Amy Artisan

…no, unfortunately not a return to the isle where I snapped the picture in my blog header…

Well in advance of the buzz on Ravelry about the Ravelympics, I had started to ponder what my Olympic Knitting Project would be as I watched the games in Beijing.

For the Winter games in 2006, I joined in the “Knit Olympics” mania with my first Capri shawl. It was my first attempt at a lace project and provided me with several problems along the way. I pressed on & had a finished shawl at the end of the games. Honestly, the more I looked at it the less happy I was with the outcome. Since then I have never worn the shawl & now use it as a table topper in my bedroom. In Spring 2006, I knit a second Capri shawl as a birthday present for Artisan Mom - a shawl that turned out much better than the first.

Earlier this summer I came across an ad for Rock Creek Yarns. In addition to a beautiful Cherry Blossom yarn, I was immediately drawn to the Alpaca laceweight in the Trevi Fountain colorway - a subtle mix of water blues and grays. Again, the name of a colorway reminded me of a fond travel memory.

Ah ha! Trevi Yarn + Capri Shawl Pattern = 2008 Olympic Knitting Project

The yarn arrived & I wound it by hand into a ball, I picked up a pair of Addi Lace needles, I swatched. Last Friday evening I cast on while watching the Opening Ceremonies. I have had a few hiccups along the way; however, I’m making progress and believe I am on track to have a finished (& wearable) Capri shawl on August 24^th. 

What have I learned so far with this most recent attempt on this pattern?

• This is my first time using laceweight yarn - the pale color of it means that my eyes tired out on this project in the evenings before my fingers do.
• This pattern is not conducive to stitch markers. So, I’m using a row counter & every odd row I am counting under my breath as I move across the row.
• Even though this is a fairly simple pattern, it’s best not to knit on it during the really exciting parts of the Olympic coverage.
• Paper cuts on your finger tips (& the subsequent Band-aids) make the knitting much slower.
• Laceweight yarn does not like to be housed in a project bag. But, I have a great remedy for this. The cute sheep & yarn bowl that I bought from Jennie the Potter at last year’s Midwest Fiber & Folk Art Fair is the perfect size for holding the yarn ball. 

And now, back to knitting & watching…

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