Team Boston Knits

DQ'd?

i'm never going to finish this by sunday, and the sooner i realize this, the better off i'll be.   that's ok, right? 

here's what i like about it:

the first fair-isle section.  i did it once, frogged it in it's entirety then frogged it several times more as i kept messing it up -- not enough stitches, wrong color combo, looked ugly -- you name it.  it took 2 days.  i've made blankets in 2 days, so you can understand my frustration at my lack of progress.  but it is pretty. (the ridge in the middle is a folding line). 

here's what i don't like about it.  the rest.

blocking will help, right?  RIGHT?!!

Teamwork Needed!

So, you know how Frode Estil of Norway fell at the beginning of the men's pursuit yesterday, and his teammates slowed everyone down to let him catch up? That's what I need...

I need help with figuring out how to do stripe joins in the round, while carrying the yarn. You can see why I need help in pictures on my blog: http://sometimesatypical.blogspot.com.

Any tips or helpful hints out there? I just cannot bear to weave in 563 yarn ends. Could I braid them together on the inside? Would anyone know?

And if you need bad Olympic analogies, I am so your girl. ;)

Help Me

it's 2 days until the opening ceremonies, and i haven't picked an event in which to compete.

help me by going here and voting.

see you all friday!

I'm trying to pick yarn

I'm trying to pick yarn for my Olympic sweater, so I'm collecting contenders  over at my blog.   The (somewhat flexible) rules are:

1. No animal fibers. This includes wool, angora, cashmere, alpaca, etc.
2. No 100% cotton. If I knit only pure cotton for 16 straight days, my arms will be in casts by the time the flame goes out. Also, the synthetics help with durability.
3. Must be machine washable. How can it become my new Favorite Sweater if I have to hand wash it?
4. Gauge should be between 4 and 5.5 stitches over four inches. I want it to look sophisticated -- but I don't want it to take a dog's age to knit.
5. Should come in grown-up colors.

I'd love to get more ideas from the Boston peanut gallery -- please chime in (here or at my place) if you have a favorite cotton/synthetic blend.  Thanks!

Pssst

This is an announcement to let team members know that there will be a special 10% discount this week for all Team Boston members at Circles and a 15% discount on opening ceremonies day.  Yay team !

knit for a cause

Hi All,

This is the first time I have "joined" anything like this, but it seems like a great idea. Just to give another idea to what to "medal" in, is the Dulaan Project, which people donate knitted projects, hats, scarves, mittens, etc. to people in Mongolia. Just an idea if you are stymied for something to do, but don't want to knit "just another hat".

Happy knitting!

Team Loyalties

What is the deal on multiple teams?  Can one claim membership in more than one team for the same event (i.e. project)?

So, you know, if I were to have been invited to join a KO team based in (but not necessarily solely representing) another large East Coast city that may or may not have another ongoing rivalry with Boston, would I be doing something wrong?

Decisions, decisions....

Olympic dreams --- I admit it, I'm having some second thoughts.  Bite your toungue! Not about the games!  No, it's about my knitting target, and I think I need some help.

My first instinct, having never done any colorwork at all, and having gotten the book in the mighty Christmas loot, was to do something from Latvian Mittens.  Seems reasonable, right?  Challenging, yet small enough to be doable.  It seemed perfect.  I even got this, though God knows I already had plenty of Pattons Kroy and Elann's Sock It To Me in the sock yarn stash, but that's an entirely different issue. So I have the book, I have the yarn, and I have a bunch of tee-niny metal needles.  Hooray!  Mittens! (Um, it's also probably better if you ignore the fact that less than a year ago I said I'd never make anything like this, ever.)

And then this little voice in my head starts to say "You know what would also be a challenge, and is something you've been wanting to knit for ages, don't you?  Well, don't you? That's right, what you REALLY want to knit is Rogue."  And I do.  I really, really want to make Rogue. I've wanted to since the first time I saw it, and I bought the pattern ages ago.  So I caved to that voice and bought some lovely Bartlett yarns in Blueberry.  (Geez, nevermind about the yarn buying, it's not important right this second.) So now I have the yarn, the pattern, and the needles for that as well.  So I'm set, right?

Except....now I have all this indecision.  Which project to do?  Is one of these more of a challenge than the other?  Having never done colorwork, I have no idea how difficult these mittens would be.  I mean, I can knock out a pair of plain mittens in a weekend (if all I do is knit), so how much longer can it take, really?  Or am I crazy to think that?

So, I'm putting it up to a vote --  Latvian Mittens or an entire freaking sweater Rogue?  Anyone got an opinion?