Squeeked in...

... just under the wire!

Two of my medals have been awarded, so I'm sharing!

This athlete--the shrug pictured above--still has one more medal coming. The final medal will be awarded for Single Skein Speed Skate. The volunteers at Ravelry are typing their little fingers to the bone to get us lasties our medals. I'm so pleased!

Under Pressure

So I decided to try and make this little shrug for Tiny before the end of Ravelympics. It's about half done now. The pattern is here, the designer calls it a Ribbed Lace Bolero. It's in three events: Lace Luge, Short Track Shawl, and Single Skein Speed Skate. We'll see. It's Thursday now and the project needs to be completed by midnight PST Sunday. Just a little pressure. The good news is I feel like crap and probably will hardly leave the house. Yeah, that's the good news. It means I'll knit, right?

Blocking

Great news! I finished my Torture for Fun lace scarf and received my medal today. And here's the medal:

The dog is Bob, the Ravelry mascot. Here's a close-up of the scarf:

I blocked it last night. What is blocking? Glad you asked. This time last year, I was googling the word myself. What it comes down to is this: wetting a piece of fabric (whether knitted, crocheted, woven, or stitched), squaring it up, and letting it dry that way. Some items, like sweaters, you just kinda hand shape and lay out. Others you pin into place. And then there's lace: stretch it like crazy and pin in place. In this case, I used blocking wires to keep the lines reasonably straight and pinned the wires themselves. I'm told you can make your own, using wire from the hardware store, or buy 'em from an online store, like I did.

They're a little unwieldy*, but I think they're totally worth it.

*Unwieldy is today's word of the day.

Ravelympics Begin!

The proper date for this entry should be Tuesday February 16, because that's when I went to the beach at La Jolla Shores. It was a nice, warm day. In fact, I got myself a nice little sunburn! (Just on my shoulder where my blouse didn't cover.) But, as you can see, folks were playing in the sand and frolicking in the water. I took this little travel bug with me to enjoy the ocean air. She's called Blazena and she's from the Czech Republic. I found her in town and will probably place her near the airport so someone can take her travelling. Her mission was to travel the US and Japan before returning home. The Olympics have begun, as have the Ravelympics. That means the participants on their various teams are knitting for medals. My team is Battlestar Kickasstica. I am working on this scarf (again), chasing a WIPs Dancing medal. (WIP: Work In Progress) It's kinda like Ice Dancing, but you don't have a partner. If I finish my project by the time the torch is extinguished, I win! I'm also working on this blankie for another WIPs Dance. (Not sure if it'll make it to the finish line, though.)

McCartney Attacked by Giant Socks!

Yes, at long last, my Big Dippers are done. Look at the swoops and lines created by this crazy pattern. I really like how they came out.

Iron Knitter, round 2, has eaten my brain. It's a very complicated lacey pattern and I'm thinking that I won't finish by the deadline of 5 pm Friday. Nope. Lincoln's birthday will probably come and go without a new pair of socks. Fine.

I've been spending so much time knitting that I've hardly done any other craft. Sewing, stitching, quilting, beading... not to mention tidying up the house... Oh, wait, I wasn't going to mention that.