Knitting Olympics: Crossing the Finish Line!

Friday night: Counting down -- Just a few more rows. (BTW, I love this music from the Liberty Mutual commercials that they have been playing during the Olympics. Hope you do, too!)


Ready to cast off and block the piece overnight. Fanny's in the background, wishing I would shut up already so she can get some sleep!

Saturday night: Make a poncho shape by turning the short edge to meet the bottom of the long edge . . .

Ribbons hold the pieces together while I sew the seam. . .

Sewing the seam (Do ya like my red Rocket Dogs?) . . .

Crocheted a border all around and . . . Finished! -- in time to watch America win the gold in the four-man bobsled race!

Snuggly warm -- This will be a great garment to wear in Chicago. The yarn is Berocco "Cuzco" -- a 50/50 blend of alpaca and Peruvian wool.

And here's my gold medal, from www.yarnharlot.com:

What fun! Next Knitting Olympics, I'm going to try something more difficult. But right now, I'm going to cast on a little dress for Arabella . . . and maybe some little red booties to match Nana's red Rocket Dog tennis shoes!

(Knitting) Olympics Fever!

I'm addicted -- I LOVE the winter Olympics! And yes, there really is a Knitting Olympics, and I chucked in my name this year. Blogger/Author/Knitter Stephanie Pearl-McPhee hosts the Knitting Olympics on her blog: http://www.yarnharlot.ca/blog/(gotta love that name!). Here's her logo for the event:

The rules are pretty lax. You have to begin a project during the opening ceremony, and finish it before the Olympic Torch is extinguished. Any project will do, but it's supposed to be a challenge for you. Actually FINISHING a project is a challenge for me these days, so I chose to knit a pretty simple poncho. . . .

Like so -- Looks like a gigantic potholder at this point!

It will be a very long piece of knitting, sewn together to form a cozy poncho. Here are the instructions, a free pattern from Yarnzilla.com (gotta love that name, too!): http://www.yarnzilla.com/2009/02/free-pattern-mariannas-poncho.html

So what may One win, you ask? Well, a gold medal stamp on One's blog. Self-respect for actually finishing a project (a real prize for this One!). A diminishing yarn stash to make room for new yarn (of course). A nice warm garment to wear in Chicago when One travels there in a few weeks for the birth of One's granddaughter.

And most of all, many hours of pleasant knitting while watching the Best of the best of the world's athletes. They amaze me, and I can't tear myself away from the TV every evening. The next morning, bleary of eye and weary from too little sleep, I'm off to work looking forward to that evening's competition.

Go USA! But I really do cheer for them all. What a wonderful world this is.