Knitting Olympics- Finished

This entry is several days worth to keep progress together in one blog.
2.12.10
At the lighting of the cauldron 68 stitches were cast on. No technical difficulties were experienced.

2.13.10
After the vacuuming and defurring of the Olympic Facility, the program featured short rowing shoulders and advanced into the set-in sleeve. Making good progress and getting ready to bind off for the bottom of the 4" steek in the front, a red flag was thrown. Something was off about the right sleeve. Some deliberation from the judge found a marker had been placed incorrectly causing lopsided increases. Program had to be frogged to where the sleeve cap stitches are picked up, the marker moved to the correct position and the re-knitting commenced. She may lose points from the total score.


2.14.10
A birthday celebration delayed today's event. Providing weather conditions continue to be favorable, no further delays are expected.

2.15.10
At 10:46 am all qualifying heats were finished and the long program (body of sweater) began. Short programs (sleeves and neckline finishing) will follow.

2.16.10
Today's program had a delayed start due to weather conditions (snowstorm slowed down the commute from work to home)and ended at the midway point with shaping completed.

2.17.10
Entering the final laps of the body section with a 2x1 rib to create a clean finish. If the pace continues the program will finish long before the closing ceremony. (will there be a second event?) Time will tell. The Short Progams are still in the wings.
2.18.10
The long program finished today. A solid performance! The Short Program started immediately.

A gusset maneuver was performed to remove bulk and make the underarm comfortable and aesthetically pleasing. The Judge hates a bulky underarm.

2.19.10
The first short program had several venues. A few rounds of competition took place at the dentist's waiting room, a few more at the car wash. Once Christmas dinner (yes, the final installment of Christmas managed to take place.) and gift exchange was complete, the short program reeeeeaaaalllllyyy cranked. Through Curling (U.S. Men won-finally), giant slalom and ice dancing the first of the three short programs was complete. The judge called it a night.

2.20.10
The second short program completed before Apolo Ohno started his quest for a 7th medal. To add to the excitement, the steek was cut, stitches picked up, knit, and the resulting edges sewn into place which started the final short program. The completion of the collar is expected tomorrow.

2.21.10
After two false starts the collar was added finishing the compulsory programs. Up next? Free Style finishes.


2.22.10
The free style program is still being developed.
2.23.10
Another snowstorm has hindered the medal (button) purchasing.
2.24.10
The wet heavy snow continues and has knocked out the electricity to the Olympic Arena several times. Local roadways have been banned from use so no medal shopping today!
2.25.10
After wicked weather delays, extended work hours and a medical procedure for a family member (everyone is fine), a trip to the button shop garnered gold, silver and bronze-ish buttons and ribbon to finish the interior raw fuzzy edges of the steek. Meanwhile, the sweater has been blocked and is ready to receive it's medals (buttons).

2.26.10
The Gold, Silver & Bronze medals have been awarded. Applause from the crowd is deafening!


2.28.10
And so concludes the 2010 Winter Knitting Olympics. It was the thrill of victory and the agony of my butt from sitting and knitting so long. The competition had its tough moments. The marker snafu, the shoveling of heavy wet slop, and the stiff fingers trying to knit in a house that dropped below 60 degrees when the power went out. But that's what its all about, isn't it?
"She's whining about her butt again; we're exhausted from all the Curling."

Sneak Peek

"Snxx! Snort! What?"
"Oh, time to go button shopping!"


Knitting Olympics sneak peek. Not quite there yet.

Aside From Knitting

I am obsessed with the Winter Olympics. Obsessed I tell you. And I'm obsessed with events that aren't the the general public favorites. EVERYBODY watches downhill with its slalom, giant slalom, super G, blah, blah, blah and figure skating-pairs, girls, boys....but not for me. For me it is: Curling and Snowboard. Now there's opposite ends of the athletic spectrum.

I like to think that I could do both. At almost 50 I may not be able to pull off any snowboard tricks in the halfpipe but snowboard cross looks like BIG FUN. It reminds me of when my sister and I were much younger and would stand in our snowboats (which was a new invention back in the what, late 60's? Before that we had sleds with runners and flying saucers, metal ones that send you down the hill spinning. They also hurt when your nasty little sister flings hers at you and it hits you in the mouth. Don't worry, I took revenge. ) and "surf" down the hill, off the jump and land somewhere other than in the boat because (now let's see today's snowboarders could handle this) there wasn't anything to bolt your boots TO the boat. I'd post a pic of a snowboat but I can't find one that looks like mine. YES I still have it. And my sister's.

Now, if you look up Curling, it's compared to shuffleboard, golf, chess, bowling. There's strategy, thinking ahead of the game, and a really cute guy on the Canadian team. It takes me the whole of the Olympics to figure out the scoring and the positions. I'll forget by 2014 and start all over again. There is a club in Petersham MA but it's almost an hour away, wah, wah, wah. Like golf, I love to watch the competitions. My only negative comment? What's with all the yelling? And how about Hawaiian shirts for uniform? Perk it up a bit. The Danish gals wore cutey skirts. Gave it some trendy standing. Something to work on.
Now excuse me, I'm going to get a beverage, my knitting olympics project and watch me some currrrlinggg.

"Mid-life crises. Just sayin'."

Finished Stuff

Prior to my Knitting Olympics project (the post will be submitted in its entirety at a later date.) I once again created a sweater around some buttons. These are "green" buttons. They came off of another garment so lets hear it for Reduce, ReUse, Recycle! (trumpets blare)
The full photo allows you to see my disaster of a craft room. The ballwinder and swift to the left, a kitty figurine with a crocheted shawl (it was a patch for a favorite pair of jeans with a big rip in the knee. I was attempting to be trendy.) There's a sewing machine, well, ya'll have craft rooms and have the same stuff...now where was I?
Ah, yes, sweater production. The above unit is constructed of Cascade 220, color unknown (a grey green heather) built on size 5 needles from the top down, set in sleeves, half button with collar. Finished chest is 36" and consumed 5 hanks.
The following item is Valley Yarns "Longmeadow" of cotton/microfiber origin. (anybody notice my stash consists of Valley Yarns Longmeadow and Cascade 220? I think I'm becoming predictable!) Maroon. Top Down Raglan. 3/4 sleeves. Shallow v-neck raglan, snnnnxxxxxx.
Oh, sorry. Bored myself to sleep. Both sweaters have my new love-front and back dart shaping. I may have left the baggy sweater world behind me. Not committing because there's nothing I love better on a cold yucky day is throwing on a pair of yoga pants, wool socks and a big baggy sweater to hang out at home. Yeah, the visual, I know. We won't go there and we won't be postin' no pic either.
I'll be posting these two on the Done Stuff page of this here blog and trying to figure out where in the heck I'm going to squeeze two more sweaters. Space is getting VERY limited at Chez Miss Sandra. If you don't hear from me after the Olympics (knitting or otherwise) it's probably because the giant sweater tower pile has fallen and suffocated me.

Red Green Gold & Blue

Not sure the posey pictures justify the finished sweaters any better than flopping them on the table but you're stuck looking at them anyway.
Red
Simple. Plain Vanilla. Valley Yarns "Longmeadow"
Green
Little problem with curling at the top and bottom even though it was finished in seed stitch and I-cord. I think it just wants some steam attention.
Gold
The front and back darts made the fit on this gold number perfect. I used a 5 needle. At first thought maybe it would be too tight and stiff but it worked so well I'm repeating the process for my current project minus the dyelot mishap.
Blue
The red turtleneck was such an instant favorite I followed up with this blue number. A little less ribbing.

Voting in Massachusetts
Senate race today. So glad on so many levels. Most of all because Martha Coakley and Scott Brown will STOP CALLING MY HOUSE!!!!!! I got so tired of it I recorded an answering machine message just for them. This kinda back fired. The pollers (?) calling found it amusing and told their co-workers about it so they called to listen and giggled in the background. The second good thing is the commercials these two have been torturing us with. The only time you could get away from them was by watching PBS shows that did not involve politics or news. I am sooo much smarter and well informed about Belgium, coyotes, bears, radiant heating...you get the idea. I got alot of knitting done. Just have to bust out some sleeves on the current w.i.p., give it a block and it will on to the next project. Crank, crank, crank.

Wrapping Up 2009

2009 knitting has come to a close. Everything that needed this and that has been done.
From the top: red turtleneck pullover, Valley Yarns "Longmeadow". Last time you saw it, it was soaking in the sink. Next, grey cardigan, Cascade 220. This one had the red ink accident. Onward, "Turtle" green cardigan, Cascade 220 (my favorite color--I have too much of it.)Started out with the buttons and went from there. On the bottom of the pile is a gold cardigan with dark brown accents. The story on this one is that I goofed and pulled a skein from a different dye lot sheep opening an opportunity to be creative with some overstitching. Once again Cascade 220. I will be submitting singular pics of each on the "Done Stuff" page as soon as I think of it.
Welcome to 2010 everyone.
(The red pullover was such a favorite I have a blue one on the sticks. )

Season's Knitting

Did those of you who saw Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince catch the scene early in the film where Dumbledore excuses himself to use the loo and comes out with a magazine in his hands? Cracked me up when he asked Slughorn if he could borrow it for a featured knitting pattern.
I guess it's out that we knitters are not mere mortals.
Happy Holidays everyone!

Don't Stamp

I'm knitting. Honest. But there has been a lack of enthusiasm. A reduction in mojo if you will. To top it all off, I had a near catastrophe involving a sweater freshly off the blocking table and a bottle of red ink. You may want to sit down for this.
I constructed a plain vanilla cardigan in charcoal grey. Nothing to blog about, nothing to get up about. I finished it and said to self, "eh." (if you check back a blog or two this is the same grey that was frogged for being unloved.) I put said sweater in the soak, gave it a spin in the washer, laid it out to dry and next morning, donned it.
Whilst at work, I went into my desk drawer and picked up the bottle of red ink that I use to replenish my date stamping pad. Before I got to the task I was interrupted, put the bottle down, turned to my computer and clutched my sweater at the waist.
Then I looked down at my hand.
My index finger was red, a large horizontal stripe of red was also on my sweater. The bottle had leaked without my noticing. After a few curse words under my breath I remembered I had soda water in my office. Here's a hint: soda water will not remove ink from wool. So what do you do? You call mom. Mom knows stuff like this when your brain is all crazy because you can't believe you did something so STOOPID. Her response was: hairspray. I tried it, some of it came out. By this time I gathered my senses and googled the situation. She was right of course because alcohol does a pretty good job. I got home, applied more alcohol, soaked and dried and by golly, you have to get pretty close to tell. If you do get that close, I'm pretty much gonna pop you one for invading my space.
So there you go you lucky little devils. The lesson is: don't pick up the red ink bottle. Let that ink pad just dry up.

In My Own Back Yard

We're enjoying incredibly awesome weathah here in New England. I visited one of my favorite walking venues. Old Deerfield, Massachusetts. aka "The Street". The entire street is a museum. Not all of the buildings originated here but the bulk of them stand just where they were built. Back in the 1600's they suffered an attack or two. Ever read "Boy Captive of Deerfield"?
Deerfield Academy. Private coed school. (Yoosta be just boys back in the day. Friday night movies on campus...)
Post Office door.

Post office with it's leaded glass all sparkly.
The store...
The Tavern...
One of several houses to be toured. Actually, this one may be a private residence. Ahh, just knock on the door and see what happens.

Still not having much luck with the gray cardigan. Attempt #2 failed. I'm thinking the wool needs to marinate a little longer since the yarn spirit isn't cooperating. I'm sure I can occupy myself with another project...

Cat Logic

Works in progress plus one cat. Poor thing is barely on the couch. Of course there were several other napping venues in the room. None of them had projects. Cat logic.

The grey item is headed for a mulligan. Not loving the design, no, not feeling the love. It looks like one of those big, stiff, scratchy sweaters your grandmother made and you've got to wear it because grandma made it for you. Yeah, it's heading for the frog pond.

The gold item needs a button band. I already have the buttons and unless one of my darling furballs snarfed it out of the bag they should still be there waiting for the button band. After that, a bit of over stitching to hide the fact that I used a ball of a different dye lot at the top and it shows add a fun detail.

I should be making hats and mittens but it's been so gosh darn warm it doesn't feel right.
"You should be doing my bidding never mind that stoopid knitting. In 3 years I've got one knit mouse. It's just not right. You may rub my belly."

Look At The Cat

I've been knitting my fingers to nubs. My "darted" creation came to a crashing halt due to lack of raw materials. OOps. But, oh wait, since I'm designing it, the outcome will be exactly like its supposed to be. I just have to get myself to the LYS (because of course what I want isn't in the stash) to wrap this puppy up! Meanwhile......a chunk of the next project is underway. Did you know I don't have a charcoal grey cardi to go with my charcoal grey slacks? Well, gotta fix that! Thank you, so I will. And some pictures would be nice. In the mean time, look at the cat. He's probably upset because the window insert was put in the door replacing the screen insert he trashed. You can see the wheels spinning in his head. And the nose prints on the glass...

(knock, knock, knock) Helloooooooooo

Now I don't want you thinking I've been goofing off doing nothing since I last thrilled all of you with my larger than life, er, life.
Took a staycation.
Knitted and frogged the same project. Twice (so far).



Hiked up Mt. Sugarloaf instead of driving up. (How green of me.) I think it's a whopping mile up. I actually broke a sweat.
Sunderland, MA

The usual shot of Sunderland. Very New Englandy, no?Ye Olde Connecticut River. See the walkway on the leftish side that seems to step to the front edge? When I was a kid that was the viewing area. A few people insisted on jumping off due to their recreational drugs making them to think they could fly. Ah, the sixties.
Top of Sugarloaf was loaded with ladybugs. There were some folks that were a wee bit squeamish about that.
The foliage along the path was neon.

Sealed up the foundation--snow in October prompts stuff like that. I could go on and on but it doesn't get any more exciting. Trust me, I was there.
Once I figure out the technical difficulties with the current w.i.p. I'll share. It involves darts for shaping. If I paid more attention to Barbara Walker I wouldn't have to keep frogging it.
And for those paying attention: no, I haven't touched the drop spindle. Nor do I want to.
"Thank goodness she's gone back to work. What a pest!"

The One Where I Walked Around With The Camera

The first stop is the dining room table.



So as I mentioned earlier, I signed up for a drop spindle class. 6 hours of fiber fun. Did it make me want to abandon all other things and people when I got done? No. It was a good group with a good instructor but this is going to take ALOT of practice. Like years worth. I came home with fiber in my eyes, in my...well, all over. We started out with a domestic wool and were able to sample bits of alpaca (ooooooh) and milk fiber which I found next to impossible to control. I wore more of it than I spun. While plying the whole mess we (instructor Amanda and I) came to the conclusion that I spun it in two different directions resulting in, well basically it was a mess. Let's say I won't be investing in a spinning wheel in the near future. But then, I may have better luck with a wheel. Who knows.

Moving from the Dining room to the kitchen we have a sweater in soak mode. Yes, it's been finished for over a week but I've been busy--know what I'm sayin?
It's on the blocking stand. It's probably dry by now. I'll check that later.
Turning around brings me to the stove and a batch of "baked" beans which are not technically baked because I make them in my pressure cooker. It's okay, grandma approved of my method before she left us. One hour vs. four works in my world. Transfer that to the bean pot and no one knows the difference.
Two steps to the back door brings us to Andrew resting on the back porch sunning himself. He had a tough weekend. All those naps to fit in. Poor thing.

Hard to believe but there were SCADS of other mundane things going on around the house that I just didn't want to waste digital space on. I know, you're thanking me.

So until the next post, keep your fiber going in the same direction.

Peepers

Ah. October in New England. Tourists are touring the fall foliage. The weekends are hopping with festivals in every town large and small.
Conway Festival of the Hills is held the first Sunday of October. The weather was predicted to be iffy at best but as always, "Festival Weather" kicked in and it was a beautiful day.

There is a parade. Go Frontier! An iron skillet toss (don't laugh, this takes SKILL), wood chopping competition, plenty of fun stuff for the kids, craftwares for sale and FOOD. But my favorite part ....

is the Rubber Duck Race. Hundreds of rubber ducks, (numbered and purchased prior to the race), let loose in the river and ride the current to the finish line. Prizes are awarded for first, second, third and last. No winners in our group this year. *sigh* There's always next year.