch the actual ceremonies. But what to knit? ;-)

I'm happy to keep the blog going to see how everyone progresses on their projects. Thanks to everyone for participating!

Amy

My French Market Bag Olympic Gold

I was having serious doubts that I would ever finish my bag, but I stuck it our and finished it just a mere hour before the closing ceremony! I dumped the bag in the washer as I emerged from my self-imposed exile and headed into town to find some food!

Well here it is, my French Market Bag in all of its glory before and after the first felting attempts:



I will be re-felting the bag at least one more time before I am satisfied, but to have it done this far has seen me reach my Olympic goal! I had serious doubts in my mind about knitting on the circulars, grafting the straps together, and being able to knit something more challenging than a simple scarf! But in the end I was able to over come my fears and create a wonderful bag!

I am already plotting what to knit with the remainder of the wool that I have in this colorway......and plotting what to do with the 10 skeins of a different color I had sent to my parents house in the US to use while I am on vacation in 2 weeks!

Congratulations & Good job to all of my fellow knitting hookers!

Thanks Guys!!!

Thank you Kim and Amy for putting Team Hooker together. It was neat to be in a group with crocheters who knit. I enjoyed watching everyone's progress.

Here's where I ended up

Teal Hogget from Wendy Knits:
19 inches finished on back. (Finished back will be 25 inches. I added an extra inch to the length.)

Armhole shaping

I'm actually happy I got that far, and am going to keep on with it until finished.

Thanks so much to Kim and Amy for starting this group!

Olympic Gold!!!

(Reposted from my blog)

Wheee-haw! Another knitting olympics gold for Team Canada / Team Hooker! I finished my Canada sweater! (Seams sewn, ends woven in and everything.) I can't believe I actually knit a *whole* sweater during the olympics. :) Here's pictures:



(Yep, that second one is a crappy auto-timer photo taken after midnight. There's even a few flash-bulb pixies come to admire the sweater. I'll get better photos on my blog one day...)

Wow, armhole shaping!

(Cross-posted to my blog ).

It's been so much fun looking at everyone's Olympics projects! Congratulations to those who have finished or are finishing by tomorrow!!

I decided to work on my knitted sweater awhile because I had another problem with the crocheted one. I now have 15 inches completed on the knitted sweater back, and have gotten past the part where I bind off for the armholes. I realized this is the farthest I've got on a knitted sweater in about 4 years.

Even though I know I'm not going to finish either sweater by tomorrow, I do feel good about my progress on this knitted one. I'm going to keep on with both sweaters after tomorrow and now have a goal of March 31 for finishing them. I'm on the Yahoo Crochetolympics list that was started by Sara. Anyway, after the Olympics, the list will be converted to a challenge group where we work on finishing our choice of items (knitted and crocheted) by the end of each month. This is cool for people like me who tend to get bored and put things down--I'll have incentive to finish things so I won't have to keep putting the same project on the list month after month.

As soon as I get a photo of my knitting, I'll post it.

Forecast, Day 16

Fewer than 30 rows to go. I've always loved knitted ribbing, and I'm enjoying the mindless go of it. By all indications, I'll finish the body tomorrow and the sweater will fit. My only worry is that I'll feel so satisfied for having earned my gold that I'll slack off on actually finishing the sweater. Must. Maintain. Momentum.

[x-posted all over the place]

Olympic Socks Complete

I have crossed the finish line and my Olympic socks are DONE!!! YEAHHHH! Gotta busy day today with the grandkids' baptism this afternoon but I HAD to get this posted. I go back on my threat to wear my new Jersey to the church but you're damn tootin' I WILL be wearing my new socks! I am so happy with myself to not only completing the socks, but completing them on time!!!
Special thanks to Yarn Harlot for challenging us with the Knitting Olympics :)
Here's the pics.

The End is Near

(Reposted from my blog)



Shoulders are seamed. Sleeves need 1-2 more inches. Then there's just the roll collar and seaming. :)

It has sleeve(hole)s!

Moving along nicely on the Tank Girl tank, my new Knitting Olympics entry. I'll at least finish the back.

And I had to laugh at the math required to adapt the pattern to the new gauge.

[x-posted to my blog]

No Time to Knit Today!

Gotta surprise tonight from my husby and my son! Ok well not quite a surprise I knew we were getting them but I they were here when I got home. ! Yes our .Team Canada Jerseys! Now I am just waiting for my Knitting Olympics Canadian Team Jersey to arrive and I am good to go!

Ok I was out shopping pretty much all day for Baptism gifts for my four (yes I said four!!!) Grandkids. *Think I should wear my new jersey to the church? (wink)* And yes I totally broke the 'Bank of Granny' Oh well gotta love it! after all they are my darling grands and this will only happen once in their lives. I am just so happy it will be a very special day for them.
My problem... NO KNITTING TODAY! and ya it's all their faults! and yes I am pouting! is this where I say Na-na na-na na na ???? LOL
Well I am off to knit now for the rest of the 'until i fall asleep from doing the mall for so long today'! I am so glad that I am actually ahead of schedule on the second sock event. Oh ya a pic... hang on brb.......

second sock.... SOCK where are you.....
hmmm it wandered off on me!

oh there you are ...keeping DH company! ROFL! (much to large a dose of mall today)

ok here ya go a pic...
see I am almost done!

Canada Sweater Update

(Cross-posted from my blog.)



So, there I was last night, knitting madly away at my olympic sweater, cheering on the Canadian speed skaters, and coming to the conclusion that the aerial skiers (and many of the other athletes) are certifiably crazy. My tongue was still irritated, and my eyes were acting up too. However, I wasn't thinking about that. I was thinking about my wonderful Canada sweater, and how I'd finish the front and back that night. I was also admiring the yarn, which I had read a review on the day before that said the Araucania yarns were dyed using natural dyes. What could possibly achieve such a wonderful red colour? Was it a plant dye? Mineral? Insect? I had flipped through a natural dye book recently, and that stuff is fascinating. Did they use a metal...

...metal? Um, I'm allergic to lots of metals...

My swollen tongue and itchy eyes prodded me. My tongue had started swelling shortly after I began my olympic knitting project, where I worked exclusively with this yarn.

Some of the dye had come off on the stitch markers I used while doing the intarsia.

Could I possibly be allergic to the dye, or some other substance used to treat the yarn? Nooooooooo!

So here's the plan: I'm nearly done this sweater. The front and back are done, the sleeves are getting close, and then all that's left is the seaming and collar. I am going to finish this sweater, and then wash and rinse it until all bleeding of dye stops. Then I'm going to pack away all the leftovers, vacuum the couch, wash the sweaters I've been wearing while working on this yarn, and avoid contact with the yarn for several days. If the swelling finally goes away, I think I have my answer.

To test my conclusion, I'll then wear my sweater. If my tongue doesn't swell, either the washing worked, or the yarn wasn't the problem. The next step will be to use the leftover wool, to see if my tongue swells up again.

If I get results indicating the yarn is the problem, I'm going to use the "contact" form to see if the yarn company is willing to tell me what they used to dye and treat this particular colour.

Either way, I'm ahead. I've either solved my tongue swelling, or I'm still allowed to use this yarn. ;) (And if the yarn is the tongue-swelling culprit, then I can have orange flavoured craisins again!)

Socks Soc.....

Ok OK I am getting there! I will be done in time I know it but the second sock isn't finished yet. Soc... yup about 3/5ths the way there is a good guess. I am working on the foot but still have a quite a few inches to go. Hoping tomorrow night to be nearing the toe region and finishing up on Friday. I will post a pic tomorrow. Camera is in the dark dark bedroom and my Husby is sleeping....shhhhh.....
night night.

Back on the horse, or whatever

After some serious frogging, I tried tried again. I'm now working on "Tank Girl" from Stitch 'n' Bitch. I don't know if I'll finish by closing ceremonies, but the Olympic spirit prevails nonetheless.

French Market Bag...update!

Hi everyone! I am still around and working towards my goal...if it will be reached is anyones guess! My computer hard drive crashed once again, and of course I lost everything....luckily I had made a back-up of the imporant things (i.e. Crochet and knitting favoritse, links and patterns) a few days before!

I am probably about 60% done with the bag - I have the bottom and 5 of my intended 12 inches done on the sides! I am going to dedicate the next two night to knitting before heading back to my crochet project which is about 75% done...typical me in leaving it for the last minute!!

Here is the colorway from the side and the bottom of the bag:

Setting my jaw and bending into the wind.

Well, kids, the jury's out on whether I'll be able to finish this sucker in time. I'm guardedly optimistic. As you can see, I've put the sleeve stiches on holders, so my progress has definitely picked up a bit. I have a couple more hours to go until I begin the ribbing; then my pace should really quicken. Any hopes I'd had in the beginning that I would surpass my goal of just finishing the body have been smacked back down to reality. I'm going to have to set aside a lot of time for knitting in the next few days...

[x-posted all over the place]

Quick Update: Olympic Socks

We are interupting this program to bring you a special report. We will now cut into the event already in progress.....
...and Lyz is turning the heel on sock two........
now we take you back to your regularly scheduled knitting and blogging.

This is all I've got so far...

I haven't made very good progress on my sweater, though no one's fault but my own. See?



It's just a scan, and doesn't show the color correctly (it's more purple). It also doesn't show the whole thing, just as much as I could fit in the scanner. But it does show how uneven my stitches look. I'm not making gauge either, but it will be the size I want it to be. I just don't like going down more than 2 needle sizes and having to dig into each stitch.

I know I probably won't get this done by Saturday, especially since I'm also crocheting, but I'm not going to give up. I might get one side done, anyway. I won't have met my goal, but will have done something, and it's better than just quitting, I think, especially since I do want to make this sweater!

Weekend Progress

(Repost from my blog)


Canada Sweater Progress

I've finished the maple leaf on the front of the sweater. I stayed up way too late to do so... I was just soooo close, and wanted to finish before bed.

Of course, then I slept way too late this morning. *sigh*

I can tell where I changed balls on the back, but at least that's on the back, and not the front. ;)

Dibs is Done!

Presenting my Knitting Olympics project Dibs on Ribs. I love how she turned out.

The Front...

The Back...

On me...

It was early this morning. I wasn't ready to do some real shots since I spent a lot of last night finishing her. Maybe later.

Here are the Stats...

Pattern: Dibs on Ribs designed by Colleen Davis from the subscriber only section of Interweave Knits

Size: Medium 40"

Needles: Size 9 Clover straights and size 9 Addi Turbo 32" circulars

Yarn: Noro Kureyon #157, about 8 and a half skeins

Skills I learned or Improved: Provisional cast on, short row shaping , seaming, steam blocking, and color sequence matching of yarn

Yet since I'm a dual "yarn-lete" the Olympics are only halfway over. I have a Crocheting Olympics project to begin, but for today, I will take a break and relax.

Canada Sweater Update

(Repost from my blog)



I'm too tired for a funny update tonight... 11.5" on the front and back, with the front maple leaf barely started, and 8.5" on the sleeves.

All done!

I know this may seem like a teeny and easy project for many of you, but this was something new for me (I'm pretty much a beginner knitter). It's the London Beanie posted on Headhuggers.com. I made it for my DH, Gus. I did this hat up almost two times. The first time around, I got to the last colour change, put the hat on Gus' head and realized that the bottom edge was waaay too tight (I cast on too tight). So, I frogged the whole thing & started again with a larger needle and then changed to the correct size needles after around 3 rounds. With this pattern, I learned:

1) knitting in the round, using a circ
2) using 2 circs for the smaller diameter as I got near the top
3) changing colours in knitting, although I have to learn to avoid colour jogs when knitting in the round
4) long-tail cast on, one hand only (I used to use the thumb method which requires two hands....I've nixed doing that again as I seem to cast on too tightly this way).

Another accomplishment for me is that I learned/trained myself how to knit without lifting my hand from the right needle to throw the yarn. I've learned how to knit in one fluid motion with keeping my thumb on the needle. It certainly made doing the ribbing a whole lot easier and I was able to zip through the stockinette stitch all the way up in what seemed to me like a flash!

Now I've got a request for one for my BIL. No problem, but after I finish my project for the Crochet Olympics. :-)

Read my blog at: Midnight Crocheter

Dragon Done!

Well, it looks like the thoughts of a sweater were unreasonably intimidating.. I finished my baby dragon on Wednesday night. I CO another last night.I'm going to try foe a "double gold", but it HAS to be odne for a christening on 3/19. I'll post pics if I EVER fix my camera...

Gotta Sock!! A REAL Sock!!!

First one DONE! Yahooooooo! One to go. Half way through the marathon sock event, second half of the course to yet complete! Confident and hopeful with Gold in my sights!

Nearly Done!

(x-posted to my blog)

I completed the front yoke and sleeves, steam blocked them, and seamed them at the top. My next step is to knit the rib triangles at the ends of the sleeves, sew the underarm seams and crochet the edging around the neckline.

This has been a fun knit! The pattern is well written, the construction is cool and the rib triangles are interesing to make. I'm not afraid of short row shaping any more, and my seaming skills have improved.

I've tried it on and she fits too. Hurray!

I should finish her this weekend with plenty of time left to make the Romantic Cardigan for the Crocheting Olympics.

Canada Sweater Update

(Repost from my blog)

Announcer 1: Well Bob, when last we saw Noricum, she was all over the place, competing in the simultaneous sweater body knitting, had just finished one individual intarsia sleeve event, was about to start another, and the front flag intarsia event was right around the bend. Where is she now, and has she safely secured a spot in bus knitting?
Announcer 2: Indeed she has, Bob. Both sleeves have successfully made it through their respective intarsia events, and are ready for tomorrow morning's bus knitting. Noricum has also made excellent progress in the simultaneous sweater body knitting, with the front and back panels now at a respectable 10 inches!
Announcer 1: Let's get a shot of that progress, Bob.
Announcer 2: Here you are, Bob.

Announcer 1: Well, this does look good.
Announcer 2: Indeed it does. After some rough calculations, I put Noricum at the 40% mark, which means she's well within reach of a gold medal.
Announcer 1: Amazing!
Announcer 2: Yes, especially with the time she lost due to Tuesday's migrane. We'll have to see how she does in the weekend knitting marathon. This weekend could tip the balance one way or the other.
Announcer 1: And now back to Amy in the California Inishmore challenge!

Canada Sweater Update

(Repost from my blog)

Announcer 1: We now return to our live, around-the-clock coverage of the knitting olympics.
Announcer 2: Today we present a profile and update on the progress of knitter Noricum.
Announcer 1: Bob, Noricum is a relative novice knitter, isn't she?
Announcer 2: Yes Bob, although Noricum first learned to knit when she was a child, she abandoned the sport, only to return last April.
Announcer 1: Amazing! Less than a year back in the sport, and she's already attempting the olympics? What is her challenge, Bob?
Announcer 2: For her olympic knitting, Noricum has chosen to go with a Canada sweater.
Announcer 1: A sweater! Bob, is she crazy?
Announcer 2: Possibly, Bob, but beyond the sheer amount of knitting, this is a project she can tackle.
Announcer 1: Has she knit any sweaters before?
Announcer 2: Yes, Bob, this will be her third knit sweater, not counting three mini-Weasleys. In fact, although this sweater is partially of her own design, it is based on the Weasley she knit as her learn-to-knit project.
Announcer 1: A sweater! Bob, how did she settle on a sweater as her learn-to-knit project?
Announcer 2: Well, Bob, she really wanted to knit the Coronet from Knitty, but decided that a first project that involved both cables and double-pointed needles was perhaps not the wisest choice.
Announcer 1: I heartily agree, Bob. But a sweater?
Announcer 2: Well, Bob, the Weasley is quite a simple sweater, with the back being basically a large rectangle of stockinette stitch.
Announcer 1: I see. And once she's managed the back, she'd have mastered the stockinette stitch.
Announcer 2: Indeed, Bob.
Announcer 1: So, Bob, how is our intrepid knitter doing so far?
Announcer 2: She's coming along okay, although her speed isn't looking very promising.
Announcer 1: Well, she does have this weekend to try to catch up. What is her current status?
Announcer 2: Knitter Noricum started with the synchronized front and back body panel bus knitting.
Announcer 1: How is she doing with that event?
Announcer 2: She's completed over eight inches.
Announcer 1: Eight inches! Wow!
Announcer 2: Yes, and with the rapid approach of the front flag intarsia, she realized she would have to prepare for the synchronized sleeve event.
Announcer 1: Does the synchronized sleeve event qualify as bus knitting?
Announcer 2: The ribbing on the cuff does, but the intarsia maple leaf on each sleeve does not.
Announcer 1: How is progress there?
Announcer 2: Despite a migrane, Noricum started the synchronized sleeves on Tuesday evening, and then continued on the bus on Wednesday. Let's go to a shot of her early Wednesday evening progress.

Announcer 1: Woa... it looks like a tangle waiting to happen!
Announcer 2: Yes, Bob, at this point the coach called a time out, and directed Noricum to proceed with the individual intarisa event.
Announcer 1: And how is her progress there?
Announcer 2: By late Wednesday night, she had her first maple leaf! Let's cut over to a shot of that.

Announcer 1: Very impressive, Bob! Not perfect, but certainly very impressive for such a raw beginner. How much intarsia has she competed in prior to this event?
Announcer 2: Just the Weasley, Bob, and there she did stranded knitting.
Announcer 1: Wow. I'm speachless.
Announcer 2: Yes Bob, we have high hopes for this knitter. And even if she doesn't successfully complete these olympics, she will have an impressive start on this sweater by the time the closing ceremonies roll around.
Announcer 1: She will indeed. But how is her bus knitting going?
Announcer 2: Well, the front and back synchronised knitting is still in the bus-knitting phase, and she should have the second sleeve individual event finished tonight. That will ensure she has plenty of bus knitting, and can relegate the front flag intarsia to evening/weekend knitting.
Announcer 1: Sounds like a plan. Well, time to cut to a commercial break.
Announcer 2: Stay tuned for more exciting knitting olympics progress!

Amy: imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. ;)

Progress on Sweater

(Cross-posted to my blog, Another Blog about Crocheting and Knitting)

Here's a crummy scan of my progress on the Teal Hogget from Wendy Knits.



FYI, it's 17 rows on the back. Not a lot, but since I started it yesterday and I'm not the best knitter in the world, I'm pleased.

One thing I hate is the way my seed stitch always looks crappy. It looks almost like lace. I wonder if I should be going down another size to do seed stitch edgings?

Here's the Heel

in a rush and now off to school with Olympic sock in tow...or is that toe?

Pace

I'm just under 20% done. This is easy to figure because each side is knitted in 5 wedges, and I'm nearly done with wedge 2.

But, actually, I just measured it, now that it's taking form enough to be recognizable, and it looks like I must be way off gauge. I was way ON gauge in the stockinette stitch part. And the gauge was measured over St stitch. NOW it's clear that I should have measured more often, but I'm usually pretty consistent.

Huh. Hmm. It's 16" long and it should be 20" long. Hmph. I might be a Knitting Olympics dropout... :(

Wow, I don't know if I can emotionally survive frogging this whole thing. Encourage me please. Tell me the joy's in the process, or something. :)

Forecast, as of Day 4

I keep thinking I'm knitting at a snail's pace, but then I remember this bugger's worked in one piece from the top-down until I put the sleeve stitches on holders. So that's the back, two fronts, and both sleeves in the photo. The sleeves will be separated out in about 16 rows, so then things will move faster. And then the ribbing. The ribbing! It'll be speed knitting in comparison.

[x-posted to Team Canada and Forecast KAL]

This Baby's Got Back!

I've completed the back yoke and back sleeve portion of Dibs.

She's coming along nicely, and has been a fun knit. The next step is to cast on for the front portion of the sleeves, pick up stitches on the front and work the sleeves and neckline from there.

I'll start on the front today, and try to get to the point where I divide for the neckline, then go back to the Romantic Cardigan. I tried again with a bigger hook, but the neckline is still not as big as it needs to be, so I will take a page from Bron and add 24 chains to the foundation. I think once I get start on the Cardi, I can rock and roll with it.

Change of plans

I was getting nowhere on my Shimmer Aran. I've only got an inch done. I think that, since I haven't been knitting much, I should have picked something a little less complicated, particularly since I'm also in the Crochet Olympics.

So I've decided to make the Teal Hogget from Wendy Knits. I'm using Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece in color #CW800, Prairie Lupine. I had been going to make my crocheted sweater out of this, but didn't have enough.

I think that this will be a challenge for me because it's knitted, and there will be shaping.

I didn't frog the Shimmer Aran. When the Olympics are over I'll go back to it. By then I'll have more knitting practice and hopefully the stitches won't look as weird. I feel kind of like I'm wimping out though...oh well.

Edited to add
It's not so much that Shimmer Aran is complicated. I didn't really explain the problem very well. The welt is cables and seed stitch, and the sweater is all cables, which I don't have a problem with. It was more that there were so many stitches (264) and it was taking so long. It was sport-weight yarn. For someone who gets bored quickly with knitting, sport-weight yarn is probably the wrong choice, and I should have realized that, but I was excited about all the cables.

Here Comes the Heel !

Ok the picture of the Olympic sock so far.....
Tomorrow the heel!

No sock progress, but...

My progress as part of the newly dubbed "team FO" has been great. More details on my blog

Day 4 making progress

I'm making real progress on the Felted Entrelac Tote.

If I have time left when it is complete, and drying, I'll knit an Edgar Scarf from Knitty.com.

Olympic Charts

(Repost from my blog.)



This is my first time using blogger images... here's hoping it works. ;)

These are the charts I'll be using for my Canada sweater. What do you think of the small one? It was really hard to get something that looked like a maple leaf with so few pixels. I think the large one is pretty decent. The small one is for the sleeves, just above the cuffs.

UGGG... learning! (OLympic SoCK UpdATe!

OK I am so busy knitting my Olympic Socks that I haven't had time to post!!! ROFL!~ no actually ... how come it's always happens that when you plan something really cool just for "me" life just totally gets in the way? !!!!! I will take a pic later [hopefully] and post the 4 or 5 inches of sock I have done so far. Sock is coming along nicely but slowly. I just frustrates the hell out of me that I, a seasoned and very experienced knitter can feel so awkward and clumsy at something that should be so second nature to me. I guess I am having a hard time giving myself the "learning time" needed to master a new skill and just assuming that after a few tries of a totally new method that I should automatically be the "pro" I am at the other method.....Off to do some more 'learning'

Sweater Progress

(Repost from my blog.)

I've made progress on my sweater:

I'm a bit over 6" on the front and back. I *was* hoping for a bit better progress today, but have this to blame:

Ah, well... I did have fun. ;)

Crochet forgives. Knitting punishes.

I accidentally reworked two rows (forgetting an increase) and just had to tear them out and painstakingly slip all the (multi-strand mercerized cotton) stitches back on my needles. Yowsers. It's so much easier to fix mistakes in crochet!

Sunday Progress

Dibs is coming along.

Here's the lower front...

I like how the colors came together. All that tedious pre-Olympics color sequence matching paid off.

Here's the back.

I'm currently working on the back yoke and sleeves. Lots of stitches, and I'm back to work tomorrow, so my progress will slow down. I wanted to get as much done this weekend as I could.

So far, it's been a good knit

I started my Romantic Cardi last night, but the gauge is off--even though I got gauge on my swatch.

I will restart it with a larger hook.

Knitted Bobbles Suck, and So Does a Head Cold

I cast on during the live Opening Ceremonies on Friday (this photo is as of first thing Saturday morning), then succumbed to a head cold and an out-of-town family visit. I've gotten a few more rows done, but what with the bobbles and the stuffy nose, it's slow-going, to say the least. I'm taking today to knit and sleep and drink tea -- all on the couch in front of the teevee -- so hopefully my pace will start to pick up.

Rah rah, Olympians!

[x-posted to Team Canada]

More Buttons

I convinced my husband to make a couple of Team Hooker buttons.

Things I've learned

The games are on, and the W tank progresses! I had a very enjoyable evening working on it, but I've yet to turn on the Olympics on television. Does that discredit me in some way?

It's a very interesting process to knit the garment side-to-side rather than up from the bottom. My new Olympian skills include increasing by casting on, short rows, and to repeat myself, knitting from side-to-side. While maybe not a specific SKILL, it's definitely expanding my creative view of process and construction. I struggle with knitting, because, as a crocheter, I'm used to having a free-flying garment that I can wrap around myself to figure out construction and fit. Pesky needles get in the way of that.

Knit on team!

Start of my Sweater Event

(Repeated from my blog.)

Despite work and my birthday, I did make some progress on my Canada sweater on opening day:


You know, perhaps I should declare myself an official member of this team:

(I'm thinking I'll get as far as possible in 16 days, and perhaps I'll be able to wear the sweater once before it gets too warm here.)

Of course, the olympics should involve some physical effort. I've decided that for every day of competition, I will perform at least a half hour of my olympic knitting on my exercise bike:

Hopefully this will get me back in the habit of riding my bike. ;)

(Bike riding accomplished today!!!)

My Bad!

Hey all--I'm so sorry I never made a button. I was supposed to. Kim and I had a fun idea to use this picture of a crocheted amigurumi knitting, but I wasn't able to make it happen. I'm sorry! Anyone else who'd like to take a stab at it--feel free to use the picture!

Dibs Progress

I got off from work early yesterday, and started around 4pm.

Here's my progress on Dibs so far.














So far, so good. It's been easier to knit than I thought. I'll try to finish up the lower body this weekend, and pick up my hook to start the Romantic Cardigan.

How's everyone doing?

Slow Progress

Lots of changes tonight--I changed needles--dpns to circs, I changed needles sizes--1s to 0s (gasp!) and i chaged patterns... No longer doing Jaywalker, I'm doing a similar looking chevron from Charlene Schurch's Sensational Knitted Socks because I really like how the patterns are written--they're easy to follow and give a lot of flexibility regarding yarn and foot sizes. So, I had to re-swatch tonight, but it's midnight now, and I'll wait until tomorrow to cast on...

Started is all

I got started on the Felted Entrelac Tote and knit 8 rows. Was visiting with a friend, so set it aside since I'm not good at counting and talking. Ready to pick it up and make some real headway now.

So howzit going with the rest of you?

I'm Ready!

The yarn is ready.

So are the patterns.

Athena has given her blessing too!

Go Team Hooker!

New Member

Hi, I'm Norah, from Seattle, WA. Thanks for inviting me! I'm going to be making the Shimmer Aran, by Veronik Avery, from the Summer 2003 Interweave. I have to have something with a lot of cables or other interest because I get bored quickly--knitting goes so much slower than crocheting.

Because I'm also in the Crochet Olympics, it would be unrealistic for me to have a goal to finish it, so I'm going to set a goal of 1. Keeping at it, for one thing and 2. Getting the body part done to the sleeves (it's done in the round.)

3 Hours to Go!

So little time left... is everyone else getting excited? I work tonight at my second job, so I made sure my yarn & needle were loaded into my car this morning, ready so I can knit when I don't have customers!

I thought I'd introduce myself... My name is Jana, I'm 25 years old and I live in Indiana. This is my first major knitting project, and once I finish, it will be my first completed knitting project! I plan to knit a shawl. We'll see how it goes. :)

I'm also joining the Crochet Olympics, I think I'm going to crochet a baby blanket. I've been crocheting here and there for a couple of years... still at a beginners level though. I started learning to knit a few weeks after Christmas.

Anyway, I'm happy to be a part of "Team Hooker" *still loving the name* Good luck everyone on your projects!

Hockey Jerseys, Period Two

Did you all see that, over on Team Canada, Wannietta is taking orders for a second round of Knitting Olympics Canadian Team jerseys? It's hard to find ... look for the Shirty Update post. You'll find W's offer to take orders and her email address in the comments.

5 hours till cast-on!

New Flickr Group!

Someone's started up a Fiber Olympics group on Flickr! This'll be a great avenue for showing off your progress to even more people, and you can subscribe to the RSS feed of the group to see what other Olympians are up to.

If you don't know already, Flickr is a free, social photo-hosting/sharing site. I lurve Flickr.

It's the Final Countdown.....

This is it folks ! We're down to the last 24 hours before the Olympics kick off and athletes, knitters & crocheters around the world take on challenges to be the best that they can each possibly be in their choose sport / craft!

I have a ton to do before that flame is lit and my needles and hook start flying! I have finished up the swatches for the french market bag (I finally decided that was going to be my bag since I could not find the right size needles for the Booga Bag!!)

All the best to each and every one of you!

(Psst - I hope that everyone else now has the Rocky IV Theme Song stuck in their heads like I do! As soon as I typed the title I started humming it....argh!)

New Team Member

Thanks Amy for sending me the invite to this team and so fast too! I must admit I am a long time knitter but have a shoulder injury from work that has kept me from doing almost no knitting at all for the last 8 or so years. At that time I was just about going crazy from knitting withdrawl symptoms, and I finally got the hang of crocheting and I love it. I have just started re-learning how to knit but using continental method this time. So I am finding that it will be possible for me to knit again. I do think now that crochet is my larger love with knitting a very close second. Oh boy it feels good to knit again. I have been practicing my continental knitting by making some practice felted items, working up to a large sized felted Booga Bag. Progress is being charted on my blog of my Booger http://lyzsthoughts.blogspot.com/
My event for the Knitting Olympics is socks. I have decided I need a pick-me-up as work has been a major drag for me these days. My solution: a pair of funky wild coloured knit Olympic socks for me! I got some yarn for a pair of socks for husby too, and if all goes really well I might increase my athletic output during the Olympics to try for two pairs of socks.I will be very happy to complete just the one pair before the closing ceremonies. That in itself will be a real acomplishment in knitting for me. The pattern is Sassy Stripes Knitted Socks (ribbed from top to bottom) and the colour I chose for my socks is Spring and the colour of husby's socks is Swish. If you want to see it the pattern is a free pattern at the Moda Dea website http://www.modadea.com/patterns/LM0131.htm
I would post pics but my modem is acting up today. I guess it needs a reboot!

Happy Knitting to all you Hookers! I can't wait! ONLY ONE DAY LEFT UNTIL OPENING CEREMONIES!!!

Is That Your Final Answer?

Even though on my own blog I've made the final decision about what I'm going to knit, I figured I was safe enough to change my mind until I declared it here. Oh man, I've never gone through such torture (fun torture though) in trying to figure out what to do with yarn! I've never read through so many patterns in all my born days! I've been 'going to' knit either a lace beret, a lace shawl, an almost lacey capelet, a new top for myself, or a top for my daughter. ("Mom! My friends will never speak to me if I wear something homemade!" Sheesh, teens!)

So, while it's not lace, and I don't have a single child or even a pregnant Mom-to-be to give it to, I've decided to go easy on myself and knit Granny Smith from Berroco. (Heck, just getting to this decision was hard enough work!) I bought my new circs and the yarn for it today - off-white and a deep wine colour. Strawberries and Cream?

Tia, now you've got me thinking ... maybe I'll crochet some little strawberry shapes to use as button flaps, and, well, I could never do intarsia, so maybe I'll try some duplicate stitch berries here and there on the sweater!

And THAT is my final answer!

Dragon update.. need input!

I've just updated my pattern info on my blog. I am butchering 2 patterns to get the result I want, but that leave a couple of design decisions for me.

1) should my dragon's spots be intarsia or applique
2)button or zipper? one pattern is buttoned, 1 is zipped. the zipped one also has a drawstring, but THAT isnt' going on my kid.. or any kid I like enough to knit/crochet for (which is pretty much any kid...)

so PLEASE leave me a comment here or there and let me know what you think... or if anyone has a better idea....

links:
basic sweater: http://cache.lionbrand.com/patterns/kts-816AD.html
embelishments: http://marniemaclean.com/patterns/Dragon/index.html
my blog: http://www.herself75.blogspot.com

tia

Button, Button, who's got my button?

Are we buttonless? I wish I knew how to make them or I would.. DARN!

Gentlemen...Start your engines

Oh wait....wrong sporting event....okay....lets do this one again

Ladies....Start your needles!

Hi everyone! I hope that I am not the only busy swatching and then frogging over and over again in hopes that I'll be able to get my project even started! I've decided on knitting a felted bag (torn between the Booga Bag or the French Market Bag) which will be a challenge as this will be the first non-fur knitted scarf that I have ever made....with the exception of one dishcloth that I finished recently as a swatching effort!

I have the wool all bought - Noro Kureyon #153 I actually bought enough to make both bags! One is my challenge to myself for these games though, and that will be a challenge since I am also making a fairly intricate doily for the Crochet Olympics! Yes, my family and friends all believe that I need my head examined, but the Olympics are about challenging yourself to do your utter best, with the most style and flair possible....should I fail or succeed, you will find me on my couch watching the closing ceremonies with a bottle of french bubbly toasting the fact that I tried to do something new and go beyond my familiar comfort zone that I am often stuck in!

baby dragons

I'm so glad I found Team Hooker! I feel less like a cheat for using a crochet trim now :) I am expecting a baby in August, so I thought I'd try my hand at a baby sweater. I've never knit a sweater before and it took me 9 months to knit DH a pair of socks, so this should be a challenge! the sewater is a chenille Hoodie w/ dragon embelishments (crochet). the pattern call for hte sleeves and hood to be in GS, but I'm going to do it in st st w/ gs edging to match the body. yes I do think I am better than the designer ;) anyway I'm on a borrowed computer so check out my blog for picks and swatches! http://herself75.blogspot.com/2006/01/olympic-sweater.html

Am I the only one...

... obsessively changing my mind on what to knit? I had a revelation last night about using & being thankful for the things I have, so I was momentarily excited about working out of my stash. But after spending the night swatching and winding and pattern-reading, I went to bed undecided.

BUT, I woke up this morning, broswed Knitty, and committed to my project: "the W." I like it. It sounds grand. It looks cute. It shares a name with a hotel AND a magazine. And learning the short-row shaping will be a challenge without inducing the same kind of terror the completely-cabled bandeau inspired. (Whole THING is cables. Soon, but not yet.)

And how pretty is this yarn? I'm about to watch Grey's Anatomy and swatch. Wishing you all equally lovely evenings.

Time for a game plan, Team

Ok, kids, Team Huddle. That's right. Get in close. It's time for strategy, and I need your input. I need to select a project.

Though I'm a relatively novice knitter, my main challenge at the moment is time, working full-time and studying for my Masters. So, a small project. I'm also in textbook-repayment mode, so the rational part of me says, "Work out of your yarn stash." Ms. Rational also advocates making a gift for one of my several pregnant friends. (There's apparently something in the Manhattan water. Who knew?)

Ms. Yarn Lover says, "Make something for yourself, sweetie. Something sexy. With expensive new yarn."

So, dear team, I need your input.

Project Idea #1:



A free pattern on KnitPicks.com,
I've had my eye on this one for a while. I have a skein & a half of the recommended yarn (after an ill-fated crochet sock experiment - note "sock," singular), so I'm a little concerned I'd run short, but I think I'll be OK for the smallest size.

Project Idea #2:



So cute, and I have been feeling clothes-deprived. This project is heavily contingent on my long-overdue issue of Interweave Knits arriving. It must have gotten lost in the mail, and they're kindly sending me another -- but told me it could take up to 20 days. Hmm. I've never done cables, though, so this would be a huge challenge.... and I honestly don't think I could get it done this month! But adorable, yes?

Your thoughts, dear ones?

Hi Everyone

Hello Team!

I'm Vera. I'm from Charleston, South Carolina (USA). I'm making Dibs on Ribs from Interweave Knits

I've read through the pattern, brought the yarn (Noro Kureyon #157) , and made my gauge swatch. Now, I need to match the color sequence of some of the skiens.

This will be a challenge for me, but I think I can do it.

I'm also part of the Crochet Olympics that Crochetville is hosting. Here's my project.



It's Romantic Cardigan from Vintage Styles for Today. I think I can do this in between Dibs.
No matter how much I get done, I plan to have lots of fun!

Yarn Change for My socks

I just posted a rant about this on my blog, but I thought I should show you all the picture:

Lorna's Laces - Olympic Socks Revisited
Originally uploaded by plainsight.

This is my new sock yarn for my olympic socks--I'm going to make a mismatched set. ;-)

UPDATE--Join by commenting, OR e-mail

Some folks have said they understandably don't want to post their e-mail addresses in comments in order to join the team... So, if you want to, you can just e-mail me directly aohATipsmediaDOTcom. (I already get more spam than is humanly possible, so no worries, there.)

I just bought more sock yarn, but that's a story for another post!

G'day teamies! (and anyone else who happens to be reading)

My name is Natalie and I'm from New Zealand. I'm making this drop stitch shawl from Knitty. You can see the yarn colours I've selected here on my blog. It will definately be a challenge as I've only been knitting for about a year, and I've discovered I'll need to knit 60cm x 10cm each day of the Olympics!

Can't wait to get started, and I'm also on Team Kiwi. I've had to hide my yarn away to avoid casting on now :)

Go Team!

Lace Race

Hi Team Mates!

I'm Brae in Oshawa, Ontario. I'm a lifelong crocheter but took up knitting a month ago and absolutely fell in love with lace knitting. It's keeping me on my toes ... er, fingers? ... so it's definitely a challenge for me. I'm also a member of Team Canada and will be a loyal knit-thlete on both teams!

So lace will be my event for the Knitting Olympics ... I'm attempting the Flower Basket Shawl from Interweave. Actually finishing it is debatable as this will be my first complete project. Everything else was put on hold while I practiced lace knitting and I have no idea how long it takes me to complete something with two sticks.

Looking very forward to the Opening Ceremonies!

All hail Team Hooker!

Hello! I'm also on Team Canada, and, although I'm more of a crocheter than a knitter, I'm going to attemt to knit an entire sweater during the olympics. Crazy, aren't I? It's going to be a red sweater with a white maple leaf. :)

Team Hooker! For Crocheters Who Knit...

(Some) knitters talk all the time about how they know enough crochet to work a simple edging, but rarely do crocheters talk about what they know about knitting. In the event of the 2006 Knitting Olympics, we've decided to take the challenge to knit something even though we might feel more comfortable crocheting. And we think it'll be fun to chat with other crocheters about knitting.

Kim's already swatching for her sweater--you can read more about it on her blog, and Amy is going to complete her first pair of knitted socks And the first anything she's made for herself in a long time.

Wanna join in? Just leave us a comment (be sure to include your email address) or send us an email and we'll add you to this blog.

Already a member of another team? Cool! You can totally cross-post about your progress here. But do let us know about uniquely crochet-y things, too.

A button's coming!