Over a year and no socks in sight… and then the sock bug bit me again right before the Vancouver trip in February.  I finished a cuff on the plane ride out there and knit a few more rows, but just as quickly as it came on, the sock bug went away again.  However, I pressed on.  A few months later, I now have a pretty pair of socks to show for that tenaciousness (heh – yeah 4 months of persistence!)

Canada Socks
Pattern: Canada Socks from Knitting on the Road by Nancy Bush
Yarn: Red and Ivory = Schoeller+Stahl Fortissima /
Gray = Tess Designer Yarns
Needles: Size 0 and 1 US

The socks were a fun mix of stranded colorwork and simple stockinette – two favorite combination.  The yarns work well together.  I altered the pattern’s cuff slightly, choosing a simple ribbed cuff instead of the vikkel braid outlined in the book.

The pattern was fun, and by virtue of the name – I will think of Canada when I wear these socks.  I have seen the east and the west of Canada… now I just have to see some of the in-betweens!

The socks were the final knit in my Stanley Cup Stashbusting knitalong with my friends on the Ravelry Puck This group.  We had about 20 participants (all hockey-loving knitters like myself!) and many projects – from blankets to washcloths and sweaters to socks.  It’s a fun chance to talk about what we are knitting as we cheer on our teams as they play towards the Cup.  Last night, the beautiful Stanley Cup was awarded to the fabulous Chicago Blackhawks team.  They played a great season, and it has been so much fun watching this team build themselves up after many years of abysmal attendance and indifference.  I adopted them as my “Western” team last year, so it was a joy to see them hoist the Cup only one year after my #1 team – the Pittsburgh Penguins – did they very same thing.  Congratulations to the Hawks!  So happy for them!  and happy for hockey in general – great ratings, top tweets on Twitter, and so much promise for the future.  Maybe the best-kept sports secret isn’t really a secret anymore?

So, in this quest for the Cup (and a few days before the playoffs started) I have been on a stashbusting kick – and I have some nice things to show for it!

My results:  1 blanket, 2 garments, 2 scarves and a pair of socks!

April – June 2010

…

Do I win an award for stashbusting?

Many thanks for your comments on my Noro blanket! thank you also for all the feedback on interchangeable needles – since I was borrowing the needles, I did not have the little key that many of you said comes along with the set, so that could be why I kept having problems…

Before I went to British Columbia back in February, I pulled together some yarns from my sock yarn stash and decided to make some socks. This was kind of a big deal because it had been well over a year since I had made any socks, or had the desire to do such.  Socks are a great travel project, so I packed the yarn and started them at the airport. In no time, I had the colorwork chart done, and started to work down the leg – these are the Canada socks from Nancy Bush’s Knitting on the Road:

The random yarns are Schoeller+Stahl Fortissima Socka in deep red and ivory, and the semi-solid gray is my old favorite – Tess Yarns Merino Sock.

Andrea knits!

Unfortunately, the sock bug was short-lived, and I went on to work on a number of other projects while this sock sat on the needles.  I just needed to turn the heel before I could quickly finish sock #1, but it sat in the bottom of the bag for over 2 months.  Finally, as I was sitting in my hotel room in Philadelphia last week (fresh back from my yarn shop + dinner date with Andrea) I turned the heel.  Yeah, it was over in about 20 minutes.  I don’t know why I didn’t do it sooner…

Now, sock #1 is done, and the clock is counting down.  I have to at least cast on for sock #2 in the next 24 hours or these socks will end up at the bottom of the bag again.  I just know this to be true, because I know myself… and my eyes are already wandering and my fingers are already itching to cast on for *another* new project.

Luckily, I have a lot of knitting time right now (which sounds much better than “sitting in front of the TV time”, doesn’t it?)  with the NHL playoffs…   My team, the Pittsburgh Penguins, is playing some great hockey, and with games on every.single.night (and some afternoons) there is never a dull moment.  I am moderating a bit and trying to do some other things (gardening! cooking! yoga!) but hockey is pretty much the big deal right now. 

My friend Gillian over on the Ravelry hockey boards made my day – she sent these amazing Penguins cups that she picked up on a recent visit to her mother in Pittsburgh.  They are holographic cups.  I have a theory that whichever cup I choose to drink out of – that player will have a great night (lots of goals, etc.) and so far it’s worked – well, twice.  So, it may be true!

... drinking with the guys ...

The Ravelry Stanley Cup Stashbusting Knit-along/Crochet-along is going really well, and there are lots of great projects over there… and it’s giving me lots of inspiration to do even more stashbusting.  I already finished the tank I started last week, and I am planning some baby knits, and maybe even jump-starting some holiday gift knitting.  Since I enjoyed the recent Noro project so much, my eyes are wandering towards the remaining Noro skeins in my stash wondering what they will become… and the crochet practice continues!

By now, you know that Kris and I LOVE hockey.   We are pretty hardcore fans, and we came into the Olympic Games with tickets to 9 hockey games.  So far, we have been to SIX of them.  Everyone of them has been so much fun!  Almost as fun as the game are the die-hard fans that travel to these games from their home countries.  They make the game that much more enjoyable.  Face-paints, cowbells, flag-waving.  It’s just amazing.

Finnish fans before the Finland/Belarus game

Russian fan before the Russia/Latvia game

German fans at Germany/Sweden game

Some friendly Americans (from NYC) that we met at the USA/Norway game

…and of course, the GAMES and the ATHLETES!

I found a great spot for photos down near the ice, and have been lucky to get some nice photographs of the players as they come out onto the ice.

Miikka Kiprasoff and Kimmo Timmonen – Team Finland

Sergei Kostitsyn – Team Belarus

Team Norway

Jaromir Jagr – Team Czech Republic

Team Russia salutes the fans after a big win over the Czechs

Team USA warming up before the game against Norway

I made some signs – the Team USA sign above and then a slightly more creative one for my favorite hockey player, Evgeni Malkin on Team Russia.  His nickname is “Geno” so that was the inspiration behind this one:

…and what’s cooler than meeting up with other hockey-loving knitters at the Olympics?  Brynna, Amy and I are all active on the Ravelry hockey forum Puck This! and we arranged meetups.  Brynna and I met up to watch the first Canada game against Norway at a park with outdoor screens.  Afterward, we headed to the Russia/Latvia game.  It was great to meet her!

Amy and I both had tickets to the Sweden/Germany game and texted throughout the game and then met up afterward!

With a friendly blue-jacketed Olympic volunteer at the Canada Hockey Place arena

… More photos and stories to come…

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!

Months of planning and the day is nigh!

In my hand is the first set of event tickets: Russia v. Latvia. It should be quite a game – Latvia isn’t a major contender, but word on the street is that they have SERIOUS fans… Megan told me stories about the Latvians that showed up in Halifax for the World Juniors in 2008 – so that will be fun! Maybe they will have handknit mittens?

We’ve been discussing everything Olympics in the  Vancouver 2010 Ravelry group (pssst – come join us!) and people are getting excited!  For those of us actually traveling to Vancouver (or living there, already), we are planning a series of meetups during the Games.  It’s gonna be grand.  And you can bet that I will document it well with my trusty camera.

Besides all of the amazing Olympic events, Kris and I are also planning to do some sightseeing – hikes, museums, performances.  There are a number of shows and events also happening with the Games, including some fun music shows (Damien Marley, Matisyahu, Bedouin Soundclash, and many many others).  One of the big ski resorts north of Vancouver – Grouse Mountain - will be open 24/7, with special midnight and sunrise snowshoe tours, performances, and lots of events.  I have never been skiing or snowboarding, but this feels like a good time and place to start… Coincidentally, Grouse Mountain is also where NBC will be airing the Today Show each morning – and if I can time it right, I am hoping we can be on “the plaza” one morning with a sign!   I told my “morning crew” at the gym to look at for us when they are watching on the treadmills!

The majority of our tickets (surprise) are hockey tickets – but we also have a set for Curling, and Freestyle Aerials, so we will get a nice mix of events.

Some of the ladies in the Rav group are also working the venues at the Olympics… people are asking if we will be able to take our knitting into the events.  Much like airports and security, it appears that it will be up to the discretion of the specific guard.  So, plastic needles may be the best bet… if I can make my deadline with my sweater (close!  I will update on that soon), I think I am gonna make a flurry of quickie projects on big needles – cowls, scarves, and hats, perhaps?

The forecast is calling for a “Storm of the Century” here in Maryland starting tomorrow morning – blizzard, lots and lots of snow – so, it looks like it’ll be another shut-in weekend with copious amounts of Spanish lessons and knitting – not that I mind!  Funny how the the East is getting slammed with snow this year, but Vancouver is relatively dry and warm and that is where the Olympics are!  best soak up the winter while I am on this coast!

Hasta luego, mis amigos~~