I'm inclined to think not, but I find myself here, quite sick, though much better than I was yesterday. I'm not really blaming it on the sweater all that much, rather I'm blaming it on myself for staying up late doing it, and not eating as much as I should have on Sunday. I'm pretty sure those two things were the last straw as far as my immune system was concerned, but who can really tell. I'm not going into the gory details of my ailment, just saying I'm sick should be good enough.
You know I must be really sick when I haven't knitted at all today. I spent most of today sleeping and reading Memoirs of a Geisha. It's a fabulous book in case you haven't read it. I highly recommend it. I'm actually starting to feel tired again. I'm going back to bed.
Tuesday, February 28, 2006
Monday, February 27, 2006
Failure Is Always the Best Way to Learn
That's a line from one of my favorite Kings of Convenience songs. You should check them out, they rock my world Click here for their website.
Anyway, as you probably suspected, I did not get the gold, not even the silver, and not even a bronze (we'll forget about how there are no other medals besides gold). I wanted it so badly. Here's where I was at 2pm today:
2 PM and most pieces were finished.
I say most because I still have to do the neck. However, at 2PM I still thought I had a shot so I was scampering (yes, scampering) to finish. I started seaming things together and weaving in ends. I finished all that at around midnight, Blowing by the deadline. If this were a 30 mile cross country skiing event, I didn't even come in 7th. Not only was I not good enough to get gold, I also wasn't good enough to get in the top ten. I kinda feel like what I imagine Bode Miller feels like right now. I think slighted is a good term for it. So this is what I've got right now:
It looks done right? Well, I still have to add on the 10 cms of neck. Then that's it, it's done. But if I stared at the purple any longer, I was going to go insane.
If Bob Costas were here, he'd be grilling me. It'd go something like this:
Bob: That must be surely disappointing for you, putting your working project on hold to try to knit this all in 16 days. How are you feeling right now?
Me: Well, Bob, not great. You know I put all this effort into getting this project done. I picked something I thought would be a challenge, but that I was pretty sure I could do in the allotted time and it just didn't happen. I feel pretty dejected, led astray and disappointed in myself as an Olympian.
Bob: Can you tell us a little bit of what happened out there? You know, it looked like you had a solid thing going and we thought you had it all together until the end right there.
Me: Yeah, I got tripped up a little around the sleeves. The pattern was written while the designer was on drugs and I have no idea what she meant me to do for any part of the sleeve cap. At first, it looked like it was done, but I had to go back and use time I would have used on the second sleeve to re-do the sleeve cap and it just put me in a bad position. I'm glad I got to recover though and use up the time that I had left over wisely. You know, I really felt the olympic spirit there for a bit. I was down and out and thought there was no way I'd make it, but I had to keep going because it was in the spirit of the Olympics. I'm not a quitter by any means, but were it not for the Olympics, I probably wouldn't have knitted so feverishly today and sewed all those seams with such determination. It's times like these (sniffle) that make me love the Olympics and make me feel like a real competitor.
Bob: We'll see you around in 2010 then for the Vancouver games, then?
Me: Oh no question about it, Bob. I'm really aiming for gold in 2010.
Bob: Well thanks for joining us here today.
Me: Thank you.
The sleeve I finally ended up making did actually work. I tried it on while one sleeve was attached and it looked OK. It felt like the sleeve might actually be a bit too big, and I'm not so sure it flattered my figure, but I'll leave that to the Stitchn' Bitch girls to decide on Tuesdsay.
Time to start on the next list of projects I want to do. The embossed leaves socks are going to be travelling around with me for a bit until I get the rayon/metallic awesome yarn wound into a ball. Can we take another look of that skein in all it's gorgeousness?
I'm drooling with anticipation. I really need a hipscarf too because it's sooo helpful when belly dancing to be able to tell when you're moving your hips accidentally or not. I might need to get more coins and I definately need some jump rings. I'll be taking a few more shots of that yarn before I turn it into a ball though because it looks so gorgeous there. It almost looks too good to knit with, but I don't play with those rules when the yarn is as expensive as that was.
I'll post a list of projects I want to do soon, but I think I'll post a more broad list of things to do now that the Olympics are over on my livejournal (link can be found on the sidebar for anyone that cares).
Anyway, as you probably suspected, I did not get the gold, not even the silver, and not even a bronze (we'll forget about how there are no other medals besides gold). I wanted it so badly. Here's where I was at 2pm today:
2 PM and most pieces were finished.
I say most because I still have to do the neck. However, at 2PM I still thought I had a shot so I was scampering (yes, scampering) to finish. I started seaming things together and weaving in ends. I finished all that at around midnight, Blowing by the deadline. If this were a 30 mile cross country skiing event, I didn't even come in 7th. Not only was I not good enough to get gold, I also wasn't good enough to get in the top ten. I kinda feel like what I imagine Bode Miller feels like right now. I think slighted is a good term for it. So this is what I've got right now:
It looks done right? Well, I still have to add on the 10 cms of neck. Then that's it, it's done. But if I stared at the purple any longer, I was going to go insane.
If Bob Costas were here, he'd be grilling me. It'd go something like this:
Bob: That must be surely disappointing for you, putting your working project on hold to try to knit this all in 16 days. How are you feeling right now?
Me: Well, Bob, not great. You know I put all this effort into getting this project done. I picked something I thought would be a challenge, but that I was pretty sure I could do in the allotted time and it just didn't happen. I feel pretty dejected, led astray and disappointed in myself as an Olympian.
Bob: Can you tell us a little bit of what happened out there? You know, it looked like you had a solid thing going and we thought you had it all together until the end right there.
Me: Yeah, I got tripped up a little around the sleeves. The pattern was written while the designer was on drugs and I have no idea what she meant me to do for any part of the sleeve cap. At first, it looked like it was done, but I had to go back and use time I would have used on the second sleeve to re-do the sleeve cap and it just put me in a bad position. I'm glad I got to recover though and use up the time that I had left over wisely. You know, I really felt the olympic spirit there for a bit. I was down and out and thought there was no way I'd make it, but I had to keep going because it was in the spirit of the Olympics. I'm not a quitter by any means, but were it not for the Olympics, I probably wouldn't have knitted so feverishly today and sewed all those seams with such determination. It's times like these (sniffle) that make me love the Olympics and make me feel like a real competitor.
Bob: We'll see you around in 2010 then for the Vancouver games, then?
Me: Oh no question about it, Bob. I'm really aiming for gold in 2010.
Bob: Well thanks for joining us here today.
Me: Thank you.
The sleeve I finally ended up making did actually work. I tried it on while one sleeve was attached and it looked OK. It felt like the sleeve might actually be a bit too big, and I'm not so sure it flattered my figure, but I'll leave that to the Stitchn' Bitch girls to decide on Tuesdsay.
Time to start on the next list of projects I want to do. The embossed leaves socks are going to be travelling around with me for a bit until I get the rayon/metallic awesome yarn wound into a ball. Can we take another look of that skein in all it's gorgeousness?
I'm drooling with anticipation. I really need a hipscarf too because it's sooo helpful when belly dancing to be able to tell when you're moving your hips accidentally or not. I might need to get more coins and I definately need some jump rings. I'll be taking a few more shots of that yarn before I turn it into a ball though because it looks so gorgeous there. It almost looks too good to knit with, but I don't play with those rules when the yarn is as expensive as that was.
I'll post a list of projects I want to do soon, but I think I'll post a more broad list of things to do now that the Olympics are over on my livejournal (link can be found on the sidebar for anyone that cares).
Sunday, February 26, 2006
Silver?
I'm not going to sew all this up in three minutes. However, I started when the olympics started, because I was at work at 2pm when everyone else started and I couldn't get to knitting while I was working. So, I decided that if I can finish before the closing ceremonies, I'll give myself a silver medal. All parts are knitted (except the neck) and it's time to start seaming!
The Olympic Spirit is Strong in This One
Ok, so down, but not out.
No photos, no time.
I met a Genius at The Point yesterday. She figured out how to fudge my sleeve problem, and I'm completely endebted to her. I have about half the second sleeve left after knitting until 3:30 am this morning, and I'm going to hop to it. Like Sasha Cohen, while I may have fallen, I'm determined to not botch the rest of the program. This will take quite possibly all the fortitude I have within my 5'6" frame, but I've got determination aplenty, and am not afraid to cry if I don't make it.
Here goes...
No photos, no time.
I met a Genius at The Point yesterday. She figured out how to fudge my sleeve problem, and I'm completely endebted to her. I have about half the second sleeve left after knitting until 3:30 am this morning, and I'm going to hop to it. Like Sasha Cohen, while I may have fallen, I'm determined to not botch the rest of the program. This will take quite possibly all the fortitude I have within my 5'6" frame, but I've got determination aplenty, and am not afraid to cry if I don't make it.
Here goes...
Friday, February 24, 2006
Dreams of Gold
First, I'd like to thank Melissa and for the Spiders for all their help. I read Melissa's response to my quandry, and I think that gauge may very well might be the problem. I'm getting 21 stitches for 10 cm, where the pattern is getting 18 rows for 21cms. Also, it looks like I somehow botched the pattern and did only 18 rows at the sleeve cap there - which explains why it looks more like 4" than the 8" that it probably should be.
The armhole on both sides is fine, but I think that's because it says specifically to knit it for 22 cms. It does, indeed look as though i have a decent amount of work to do. In fact, I think what I'm going to do is try to make my own sleeve. i'll cast on the amount that they want me to cast on, but I'm going to look at Knitty's tutorial and Ann Budd's The Knitter's Handy Book of Sweater Patterns (I knew there was a good reason I got that book!) to see if they can give me some guidance. I'm not really sure where to just drop in rows...this seems kinda tricky.
This setback could cost me the medal...
The armhole on both sides is fine, but I think that's because it says specifically to knit it for 22 cms. It does, indeed look as though i have a decent amount of work to do. In fact, I think what I'm going to do is try to make my own sleeve. i'll cast on the amount that they want me to cast on, but I'm going to look at Knitty's tutorial and Ann Budd's The Knitter's Handy Book of Sweater Patterns (I knew there was a good reason I got that book!) to see if they can give me some guidance. I'm not really sure where to just drop in rows...this seems kinda tricky.
This setback could cost me the medal...
Wednesday, February 22, 2006
STUPID STUPID!!!
So this cute boy decides to sit next to me on the train. He asked me what i was knitting. I showed him, and we discussed our frustrtations with patterns published by Rowan after he disclosed that he knit a Rowan sweater himself. He asks to borrow my pen to outline a script for his audition.
Here's the kicker:
I never even asked for his number.
I fuckin blew it so hardcore. (sorry for the swearing, but I rarely sweare as little as I do on this blog)
So, i've got a craigslist post out there, but damn, I'm so stupid!
Here's the kicker:
I never even asked for his number.
I fuckin blew it so hardcore. (sorry for the swearing, but I rarely sweare as little as I do on this blog)
So, i've got a craigslist post out there, but damn, I'm so stupid!
Tuesday, February 21, 2006
A walk in the park
I went for a walk today (not through the park, but rather towards the bank) during lunch. As I walked, I listened to the newest episode of Cast-On. There were points where I was smiling, and then there were points where I was just laughing outright because she's just that funny! I haven't finished it yet, hopefully I will during lunch tomorrow (mostly because I feel weird listening to my ipod through my headphones and the spot i stopped is saved on that device).
On to the Olympic Knitting progress! I actually got to see a bit of the olympics this weekend because I was at my parents' and they have cable (I continue to believe I'm just fine without it, but NBC is the only network station that doesn't actually have reception here for some reason). I felt more connected to the Olympic movement because of that, and it has fueled my spirit! Despite the fact that my sleeves might be too short or not wide enough to be sewn together to the acutal piece, or even that my apartment is not blocking worthy, I still think I might just make it.
I have the back, a sleeve, and about a quarter of the front done already. I think there are only 4 or 5 days to go (right?). I'm kinda starting to feel the pressure because I've got a lot going on, and I read on the bus home yesterday instead of knitting (Memoirs of a Geisha, in case anyone's wondering). I can be so stupid.
Here are some WIP shots:
This is the progress I'd had done after yesterday. I didn't take a shot of what's OTN right now. Just imagine the bottom part of the back side of that sweater again.
This could be a problem. It doesn't quite look like this is going to work. I'm worried that this sleeve will be too small. I'm hoping that between the blocking and the stretching of the rib that it'll be ok, but i'm not really expecting that it will fit. Good thing I think I got extra yarn. I might be able to knit a completely new sleeve...but we'll see what happens. I need to knit more....must knit! NEED TO KNIT!!!
On to the Olympic Knitting progress! I actually got to see a bit of the olympics this weekend because I was at my parents' and they have cable (I continue to believe I'm just fine without it, but NBC is the only network station that doesn't actually have reception here for some reason). I felt more connected to the Olympic movement because of that, and it has fueled my spirit! Despite the fact that my sleeves might be too short or not wide enough to be sewn together to the acutal piece, or even that my apartment is not blocking worthy, I still think I might just make it.
I have the back, a sleeve, and about a quarter of the front done already. I think there are only 4 or 5 days to go (right?). I'm kinda starting to feel the pressure because I've got a lot going on, and I read on the bus home yesterday instead of knitting (Memoirs of a Geisha, in case anyone's wondering). I can be so stupid.
Here are some WIP shots:
This is the progress I'd had done after yesterday. I didn't take a shot of what's OTN right now. Just imagine the bottom part of the back side of that sweater again.
This could be a problem. It doesn't quite look like this is going to work. I'm worried that this sleeve will be too small. I'm hoping that between the blocking and the stretching of the rib that it'll be ok, but i'm not really expecting that it will fit. Good thing I think I got extra yarn. I might be able to knit a completely new sleeve...but we'll see what happens. I need to knit more....must knit! NEED TO KNIT!!!
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