theraineysisters knitting and so much more

The Olympics are wrapping up today and I feel like I have experienced them first hand.  My hubby is a cross country skier and participated in the Birkebeiner Ski Race yesterday, and he rocked it…for an old man, that is!

The Birkie is not about winning, but about doing your best.  John came in ~one minute over his best time ever (and this was his 27th Birkie!).  John will be 60 next year.   So, he beat all but one of his times since he started in his thirties.  Wow.

OK, enough about him 😉 .  I had decided NOT to participate in the Ravelympics this year, for reasons already described.  Well, I went to knitting on Thursday and two, count them TWO, of my knitting peeps had knitted up the Olympic Reindeer Hat. 

The hat was patterned after the ones worn by the US Olympians when they entered the Opening Ceremonies.  I had originally started it right after the Olympics started and decided it was the most annoying pattern on earth and dumped it straight away.  But after seeing the cute hats at knitting group, I thought, “Hmmm.  Could I get this done by Saturday morning so John could wear it after the Birkie?”  All I had finished so far was the lining of the foldover band.  I got home at 8 pm, had to pack, etc., etc., but stayed up knitting the ^&&***^%% thing instead.  I worked on it in the car all the way up to Hayward, WI, and did indeed get it done.  He wore it to pick up his bib on Friday night. 

Olympic Reindeer Hat, Cascade 220, US Size 6 Needles

So, here are the details:

I worked the hat using intarsia-in-the-round (suggested by Jimmy in knitting group).  Annoying.  Annoying Squared.  No.  Make that ‘Annoying Raised to the Tenth Power.’  After I knitted the hat, I went back and used duplicate stitch for the antlers…remember, time was a huge factor!…though I did knit the legs intarsia style as I went along.

John loved the hat and asked if I was going to put a flag decal on it.  I said sure, I can put it right…uh oh.  Why isn’t the knitted band centered to the reindeer motif?????  Yep.  Rookie mistake!  I noticed that the band was 4 sts off.  If I added a decal, it would be even more noticeable.  It completely bugged me. 

Had to cut it up:

The top photo does indeed show that it is now centered…after cutting, reknitting some rows, and grafting.  This project was annoying in so many ways!  But it is done, and I consider it at least worthy of a spot on the Olympic roster, if not the podium 😉 .

In general, my projects of late have been pretty small scale.  I have not made a sweater since my Lacy Cardigan last summer.  I used to be all about the sweater, and now I can’t get past mini-projects.  Surly has been cranking out FOs like hotcakes, so I feel the need to play catch up!

Here is the latest of my mini-projects: the Damson Shawlette by Ysolda Teague.  It is made with one skein of sock yarn (Malabrigo Sock is called for in the pattern).  Surly generously shared the remains of the yarn she used for her Swallowtail.  It is beautiful yarn — a rich mix of all the best of the fall colors.  BUT, the skein starts off with slightly less yardage than Malabrigo Sock, and Sally had to dip into the skein she sent me, so I worried a bit about yardage.  I shortened my Damson 6 rows and then did a crocheted chain bind off instead of the multi-row bind off shown in the pattern in hopes of having enough yarn.  I also added openwork as discovered in this Ravelry project by Linda Butkus.  I don’t know if this variation requires more or less yarn, but I DO know that I ended up with only one gram of yarn when I was done.  One.  Uno.

I like it.  It’s pretty.  I’m not sure when I’ll wear it, but it is a beautiful way to use up one skein of gorgeous sock yarn without having to knit socks 😉 !

PS: Barb asked, “Looked on Ravelry but no sign of how Linda did the insert, just lovely pics–did you contact her for instructions or figure it out yourself?”

I figured it out myself by looking at Linda’s version and then revising the chart.

…and into an oasis!  I have been off the grid for over a week now, experiencing pervasive and ongoing computer issues.  I am now back on line and LOVING IT!  New high speed internet (that finally works as promised), new computer with 4 times the memory of the old one, and new printer (because the old was not compatible with Windows 7).  I feel free as a bird, light as a feather, etc. etc.  It is great to have joined the 21st century at long last!