Tuesday Needlework: Ravellenics Progress

I posted last Tuesday about Ravelry's Ravellenics Winter Games and thought I'd give an update on my progress thus far. I've made it halfway there! I finished the back of my sweater project last night. The pattern is definitely not my most favorite! I've had to accommodate for poorly written instructions, a confusing chart, and miscalculated stitch counts. It's been quite the project to say the least.

detail of cables

I was very excited about the pattern when I first discovered it. I did a pattern search on Ravelry after seeing a similar design (likely store-bought, but cute) at church one Sunday. I just love the way the sweater hung and looked so warm and cozy, but a little country too. I'm a boot and jeans girl, so this was a really great design for me to pursue.

Back of sweater, with a lifeline! 

However, after tracking down the errata and getting a new chart, I soon came to realize that the stitch count was off by 16 stitches. The directions say to increase every other row for 16 rows, which means I get 16 increased stitches in this section. (8*2) The stitch count was supposed to be 122, but mine was coming out to 106. Hmm.. so I decided to go ahead with the stitch count I was getting following the directions - which incidentally was the same as what the chart indicated - and disregard the stitch count.

Blocky, but think it will work

After making it up to the decreases section, I realized that their stitch count was still off, so I would end up with about 22 stitches for my neck and shoulder section. This wasn't real good, since I don't have a pin neck. To fix this without taking out everything I had done and starting over again, I decided to decrease up to 80 stitches, then knit even for the remaining six rows. And instead of decreasing 8 stitches over 4 rows, I decreased only 7 over the four, giving me my final stitch count of 36 that I was after. It's a little blocky, but because it will be sewn together I'm not too worried about it. I think I can make it look pretty good in the seaming section and the ribbed neck and edges will straighten the rest of it out.

This has been such a confusing pattern that I think I will deserve a medal when all is said and done! 

Tuesday Knitting: Knitting is an Olympic Sport on Ravelry

The Sochi Winter Olympic Games are in full swing for 2014! While countries around the world are cheering on their prized athletes and taking home medals, those of us not in the Olympics or athletically inclined may be wondering how we could win our own medals. Everyone has a skill of some kind, and for some of us it is crochet, knitting, or fiber work of some type. Ravelry has your solution!

My 2014 Entry!

Ravelry hosts the Ravellenic Winter Games in which knitters, crocheters, and other fiber workers can find their niche in their Olympic "sport." And of course one of the big stories in the needlework arena is that of the Finnish Snowboarding Coach Antti Koskinen knitting at the starting line. It even made it to Buzzfeed and is all over Facebook. So why not have it as a game?

So what are Ravellenics? Honestly, I hadn't even heard about them until this year. Never being very active on Ravelry until this year, it's not surprising that I missed it. The Ravellenics are a series of events that fiber artists can enter to set a personal goal of finishing. Everything from cables and lacework to finishing up UFOs can be entered. They even had a classification for things that don't fit into other categories. Basically, you chose a project, enter it into your project gallery, and tag it with Ravellenic tags to enter. If you can finish by February 28 (the end of the Olympic games) you get a medal. Pretty cool, huh?

I entered this year, hoping to finish a cabled shell that I've had my heart set on. I started on opening day, then ripped it out to start over again last night. I know I only have 17 days left now. I'm a little worried. But hoping I can pull this one off! If not, there's always next year. Setting a personal goal is fun and challenging!



If you'd like to give it a try, find out more and a list of events on the Ravelry Ravellenics group page. You can enter with a team you already have or go it alone. It's a good way to have fun with your groups or stay on a project you'd like to complete. All in good fun!