Go Team Romi

Only a few more days in the Tour de Fleece!  Have a photo tour of my tour.  First, the natural singles I spun so that I could ply them with this bobbin of yarn that had been sitting around foreeeeeeeeever.  techmuse bought me a little sampler of naturally dyed wool some time ago, along with some natural local wool.  I spun the colored puffs and I spun the natural wool, but ran out of natural wool first.  I went and bought more natural wool of similar staple length, but then I sort of trailed off.  Anyway, I spun the white, and plyed it with the green, and the red that is under it on this bobbin - and, as it turned out, a small amount of leftover yellow at the very bottom (which didn't make it into the photo).








The next item up was Spunky Eclectic club fiber, but I've lost the slip of paper that was in the bag  describing the fiber and color name.  I suspect it was BFL, but I don't know.  It's pretty though.



I adopted a policy of heavy predrafting.






Next up - Spunky Eclectic mixed wool in colorway "Retreat"





This long staple wool is spinning up thinner than anything I've done before.  I'll wait to celebrate until the ply though.



One bobbin down, working on number two.




I haven't managed to spin EVERY day on the tour but I've done my best and I'm pretty sure I've made up for the days I missed by spinning on the rest days.  So far, though, I have been meeting my goal, which is to say, I have enjoyed my spinning.  It helps that I am spinning along with the rest of Team Romi.  The encouragement and advice are invaluable, and I've really been enjoying it.  I might actually manage to keep spinning after the tour, at this rate!

I've made really slow progress on Terpischore Street, but I'm getting there. 



I had originally planned to make a second one out of my dear friend Alison's merino/cashmere/nylon yarn in black iris, but I fell in love with the photos of the laceweight versions people were posting and even though I already had the MCN, I got some laceweight in the black iris.  (Ali's shop is hard to resist!!)



These photos really don't do justice to the color of any of these yarns or projects - I'll try to get some real photos for next week. 

Just When I Thought I Was All Caught Up

This blog has been depressingly irregular since I started my new job.  At my old work, I had plenty of downtime and could do some blog composition during the day.  My new job is much more demanding (which is a good thing) and I just can't seem to work out a good time to do photos, edit photos, upload photos, and compose a post.  So, unfortunately, I think there are going to be more iphone pics in the blog, at least until I can get a decent routine.

Anyway!  Just when I had finally gotten through the pile of shawls I had laying around to block, Romi had a pattern-splosion and I've been knitting my fingers off trying to keep up.

 First I had to catch up with the patterns that were already out, so I finished Calliope's Odyssey.  I rarely knit things twice but this one is so pretty I might have to make one for myself.









That left me with just Meadowgold, the April pins and lace shawl, left to knit to catch up.  It was a soothing, easy knit.  I used Tanis Fiber Arts Silver Label Silk in Gold.  (that was a close call, I just barely had enough yarn to finish!)



Then, suddenly, Romi started busting out with designs all over the place!  Next was Lyrica Euterpe out of Fly Designs Nymph in ChocoCherry.



Then the Perpetua Shawl came out in the new Knitscene.  I made mine out of Shelby B Designs in Minister of Magic.  The yarn has sterling silver in it and it's lovely and sparkly.  I definitely recommend garter stitch designs for these blingy yarns, it looks amazing, and I love the blue mixed in with the neutral grey.  I think it's going to be very wearable (in a shiny sort of way).



Next up is Terpsichore Street, which I plan to make out of Zen Yarn Garden Bamboolicious.  And now here I am once again with a pile of shawls to be blocked.



I've had a few more items going on too.  I took an evening or two and knit a Beignet out of leftover Neighborhood Fiber Co. from the Polyhymnia shawl.  I love it, although the rolling up at the edge bothers me a little.  I'm not sure if that's because of the weight of the clasp I chose or because I made the necklace so short.  It might be that my icord is too tight.  Or it could be because I haven't actually blocked it yet.



And I've been working on a pair of socks for my hubby.



This is String Theory Caper Sock which I bought right before the wedding.  I had intended to make socks for both of us on the honeymoon, but I selfishly started the pair for myself first and accidentally left the skein for his socks in the rental car.  The rental car company mailed it to the house for me, so it was waiting here for us when we got back, but obviously I didn't get to knit them during the honeymoon.  I'm calling these his honeymoon socks anyway.

Last but not least, the TdF has begun and I'm a-spinnin'.



So far my efforts don't actually look half bad, as long as they hold together enough to ply!

Choice and Belief

We live in a jaded society.  It takes effort, hope, and optimism to believe in any kind of ideal anymore.  The world is not a nice place.  Life is unfair.  People can not be depended on. 

Every two years I make the effort to sit in front of the TV with hope and optimism, dedicated to believing that the Olympics still mean something.  That even though commercialism is rampant, even though athletes dope, even though some countries value medals more than the health and happiness of their children, that the ideal behind the Olympics is still real.  The dream is still there.  I choose to believe that the Olympics are a celebration, not of brute strength and mere athleticism, but of international cooperation, of mutual respect, of an acknowledgement that we all have potential within us, and of what perseverance, hard work, and natural talent can come together to achieve.  I choose to believe that the Olympics are a time when we can put away the ugly side of patriotism, the association with blood and war and death, and be proud not only to be an American, but to be a citizen of the world, standing beside those who are different, and celebrating them for it.  I believe the Olympics are a thing of beauty.

I choose to believe this, even though everything in this world has its dark side.  I choose to watch the Olympics every two years with the rapidly beating heart and wide-eyed excitement of the child I used to be, because so many of the things I loved have fallen to age and cynicism, and I make the choice to look with the eyes of hope and idealism, to believe that the true spirit of the Olympics is untarnished and possible in this world.  I cling to it in election years especially, when everything is about worry and cynicsm and conflict. 

I believe that we all watch the Olympics with the dream inside of us, the feeling, of "what if I could be there?" "what if I could do that?"  I believe that the Olympics can inspire greatness, not only in large, life-altering, I'm-going-to-train-for-my-whole-life ways, but also in small ways.  I believe that there is value in challenging yourself and choosing to excel, no matter what the arena.

I believe the Ravelympics were born of that desire, the desire to be challenged and to be part, even for just a few weeks, of something bigger than we are.  We come together as an international nation.  The knitters of the Ravelympics are global.  We take up the Olympic banner and cheer, and it is a pure and beautiful thing, because it is born out of love and enthusiasm, not out of a desire for gain or even a spirit of competition.  The knitters of the Ravelympics compete only against themselves and their own expectations.  I say that we are a purer representation of the Olympic spirit than the Olympics will ever be, because in the Olympics, someone has to lose.  But this is what the US Olympic Committee believes:

"The USOC is responsible for preserving the Olympic Movement and its ideals within the United States.  Part of that responsibility is to ensure that Olympic trademarks, imagery and terminology are protected and given the appropriate respect.  We believe using the name “Ravelympics” for a competition that involves an afghan marathon, scarf hockey and sweater triathlon, among others, tends to denigrate the true nature of the Olympic Games.  In a sense, it is disrespectful to our country’s finest athletes and fails to recognize or appreciate their hard work."

I believe that one of the greatest callings of an Olympic athletes is to inspire others to greatness.  I believe that no one gets to define what greatness is for me.  And I believe that you don't have to be an Olympic athlete to be worthy of respect. After all, "The Olympic Games represent ideals that go beyond sport to encompass culture and education, tolerance and respect, world peace and harmony."

Members of Team USA, should any of you happen upon this humble knitting blog, know that these people are speaking for you.  What I would like to know is, do they represent you?

I will not be boycotting the games.  When the time comes, I will sit in front of my television, I will take up my knitting, and I will choose, once again, to believe.  But it's going to be just a little bit harder this year.

Getting There

I was so, unbelievably thrilled to realize last week that we didn't have any plans for the three-day weekend.  I think this is the first weekend since we got back from our honeymoon when we didn't have ANYTHING going on, and we took full advantage of it.  On Saturday we slept in, had lunch, and just generally goofed around the house being lazy.  On Sunday after church, we went down to Old Town Alexandria and had brunch at Bilbo Baggins.  It's one of our favorite restaurants, although we don't get out that way very often, and brunch was delicious.  We shared some beignets and then I had a monte christo sandwich and CodeNinja had their stuffed French Toast.





Delicious.  Then we found a shady spot down by the waterfront and set ourselves up some chairs.  CodeNinja read while I knitted, and we just enjoyed the day.  It was really hot overall, but there was a nice breeze blowing from the river, and since we were in the shade, it was quite tolerable.



We sat for a few hours just enjoying the day, and then popped over to Fibre Space.  I picked up this from Astral Bath Yarns, a new-to-me dyer with a really cool name.



It's kind of a misty blue or green color (depending on the lighting and the beholder) that's just lovely.  This yarn is a falkland merino/silk blend that's not one of the dyer's normal bases, and it's gorgeous and oh, so soft.





The colorway is called "The Poetics of Space."  I love an elegant name.

Then we had gelato and cupcakes.



Sadly the cupcakes were eaten before I could photograph them.

Monday we had to do all the responsible stuff like laundry and all that jazz, but I still got some knitting in.  I finished Pulelehua on Thursday last week, and immediately cast on for Calliope's Odyssey.  Then I knit like a fiend all weekend.





I've come to think of this as my "cherries and strawberries" shawl because that's what the two colors remind me of.  This is Neighborhood Fiber Co. Studio Sock in Victorian Village (the light pink that looks like a strawberry milkshake) and a OOAK color that I can't remember the name of (the darker cherries garcia color).  I had been hoping (in that feverish, unrealistic way that knitters do) that I could finish this by today so that I could block it and deliver it to the recipient, but that's totally not going to happen.  I will definitely finish this weekend though.  The person I want to give this to is going to surgery on Monday and I really want to deliver it on Sunday morning at church if I can.  She is the sister of the lady to whom I plan to give Polyhymnia.

One of my goals this weekend was to finish getting all the "waiting to be blocked" shawls blocked, and I did succeed.  As you'll recall, I blocked Buttonwillow and Caliz last week, but I only showed Caliz on the pins, so here is a pic of it now that it is pin-free.





First up this weekend on the blocking -er, block, was Polyhymnia.



I put wires at the base of the MC triangle and then another set on the outer edge of the triangle just above the ruffle.  This is also Neighborhood Fiber Co. Studio Sock, picked up at the same time as the other two skeins.





The ruffle on this shawl is one of Romi's super clever little touches.  Most ruffles are made simply by increasing and the fabric ruffles naturally.  On this shawl, there is increasing to create the ruffle, but Romi also made use of little purl triangles between the ruffles to make it ruffle even more nicely and consistently.  Because stockinette comes forward and purl recedes, you get neat little wedge shaped ruffles.  I tried to take a picture but it didn't work very well one-handed.



The end result came out very nicely and turned out to be a good size.  I was a little worried this one would be small, but it blocked out well.





Then the only remaining shawl to be blocked was Pulelehua.  Take a deep breath while you can as you look at the unblocked picture, because this shawl is really breathtaking.



And then...

 

I actually ended up blocking this one more severely than I intended.  I pinned the top edges and the center motif, and then started pinning the upper right edge.  Then  I switched over to the upper left edge - and after a while I realized that, in order to get the same appearance on the left as on the right, I was pinning that side much tighter.  I ended up repinning the right side.  Then repinning, and repinning.  There was a lot of moving of pins, is what I'm saying.  I finally had to get CodeNinja to come down and stand there with a bird's eye view telling me what I needed to move to make it look right.  By the time I was done, the poor shawl was stretched within an inch of its life.





Look at the cresting waves on the border!



The blocking shots actually don't really do justice to the shawl because between the highly aggressive blocking and the grey blocking mats, the color gets really washed out. But, once I picked it up, well.









The color is just gorgeous.  Great depth, wonderful sheen - this is Spirit Trail Decima and I will definitely be using it again some day.  Just luscious. 

I feel like I'm back in my knitting groove.  I've made good progress on Calliope even since the pictures in this post were taken.  Meadowgold is next up...and rumors and hints abound that we might be seeing some new releases in the near future!