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.

A Voice from Beyond

News from the Sock War front: Out of 203 original warriors, only 122 remain. And, horrors! My new assassin's assassin is dead. Killed by a beautiful pair of verdigris green socks. That means Mel is free and clear to kill me. And, I'm still waiting for the socks in progress to arrive. Oh, the fear of the mail...

Later that day: Gah! Look what came in the post. There was nothing coy about this attack--simply open and gotcha! (But there was chocolate to soften the blow.) So, you know what that means: this is being typed by a ghost.

Boo!

Banshee Braids Complete

News from the Sock War Front: Less than 140 knitters left alive. I'm distressed to discover that my warrior name, Mistress Spanksalot, was already in existence well before Sock Wars began. And guess what? She's a tramp! Huh. Who would have guessed?
Iron Knitter Update: I have finished my first pair and qualified for round 2. We don't know exactly when that will occur. It depends on how long it takes 90% of the players to knit 'em. I finished in a week. That puts me in the bottom half... but the top 90%!

And soon the Ravelympics will begin! I was recruited for Team Battlestar Kickasstica some months ago. There's really only minor prizes--it's more about challenging yourself. In a moment of solidarity, I agreed to change my ravatar (RAVelry AVATAR) to match the rest of the team, so here I am until the end of February. Oh, and "Spankrobber?" That's my call sign. Pilots are given them by their peers.
Yeah.

Chausette

Isn't that a beautiful word? Something a princess would be named in a fairy tale.

Princess Chausette and the Ten Dancing Piggies

This is why I love the French language. The most mundane things become desireable and lovely simply by letting them roll off the tongue. Much like knitting, I think. What seems rather drab and everyday can become beautiful through the application of pattern or luscious fiber or simply attention to each stitch.

Which brings me to show off my Christmas yarn! No, it's not red and green. I asked for sock yarn for Christmas, and Boy! Did my family come through!
From left to right the new cast members are:

1. Serendipity from Stricken Smitten
2. T.C.O. from Sugarbee Studios
3. The French Lieutenant's Woman from White Oak Studios
4. Kaylee from Christina Marie Potter
5. Wood Elves from Enchanted Knoll Farm

News from the Sock War Front: I'm still alive and waiting for socks in progress. There's an icky person posting on the bulletin board there, so we have been taught about the "Ignore User" button. (Just one of those folks who likes to stir up trouble.) There are about 155 still alive.

Oh, and Princess Chausette? In English, that would be Princess Sock. I'll still to French and go knit my chausettes.

News from the Sock War Front

We started with 203 international knitters. We are now at 183 still knitting.
As luck is with me, my target received her fuzzy death yesterday. Her target (who should be my new target) is already dead. But she had already fired her weapons... hmmm, I see a blank look on your face. Let's try a visual breakdown: The little red arrows show you who is knitting for whom. In this diagram, I'm knitting for Maisy. She's got her socks, so she's out. She also knocked out her target, Tanya. Sam becomes my new target and I can finish the socks already started by Tanya. Meanwhile, Rabble has been knitting for me. However, before she could finish, her assassin took her out of the game. Now the circle looks like this: Glyn is gunning for me and I'm going after Sam. Not only that, in order to take out our new targets, we have to finish the socks already in process. So we have to wait for the mail. This is where luck comes into play.

But, it's not like I'm just gonna sit on the porch, waiting for the post. Hardly! A creative gal's gotta create, right? I've been making more zipper pouches:

front

back

front

back

front (back is just plain)

Not only that, I've been making more progress on my Iron Knitter socks, Banshee Braids. I expect to finish Sock #1 today and begin Sock #2.

Oh, and the Man of the Place has a neat-looking spider bite. I just went to check on him: "My thumb is still fat, but that's about it." We think it was a black widow. Turns out it's not as bad as we thought when we were kids.

Bombs Away!

Yes, indeedy, I have completed the Flaming Purple Death Socks and sent them to my target. Now, I just have to wait. And wait. Ooh, hold on--I can check the tracking number.... feh, in transit. Of course, the scariest part is checking the mailbox. I don't know if my assassin--we'll call her X--has finished and mailed my death socks or is just casting on. That's really the scenario I'm hoping for. Or maybe she just got a promotion and is so busy all she can do when she gets home is eat a Lean Cuisine and hit the sheets.
In the meantime the Iron Knitter competition has begun. From the same evil geniuses who brought you Sock Wars comes Iron Knitter! This one involves solving puzzles and knitting what? More socks. The pattern's called Soxual Persuasion. (Tee-hee!) It's a good combo of intense patterning and plain knitting. I'm using a yarn called Banshee and I think it's looking like braids, so I'm calling this project Banshee Braids socks.I'm about halfway down the leg. When I finish the pair and post it to Ravelry, I get the next set of clues. I'm such a sucker for games.

It Begins

Sock Wars has come. This is its fifth year and I'm competing. Here's an article from the Wall Street Journal to give you a little more info. I'd tell you myself but I'm still in the trenches. Gotta go... knit for my very life!