Wow, those Olympians are something else! Just finished watching the swimming races. Michael Phelps and his teammates are incredible, and Dara Tores is no slouch, herself.
Just a little P.S. to my earlier post – to mention where I got the Leicester (pronounced "Lester") Longwool that I’m using for my Selbuvotter mittens. The first two skeins were from the heirloom flock at Colonial Williamsburg, but when I needed more, I had to search the internet, as there was no more available from that small flock. Lisa at Cranberry Moon Farm in Massachusetts had exactly the right match, in wool from her flock, so I purchased another skein of the natural white from her. I love the Leicester Longwool. It’s not as soft as Merino, when knitting, but it has a beautiful lustrous sheen, and my understanding is that it will “bloom” and get softer when washed. I’m looking forward to getting to that point...
Happy Knitting!
Showing posts with label mittens. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mittens. Show all posts
Saturday, August 16, 2008
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Moving Along in the Mitten Medley
There are sure some lovely things being knit for these Olympics! Socks, sweaters, mittens…
To catch up on my progress: I got up rather early Friday morning, frogged my previous work on my mittens while the athletes were walking into the Bird’s Nest, and then cast on again as the flame was being lit. What an amazing ceremony! Although I was disappointed to hear about the graphics “enhancement” of the fireworks, and the substitution of the young lip-syncher, it really couldn’t spoil the overall effect. The fireworks really made me think about how the Chinese were the ones who invented them!
Here’s what the mittens looked like prior to frogging:
Cait and I spent the weekend immersed in folk music from around the world, so didn’t watch much of the early Olympic athletic competitions, but we definitely got our dose of global diversity. Performers at the Edmonton Folk festival came from Africa, Spain, Ireland, Scotland, the UK, Denmark, the USA, and of course, Canada. And the Sparrow Quartet, with Bela Fleck, left for China immediately after the festival was over.
As we listened to this feast of music from all over the world, we worked on our own Olympic challenges. By the time I left Edmonton on Monday, I had finished the gauntlet cuffs of my mittens. Because I’m using a slightly thicker yarn, and larger needles than the original pattern calls for, I had to make some adjustments to the pattern, both in number of stitches and rows, and the graphics of the pattern design. I worked on this for the hand portion of the mittens while flying from Edmonton to Seattle. While waiting in Seattle for my next plane, I had an encouraging conversation with Cathy (so glad to hear that you’re a fellow adventurer into the realm of “personalizing” your knitted items!), so was ready to tackle the first part of the hands as I traveled to Anchorage.
I watched NBC’s Olympic coverage Tuesday night, both on TV (swimming), and on the internet (judo, and rowing), and managed to finish the thumb gussets and start the main part of the hands. So, as of early Wednesday morning, this is what they look like (back side left, palm side right):
I'm very happy about how my "mitten medley" is going, and will knit some more tonight while watching NBC again.
To catch up on my progress: I got up rather early Friday morning, frogged my previous work on my mittens while the athletes were walking into the Bird’s Nest, and then cast on again as the flame was being lit. What an amazing ceremony! Although I was disappointed to hear about the graphics “enhancement” of the fireworks, and the substitution of the young lip-syncher, it really couldn’t spoil the overall effect. The fireworks really made me think about how the Chinese were the ones who invented them!
Here’s what the mittens looked like prior to frogging:
Cait and I spent the weekend immersed in folk music from around the world, so didn’t watch much of the early Olympic athletic competitions, but we definitely got our dose of global diversity. Performers at the Edmonton Folk festival came from Africa, Spain, Ireland, Scotland, the UK, Denmark, the USA, and of course, Canada. And the Sparrow Quartet, with Bela Fleck, left for China immediately after the festival was over.
As we listened to this feast of music from all over the world, we worked on our own Olympic challenges. By the time I left Edmonton on Monday, I had finished the gauntlet cuffs of my mittens. Because I’m using a slightly thicker yarn, and larger needles than the original pattern calls for, I had to make some adjustments to the pattern, both in number of stitches and rows, and the graphics of the pattern design. I worked on this for the hand portion of the mittens while flying from Edmonton to Seattle. While waiting in Seattle for my next plane, I had an encouraging conversation with Cathy (so glad to hear that you’re a fellow adventurer into the realm of “personalizing” your knitted items!), so was ready to tackle the first part of the hands as I traveled to Anchorage.
I watched NBC’s Olympic coverage Tuesday night, both on TV (swimming), and on the internet (judo, and rowing), and managed to finish the thumb gussets and start the main part of the hands. So, as of early Wednesday morning, this is what they look like (back side left, palm side right):
I'm very happy about how my "mitten medley" is going, and will knit some more tonight while watching NBC again.
Sunday, August 03, 2008
The Mitten Medley
I've finally decided what to knit for the Knitting Olympic Trials (and the Ravelympics on Ravelry). I started some beautiful Selbuvotter mittens in purple and white, with Leicester Longwool, last November, and they just didn't go too well. The needle size I was using was really too small for the yarn, and they were feeling rather stiff because they were so tightly knit. So I'll be frogging this week in anticipation of re-casting on Friday. The photo with this post is what they looked like before frogging (sigh).
On the Ravelympics, people are being encouraged to start casting on during the actual time of the ceremonies in Beijing, which would be 4 a.m. Alaska time, 5 a.m. Pacific Time, and 6 a.m. Edmonton and New Mexico time (places where Team Alaska Knitters will be on Friday). Knitters who do that could get a little extra knitting time in before NBC actually broadcasts the ceremony in the U.S.A. on Friday. But to be fair, knitters who start then should also plan to be finished by the time the Beijing closing ceremony is done. I think I might just cast on Friday evening when the ceremony is broadcast on TV, even though I'll be in Edmonton, and may not actually be watching. When do the rest of you plan to cast on?
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