Wrap-Up of Ravellenics 2014

I participated in my first Ravellenic games this year! Ravellenics coincides with the Olympics and it's a time where fiber artists challenge themselves to complete projects and compete on teams.

I was on the team TreeHouse Crochet and started out the games by not pushing myself too hard. I coasted through the first 4 or 5 projects and chose one project that took an entire week of focus to complete. 

Aerial Unwind

This was by far the easiest competition that I participated in. I was making a scarf for a swap and ended up not having enough wool to complete the scarf. 

I used every inch of yarn, then had to frog it (unwind it). It was really hard to unravel that many hours of work, but it was also incredibly freeing! I may start unwinding a little more regularly in the future. 

Hat Halfpipe

I watched a lot of Olympics on NBC simply because I was competing in Ravellenics. I caught the Women's Halfpipe event and was so sad to hear the story of Sarah Burke. Her story and the coverage of this event was truly inspiring and, even now, I continue reflecting on the comments of her parents in the interview. They are truly amazing parents whom I aspire to be like.

Toy Tobogganing

Of course this was the most fun event of all! Who doesn't smile when they make fun toys for kids? We have named this dog puppet, Scout, since that's the name of the dog in our church's Sunday School lessons. The kids love Scout! I get to teach Sunday school next week and can't wait to use him with the kids. 

Free pattern from Stitch 11

WIPs Dancing

Intended for a charity collection seeking 70 animals for children in a women's shelter, Owen the Monkey quickly fell through the cracks last fall. I had finished crocheting all the pieces (including his head/body and facial features not shown in this fun photo) last October, but her remained in pieces until now.

 And here he is all finished next to his favorite monkey friend, Peach.

Scarf Super-G and Mitten Moguls

Do you remember that scarf above where I ran out of yarn? I remade it creating a pattern as I went and here's the finished scarf.

Since this scarf is a little more open-work, I ended up having enough wool remaining to barely squeeze out this matching pair of fingerless gloves.

Sweaterboard Cross

This is the area where I challenged myself. I never make garments. I typically refuse requests to make dresses, clothing and blankets. These projects take so much time and just aren't worth it. But, I decided that I would make a sweater once for myself. The total project cost for this sweater was $20.00 and this includes the price of the yarn and the price of the pattern.

I need to get better photos of the sweater. It's called the Simply Elegant Sweater designed by Jenny King. It's a gorgeous, loose-fitting design that I truly believe would look great on any body type. I wore it to church today and it got a lot of positive feedback. I don't know why, but I'm always a little embarrassed when things I make get that much attention.

This sweater weighs close to 20 oz. and used between 950-1,000 yards of Caron Simply Soft yarn.

Conclusion of Ravellenics 2014

I thoroughly enjoyed the games! I really pushed myself to make the sweater and I'm so happy to have actually finished it in time. I can't believe that I fit in SIX projects aside from this one. I'm completely amazed at what we can accomplish when we push ourselves to reach our goals.

My team, Treehouse Crochet, had a competition running based on projects completed during the games and the total yardage of our projects. But, I'm satisfied in earning the Ravthlete badge! I'll be wearing it proudly as my Ravatar for many weeks to come. 

How I Kept Myself From Being Successful

I was asked by someone local, "Are you still crocheting?" Eek...The fact that someone asked that question is a problem. I crochet all the time. So, why would a local person have to ask me if I'm still crocheting?

I had to search myself and realized that I am keeping success away by hiding my pieces from the world. It sent me on a search to figure out what misconceptions do I have that are keeping me from being successful? And, in the end, it resulted in the fact that I am neglecting the platforms I have on which to promote my finished pieces to the world of people who may end up buying them.

Making the Easy Peasy Sock - In Progress

One of my goals for 2013 is to knit my first pair of socks using DPNS. I cast on Sunday night using the Easy Peasy Socks for First-Timers pattern. I knew about this pattern because I follow the designer (FreshStitches). But, there are a lot of reasons why I chose this one:

1. It uses worsted weight yarn, so that means the project moves along quicker than a traditional sock/fingering-weight yarn.
2. The pattern guides and explains each section you will complete. 
3. There are helpful tips on every page.
4. A note toward the beginning says that this is more like a written class on sock-making with Stacey than it is a pattern.

I am still working on my first sock, but I really wanted to share the progress!

I cast on Sunday night for this sock. Then, I got to this point where the pattern says:

Put up a do-not-disturb sign, and let your loved ones fend for themselves. It's heel-turning time, and you mustn't be bothered.

I love little notes like that! It's sort of saying, "Hey first-timer! Yeah, You! Pay extra attention that you don't get lost in this section! Capiche?"

With that, I left my sock in this state Sunday night:

Turning the Heel

I spent my lunch break Monday turning the heel and setting up my knitting needles for the next section of the pattern. I adjusted my stitches to have an equal number on the left/right needles and the remaining needle was left as it had been all along. When I did this, a little sailboat emerged.

Sailing, Sailing on...Sailing, sailing on...

I finished the gusset yesterday. Don't know what a gusset is? Guess what?! This pattern explains all those terms! Like I said, it's more than a pattern. And, I bet when I move on to a "real" sock pattern, I will probably keep referring back to this pattern for all the helpful tips.

On the 4th Day of Sock-Working...

My needles brought to me: the mindless part of knitting! < I hope you were singing the 12 days of Christmas there. If not, go back and read it again, but this time sing. Maybe in your head if your coworkers might give you funny glances.

At this point, I am finally knitting around and around. I will continue in this manner until I try it on and it reaches my big toe. Then, the pattern has more fun things planned. 

In case you can't tell, I am having a lot of fun in this new knitting adventure! If you want to make a pair of socks, this pattern is a great starting point! You will learn all the basics of making your first sock and all those little questions you have are already answered in the helpful tips scattered throughout the pattern. If you have never made a sock, I hope this pushes you just a little closer to trying it.

If you want to watch the continuing saga of my little sock, check out his project page. 

Kool-Aid Yarn Dyeing with Helpful Tips

You are probably curious about dyeing your own yarn, but probably scared. Let me relieve some of the pressure for you. It's actually really easy and hardly any work at all.