Committee Sweater 2010

Kathleen-
Now that the Knitting Olympics are over, Committee is hanging over my head. Now we're on to the annual Committee Sweater. I bought the yarn almost 3 years ago, the first time I went the Shepard's Harvest with Aubree, Tess, and Tracy.

It's sinfully soft merino from Blue Hills Alpacas and Fiber Mill. (The color is really orange there- it's much more red in person, but I'm struggling to get a good picture). I loved it so much that I bought all they had at the festival, and then got them to send me more. And I've been searching for the perfect sweater pattern ever since.

Enter Twist Collective, and Audrey in Unst. A perfect transition piece, and something completely wearable both at work and to social events, etc.

Swatching happened before the Olympics, and now I'm working the hem. It is a much finer weight sweater than anything else I've knit during committee, so it might not get finished during committee, but I think it'll be worthwhile.

Olympic Knitting Complete

Kathleen-
I was down to the wire, but I finished my olympic mittens during the closing ceremonies tonight, just as they were ending.




Ends still to be woven in.

Knitting Olympics 2010

Kathleen-
So apparently I'm blogging once a month (once in Jan, once in Feb, even if the posts are separated by 6 weeks!).

In keeping with tradition, I'm knitting stranded mittens for the Knitting Olympics. These are a bit more complicated than my project 4 years ago, but since the whole point is challenging yourself, and I must be a better stranded knitter than I was 4 years ago, right?

I'm knitting NHM#8 (Ravelry link) from Selbuvotter, and adoring them. They were meant to be a very large mittens as a present, but apparently my combo of very tight knitting and fine fingering yarn made them about half the predicted size.

My sizing issues mean that the mittens fit me in circumfence, but would have been too short for your small hands. Mucking about with charts led me to add a third snowflake, and now they fit me, so I guess I'm getting mittens out of the deal!

These pics were taken before the weekend of knitting, but give a sense of the pattern and yarn:




Mitten #1 is done, but for the thumb, and tonight I should finish 1 of the 3 snowflakes on mitten 2, so I might just squeek in and finish them for the Olympics.

Just in time, too, since Committee starts next week, and I'll need to be working on my Committee Sweater!

I'll try and pop in with an update on these and my committee sweater before the craziness starts...

Happy 2010!

Kathleen-
We both fell off the blogging wagon this year, but I found that I miss it, so though I'm not much for resolutions, I figured I'd try to start occasionally blogging again in 2010.

The turning of the decade, and the many ensuing blog posts, makes me reflective (yes, mathematicians, I know that the decade doesn't technically change for another year, but this seems like the time to reflect).

I hadn't really thought about it until this week, but it does turn out to be a momentous decade. I graduated from high school, went to college, graduated from college, worked as an EMT, a 911 dispatcher, a political fundraiser, and a college admissions officer.

I traveled halfway around the world, and all around the country for fun and for work. I averaged getting on a plane every month (though it was mostly much more concentrated than that).

I met amazing people, and gained amazing friendships (including you!).

I met Mike, and by the end of the decade, we'd moved into the house we bought together.

I lost one of my favorite relatives to cancer, and watched the ripple effects on my family. Both of my parents had a stay in the ICU, reminding me of how fragile health can be, and how lucky I am that they both made it. We lost friends and family to illness and tragic accidents, and watched friends have children, bringing a whole new set of joy.

I learned all kinds of new skills, from academic research and public speaking to driving, saving lives, spinning, and weaving. I knit a ton, keeping me sane through all the transitions.

10 years ago, I welcomed in the year 2000 standing on the edge of Grand Canyon, 2 years ago, Mike and I celebrated New Years Eve at the bottom (and went to bed at 8pm!). This year we were sitting on the couch in our house.

So what are my resolutions for the next decade? To keep my life in balance. To travel for fun, and spend my time with people I care about.

For 2010 in particular, to spend more time with my spinning wheel, knit more projects that I love, and use up my Sock Summit stash. To blog, from time to time.