Borrowing

A few months ago, I bought a portable modem for my laptop, which was a great solution for my friends living in an 8th floor apartment with no interruptions to their internet signal. For me, though, it was a bust, so I sold it to my neighbor, who has good enough reception to download podcasts, at least if she leaves her computer open all day while she’s at work…

All that to say that, although I wish I were including new photos of my own here each post, it’s just not realistic right now. I will find a way to post progress photos of my Broderie (so far around 60% complete) and hopefully FO photos by the end of the Olympics this weekend, but in the mean time, here is some eye candy from Flickr.

1. Malabrigo Sock Yarn in Tiziano Red by Spamily on Flickr.

2. Connie Chang Chinchio’s Broderie by Chrissy J on Flickr.

And yesterday on my Ravelry friends list, there was a lot of love for stripes! I’m posting links because most of these photos are copyrighted, but trust me, you won’t go wrong. Great colors, two men’s items, and I especially love #3 because it’s a personal pattern with a fashionable and unique look.

1. Witches and Frogs by motherbee

2. Men’s Striped Vest by monday610

3. Diagonal Line Pullover by junghyunju

4. Finally Finished Lockwood by charleebear

Happy Olympics!

Are you participating in a Ravelympics or the Knitting Olympics? What are you knitting/spinning/crocheting/crafting?

Since I live in a country that I can pretty much guarantee has no Winter Olympics contestants, and since I haven’t gotten a special box on my TV to access channels beyond very local, I’ve been out of the Olympics hoopla loop. In fact, if it weren’t for other crafty blogs like Knitting on Impulse, I probably would have entirely missed the Olympics.

The opening ceremony is between 3am and 5am Saturday morning here in Kinshasa, and since I don’t have any friends with satellite TV close enough to me to barge in at 3am, I will be snoozing away instead.

Spending time on Ravelry, I have of course seen Ravelympics mentions here and there – teams forming on the forums, etc. It’s amazing that registration deadlines passed back in mid-January, and I haven’t quite figured out the benefit of being on a team in the first place.

Therefore, I was chuffed to see that Stephanie McPhee is hosting her Knitting Olympics again, after some back and forth, polling for interest, and considering the value added.

For me, this is a personal challenge, not a competition with others, but since there is a sign-up list, I can feel the collective love and pain of others standing up to the challenge.

Back in 2006, I knitted a sweater for the Olympics, and although it was not colorwork and didn’t involve steeking like Hardangervidda, it was certainly a challenge to finish while working a full time job. Once again, I have chosen something that, technique-wise, is intriguing but not impossible, and the mere fact of finishing that last 5% that I typically have trouble with will be the real shining moment for me.

The project I’ve chosen has been in my Ravelry queue for some time. It’s a lovely combination of texture and lace in a flattering shape that I hope I can use for work and play: Broderie by Connie Chang Chinchio. The pattern is available at Twist Collective.

Broderie by Connie Chang Chinchio

My cardigan will be knit with Malabrigo Sock yarn in Tiziano Red, which on some websites looks nice and bright, but in person is a bit more toward the dark red side.

Last night I swatched, and I’ll be casting on tomorrow morning (later than 3am…!) and finishing by closing ceremonies on Feb 28th!