Here’s the final list of Olympic projects:

• Finish Mike’s Mountain Colors sweater. (Front and back done)
• Design/frog/knit Lisa’s hat and mittens to match Chaucer’s dog sweater. (DONE)
• Make somewhat less little the little hat for Robert Walls. (DONE)
• Knit Sarah’s Misty Garden scarf in Jo Sharp Kid Comfort Infusion. (DONE)
• Knit Matt’s stocking cap. (DONE)

My dear husband, in his ultimate wisdom, looked at my progress as of Friday night and suggested to me that he can wait for his sweater for as long as it takes to finish it. I have not cast on the sleeves yet, opting instead to make Matt’s hat, which I did in plenty of time for the closing ceremonies. Still, no gold for me.

To add a little insult to injury, there was no (none, zip, zero, zilch, nada) mention of curling through the entire closing ceremonies. None. Viewership for the sport has been strong on cable (1.6 million viewers for the men’s U.S./U.K. round-robin match), and by winning a medal, the American men made Olympic history, etc., but there was no love for the curling in prime time. Sniff.

Here’s the updated list of Olympic projects:

• Finish Mike’s Mountain Colors sweater. (Front and back done)
• Design/frog/knit Lisa’s hat and mittens to match Chaucer’s dog sweater. (DONE)
• Make somewhat less little the little hat for Robert Walls. (DONE)
• Knit Sarah’s Misty Garden scarf in Jo Sharp Kid Comfort Infusion. (About 60% done)
• Knit Matt’s stocking cap. (Haven’t even started)

Sorry! No time for pictures; knitting only!

I’m thinking I might have a chance at finishing the first four items on the list, particularly if I can get front and back of the sweater blocked either tonight or tomorrow, which will make the piecing together that much easier. Sarah’s scarf goes very quickly, indeed, between the needle size (8) and the loft of the yarn. Matt’s hat, on the other hand, may fall by the wayside, which would be a crying shame — like (dare I say?) Lindsey Jacobellis’ youthful exuberance knocking her back to the silver medal position in the women’s snowboard cross. My enthusiasm for knitting a lot in a hurry will have made my eyes bigger than my needles, and will cost me Olympic Knitting gold.

Oh, well. As Brenda Dayne said in Episode 10 of her podcast, Cast On, it’s really just a big waste of time. And I’m happy with that.

Also not Chaucer, the poet.

Every year for the last thirteen or so, I’ve written a sonnet for Valentine’s Day that I’ve emailed to friends, relations and acquaintances. Here’s this year’s contribution, a little late to the blog, but better that than never:

We’re married now, and Valentine’s a breeze
For giving, his gift long ago procured.
Receiving is much harder, though, and ease
With what he might get me is unassured.
Flowers are nice, but with each fresh bouquet
Come sneezes — pollen allergies, I fear.
There are no benefits in lingerie
When flabby thighs accuse me from the mirror.
Which brings us to the best and worst surprise,
The giant heart-shaped box of chocolate:
Its creamy and seductive freight belies
The fat the aforementioned thighs will get.
But it’s the thought that counts. His thoughts are clear,
And thoughts — not gifts — are what my heart holds dear.

Update: You can check out the last twelve poems on my Valentine Sonnets page.

No, not the poet.

Here’s a lovely picture of Chaucer modelling his sweater:

Pondering the possibilities for my sock pal, who likes a longer leg, I’m leaning pretty heavily toward the “Ribbed Cycling or Golf Stockings with Fancy Cuff in Trellis Pattern” from Nancy Bush’s Knitting Vintage Socks. I have some leftover Cherry Tree Hill in the Winterberry colorway that will make a nice background for the cuff pattern, and I’m leaning toward Lorna’s Laces Grapevine for the body of the sock.

Interestingly, I’m not finding examples of this particular pattern out there in the blogosphere, so I have no idea how the knitting will go. I’m glad my feet are nearly the same size as my pal’s so that I can be pretty certain they’ll fit before I send them.

[Blogging on breaktime is a little risky, but the way I see it, this is time I would otherwise spend eating, and it gets the stuff I’ve been thinking about all morning out in text so that I can turn my focus to the stuff I’m supposed to be working on…]

So. Yarn Harlot’s got the Olympic Knitting thing going on. I’ve been thinking and thinking about this: the idea of it is irresistible to me (’cause you know how I love a challenge), and I certainly have things in my to-do list that would make good Olympian challenges. I also have a whole bunch of unfinished objects that need my attention, many of which are for other people who have been waiting for them for some time now. Thus I have decided to finish those things for other people as a two-fold challenge: 1) there’s a hefty amount of knitting (and finishing!) to be done, and 2) it will be substantially difficult for me to resist starting the Eris cardigan or Union Square MarketPullover in the meantime.

The list:

• Finish Mike’s Mountain Colors sweater. (This is the big one; I started it last March.)
• Design/frog/knit Lisa’s hat and mittens to match Chaucer’s dog sweater.
• Make somewhat less little the little hat for Robert Walls.
• Knit Sarah’s Misty Garden scarf in Jo Sharp Kid Comfort Infusion.
• Knit Matt’s stocking cap.

Comparing this to my knitting projects list, you’ll notice the Lattice Cabled Blanket is missing. Well, I need something to work on before the Olympics start, and the baby (Nora!) was born on January 31, so I’m pressing to get it done by the 10th.

1. I got maybe 5 hours of sleep last night, between not falling asleep until after 11:00, being up in the middle of the night from 2:00-3:30 or so, and getting the 5:45 wake up call from my wonderful husband. There is a pattern of this kind of sleep — or lack thereof — stemming from any number of problems, from stress to a change in meds to a really bad mattress. It has to change.
2. I inadvertantly gave away my name to my sock pal last night. I thought I was being all clever, with my email alias and stuff, and my silly email about measurements. Unfortunately, I forgot to change the name attached to the alias, so my pal knows who I am. Clearly I won’t be posting any kind of information about my sockapaloooza socks on the blog until after they’ve been sent out in May.
3. I feel like I’m a little out of control here at work, like I haven’t remembered yet how to stay on top of eight different things at the same time. I used to know how to do it. Now I feel like I’m starting to disappoint people I respect a whole heck of a lot, and I’d hate for them to start questioning their decision to put me in this new position. Due to item 1, however, I’m in a fog and don’t feel at all capable of staying on top of one thing today.

I know a good night’s sleep will help a lot; the big question is whether I’ll get it or not.

I didn’t have time for a picture this morning, but I got the ends woven in on both completed i-cord gloves last night, and they’re done! Just under the wire.

Here’s the details…
Knitalong: “Peaceful Palms” over at nonaKnits
Pattern: nona/Meg Swanson’s i-cord gloves
Yarn: Koigu Premium Painter’s Palette Merino in colorway #P829
Needles: Susan Bates metal #3 dpns plus Susan Bates metal #3 29″ circular

I switched back and forth between the dpns and the circular/magic loop method, depending on how circular things were at that point. I also ended up resizing a couple of the fingers for my tiny hands, and left off the picot point trim on the cuff. Amazingly, I got both gloves out of one skein of Koigu, which means I have a leftover skein now. Another pair of gloves, perhaps, for when I lose one of these?