Ravelympics: Finish Line

So, this post is a little late, but...whatever!
I finished the first mitten on a Tuesday...just over half through the Olympics. So far so good, I just needed to pick up the pace a little to get the second mitten done. To bad I go to school and have things due. I didn't cast on the second mitten until the Friday before closing ceremonies.
I woke up on Sunday morning only 1 and a half colours into the mitt, with a take-home midterm due that night and the hockey game to watch. I decided early that it wasn't going to happen. But heck-I was going to try anyway.
I actually managed to fly through the second mitt. I cast off 1 hour after the extinguishing of the flame (while the embarrassment that were the closing ceremonies was still on).
So, with no further ado, here they are...


This isn't a great pic of them, but I needed a quick one to post in the Finish Line. They are super soft inside and very yummy warm. I can't stop wearing them (everywhere). I carry them around when they are not covering my digits. In sum, they are fabulous.
And so...my medals!! YAY!!

Ravelympics: Qualifying

Here is my progress so far on my one project for the Ravelypics. I know, on project is kinda sad. But I'm a crazy student (read to many obligations) and these gloves are lined, so really, it's like knitting FOUR gloves. If I finish them early I am sure I will cast on something eles for Ravelympics.



I am knitting Fiddlehead mittens. I love them so much already. The white is baby alpaca, which is so soft. Even better, I am going to be using the white to line them. Yummy!!!

Also, stranded knitting is WAY easier that I thought it would be. I am just flying along, reading the charts is not hard at all (I am not even having to mark it off like I do with lace), and holding and knitting with two yarns does not seem to be a problem for my fingers to figure out, which is great because my brain has a hard time getting around that concept. Glad my fingers know what they are doing.

Spindle

I participate in a KAL (knit-a-long) in my Folklore and Fairytale group. The KAL's in this group are always centered loosely around a particular tale and this winter is (of course) The Snow Queen.
One of our group memebers is not a knitter (his wife is the knitter) but he does make drop spindles. For those of you who are not knitters a drop spindle is a small object that is used to hand spin yarn without a wheel. For an awesome demonstration (and the video that made me freak out and immediately want to learn this ancient way of spinning) check out Megan LaCore's Drop Spindle tutorial video.
Anyway. John, the spindle guy, decided that he was going to make some Snow Queen drop spindles out of a beautiful peice of holly he had. Much interest in the process of making spindles was expressed by the group and so John started a whole thread that explained, in serious detail and with many pictures, the process of making drop spindles by hand from scratch.
I quite enjoyed this thread, for John would post the "next step" every couple of days. Many members of the group fell in love with the spindles. So John decided to have a draw for "first dibs" on purchasing them. I put my name in for the medium size top whorl spindle (for making fingerling/sock weight yarn) and I won!!! YIPEE!!
I just sent off my money and I am so excited. Drop spindle spinning has been around since the Paleolithic era, so learning this skill is some seriously human heritage knowledge. I feel like this is the "next step" as it were in my knitting, to be able to make my own yarn (before you know it I will be dyeing my own wool, spinning it, and knitting things with it).
If you are interested check out John's Esty page The Dragonfly Workshop to see more of his beautiful handmade spindles. They truly are works of art.
I am going to be taking a drop spindle class at the local yarn store so I can have some expertise on hand while I get to know how to use the drop spindle. I will post pics and adventures when my spindle arrives.
Oh, and for those of you who know the story of The Snow Queen, my spindle's name will be Gerda.

The Yarn

So, my package from KnitPicks finally arrived (only partially thanks to Canada Post, who lost it for awhile there). I was very very excited when I saw the box sitting in the sun room. I made strange sqweely noises for a long time.
There is so much joy in this box that I am going to spread this out over two posts. This one will be about the yarn. The next one will be about the books. So here goes.



This yarn is for something super secretly special that will take a long time to make and that I am designing myself, so I'm not telling. But isn't it a pretty colour? It's called Fedora!!



This heap of "cloud" white wool is going to be this sweater, except with blue buttons (the same ones as seen on wisdom cowl #1)



This fabulous little pile of colours is destined for a pair of Fiddelhead mittens. I've drooled over these for awhile now, but have always been terrified of colour knitting. Luckily I've decided that I can brave it (one of the books I got is all about colour knitting). I am pretty sure this is going to be a Ravelypics Event project for me. The colours are a nice sturdy plain wool, but the white (which will also line the inside of the gloves) is super super soft 100% baby alpaca. These are going to be warm and soft!! Yippee!!



This bowl of green is destined to be turned into the lace Hemlock Blanket. I have heard this is actually a fairly fast knit, and it is so beautiful. I really love lace done in a heavier weight. This will be perfect to curl up with.



Remember how I just talked about scary terrifying colour work? Well this yarn is going to be my very first piece (before I attempt the mittens). This wool is also baby alpaca and so super soft. I am going to make Manresa leg warmers with this. They are knit on fairly big needles, so there is more room for tension mistakes (which I am sure to make when working with two yarns at a time), and the pattern is pretty simple. Hopefully this will give me a little practice before I start the mittens.

This gratuitous stash builder has no destined project. I like lace weight, this colour is stunning (the picture does not do it justice) and you always pick up some stash yarn when you've gone shopping for something particular. It will be something fabulous, someday, I am sure.

Some yummy sock yarn. Superwash wool (so I can throw them in the washing machine) and with a little nylon (so they have a little give and last a little longer). Not sure which socks these are destined to become, but I bought a book full of sock patterns, so...there's gotta be something in there that will call to me.

I also bought some black yarn to go with some white yarn I already have to make some mittens, but pictures of black yarn are boring, so...

Foreign Language

Knitting has a particular language. To read patterns and converse with other knitters you need to know the language. People often ask to look at a pattern I am using. I enjoy watching their faces when I show it to them.
When you first start to knit you typically learn how to do two stitches. Knit. Purl.
Putting these two stitches together can give you a tone of pretty stitch patterns. But at some point you want to make something more than dish clothes and scarves.
At first knit and purl combinations seem hard, then you see something like this...

Row 31: ssk, k2, yo, k2, yo, k, yo, k2, yo, k2, k2tog, ssk, k, k2tog, ssk, k2, yo, k2, yo, k, yo, k2, yo, k2, k2tog, Repeat
Row 33: yo, ssk, k2, yo, k3, yo, k, yo, k3, yo, k2, k2tog, yo, s2kp, yo, ssk, k2, yo, k3, yo, k, yo, k3, yo, k2, k2tog, yo, Repeat

Wait... WTF? What is yo, or ssk, or sk2p and k2tog???...tog???
This is a pattern. It will make something really cool if you following the instructions, but they are all in code (secret knitting code, for knitters only).

So you learn the code!!

K1- Knit one
ssk- slip, slip, knit
s2kp -slip two, knit one, pass slipped stitch over
k2tog-knit two together
yo-yarn over

However, now you encounter yet another language problem. You know that yo means you should do a yarn over. But what the hell is a yarn over?

So you learn the lingo.

Yarn over=put the yarn in front of the needle and make a knit stitch. This makes a little hole in your knitting, which is basically what lace is made of, lots of little holes in your knitting.

So now you are ready to make all sorts of things. You have a good "dictionary" that tells you how to acomplish all those little codes. Then you get a pattern of something you REALLY want to knit that has no written directions, but has one of these instead...


This is a chart!! Each of those little symbols represents one of those little code things we talked about before. You read from right to left. Once you get the hang of them charts makes life fabulous, especially for lace (which has lots of funky stitches, aranged in funky way, with funky increases and decreases).
By the way, this chart is from the wonderful lace shawl pattern Gail by Jane Araujo. It can be found for free at Ravelry, here.

Eventually you learn the grammar. You can look at a line (or a bunch of lines) of a pattern or a chart and "see" what it will look like when it is knitted up. This is super cool the first time this happens!! Cause now you get it, it means you understand knitting language. You are a real knitter!!

7

Haha!!

Seven

Waiting (impatiently)

I caved.
I knew that I would eventually cave, so it is ok that I did cave.
I ordered a lot of yarn (and a fair heft of books) off the Internet. And now I am waiting for it to arrive...
My Nana gives me a nice chunk of money for Christmas every year. Usually it gets spent on the enormous Solstice dinner I make every year. This year however I contemplated spending it just on meself. Which of course means yarn these days.
I discovered KnitPicks awhile ago but never seriously considered anything there because I wasn't knitting very much at the time (and didn't have queue of over 400 items). Then I bought a skein of KnitPicks Pallet and made this. It was beautiful yarn to work with, and knit up very very soft. I vaguely remembered that it was super cheap on the KnitPicks website, so I wandered over there and took a look. My gosh, such fabulous yarn and such great prices. I can make an entire blanket for like $20!!!
Then I started looking at their book selection. I compared their prices to Amazon.ca and found KnitPicks to be a little bit cheaper (even with the exchange rate) and had ALMOST convinced myself to buy some stuff...but I'll wait till the new year.
I waited and then went to wander again last Monday. Oh, and look, ALL their books are 40% this month. Well then...
So, I caved (big time) and now I am waiting for the goodies to arrive, which of course will take forever (see why here)...
But there will be pictures when it all arrives...(so so so excited)