Ravelympics Results 2008

I signed up for all kinds of projects to attempt to both START and FINISH for this years Ravelympics. When I first heard about the premise behind it, I was just totally thrilled and eager to participate.

As a kid, I was an avid watcher of the Olympics. My favorite categories were, Swimming, Gymnastics, and Ice Skating. In fact, I took a form of Gymnastics (Acrobatics) during my dancing years (K -10thgrade), along with other dance classes (Jazz , Tap, & Solo).

I never took any professional ice skating classes, but I've always loved ice skating, it is one of my favorite activities. I'll admit that I haven't went ice skating in ages, and it's funny because I think of it all the time, always imagining myself skating & feeling the air against my face and the sweet smell of the ice.

Alot of people think ice skating is difficult, but it really isn't. It's kind of similar to learning to swim, you know how when you first look at a body of water and wonder, how do I not sink to the bottom? You take the plunge, and wait, oh no! Your going down, and do you know why? It's because your nervous, that nervous tension causes you to sink; if you calm down and try to relax, ly on your back, you'll see we humans are capable of floating, right? Well it's the same with ice skating, when you put your skates on, you think, how in the world will I be able to stand up on those thin killer looking blades? So, you strap them on, and try to stand, but start wobbling back/forth, grabbing on to anything that will allow you to stand up without falling; well, if you relax and just slowly stand up straight, try to imagine you don't have skates on, as if you still have your everyday shoes on, and slowly let go of what your holding onto, voila!, you'll see you can stand just fine, and once you realize this, you'll be able to take your first steps on those killer blades.

It's much the same when actually skating, but can still be difficult getting used to the real slick ice, but boy, once you get the hang of it, you'll love the speed and the wind you generate, and as an added benefit it's a great cardio and calorie burner 8-) All this, has made me want to go ice skating again, hmm... one day soon.

As for swimming, I was briefly a member of my high school swim team during my 10th/11th grade years. I can still remember my hubby (then just my boyfriend) always hanging around the fence that enclosed our pool, just waiting to see me in my bathing suit 8) What a perv! LOL... so funny the things you remember. Swimming is so much fun, I only wish I had a pool, I'd be out there daily, just doing some laps, floating on my back, some handstands... ahhh..! Did I mention my children are fishes? Say the word "lake or pool".. and there like Superman, **bam**, in their swimming gear ready to take a dip.

What can I still do at my ripe age of 32??? I can still swim fluidly, I can still tap dance, and I can still do a slow motion back flip, crab stand, cart wheel, no handed cart wheel, but I can't do the splits anymore 8-( Oh well.. I'll need to get back in it.. it's on my list and my list is long.

Ok, enough digressing, I apologize, I do....for the Ravelympics I signed up for Mitten Medley, Cowljump, Sockput, Shawl Relay, Amigurumitoss, Hand-dyed Hurdles, holidayhandball, felltedfreestyle,and Handspunhepthalon.

I really really thought I could at the very least get 50% of my goals done, but I realized that other forces would take over and steal my thunder. Those forces were, mis compleanos, Yarnsmackdown, Sock Wars III, Spinning classes, Tech Square Afghan Knit -Along, Visiting family, and oh yeah, my personal life, work, kids, cleaning... the list is long.

Anywho, one of the goals I had for the Amigurumi was to learn to crochet, I figured Amigurumi would be a fun way, and if I messed up, it wouldn't be that bad. I bought me a complete steel crochet set, a Crochet for Dummies book, and some cheapy yarn from Michael's, in a bunch of colors for my Amigurumi pets. I was able to learn to crochet, took me about an hour or so to really understand the method. Before that I only knew how to make a crochet chain, that's it. After looking through my books, surfing You Tube, and many many tests with my hook and yarn, I was able to make a Magic Ring, which is pretty cool, a single crochet, double crochet, increase, decrease, and other things. I got the body of my lil' guy done, but never completed him, thus I didn't finish that event. All my other events, were just not even touched, I hang my head in shame for this **head down**
But I am just proud of the drop spinning, at least I managed to complete one of my events! And, BobicusMaximus (great name!) magic linked me the other day to honor me (along with fellow spinners)with a Ravelympics Hand Spun 08 Badge **applause**

And my *cheesy* speech goes something like this "I'll have to thank god and my family for this, and the great Sandy from Purlescence for her mastery at teaching, without which I might not of finished my event or any event for that matter" (LOL)
So here yah go, my one but precious badge earned from the Ravelympics! **squee**



If you stuck with my post this long, thank you.. I hope you don't mind the long post and ummm digressions I made 8-)

Everything Handspun (**plus Vesper spoiler**)

For the Ravelympics I gave myself a goal to learn to spin. Coincidentally, Purlescence Yarns, was also offering a Drop Spinning class as well. I signed up for the class, bought my drop spindle, some spinning books, and I was ready to go.



I had fiber from a few fiber clubs I joined, plus some that I bought just cause they looked pretty 8) I know it's funny that I would invest in fiber without evening knowing how to spin, but I thought if I had fiber around it would force me to spin. Not really force because I really wanted to spin, regardless. It's been something I've wanted to do for awhile now.



I had some pretty teal/greenish' Coriadale wool from The Sweet Sheep, which I thought would be perfect to start spinning with, at least based off of my research.



Sandy from Purlescence I have to say, is a great teacher. She really did give me alot of information about the fibers, the staple lengths, drafting, carding, you name it. At the end of my first lesson she gave me a huge amount of **mystery** fibers to spin. She wouldn't tell me what they were and wouldn't tell me how to spin it.



She wanted it to be a real learning experience, and it was. I can't thank her enough. For each fiber I took a few notes, and put a small piece of the fiber in my notepad. There was the Silk, which is just soft, but very delicate and easy to break, and the cotton top, which is gosh darn easy to break, hard to draft, and the alpaca hair, which is easy to spin and draft, but has a fuzzy kind of hair spin to it.



Look at all these different fibers. For my spinning, I decided to spin each fiber as I pulled them out of the bag. I didn't want to pick & choose, I rather let it come to me. It's really amazing how the finished product came out, it's just so pretty.



In the picture, from Left to Right, Top to Bottom, are the following fibers.. I think there's a few missing that I spun completely:



Alpaca Top, easy to spin, don't need much twist, long staple length.
Camel hair, easy to spin, but still hairy, long staple length.
Silk Top w/nods.. very hard, there's a trick to it, it comes in a square shape, which you stretch into a donut, then spin.. I didn't know this, but found out after.
Merino Silk, easy to spin, can break.
Long Wool, easy to spin.
Cashmere Silk, so soft, spins slow, breaks easily.
Merino Cashmere, soft, spins medium, can break.
Silk Top, hard to spin, very delicate, but super soft.
Bison, so hard to spin, breaks easily, short staple length
Cotton Punt, hard to spin because the staple length is short, and breaks easily.
Merino Silk, spins good, soft.
Cotton Top, hard to spin, breaks easily.
Tencel, spins ok.
Super fine Alpaca, so soft, easy to spin.

After having that sort of crash course in fibers, and I just eager to keep spinning and really become good at it.

All those fibers produced this beautiful skein, which I'm calling "Everything" handspun 8-)


And I still have some left over to ply another fiber with... I can't wait!


In other news.. I received the August shipment from the Vesper Sock Club, I love the colors it has, so pretty...the orange in it really stands out nicely.

Current Events (**Malabrigo Alert**)

Woolgirl Sock Club "August 08"


Originally uploaded by RockyMoreno

What can I say, I heart WOOLGIRL!



Saturday I received my August installment from the Woolgirl Sock Club, and it's just wonderful! Check out the big bag! This is perfect for large WIP's or just many smaller WIPs. See that baggy of goodies? It has the cutest rubber erasers shaped like sandals! I so will not use these, I'll have to place them on my shelf in my office to display. I just love the clever packaging, the way the skein of yarn was stored in the cute orange water bottle. The yarn is just refreshing and pretty, it isn't a colorway I would choose, but it is one that I like alot, which is a perk of joining a yarn club, I think it allows you to broaden your yarn color choices.





Plus.... SQUEE!!!!..... I got an email from Jenn letting me know that I won the "Georgia O'Keefe" Contest from the Woolgirl Sock Club. Not only did I win, I won 1st place! That's 3 skeins of the soft Mama Llama sock yarn of my choice coming my way. Getting my club package, and then finding this out, was just too good; it was kind of like a late bday present.



For the "Georgia O'Keefe" contest, we had to write a post of our favorite Georgia painting. She has such a beautiful collection of art, I just couldn't settle on just one painting, so I did one post with a few different paintings, with a quote of why I like each one. Here is the one that scored me the 1st prize.



My quote for this was:
"Jack in the Pulpit IV"
Rich dark petals bring a feeling of comfort & security...soft blue center of fire reminds me that my sole is strong.
~Yo me siento vivo/I feel alive~

To see my full post, click here.

For my Mama Llama Sock Yarn, I choose these colorways:
Fall Leaves

Venice

Forest



And now onto other events, when I was GPY the other week, I found out from Beth (GPY owner) that they were to start a "Tech Square Afghan" Knit Along, starting 8/17/08. I quickly signed up, because the knit along is not like any other knit along. The Tech Square Afghan really is a unique experience. In this Afghan alone, you'll learn almost every technique under the sun. Techniques are: Entrelac, Intrasia, Provisional Cast-Ons, Seaming, Cabling, Increasing, Decreasing, Half-Hitch Increases, Double Decreases, Mattress Stitch, Circular Knitting, Knitted Cord, Traveling Stitches, Sewing, Waste Yarn Opening, Pockets, Embellishments, Steeking, Hemming, Duplicate Stitch, and much more. It really is a great project. I'll take some pictures of my WIP to show where I'm at in the Afghan, here's a look at the completed Afghan from the book.


**Malabrigo Alert**
I came across a thread on Ravelry, and the wonderful Gonzo, gave a link to a shop in Germany that is well stocked with the coveted Malabrigo Sock Yarn!!! YES ITS TRUE! All you need to do is choose your colors, send an email to bestellungATjuergenweidnerDOTde, they'll process the order for you via PayPal. The online store is Juergenweidner...it's all in German, to translate, use the Free Translation website.

Last, but not least are both the Ravelympics and Yarnsmackdown Events I'm in. I'm sorry to say but I'm just falling behind on my Ravelympics. I'm so upset. Yarnsmackdown has just eaten up my time. And Sock Wars III is still on, but now it's just getting old to me. I've been in this competition for months, killed 4 so far, just received a cake of Mountain Colors sock yarn from my previous target, but really have no desire to cast on another pair of Sock Wars Detonation socks. I've knit so many socks, not just for Sock Wars, that I'm just UGHHH! about it now. I've now decided that both Sock Wars & Yarnsmackdown are going to the bottom of my list, and from today on I'll be focusing on the Ravelympics, the Tech Square Afghan and Secret of the Stole III. I will say that I managed to score some points in Yarnsmackdown, killing with 2 Diamond Lace bookmarks, 1 pair of Starry Starry Nights socks, 1 Avocado w/Dollup of Sour Cream Toast, and 1 set of Diamond Lace Dishcloths = 10 points!

Yarnsmackdown 2008

Being crazy as I am, I also joined in on the Yarnsmackdown 2008. I'm in the Food Fight, Advanced Socks, Dishcloth, Stole, and Dishcloth events. I count on dieing early, as I just have too many things I'm working on, plus also trying to go out today with my hubby in San Francisco for my birthday. He's giving me *evil eyes* right now cause I'm writing this post and not yet ready... so I'll hurry up and finish this.

The Food Fight contest, is all in fun, and we've been asked to knit some "Toast", basically a minimum of a 4 x 4 square. In my dossier I received, my target, Daphne LaLuLu, put her favorite color as green, so I choose green as my base color.

I was trying to be as creative as possible with this event, and also trying not to take away my time from knitting the tons of other things I'm supposed to also be working on.

I've called this "Avocado Toast with a dollup of Sour Cream"

Here's the toast with the goodies I sent along this morning:


And some other angles, I really tried hard to make the white yarn, look like a dollup of swirled Sour Cream, I think I kind of came close???




For the other events, I think with continued knitting, I'll be able to send my Advanced Socks out to my target this Monday, I casted them on late last night, knitted to about 2 a.m.. I'm almost done with the leg portion, and should be turning the heel during the drive to San Francisco then from there, it's pretty fast for me. **Fingers crossed to get these done by Monday**

I figured the Bookmark, and Dishcloth, shouldn't take too long, the Stole, I'm not even going to think about right now, that I'll surely die from.
I'll keep you posted.... oh yah, as for the Ravelympics, its slow going because of this contest, once I get done with these, I'll be full speed ahead with Ravelympics, and with Sock Wars, sadly my target can't find the SIPs, she misplaced them somewhere, and will probably just send me a skein of sock yarn.

Hope everyone is having a good weekend!

Getting Ready for the Ravelympics 2008!

As you probably know, on Ravelry, there is a group for “Ravelympics2008�, where knitters, crocheters, like myself will compete in different events. Events range from WIPwrestling, which is completing as many WIPs as you can, or AmigurimiToss, making animals, Hand-Dyed Hurdles, dyeing yarn, and so on.

The competition will run parallel to the Official Summer Olympics in Beijing, CHINA, which starts this Friday, 8-8-8. Once ceremonies open, knitters have the green light to start knitting, dyeing, spinning, you name it, all until the ceremonies end.

I’ve joined a number of teams...

TEAM ROLL:

Team Knitting Bloggers EVENTS Hand-dyed hurdles & Handspun Heptathalon
Team Blue Moon EVENTS AmigurumiToss & Sockput & Cowljump
Team Hopelessly Overcommitted EVENT ShawlRelay
Team Junkie EVENTS MittenMedley & Hatdash
Team Bob EVENT FeltedFreestyle
Team Hogwarts EVENT HolidayHandball
Team Stashdown EVENT AmigurumiToss & Hatdash
Team Sundara EVENT Freeforallstyle
Team Loopy EVENT Sockput


Isn’t he a cutey!


So, I’m crazy, no?? But it is fun 8-) There’s no penalty for not completing your projects, but at least you apart of a team with the same purpose to complete your projects before end of ceremonies. Wish me luck 8-)

In other news, guess you could call it a “Online Yarn Crawl�….

I’ve gotten some goodies in, I was reading a blog, or got an email from the Yarn Pirate, can’t remember which happened first? Anyways I was able to score 2 skeins of Yarn Pirates Booty (boy doesn’t that sound weird..hee hee).

Feast your eyes on “Blueberry� , just luscious! Now I wish I had bought 2 of these.


And “Sweet Magnolia�, I just love the soft colors



Now to Knitterly Things, I usually check the shop update, and see if I can score some more Vesper yarn, usually I miss out, but this time I was at least able to get my hands on one of the cute “Wee Skein Kit’s� #37, which has colors: Mamacita, Algae, Neopolitan, and Strange Little Mama.




Onto Eat.Sleep.Knit, where I purchased some soft yarn “Pima Petite� in the “Gems of Turquoise� colorway.




And “BREAKING NEWS… JUST A ‘BIT AGO�
I got an email from Eat.Sleep.Knit. that they are now offering the newly coveted “Malabrigo Book One� book. I quickly clicked over and bought this puppy…. Ooh can’t wait…

Is that cover not to die for?? I want that pattern and yarn color!


Last, but not least, I finally received my pre-ordered “BIG Stitch� book, that I ordered from the Bagsmith, way back a million years ago, from then to now, I’ve moved, and this books been on a mission to get to me, finally. I completely forgot that I bought this until I got a phone call from the Bagsmith trying to track my new address down. What’s even nicer, I had no idea it would be signed by the author? So sweet, and there are some pretty cool patterns in this baby. These are to be used with EXTREME knitting needles, I bought size 50 at Stitches West 2008, there monsters, but totally cool! Can you believe the gauge requirements are 1 stitch per inch!!! OMG!