It's All about Endurance

Last night, as the clock pushed midnight, I cast off the last row of my second sleeve on my Idlewood sweater. My fingers were cramped from the hours of knitting yesterday, but oh what a feeling!


I cast on this project last Thursday in time with the Winter Olympics (all I did that night was cast on; no actual knitting).

Yarn is Lion Brand Fisherman's Wool in "brown heather" and, aside from being a wee bit splitty at times, it was a great fiber to work with.

Modifications: I knit on slightly smaller needles for gauge (9 and 8 for the body, 7 for the sleeves). Instead of doing garter rows for the edging on the bottom and sleeves, I opted for ribbing instead--4x4 on the body and 2x2 on the sleeves.


I had originally intended to go with a three-quarter sleeve, but to be perfectly honest, I really hate knitting sleeves that are attached to the sweater (it's a pain to shift the bulk of the sweater constantly for tiny rounds) and I decided I'd just be done. I WILL, however, knit this again -- probably with some color work! -- so in the meantime, I will explore options for doing the sleeves on their own and attaching them when I do the body. Thoughts?


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Work Pays Off

So I've been knitting away, making myself crazy with row after row of stockinette... The cowl is done, as are the raglan increases and the sleeve breaks. Upside down, it looks like a baby dress:


Right now, I'm totally on track to finish in record time. That is, if this doesn't get in the way:



It's hard to tell, but that's a teeny cut on my right pointer finger... probably my first knitting injury ever. When you work with pointy needles, well... one needs to pay attention to how you work. I always put my finger on the needle as I slip the stitch... and after a while, you get a hotspot and then after a while, blammo!

Ouchy.

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Olympic Spirit

So I'm sitting here, watching the opening ceremony recast and I'm making grand progress on my Olympic feat: a new cowled sweater. All this stockinette is going to get really boring really soon... I'm about seven inches in on the cowl.



I've been thinking a lot over the past few days about the "boycott the Olympics" pleas from all over--whether it's because of politics, of poor facilities (honey, anyone?), or because Pussy Riot says to. Now I can't necessarily dispute these concerns, but at the heart of it all, aren't the Olympics about the athletes? The whole point is to cast aside differences and play together...nicely.

And so I watch. Because it isn't about Putin, or Obama, or dogs, or hotels. It's about the athletes who work their tails off to get to this point. It's about celebrating achievements together--even amid conflict. It's a lesson more playgrounds should heed.



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