Another gold medal for Team Italy

After 7 days home sick, my skin has that shade of green no amount of make-up is going to cover, so, no, I am not modeling. But it is done.

DQ, DNF, or Special Olympics for me?

Well, let me know which category I belong in, please? After bursting out of the starting gate with a timely finish of the Blue Hawaii bag, I lost concentration and wandered into unplowed terrain. So tell me, am I Disqualified (DQ)? Since I did not follow my own Olympic pledge and started not 1, but 3 new projects:

First there is the camel -
flown directly from the Mongolian herders who hand spin it by an anthropologist who knows little about yarns but alot about Nomads. We just brought some into the store and it has a great feel, softening as you knit it. I'm doing the Broadstreet Mitten (minus the mitten part - for just fingerless gloves). I really like working with this yarn alot. Maybe some day I'll get to meet the camel in person ;}. I've completed the ribbing of the first hand.


Then there's the Mariposa shawl I started with our private label Jewels DK in Pink Tourmaline held with a strand of SWTC's Slimmer Shimmer. This is an interesting lace knit with pattern work on the front and back. I'm halfway through the first repeat.







Lastly, there is the baby kimono in Micro Fiber Ribbon from Tess' Designer Yarns
I've completed about 1.5" of the bottom. I'm changing the pattern as it calls for size 3 needles. I'm doing it in 7's and its coming out nice and drapey. I have big plans for the brighter colorway of this yarn in a tank top for myself, like this one. Of course, I'm going to use our Jewels DK in Onyx for the black and I have to alter the sizing so it actually fits me, but I guess I should wait until I can finish some of these projects (hah!).






Or should I be categorized as Did Not Finish (DNF)? Since after all that work above, I didn't finish any of the other Olympic UFO's I had pledged. I have made progress on the Clapotis, however, going from only 4 repeats on the straight section to 10 repeats. With the overcast conditions here in Los Altos, the color of the Oban in Tilting The Gizmo is not done justice with this picture, but at least you can see progress:



No pictures or progress on the Sally Melville vest or the Cherry Tree Hill Ella shawl. Those are waiting for another event or venue.

I'm thinking that I must be project completion disabled, so maybe I can qualify for the Special Olympics. Perhaps I can get a coach or trainer to help keep me on focus.

So lot's of knitting, but no gold for me this time. However, I do feel proud to have participated, just getting to the Olympics was a challenge for me with Stitches West, my parents visiting for 10 days, having the kids home for a week of vacation, and dog sitting (at our house of course) 2 additional Portuguese Water Dogs besides our own. I choose to continue my training in the hopes that someday I will actually complete another object. Please continue to cheer me on!

It's gold! IT'S GOLD!!!

by Alice Twain

Silvia Elisa Costa from Sesto San Giovanni (Milano, Italy) won gold for the Italy team by completing this very morning her first vest project. An excellent result for this almost novice knitter (she picked up the needles for the first time about one year ago). Costa (not related to the eight years old flower girl by the same name and also coming from Sesto San Giovanni who performed her duty last night on the figure skating ice rink, as seen on RAI 2) has thus gotten her first success in Olympic Knitting, a discipline just recently introduced in the Winter Olympic, but which we hope will become a staple event for both Winter and Summer Olympics. We sincerely hope that this will just be the first in a long series of knitting successes.

How do you feel now Silvia?

Oh, I am glad. Thrilled, actually! I had the perception that I could make it right from the start, but anything can happen during a knitting event.

You actually even picked a quite easy program.

Yes, that's true, but you see: there was a psycological problem I felt with knitting large garments (that means anything bigger than a pair of socks) and there was the time issue, after all I am a working girl. Luckily, the time issue was settled by a bad bout of insomnia which hit me during the first week and also by the stack of DVDs I just bought as special gift to myself. That helped a lot, but I still felt intimidated by the sheer size of the knitted parts. Plus, there were a few brand new things to me, like picking up all those stitches for the borders and sewing.

You also found a few obstacles in the last part of the knitting.

Yes, that's right, although they didn't really slow me down much. I had this accident when I crushed my right thumb in the drying rack while opening it up to use it as fixing surface. it was painful but not as bad as I thought at first: my nail didn't even blacken. And my granny tried twice to disrupt my fixing, changing the position of the inished vest and, after it got to the level of dryiness I wanted it, placing it astride a hot radiator to make it thoroughly dry dry as paper I would say, while I wasn't watching.
Luckinly I was fast enough to catch up with her both times, but it still astonishes me how she keeps doing such things. She ruined thus one great crocheted shrug in the past, and that one I wasn't able to salvage and I will have to frog and reknit it, and now this. What really makes me angry is that she was even a knitter years ago, but she still has no respect for my work. it makes me MAD.

And now...?

You mean, what are my plans? First I will enjoy my gold chocolate medal, which I bought last Saturday in Turin. I have already resumed to knit my lacy scarf-stole, which I expect to finish tonight or, in the wirst case, by the week-end, and I have one pair of socks to finish for my neighbor. But my plans include yet another vest, this time a cardigan vest with a different neckline, in green but using the same yarn: I have seen a lovely green at the market and I will buy it tomorrow morning, likely, and I aim at muy first sweater with sleeves, my version of AntiCraft's Curse Your Boyfriend, which in my case will become "Curse Your EX Boyfriend (and Glad he is EX)"; I already have the yarn for it. Plus I have just received by mail a lovely gift from California, some soy silk yarn, and I will have to think about what to make with it.

So, more knitting in store, eh!

Yes: lots more. But now, if you excuse me, I have some checked proofs to go through. But first I would like to thank all the friends that supported me through this wonderful, exciting trip, and Yarn Harlot who organized the Hnitting event at the Winter Olyumpics. And my family, obviously. Except my granny. And the other memers of the Team Italy.

The smell of GOLD!

Comincio a sentire il profumo dell'oro. Ho cucito Ho finito i bordi. Ho lavato. Domani stiro ed è fatta.

teh home stretch

did some mad knitting last night on the ice princess (a.ka. the cold shoulder)
and i'm comin' down the home stretch...

i'll finish it afterdinner..

(this was a great project...instant satisfaction...one week only of here and there knitting)

In Turin

As you can see, I am nearing gold (and as you can see I have already purchased the medal, as I am over I will eat it).

So, saturday I went to Turin.

	The train was crowded
	I met Neve, Glitz and Aster
	And visited the sponsor center

More photos are here.

And on the train back home I met this woman. Was she competing in the Tatting Olympics?

Olympic knitting in Turin

So, the back is all done. Despite my ultrafast start I am just barely on schedule, with a finished back and a started front.

The news is that on Saturday I will be going to Torino, to meet up with some friends. Therefore my Olympic Knitting will be done at the Olympics games. Well, actually, not really at the games: I am not planning to watch any event, but in case I hit anythink Olympic I will be taking pictures of it with my Olympic knitting. YAY!

the cold shoulder

alright,
genovesey is on hold...
i caught my first visuals today...men's ice hockey between finland and italy.

i'm changing events to what we will call the cold shoulder...the challenge there is to make up for lost time and a raglan shoulder which i have never down.

it's a pattern from the book loop-d-loop and i'm making it out of rowan cotton tape.

i've cast on (also for the first time using a long-tail cast on method) about four times to get it right...and i'm up to shaping the arm hole....

Broken TV

My tv broke this afternoon. Not too bad because RAI decided not to air the figure skating single men free program. The bed part is that without TV I will not knit as fast. Too bad. Yet, if you can connect to RaiClick, check out "I Promessi Sposi" by Anna Marchesini, Tullio Solenghi e Massimo Lopez. Not much knitting during that one, though. "Bevi quacosa, Griso. Perché non bevi qualcosa, griso? Forza, Griso, bevi qualcosa!".

Passion Knits Here

Isn't it cute?

KnItaly Night at Knit Night

This was not just another knit night at Full Thread Ahead, no sirree! This was a night for Team Italy to make progress on their Olympic challenges and 3 of us were actually in one place for team support.



Lu, Elspeth, and I also worked on recruiting new members to the team after getting over our shock that there are still some knitters in the world who didn't know about the knitting olympics.

I also showed off, my first completion of the competition UFO's; the Blue Hawaii bag. It was just a little big before felting:



It was still pretty darn large afterwards, but at least now if looks like a tote bag (that could tote a bale of hay):



Well having survived my first "competition" I now move onto the uphill challenges - the vest is next, I'm hoping to finish it to wear to Stitches (in only 2 days).

Go Team Italy!

eye on the prize

focus amanda...

i frogged it.

but don't worry,
i'm the comeback queen...

i'll finish strong.

Day 3 progress

Actually, I am just a tiny bit further than that, some six rows. I started the striped part on the shoulder. I have been really speeding, but from now on my progress will be noticeably slower. On the past days I have worked a lot, all of Friday night (well, from 9 pm until midnight or so), Saturday morning and a bit in the afternoon, Sunday afternoon and a bit of the night (the rest of the night was spent watching a CSI DVD & reading the new Davide van de Sfroos novel: I betrayed knitting to pursue my own pleasure! #^_^#) and a few rows this morning. From now on my knitting will considerablòy slow down due to the fact that I have, unfortunately, be at the office throughout the day doing boring stuff to keep me fed and clothed. How I wish I was paid to knit, watch DVDs and read!
Please, notice that the whole thing is kept from rolling up at the top by a copy of the Manuale di Nonna Papera (Elvira Coot's manual), Published in itlay by Mondadori on authorization by Walt Disney's copany and my favorite dessert recipe book. A cultural difference worth noticing (cultural difference between Italy and the US and between the 1970's and today) is that at elast half the recipes include some alchool, usually in tiny doses, although this is a recipebook for children.

On the Olympiky Olympics side, yesterday Italy go two more medals: as hoped and expected Armin Zoeggler won gold in the luge becoming the first Italian athlete to ever win a medal (of any color) in four Olympics in a row in the same sport. Meanwhile, Pietro Piller Cottrer won a bronze medal after an incredible last two kilometers in the Men Cross-country Skiing 30 km Pursuit.

Status report

This is what I knitted watching the opening ceremony:



Then yesterday my usual knitting ADD kicked in and I worked on other projects - must stay on task, so I have given myself the following order: no casting for new projects until the knitting olympics are finished.

I've joined Team Italy!

Lu read my last post and taking pity on me, invited me to join Team Italy for the Knitting Olympics. When I was reviewing the rules with my family, they had a long discussion (before I got to the rules 7-10) about my ancestry. However, they all agreed that I qualify based on the "Do you want to visit Italy" question.

HWACS (He Who's Allergic to Cold and Snow) remarked that he likes Italian food and thought that he should qualify based on that. When I reminded him that he doesn't knit, he offered to be the standard bearer and carry our lighted needles as our team banner.

Now if I could only figure out how to add buttons to my blog......(of course mine will be the "eat first" button in honor of HWACS).

I'll be entering as a UFO knitter - I've got waaay too many projects to start a new one. Here's my goals (as usual an over achiever) - 1) Complete the Blue Hawaii Bag from Pursenalities - knitting is done, but it has an incredible amount of finishing work; 2) complete the asymetrical vest from Sally Melville done in Cherry Tree Hill Alpine Lace and Glitter thick n thin (halfway done); 3) complete the Clapotis in Curious Creek Oban colorway - Tilting the Gizmo (halfway done); and then if those are done complete Ella in Cherry Tree Hill Wild Cherry Super Glitz (about 1/3 done).

I'll be losing at least 4 days of knitting during Stitches since we're hosting a booth. Stop by - we're at 816, 818, 820 and say "hi"!

yikes

1. i missed the opening ceremonies...
(they air at 7 30 am here)

2. i just realised that i must knit an entire hank, skein, ball, whatever you call it perday to complete genovesey by the closing ceremonies...

oh boy, must knit, must eat...

Speeding first day

Taking advantage of the Saturday, I have been speeding through my vest.

Here my mom shot me and my creature in the bright sun of Sesto San Giovanni 8-/ Cool down your enthousiasms: I will not make this kind of progress every day, on most day I will only knit 4-6 rows before getting up and going to the office. But I hope to work a good deal in these two days with no job duties.

Meanwhile, I am happy to announce the first Italian medal in the Olympics: speedskater Enrico Fabris won the bronze medal on the 5,000 meters. We are currently waiting for the results of the second luge single men run, where Italian athlete Armin Zoeggler must defend the gold medal won four years ago.

Signori e signore, abbiamo un campione!

Yesterday, at the very last minute, very Italian style, I trained swatched my yarn, and yes, we have a winner:



I went down one needles size and I got gauge with Jo Sharp DK Wool Heather for Silana.
So, I am going to make and finish a sweater for me, even if I will only wear it in the frozen food sections at the local supermarket - there are 25C outside today.

The wool is made in Italy, the pattern is called Silana, like my mother (no, her name is not Silana, but she is from the Sila in Calabria), I am all ready to go!

Let the games begin!

According to the Yarn Harlot official rules, the knitting Olympics will start "today at 2pm, (your local time, wherever you may be) or while you watch the Olympic flame being lit in Torino" so, let's start guys!

I have decided to start while watching the inaugural ceremony tonight, 8 pm Pacific Time, 5 am on Feb 11 in Torino, but who cares? That will be my official starting time.

Details on what I am going to knit later today.

Can you believe we are more than 3,000?

anticipation anticipazione

i really thought i would have more inspirational words at this moment...
maybe it is the vino
or the huge bowl of pasta i ate....

i was nervous, about being here in the southern hemisphere..
but yay!
we are getting the games on 'regular TV' (no fancy sky broadcast for us)

however...
we do not get the opening ceremonies due to the time differences here in new zealand...
so i would love it if anyone can email me....
when the ceremonies began
so i know when
to begin!!!!!!!!

Wait a minute!

Is it tomorrow? Tomorrow like the day after today?
Like Torino itself, I am not ready.
I haven't trained swatched yet!

Nuttyness

That's what I am knitting now, waiting for the Olympics to start. It's a simplish pattern stitch, in a nice cheap yarn¹ that, in due time, is supposed to become a stole.
So, where is the nuttyness? Check out the needles... Yes, they are the needles I should use on Friday for my Olympic knitting. Either I hurry to finish the stole, or I consider moving the stole to another needle. Crap!

¹ Silke by Arvier is a brand I love because they have very nice yarns for very cheap prices: it's just a pity that there is no shop that stocks them well, one has to tour markets to grab a few balls or skeins, and thye don't even have a website! I bought this subtly variegated yarn, two skeins, 100 grams each, for five euro, but coming across them was a pure matter of luck!