As many of you know, tomorrow evening is the beginning of the Vancouver Winter Olympics !

Many knitters are participating in the new incarnation of the “Knitting Olympics” that have been deemed the “Ravelympics” now on Ravelry.  Last I looked, there were over 8000 knitters and crocheters signed up for those events – with event names that run the gauntlet from the “Hat Halfpipe” to “Mitten Moguls”, there is something for everyone.  These Ravelympians far outnumber the actual Olympians in Vancouver.  It should be great fun to watch!

I have not participated in a Knitting Olympics, and I am not planning to this year as I feel that I have pressured myself enough with deadline knitting… but that doesn’t mean that I am not cheering you on wholeheartedly!  I would love to hear what you are planning for the Ravelympics – leave me a comment and tell me about your team, your event, and your project!

I hope many of you are planning to watch the events – you will be in for some real treats!  Since the Summer Games have such a ginormous following, they are

Here are a few tips and things to watch for during the Games:

•  Winter Olympic Sports are FAST.  Several of them involve icy surfaces, so this means that the action just *zooms* right by.  So, you may need to work on a project that doesn’t require large amounts of attention!  You look down to count your stitches or check your charting – and boom, you just missed the win!  Luckily, there are DVRs and instant replays – but you don’t want to miss the action!  …and in case you do miss it and have an accident, there are always commercial breaks for a little bit of frogging

• I don’t have to tell you that my anticipation for the Games is all about the ice hockey.  Because the Games are in Canada – the Home of Hockey – there is a HUGE HUGE amount of pressure on both the Men’s and Women’s teams to bring home the gold medals.  And honestly, both of them are so good that they could do it.  The most contentious matches will be between old rivalries (aren’t they always?).

For the Mens’ tournament, the match that has the most hype is Canada versus Russia.  Both of these teams are very deep and star-studded.  Both teams are fully made of athletes who do this for a living – both in the National Hockey League (NHL) and the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL).  Two of the undisputed “best players in the world” will be facing off – one leading Canada and the other leading Russia.  Watch for Sidney Crosby (Canada) and Alexander Ovechkin (Russia) – and if you watch the Games, you will hear their names A LOT.  However, because the Olympics are a one-stop shop, unlike many of the other “best of seven” style tournaments, there is a very distinct possibility that one of the other national teams could make a real showing.  The biggest “contenders” in addition to the two already named are the US, Sweden, Czech Republic, Finland, and Slovakia.  There could be a “dark horse” – and that’s what makes it so exciting!

As for the women’s hockey, the biggest rivalry is between Canada and the United States.  Canada won the Gold in Torino in 2006, with Sweden taking the silver and the US taking the bronze.  Women’s hockey is serious business with serious fans!  I watched one of the matches between US and Canada a few weeks ago and really got into the excitement in the game.  It was a nailbiter right to the end.  The Canadians took the game, but it was so close!  Women’s hockey doesn’t get much (if any) “air time” on TV and in the news media, so I simply don’t know that much about these athletes as I do about the men – but I will love finding out more about these amazing women through the course of the Games.

• Figure skating is always the soap opera of the Olympics, and I doubt this year will be any different – from the costumes, the judging, the relationships between partners… oh!  so juicy and exciting!  the figure skating consistently ranks among the most popular events on TV and in person (that is why the tickets were so hard to get – the price point was so high!  so, we will be enjoying the figure skating on the screen, not in person).

• In a weird turn of winter events, the Vancouver area has had a very mild winter – so much so that they are trucking in snow from the mountains to bring to the ski/snowboard courses north of the city.  Conditions are not really improving, and while there are some contingencies in place, everyone is hoping that things go off as planned.  Several of our events are indoors, but we do have a ski event in Cypress Mountain and we are all keeping our fingers crossed that it happens!  …I wish there was a way I could take the 4 feet of snow here in Maryland to BC with me!

I would love to hear about what events you are planning to follow!

I’m going to need some new phrases for my titles relating to my Olympic sweater knitting… I have lots more knitting to do, and presumably a few more posts up my sleeve!

As you know, I am wading through the deep water of the sleeves of Kris’s Olympic pullover, working towards that fateful day when I can join the body and the sleeves and yoke it all up together.  A few rows here and there…

With any hope to have my Olympic sweater done for the Games in February, I had to cast on for my very own sweater… luckily, I had some support in the form of a class at my yarn shop.

I haven’t taken a formal knitting class since I learned to knit nearly six years ago, but I figured that a big project like this would be a nice camaraderie knit – and honestly, I wanted some “hand holding” during the steeking process!

Here I am at last week’s class choosing my third colorway – my first choice, the turquoise at the end of the third row, was discontinued unfortunately – but I decided to go with the close match, the robin’s egg blue at the beginning of the fourth row.  Not quite the same “POP”, but pretty close!  We have met twice now, and my classmates and I are all cast on and ready to knit a few miles of stockinette for the body before we reach the colorwork sections in the chest.

The part I am pretty “chuffed” about is the OFFICIAL Olympic patch and zipper:

The knitting is a bit slow on the small needles – size 3 and 3.25mm – but every little bit counts.  With some roadtrips coming up in the next month, I trust I can make some significant progress.  The first inch of the knitting – in the rib pattern – is actually a hem facing that gets tucked under later.  There is an elastic cord that came with the zipper kit to run through the bottom of the sweater.  It will make it look like a real ski fleece!

These Olympic sweaters are probably the biggest thing I have ever taken on – and I am excited about them!  Kris’s is much closer to the finish line than mine is, but I feel good that at least mine is on the needles and ready.

And with all of this work still ahead of me, I am also thinking of how great the new official Canadian Olympic gear is – the designs were released last week, and my mind is already buzzing about how quickly I could knit up something similar to the lovely Cowichan-inspired design… it is a large gauge… so, it may be possible to knit *after* I finish these, right? (it appears that the designs have set off a controversy with the “Cowichan” word choice… but I figured that “Cowichan-inspired” was safe enough, right?)

A quick search of Cowichan-inspired sweaters turned up this number by Rebecca… I think I could cardiganize it pretty easily, and maybe add some colorwork motifs…

…Okay, I am getting ahead of myself… let me finish my Dale sweaters first

Many of us are familiar with the beautiful creations by the sock knitting “big names” like Anna Zilboorg, Nancy Bush*, Cat Bordhi, Lucy Neatby, Cookie A*, and the handful of other prolific and talented designers who have shared their amazing innovations and interpretations with the knitting community…

And for every amazing knitter whose work makes it on to countless needles, there are so many other amazing knitters and designers out there who inspire, offer great tutorials, teach classes, and design their own patterns. 

Over my years of sock knitting, I have admired many people for their sock knitting skills – I have mentioned many times how Terhi’s work amazes me – and each year I meet new people who continue to inspire… here are four friends I would love to introduce you to!

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If you follow Flickr, you may be familiar with Osloann – she is also on Ravelry as Pinneguri - and designs and knits *amazing* socks in Norway.  Do yourself a favor, and check her work out!

Not only does she knit beautiful socks with the greatest of skill – she also designs adorable (free!) patterns like the Bumblebee socks:

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Although Chawne is very much on a quilting, embroidery and blanket-knitting kick of late (equally amazing!) it was her amazing sock knitting skills that first turned me on to this crafting virtuoso of a woman.  She has SO many beautiful sock creations to her name – and she is just so darn clever! 

Chawne’s free pattern for the Socks of Kindness (Ravelry link)

Whatever C does – and the sheer devotion that she puts in to it! – inspire me each and every day.

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Dan and Virginia have created a beautiful little space on the web over at ScratchCraft.  If you have not seen their work, you are really missing out.  They are both in to fiber arts, and as their blog name implies – creating things from scratch (that includes food, furniture, home improvement, and lots of other goodies!)  Dan’s fiber work runs the gamut from weaving, spinning, knitting, and most recently needle felting.  Virginia is really in to knitting, socks in particular (but also beautiful mittens, blankets, and sweaters).  She has participated in the 52 Socks a year challenge and has succeeded (more than once, I believe!)  Her sock posts are like an overload – she knits so many pairs in a short amount of time that each post contains about 5 finished pairs!

Can you think of anything cuter than a husband-wife knitting team?  Dan’s amazing Beau sweater in his own handspun yarn was the inspiration for the Beau that I made for Kris in 2008.  

You can see all of their galleries over on Flickr - knitting, weaving, cooking, spinning, photography… everything these amazing people do!

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Who are your “unsung sock heroes and heroines”? 

Is it a person in your knitting group who is just so clever?  who knits like lightning?  Someone whose work you admire and want to emulate?  Someone whom you have never met, but see their work on the internet?

Please share!

*In Socktoberfest 2006, I did interviews with BOTH Nancy Bush and Cookie A – you can see all the Socktoberfest archives here

It’s those pauses in between when “life” happens… the pause between this activity and that one. The pause between the inhale and the exhale. The pause between placing one foot down and picking up the other.

Taking the pauses as they come – realizing them for the true gifts that they are. Not rushing to end the pause. It is in these pauses when calmness and clarity come. In a world where “multitasking” is revered, and countless hours are spent doing too many things at once, it is all the more meaningful to take the time to really explore the stillness.

Even the most menial tasks can be enjoyed when you simply think about what you are doing at the present moment. One of my favorite tasks for “living in the moment” is washing the dishes. The simple act of turning on the faucet, wetting my hands and a cloth, preparing the soap. I think about the science of it and I think about the art of it. I think about how I am grateful for indoor plumbing and for even having a pot to wash. With these thoughts in mind, you can wash a dozen dishes and also invite the stillness into your mind. It’s a lovely exercise – try it!

Mindfulness is so simple, yet so few people in our society do it. I am doing some research right now on mindfulness in yoga practice for my final project for Teacher Training. I hope to have more to share soon – my mindfulness project goes beyond the physical practice of yoga, and into every day life yoga – on and off the mat. My research paper is due next month, so you will probably hear more about it

Walking and hiking is definitely one of the most enjoyable activities, and a very good way to introduce a mindfulness practice into your life.  I especially like to take the hikes during the little pauses in between seasons – those sort of subtle days when there is a fuzzy line between the two… This weekend provided such an opportunity to explore a new trail in one of our favorite areas.  We took the dogs, and we took our time.

Project Spectrum has been a practice of mindfulness from the very beginning – just noticing the things around you.  Even if you feel that you don’t have the time to actually “craft” something in the specific colors this time around, you can still participate in the way of thinking about it.  Thinking about the ripples on the water, thinking about the blue of the sky, thinking about the shifting seasons…  and finally, taking the pause and just relishing in it.

Admit it:  You have been there…

Watching a movie or a television program, and you are all into the story and the inner machinations of the characters and all of their dramas and struggles and tensions and feelings, and then suddenly, your eyes wander towards a knitted item on the screen…

<< Inner monologue >>

Wow, that is really amazing/unique/beautiful knit…

How did they do that?

Hmm… wonder if I could find a pattern like this…  could I design this?

<< stream of consciousness  – insert names of yarns, patterns, designers >>

By the time you snap back, you have missed a few minutes of plotlines and a major development … Thank goodness for digital video recorders – they have helped me many a time.

“Oooh, rewind that – pause it.  Look at that sweater!”

I can almost hear Kris roll his eyes when I do this… it happens that often.

The most recent film knit inspiration came from the 2002 Masterpiece Theatre miniseries Doctor Zhivago … nothing like a Bolshevik Revolution and a frozen wasteland to get that knitting inspiration on, eh?

As Yury escapes from his Red Army captors, he must cross the frozen Ural mountains – he is starving, half-mad, fighting frostbite and desperately yearning to see his beloved Lara again…

…but oh my…

Look at his pullover!

It was hard to find a full frontal (heh) of this pullover in the online screen captures, but I found enough of the shots to show the details of the sweater, as highlighted above.  I searched around on Ravelry and came across a few patterns that look close enough… in my mind, I thought that there was a Rowan pattern that was very similar to it, but an initial search didn’t pull anything up… it does seem simple enough to just cast on and see where it goes from there…

I even have some gray Lopi that looks like a great match for it…

Lara (played by Keira Knightly in this rendition) also sports a traditional Russian hat that I was also quite distracted by… of course, I don’t want to use real fur or even a “fun fur” type of yarn.  Perhaps a chenille would work?  Hmmm…

Or would this just look plain silly?  Maryland barely got snow last winter…

Of course, nearly every Harry Potter film has had some eye-catching knit item in it (there are whole groups inspired by the Harry Potter knits) and the mittens that Bella wore in the movie Twilight (for about 5 minutes of screen time – no more) inspired a massive knitalong on Ravelry with 1400+ active projects (heck, I even queued them up!)

It seems to be the cold-weather period pieces that most inspire me – Scandanavian subtitles, British historical miniseries, and the occasional documentary about ill-fated Antarctic explorations…

Oh Mr. Shackleton, what a fetching basketweave turtleneck sweater you are wearing…

Even when marooned on icebergs,  Mr. Shackleton sported this snappy seed stitch number…

Of course, there have been plenty of other film knits that have inspired over my (nearly) six years of knitting.  I haven’t yet made any of these knits, but that doesn’t mean it won’t happen!

Any big or small screen knits that have inspired you lately?