Monday, February 24, 2014

Last of the Olympic knitting

The project that I'd specially chosen for my Olympic/Ravellenic knitting was this hat, the Popcorn Cloche.

Eleven bobbles around the hat, every four rows.


DNF, did not finish.


I'll keep working at it -- as I keep saying, it's only a hat! But I will not say I'll be finished by the end of the week or anything drastic like that, because we know how that sort of thing turns out.

I've already joined a group on Ravelry to knit during the Commonwealth Games in July!

Friday, February 21, 2014

Let's take a moment to check on that list of WIPs I made back in January.
  1. second mitten  (no progress)
  2. green sock (one could count the second sock in here, I suppose)  (done, and I'm thinking of the second)
  3. Elaine's socks (and she for sure gets two) (done like dinner)
  4. the cotton shawl with the miserable edging (sigh) (super done)
  5. Malabrigo scarf  (no progress)
  6. Botticelli  (no progress)
  7. Sunday Best  (no progress)
  8. that beautiful golden shawl you might not have seen but I have knitted about an inch on it (no progress)
So, the new list looks like this:

  • second mitten
  • Malabrigo scarf
  • Botticelli
  • Sunday Best
  • that beautiful golden shawl you might not have seen but I have knitted about an inch on it

  • Don't you love how you can copy and paste and have numbers change to bullets? How did this happen? Oh well. 

    I will knit my Olympic hat, and then I will pick another of these WIPs. Oh, perhaps I should think of that second sock which seems to have fallen off the list. Oops. And I have a birthday gift to make and a baby gift to make. And so on and so on! 

    Thursday, February 20, 2014

    The medals are coming thick and fast now

    Canadian women won gold today in curling and hockey, and I finished another WIP!


    The out-of-control fringe has been tamed, or at least, finished.


    Started before our March holiday in Rome last year, so almost a year on the needles.


    The orange marker on the right is where I was before the Olympics. I once again proved my theory that if you work at something it gets done, and if you don't, it doesn't. Astonishing every time. 

    Wednesday, February 19, 2014

    An Olympic moment

    I finished Elaine's socks.
    These were begun in December, in a fit of enthusiasm.



    And just by chance (and a tiny bit of looking at the calendar) they were finished in time for her birthday.


    Now to figure out all that "finish line" stuff on Ravelry to get my medal. And still two events left to complete. I am less sanguine about this now, but am pretty sure I can get one done! Go Team Canada!

    Wednesday, February 05, 2014

    Swapping and snowing and sewing

    This January, I did another dishcloth swap. I haven't done one for a while, but thought I'd try it again. I knit a very loud cloth for my swappee, but didn't take a picture! Dummy. And she did not post one, either, so I have no record of my jazzy cloth. Oh well.


    I got this little sweater-shaped cloth and a couple of teabags. So cute! So white. I was a bit distressed when it got coffee on it the other day, but figure it is meant to be used and will look grimy soon even if I never spill coffee on it.

    It snowed all day today. Allllll dayyyyy. I shovelled twice and Stephen once. The mound of snow in the front yard is enormous.


    Here you can see the snow is about 8 or 10 inches deep. Those are nice big plant pots out on the back deck. Usually we get a bit of snow and then a bit of rain or slush or melty days. Now, no thaw in sight.

    In other crafty news, I am keen to sew a pair of fingerless mitts from old T-shirt fabric. Like these. Of course, I was able to dig up some old shirts, and all I needed was some good thread. I went off to Michaels, which is miles away and should be kind of special, but although I found my thread, I was disappointed with the whole store. Not the right kind of baking cups, not the right kind of beads, the stencils were expensive... And then! I got home and found that 2 of my spools of thread had leapt out of my bag at some point in the journey! I guess I took my mittens out of the bag and flung the thread away. Darn. I'll try again.

    I am also gearing up for the Olympics. The goal with my knitting was to accomplish something but not wreck my arm. Now the goal is to finish a sock, a shawl and a hat. Ridiculous. I still want to not hurt my arm, though, so might have to downsize my ambitions a tad. But heck, I have 2 weeks and more!