Olympic Insanity, Day 21: All Over But the Seaming

I did not finish the crocheting at knit night tonight. I finished soon after coming home. There are five long seams left to sew, plus three strips' worth of ends to deal with.

I have been having balance issues the past couple of weeks, and I think this afghan is partly to blame. My fiber time has been less calming and more agitating than I like, and not loving my project and not loving my yarn has not helped. I gladly snatched up my languishing baby sweater and knit away on the Happy Forest goodness.

So here's what I now know:

• I need color. This grey monogamy has been bad for my mental health.
  
• I do not love crocheting the way that I love knitting. For me it is less meditative, less automatic, and less soothing.
  
• I made up a row-marker scheme that kept me from counting and recounting as I went, and it helped a lot. At a glance, I could tell how much work was left.
  
• I can talk a good game about the Olympics being about personal challenges and going higher than I thought possible, but when I don't make it, I do tend to get down on myself. Especially when things keep taking longer than I think they should. I am glad to be finished.
  
• I do love my kid brother, and I'm glad he's going to have this blanket. But I may just knit hats for the rest of the fam for Christmas.

Project specs in the FO post, including the pattern story, when I get it seamed and finished.

Olympic Insanity, Day 17: In Which We End

Sort of.



Here are five strips and the start of the sixth. This is status as of noon today, the "official" end of the Ravelympics. So yes, I did not "win." I lost, I failed, I fell short.

But seriously? I have most of an afghan. At an ordinary gauge. Faster than I've ever done an afghan before, because I fully expect this to be finished this week. And I really can't beat myself up about that.

This picture was supposed to be a portrait of failure. But I have most of an afghan taking up most of my living room, and I've done that remarkably quickly. And that's kind of awesome.

And I've learned a lot about myself, and the way I work, and what I like and what I want to do. But I'll post about that later.

Olympic Insanity, Day 14 : Totally Insane

New Job started this week. It's been exhilarating, frustrating, and exhausting. And I'm not sleeping as well (or as much) as I'd like.

Thus strip 4 was only just finished tonight. And so again, no new pictures, but just double the stuff in the last picture.

Not giving up yet. Still have a weekend coming, and strip 5 has almost 20 rows already. I bet I can get past 30 before bed. Go Team!

Olympic Insanity, Day 9

No pictures. Look at the one in the post below, and add another strip. That's the current picture. Which means that we've got something more than a week left and half to go.

I'm putting great expectations on spending the afternoon with the in-laws tomorrow, it's usually great knitting time, so hopefully that pattern will remain consistent and I'll have most of a fourth strip done. Because the third was finished last night and the fourth might get started in the next hour or so. Yeah, I'm slacking.

And I got my order from Blue Moon today (I think I ordered Tuesday? They're awesome!), and I may need very bright blue-green-yellow socks very very soon. Ideally, once I'm finished with the olympics, I should be working on some work socks, because work starts on Monday, but the thought of more greys and blacks really isn't working for me right now.

Olympic insanity, day 7

It'll be a full week tomorrow, and I may or may not have three strips done by then. I took a picture of the two finished ones, but seriously?



I can't tell the difference anymore. There are two there. A third is in the works. Hopefully finished today or tomorrow.

Grey grey grey. I'm distracting myself as best I can considering the same two women are playing beach volleyball every time I turn on the Olympics. I spent some time yesterday catching up on Project Runway, I'm almost current on Craftlit and Little Women, and since I'm crocheting for the Guild of Calamitous Intent, I stuck the Venture Bros in the dvd player yesterday for good measure. Having people to talk to tonight at knit night will help.

Meanwhile, anybody have any good ideas for my husband's birthday? It's Saturday and I'm clueless.

Olympic Insanity, day 2

Progress photos ahoy!

This was taken around 6:30pm today, August 9. First strip is finished lengthwise, and the border is more than halfway around the first round. Currently totally stymied by the second round, because it requires crocheting into a chain every third stitch, and it's kind of dark in my house, and it's essentially black yarn. I was hoping to get more done watching tonight's IndyCar race, but the dark plus the needing to see that tiny chain stitch was getting to me.



In case you're thinking I'm doing a mini-afghan, here's the length stretched on my sofa.



Yup, I'm making a half-dozen charcoal-on-grey scarves and sewing them together. I must really love my kid brother.

Looking forward to tomorrow's short crocheting day - a trip to the State Fair will be just the thing to rest my wrists and right elbow, which have recently started protesting their overuse.

Olympic insanity, day 1

Woke up and started crocheting this morning. SciFi is having a Doctor Who marathon today, which should mean I get a good start.

Finished the Mobius yesterday, it's warm and yummy and lovely.



A crochet-y couple of weeks are at hand, and I was panicking some last night at putting away the knitting. There's actually still a piece of baby sweater in my living room and a sock in my purse, so it's not a total swap of hook for needles, but I'm still quite out of my comfort zone.

I'm thinking we get chinese food tonight at my house.

Clearing the needles

Or not.

Pre-Olympic stuff:

I started a little plaything last night - Doddy, and I got a little math-geeky after I started, so there will need to be another, geekier one later. If this stops halfway till the Olympics are over, no big.

The knitting is finished but the finishing is not on the fantastic Quinn bag, and I would like to have that usable before the Olympics start.

I have a couple socks going, the Anne-trelac will (hopefully) get to the end of the entrelac part of the first and then go away for a little while (till I get Christmas crazy?), the plain purse socks will stay in the purse for emergency knitting.

I'm going to try and finish up the green baby sweater this week. And the mobius wrap.

There's also the Mooninites pillow that has been languishing in a half-crocheted state forever. I'd like to surprise the husband with that for his birthday this month, so that would need to be finished before the Olympics too.

Of course the main thing that needs to be finished this week is the term at hand. Final exams tomorrow. Grades due Tuesday.

Meanwhile, I'm watching the Colts play the first game of the preseason, and NBC keeps reminding me, "Five Days till the Opening Ceremonies!"