Um...hi? ;D

My knitting sure has taken a dive lately, which is hilarious since I had ankle surgery in November and was doing a lot of sitting around. Did I knit? No.

I do have updates since my last post, however!

• Chroma Striped Scarf 
• Decided that this was never going to happen, and frogged it. I think. At least, I remember thinking about frogging it, but now I can't remember if I ever actually pulled the yarn out? Huh.
• Plushy Mittens (originally started Dec. 2013)
• I totally finished these back in August of 2015, literally six days after my last post. They are amazing and plushy, and perfect when I have to go outside and clean snow off my car.

• de Bourgh Brickless (originally started Aug. 2014).
• I actually did quite a bit of work on this, only to decide I hated how it looked. Frogged, though I really, really want to use the yarn for something else, I just don't know what.
•  Ripple Effect 
• Sound the triumphant chorus, I finished a project last year! I participated in the Ravellenic Games, finally finishing my Ripple Effect Shawl (designed by my buddy Rachel at Unraveled Designs), and FINISHED IT ON TIME. It was an Olympic Miracle!! I was so proud of myself that I bought a Ravellenic Games pin.

• Mom socks (started Sept. 2016)
• I don't have a Ravelry page for these yet, which is fine since I haven't gotten very far. I only cast on the toes, knit a few rounds, and then stopped. I'm trying Heidi Bears Two-at-a-Time Magic Loop tutorial for these. I'm one of those folks that gets Second Sock Syndrome, so this is ideal since I like to make my mom things and she happens to like knit socks. Now if only I actually break down and KNIT THEM.

Tada!

On Sunday, I finished knitting my Peacock Shawlette (it spent overnight and most of yesterday blocking).

 

I ended up making it a bit bigger than the original pattern called for, because I got a gradient kit from Black Trillium Fibres that was over 600 yards total (the original pattern calls for 300-550 yards). I loved the yarn (my gradient was the colorway "Ice"), and once I got over my lace issues in the beginning, the pattern was easy to follow (especially if I made sure to have no distractions!)

Overall, I'm very pleased with how it turned out! 
 

Drat.

Obviously, the title of this post has likely clued you in to the fact that I didn't make the Ravellenic deadline yesterday.  This was not for lack of trying, because I power knit my brains out Friday, Saturday and even Sunday morning, but it was all for naught.  Apparently this is what happens when you pick a tricky project, make it BIGGER, and then mess it up at the beginning twice. 

That being said, I'm hoping to still finish it this week.  Nothing like a goal, right?

False Start

I managed to start my 345-stitch cast on for the Peacock Shawlette (I'm doing a larger version) on Friday afternoon (the official Ravellenic start day), and even spent some of Friday night casting on as well.

My Saturday knitting plans were thwarted by my mother and the art museum in town, but Sunday I somehow managed to finish my cast on and start knitting. 

Alas, things did not start well, because when I picked it up again the other day and purled back, something seemed weird, even though my stitch count was right.  Knitting across again, I had an extra stitch.  I brought it into work for Sam to look at, and she noticed weirdness right away and suggested I "read my knitting" back and figure out where/if there were other mistakes.  I tried, only to realize that something had likely happened on either the first row, OR the purl row, and I was going to have to rip it all back and start again.

So I'm in the middle of casting on again right now.  Likelihood I'll finish by the end of the Olympics?  SLIM.

Ready, set....

My yarn is wound, my notions and needles are gathered, my pattern is marked.  Let's do this thing. (On Friday, of course)

P.S. The yarn is from Black Trillium Fibres, and is a gradient set in the "Ice" colorway.

Ravellenic Games 2014

I'm biting the bullet and have decided to participate in the Ravellenic Games.  Much of this decision was the result of persuasion from my dear friend Sam, who had me looking at yarn and patterns all last week.  There's nothing like yarn shopping that gets the ball rolling, let me tell you.  I'm still a little worried about finishing (I've talked about my hesitation about the games before--in short, I think I lack the knitting chops, but this year we'll see!).

Originally, I had thought about finishing up one of my languishing UFOs, but when I originally checked the events list (in its preliminary stages) I didn't see a WIP event (I could also have been blind, because there's totally one now).  So I decided, yay new project!

I'm going to breakdown and knit the Peacock Shawlette by Kitman Figuerora, which has been in my queue since 2011 (slacker, much?)  I plan on doing a gradient effect with some yarn I found on Etsy (the yarn search for this shawl was an odyssey but I think I was finally successful).  Also, if by some crazy miracle I actually finish a lace shawl in 16 days, I might try to finish a WIP for that event as well (maybe the Raphaelite socks??)

Because I'm such a podcast fan, I figured it would be easiest to join Team Sasquatch.  I'm trying to get organized, and luckily the Knitmore Girls have been doing "training" in these last few weeks leading up to the Olympics.  So far it has been:

Week 1: Pick your project.
Week 2: Get your materials (yarn, needles, notions, etc.)
Week 3: Wind your yarn.
Week 4: Hunt for errata.
Week 5: Read directions, and mark your size! (Also, make sure you're on your team roster, if applicable)

I have Week 1, and mostly Week 2 under control (I ordered the yarn, at any rate), but since I don't have it in my possession yet, I can't wind it.  I could probably finish Week 4 though.

Is anyone else participating?  What will you create??

Knitting skillz

The end of the Olympic Games always makes me a little sad.  I've always loved watching the Olympics on TV, and as a little girl had dreams of ice skating and gymnastic gold.  As it turns out, I was never really into either of those sports, and stuck with ballet instead (which is not an Olympic event, but that's another kind of journal post entirely).

This year, I seriously considered taking part in the Ravellenic Games.  The last Olympics (2010), I was still very new to knitting and hadn't felt I had the skills to complete a project in only two weeks.  This time around, I really thought I could do it, but as we all know, I have project finishing issues, so in the end I bailed on the idea. 

I got to thinking though--the last time, I considered myself a beginning knitter, and that was basically my excuse not to do it.  This time around, I couldn't use that term--but where do I rank my knitting skills?  Am I an advanced beginner?  Intermediate?  How does one judge where the line is between beginning and intermediate, or intermediate and advanced?  I've never knit a sweater or lace, but I've been knitting for a few years now, so I'd say I'm intermediate--but do I really have to have knit those kinds of projects to be advanced?

Anyone have any thoughts?  Where do you consider your skill level to be and why?