Whew! Seventeen knitting-packed days can be so exhausting! But also so enjoyable! This year was the inaugural year of the Ravelympics, and I very much enjoyed knitting and watching the Summer Olympics with all of my knitting sisters and brothers around the globe. I entered two projects in the challenge - the handspun lace curtain that I am knitting for our west-facing kitchen window (Event: WIP Wrestling) and an asymmetrical neck cozy for my friend Sarah (Event: Gift Knits Pentathlon).
I worked on both of these projects throughout the games. I suspected from the outset that I would not have enough yarn left to finish the curtain, but I knit on until the very end. Now I think that even if I had had the proper yardage, I would not have been able to finish such a big project in such a short time frame. It doesn't help that the lace pattern has a 16 row repeat that, for some reason, is all but impossible for me to memorize! Anyway, it was great to work on this project, which had been hibernating for some time. Even though I didn't finish it, I am optimistic that I will finish it soon. [Note: the curtain is about 2 1/2 times the length that it was in the above photo.]
The asymmetrical neck cozy was such a relaxing project. My friend Sarah came to visit a couple of months ago, and she asked if I would knit her something from a skein of my handdyed superfine merino yarn that she purchased. I was elated to make her a neck cozy, in part because I love knitting for other people! Also, she lives in the D.C. area, and winter can be quite cold. My hope is that the cozy will make the chilly weather a little more tolerable. I finished knitting the cozy only two days before the closing ceremonies, and I still had to decide on a button. After some thought, I decided to make a "thumbprint" button out of polymer clay. My friend, Barbara, was really the inspiration behind the button. She has been making polymer clay buttons like crazy over the past several months. In fact, Barabara and I have joined forces, and are now offering her buttons on our Etsy site. I baked the clay, glazed the button and finished sewing on the button with about 36 hours to go before the closing ceremonies.
I found the entire Ravelympics experience to be very enjoyable, and I am already looking forward to the 2010 games in London, England. Perhaps I will be there in person, knitting in tow.
