Well, the thing you probably really don't know is that during the Olympics (winter and summer), a website called Ravelry hosts something they've dubbed the Ravelympics. This all started with none other than the Yarn Harlot who started her Knitting Olympics during the last winter Olympics. The idea is that you pick something wicked hard to accomplish during the games. You cast on during the opening ceremony and you have to be finished by the time the closing ceremonies close. The Ravelympics started when the community on Ravelry wanted to do the Knitting Olypmics during the last summer games, but the Harlot said that wooly sports she participated in would be in the winter only and that 4 years is the proper time for her to try something crazy hard. So now you have some back story to explain what I've been spending my time obsessively doing the last week and a half.
I didn't really buy in to this whole thing pre-games, but as everyone started getting hyped like German lugers before the games, I was caught up. I had to get in on the crazy. So I set myself a goal. I would knit an entire shawl in 17 days from my own handspun. Now this isn't really a hard thing for many of the knitter in the games, but I'm a slacker/procrastinator who has had a single shawl on the needles for like a year now and is in no hurry to finish. I also set myself a goal of spinning up all of my scrappies from the vairous dyers I had in my wool stash. I thought this one was do-able and nearly in the bag as I like to spin a lot at one time.
However, I surprised myself. I did finish that shawl in the time given, and I finished it early. It took my around 7 days to do it. That is UNHEARD of in these parts. The yarn was so much fun to watch stripe that I think I got a little addicted to see what would happen next. I also managed to score a place to watch the games as our cave is without cable or one of those converter boxes for the dinotv to go digital. We've been camped out at pal J's house for most of the games. As she lives on the complete opposite end of town, we've been staying up a weeeeee bit late. The coverage ends usually around midnight or midnight thirty, so we've been crossing town and getting home around 1ish. It's like smack...totally addicting. We took a few days off this week because we were all SOO tired, but we were back at it some last night.
Now that I've finished the shawl, I've cast another on to keep me busy during my TV watching.
But I also finished my spinning goal ahead of the pace too. I finished that the last night of Ice Dancing (stupid russians). So I've accomplished all of my challenges for myself. That's the whole point of this game deal is to pick something hard and do it. That I finished it at all was the hardest part for me. So score! I have already won gold for the shawl, and I'll be winning another gold for the spinning later at the medals award ceremony.
I know- what a freakin' dork!
But I have fun!
I have also sewn up a quilt top (well, into strips...gotta sew the strips to each other tonight). This thing is SOO cute. I linked to SouleMama's little stairstep quilt a while ago, and I used my own stash of cotton flower prints to make me one inspired by hers. I'll have to finish it and get pics up soon.
PS- I have pics, but blogger and flickr aren't on speaking terms just now.
1 comment:
You really need cable.
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