On the Podium

Even though I have denied for weeks being a part of any Olympic knitalong, much to my surprise, I managed to pull off a hat trick. Thanks to being stuck in the car the good part of yesterday waiting for carpet to be installed, I finished my moose hat knock off.



My effort is not however, worthy of a medal because A: it is too small B: those dark blue floats are really yucky and C: I'm not even going to mention the puckering in all the long float areas. My first mistake was to use fingering weight yarn as the whole thing turned out very light and flimsy, not at all like the ski hats the USA Team wears. My second issue was not making sure the stitches were stretched far enough apart up in moose land. I have never done a fair isle with such large areas before and now I know you have to continually push those stitches on the right hand needle apart to get the knitted fabric to lie flat. I am planning to cast on the next one tonight during the closing ceremonies-if I am not blubbering too hard to knit.

More Stuff I Have Bought

I found this Paton's Classic Wool on sale for $2 a skein. Pink is not my usual color but I am thinking it wouldn't be so terrible in a lacy short sleeved cardigan type thing like the one in the spring Interweave Knits.

Stuff I Have Bought

I decided it was time to get one of these since I never know how much of anything I actually have until it is too late. Now I just have to figure out how to use it.



While hanging out in Borders waiting for the lunch crowd in Panera to clear out, I found these. I NEVER spend big bucks on books but after sitting and reading them from cover to cover in the store, I just could not put them back on the shelf. They really needed to be mine.

Redemption

The very first fleece I ever washed was a Jacob. I tortured that poor fiber into a giant ratty mess. I did however manage to get enough usable wool to spin a pair of socks that I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE. Since then, I have learned a great deal about handling raw fleece correctly. Dumping it into the bathtub is NOT the right way, no matter who tells you to do that. Washing small amounts in net bags IS the right and ONLY way to manage it in a home setting without losing your mind AND ruining the fleece. Now that I have made myself clear on that matter, here is another pound of Jacob that will the first fleece I wash as soon as the weather is warm enough. This stuff will be treated with tender loving care because I really need another pair or two of Jacob socks. Thanks to those socks, I could wear my Crocs all winter, even in 30 inches of snow.

The 4 Ounce Cure

My Russian Spindle has not been getting much of a workout these days. Right after it arrived I began spinning some stashed merino with no clear project in mind. That always guarantees a complete lack of interest on my part. I am hoping the cure is 4 oz of newly arrived fawn colored Alpaca that would love to turn into a nice soft lace scarf for next winter. NEXT winter, ya hear. This winter is so OVER.

Exhibit B

Another project I have lined up is the Vinterblomster Mittens. I fell in love with them after seeing them in this blog post over on And She Knits Too!. I am sure my winter weary brain is reacting to all this snow, but the flowers were just impossible to resist. I bought most of the heathered colors of Knit Picks Palette so I am sure I have enough colors to get started-as soon as I finish up my Olympic knits. When are the closing ceremonies?

Message to Kate: Since my email is STILL not working, I sent you the info in a Knitting Community message AND in a message over on Ravelry!

Olympic Knitting Voyeur

I am not sure what my title is saying but what I meant it to say is that I have been spying on lots of people's Knitting Olympic projects and I wished I hadn't because I have come down with a bad case of the "I wannas".
Exhibit A: Citron, which EVERYONE seems to be knitting right now. I had to go right out and order some yarn for it even though this project is immediately going to the end of the line.



No matter, it reminds me of a cocktail served on a sunny beach and right now when everything around you is cold and white, a little color goes a long way.