random threads

My small contribution to Team Hopelessly Overcommitted in the Ravelympics medal count was a total of 4 of the 7 projects I had plans to finish–two in WIP Wrestling (Flyweight category, they were 95% done going into the event), one in Shawl Relay, and my last medal, in Scarf Stroke, for the Noro Striped Rib Scarf, which I finished up on Saturday night, about 13 hours before the deadline.

Even if you weren’t a Ravthlete, you should take a look at all the finished objects (Ravelry link)! It is inspiring to think thousands of knitters were working industriously on their projects the same time as you where, all around the world. Very inspiring. (and my queue is growing as a result!) Casey the Codemonkey delivered several nifty tools, such as started dates posted on each finished item in the WIP Wrestling category (Ravelry link).

The specs on the Noro scarf and some loverly photos of it in all its Noro-color-goodness:

Pattern: 1X1 ribbed pattern described by Brooklyn Tweed (Jared Flood), colors changed every two rows

Yarn: Noro Silk Garden in Colorways 201 (2 skeins), 221 and 244.

Needles: US size 7 straights, wooden

Started: Friday, August 8th at the Opening Ceremonies at The Peace of Yarn held at Beantown Tavern in Matthews, NC

Finished: Saturday, August 23rd at 10:57 pm at home, watching the Olympics on TV.

Size: 6″ wide x 83″ long

My Bobicus pin I purchased from Ravelry to commemorate the Ravelympics 2008.

I went to The Peace of Yarn’s closing ceremonies yesterday, and was awarded a “Yarn Dot” as the knitter with the longest FO from the PoY’s Knitting Olympics (my Noro scarf was the item I had identified as my PoY Knitting Olympics project). A “Yarn Dot” is a Jibbitz for your Crocs with knitting/crochet-themed sayings. Mine says “Will knit for coffee” which given my addiction to Starbucks Chai Tea Blended Frappaccino (no whip) is fitting (…although that Chai tea is tea, not coffee…). Others were ‘Born to Knit’ or ‘Born to Crochet’, ‘Knitting Diva’, ‘Just One More Row’ and others. In addition to wearing in your Crocs clogs, you can slip them into any bulky knit such as a scarf or hat.

As usual on my blog, if you click on most photos, you will be whisked away to the larger image in Flickr where you can see more detail if you wish.

With seven Ravelympic projects ( 3 wips and 4 new projects) on my plate, you know I’m falling behind, even though 1 new project and 1 wip have been completed. Yesterday, you heard about the current state of Ziggies (in ‘time-out’).

Today, it being WIP Wednesday, I’ll report on what I have been monogamously knitting on since Saturday, my Noro Striped Ribbed Scarf (Ravelry link). This is a very satifiying knit. The pattern was documented by Jared Flood of Brooklyn Tweed here, and is a simple 1×1 rib with edges slipped. The yarn is Noro Silk Garden, two skeins of 201, a skein of 221 and a skein of 244. The colors are teals and purples, greens, blues, maroon, black, grey and brown. The colors I am knitting with now are maroon, heading into the rust-orange and then olive-green/grey. Such subtle color shifting with the two shades playing against each other. Yummm, very delish!

Since it is a simple knit, I can get about 5″ knit in a couple of hours, and plan to knit until the yarn runs out. That will likely mean about 7 to 8 feet of scarf? This photo was taken Tuesday, just after I passed the halfway point:

Of course, this has lead to more stashing of other colors of Silk Garden to make more scarves. Just one addiction after another, here at Casa Randomthreads.

and that is the case for my Kureyon Ziggies (Ravelry link). The pattern: Ziggy Socks in the Knitty Summer 2008 issue, designed by Meg Meredith. I started out using the recommended needle size of 1.5 (US, 2.5 mm), even tho’ as a loose knitter I usually go down a needle size for most published patterns. I knit the toe, and went, ‘hmm, awfully loose, I’d better use US 1’s (2.25 mm).’ So I switched needles shortly after starting the stranding. Stranding with two hands, one holding the yarn for picking, the other holding the yarn for throwing went pretty well. After the first inch or so I had a good rhythm and my tension was pretty consistent.

Then the colors started blending together. I don’t mind a little of that, the ‘disappearing stripes’ offer some variation/interest for your eye. However, this was getting a bit out of hand, pink on fuschia, so I skipped a bunch of pink on one skein to get to the red just before I started the heel that was knit in one color (no stranding). As I tried on the sock and it grew up on my high arch, I got worried about fit, and switched back to the US 1.5 needles. Definitely NO GIVE in this pattern due to the stranding. Meg discussed in her pattern how to add extra stitches–I probably should have done that. Hindsight is 20/20, isn’t it?

The pattern calls for a short-row heel, with a variation on picking up wraps from how I usually do it. So, in the interest in learning new techniques, and I had not done a short heel in a while, I followed the pattern. As you can see from the photo, the heel barely seems to fit. I think this is a case where I should not have done a short row heel with my high arch and no give in the yarn fabric. More hindsight.

So the Ziggy sock is set aside (in timeout, shall we say?) for a while. I’m doubting even the first sock will be finished by the end of the Ravelympics on Sunday. (Only 4 and a half days more to knit!) I’m focusing my knitting time on other projects. More on that tomorrow.

Last Friday evening, I joined the ladies at The Peace of Yarn, a LYS near to me in Matthews NC for the Summer Olympics Opening Ceremonies. The shop stayed open later than usual for a Friday, with 15% discount on “Olympic” knitting yarn (tell them the project you are knitting during the Olympics, and the yarn for that project is 15% off–kewl!), but the knitting athletes started gathering around 5:30pm. Mostly regulars from their Thursday night knitting group were in attendance, but they made me feel welcome! I bought 4 more skeins of Noro Silk Garden to use for my Noro Striped Ribbed Scarf (ravelry link), a la Brooklyn Tweed’s Jared Flood. I had already acquired the elusive colorway 201, which is black/grey/a touch of purple and brown. It offers a good foil to the other colorways as a neutral backdrop.

While waiting I knit on my Two Musketeers (ravelry link) sweater (Athos by Norah Gaughan), that I had cast on during a break at work that morning. At 7:30pm we moved next door to the Beantown Tavern (run by ex-New Englanders and rabid Red Sox/Patriots fans) to have dinner and watch the opening ceremonies on their large flat panel TVs in the back room. After a bit of negotiating/wrangling by Cindy, the LYSO, the ’80s music was turned down, the volume on the TVs was cranked up and we cast on our projects (for me the Noro scarf) at 8:00 pm promptly. I enjoyed knitting, chatting, and eating the evening away. We broke up about 10 pm, and I did get home in time to see the US athletes march into the stadium (and what a stadium that is!), and see the lighting of the cauldron. That was pretty fantastic.

I knit about 5 inches on my scarf, but I need to figure out a better way to slip the first stitch while carrying the yarn up the side. I did this on my Chevron scarf, but I think the ribbing is making it less tolerable or I’m not doing exactly the right thing yet. Must.research.technique.

I have been a big Olympics fan all my life but much more so since I actually went to the 1996 games in Atlanta (not the opening ceremony tho’–too much $$ for that ticket!). My friend Dee and I attended the 3-day eventing/dressage (horse stuff), track and field and gymnastics (no, the day after the Kerrie-Strug-broken-leg-perfomance…).