Tag: knitting olympics

Olympic Overview

I had great intentions of taking pictures at the Olympic Closing Ceremony at Fabric Works on Sunday.  However, I was frantically trying to weave in ends and finish up my sweater.  Plus, the hockey game was on and you haven’t seen knitters until you’ve seen them screaming at a hockey game.  One of my Optimist Club members stopped by to drop off some hats and was shocked to see everyone watching the USA/Canada game. 

You might notice that my Slinky Ribs sweater is missing its arms.  I haven’t decided yet if I’m going to leave it as it is or if I’m going to knit long sleeves.  I wore it today under a black short sleeved shirt and solicited opinions everywhere I went.  I kind of like it as a vest, but I think a long sleeved sweater will have a more timeless look. 

As part of the Knitting Olympics, several Optimist Club members and other knitters donated 156 hats and 2 blankets to SMDC’s birthcenter.  I am completely blown away by the generosity of knitters. 

Now that my sweater project is in a lull, I’ve got a full blown case of Start-itus.  I’m trying to figure out what knitting I’ll take along on my trip next week.  In the meantime I’m trying to finish up a very old Unfinished Object (UFO).  I’m not sure how much I’ll be blogging next week – it will probably depend on whether I take my laptop with me to Florida or not.  Right now I’m thinking not.  No worries though, there will be plenty of knitting on the beach and I promise to take pictures. 

Baby Knits

Pay no attention to the woman who should be doing her Olympic Knitting.  Heck, for that matter, pay no attention to the woman who’s house is a mess because she’s been knitting her fingers to the bone for the last few days!  In the heat of the competition, some things have to fall by the wayside and in my case it’s been the house. 

I don’t have any updated sweater photos for you, I’m a few inches further than I was in the last post.  I put the live stitches on a piece of waste yarn the other day and I didn’t have as much to knit as I thought I did (one of the positives to being a short woman).  I think I can make it to the bottom of the sweater tonight and start on the sleeves tomorrow.  Which pretty much means that I will not finish my Olympic sweater in time.  I’d love to try to convince you all that I really meant to make myself a sleeveless sweater… but I won’t.  It’s meant to have arms and that’s the way it will be. 

In the meantime, I’m working on a child’s hat for a birthday party we are to attend in 1/2 hour.  Yikes, must keep moving!

The sweater and hat you see above is one I finished about a month ago forKnittymuggins. 

The hat is Heart on a String from Susan B. Anderson. The sweater is a one skein wonder from 101 Designer One Skein Wonders.  Both were knit from Blue Sky Alpaca Organic Cotton.  Unlike most cotton yarns, this one was soft, fluffy and didn’t make my hands hurt.  The only unusual thing that I noticed was that the heart on the hat and the cardigan are made out of the same color – however, when I washed the cardigan it came out much darker than I had expected.  I’m not sure why this would be.  Both patterns are sweet and easy and I’d knit them again for another baby. 

 

The US Olympic Hat

Some clever knitters already figured out the pattern to the US Olympic Hat.  This hat was knitted by lotzakatz on Ravelry.  I linked to the pattern in the post about the Opening Ceremonies. 

Earlier today, my 5 year old was telling me that I needed to knit a hat for her kindergarten teacher, "Because she’s AWESOME!"  It couldn’t be just any hat though, it had to be a hat with lots of colors, because this teacher would like that a lot more.  When I showed my daughter this hat, she immediately started redesigning it.  "Momma, you could do green down here and then don’t do that top part because she won’t want it pointy, just straight up and down."  Hmmm… like mother, like daughter?  She also volunteered me to make a hat for one of her friends at school.   I think I do a good enough job overcommitting myself, I don’t really need help. 

Now I’m off to bake another cake for a Mardi Gras celebration at my daughter’s school tomorrow. 

Sign Up Now for the Knitting Olympics

My Knitting Olympics Project:  Slinky Ribs from Custom Knits – knit in Mirasol Nuna, 40% merino, 40% silk, 20% bamboo.

If you’re from the area and haven’t yet signed up for the Knitting Olympics, there’s still time.  I know of 2 shops in the area that are hosting events.  If you know of others, email me and I’ll post about them. 

Yarn Harbor, Duluth MN

If you want to join us for Team Yarn Harbor, you must sign up at the shop before Friday, February 12.  You cannot cast on until the Opening Ceremonies, but you can swatch (after all, training is key!)  The goal is to finish by the Closing Ceremonies. 
• We will give you a 15% discount on your Olympic project supplies at time of sign up.

In Store Events:
Opening Ceremonies Cast On:
Friday, February 12, 5-9 p.m.
Second Wind at the Pajama Party:
Friday, February 19, 5-10 p.m.
Home Stretch: Sunday, February 28,
12-5 p.m.

 

Fabric Works, Superior, WI

Join us for a special event at Fabric Works.

A. We will have 3 possible events to choose from:
1. Pick a knitting project that you can start and finish in the 17 days of the Winter Olympics. Pick one that will be a bit of a challenge for you. You may swatch ahead of time but cannot cast on until the lighting of the torch.
2. Finish unfinished projects that you have started. Completely finished all ends woven in and blocked! As many as you can complete!
3. Join “Team Jessica” to compete in the baby hat competition. The hats will be donated at the end.

B. We will have an opening event on Friday, Feb. 12th from 5:30 pm until 7:30 pm. At that time you will receive a small gift bag for your participation.

C. Open knitting hours during the Olympics are as follows:
Saturday, Feb. 13, 1 – 4 pm
Tuesday, Feb. 16, 5 – 7 pm
Wednesday, Feb.17, 11 am – 3 pm
Thursday, Feb. 18, 5 – 8 pm
Saturday, Feb 20, 1 – 4 pm
Tuesday, Feb. 23, 5 – 7 pm
Wednesday, Feb. 24, 11 am – 3 pm
Thursday, Feb. 25, 5 – 8 pm
Saturday, Feb. 27, 1 – 4 pm

D. Closing Ceremonies – Sunday, Feb. 28th, 2 – 4 pm. – Bring your finished “events” and receive your prize! Join us in an international potluck just for fun!

Entry Fee: 1 beautiful skein of yarn from your stash and one international dish for the potluck. We will have signup sheets at the shop for the potluck so there can be some variety. If you don’t have a stash of yarn, you may purchase a beautiful skein of yarn at 20% off the regular price to donate for prizes.

Please try to sign up ahead of time so we know how many gift bags we need.
715-392-7060