Going for Gold!

I've been meaning to post about the Olympics for at least a couple of weeks now. Both the Winter Olympics in Turino and the Knitting Olympics.

First the Winter Olympics. I've been a fan of figure skating since the 2004 Winter games, so I love the Winter Olympics. I have to say that I wasn't too surprised that Sasha fell, though I love her and I'm glad she got a medal.It will be interesting to see if she goes pro now or tries for gold in 2010, much like Michelle Kwan tried to do this year. As for Michelle, who is one of my favorite skaters, I was sad for her that she didn't get to compete in the Olympics, but I thought she should have gone pro a couple of years ago. I also thought that Kimmie and Emily did great for Team USA. And don't even get me started on what a little weirdo Johnny Weir is.

In the last couple of winter Olympics, I've come to love snowboarding - it's such an American sport - and I've even learned to appreciate most of the skiing events - though cross country seems boring. I even watched a little hockey and a little curling - funny but a little goes a long way. All in all, I enjoyed the Torino games and can't wait for Vancouver.

Now, the Knitting Olympics. Since I feel that I am still a beginner, I chose not to enter the KO. There were over 3000 participants, so someone had to sit on the sidelines. Even though I was not an official participant, I did challenge myself over the last two weeks. I started and finished my first sock (pictures will be posted after I've completed its mate) and I started an Irish Hiking Scarf and learned how to do cables. I'm only about 12 inches into the scarf (which I'm making for Lorelei's dad) but I'm really happy with the way the cables are turning out. So I feel that I challenged myself, grew as a knitter and will definitely enter the KO next time.

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I'm a Slacker

So I'd gotten really good about posting
often (for a couple of weeks anyway) and then I went and slacked off. I could blame it on the cold I've had for a couple of weeks or the snow (10 inches - yuck!) or even the anticipation of the 2006 Winter Olympics. But it doesn't matter why I've been a slacker - I just am.

So I have gotten a lot of knitting done in the last couple of weeks. I finished Lorelei's scarf. She loves it, mostly I think because it's the one item of clothing that she can put on by herself.

I also finished Lorelei's dad's hat. It didn't turn out quite as perfect as I would have liked, but when you roll it up most of the flaws are invisible.

I started my first sock on Sunday and then again on Monday. So far the hardest part is getting used to knitting in the round and using the little DPNs. I'll probably start another scarf soon, because I like knitting scarves.

Knot again!

So I sat down to knit on Friday night planning to get in 3 hours of tv and knitting.

About 15 minutes into my evening, I decide to try to untangle my yarn. I'm using double strands on my Tychus and my strands had gotten twisted. I'm not used to using double strands and obviously wasn't thinking about how this would work. Long story short - after two hours of trying to untangle the knot in my yarn, I had to cut it. Now I can hear you saying "But why didn't you just cut it before you spent two hours of your life?" Sadly, I don't have a good answer for that question. But the next time, 15 minutes tops and then I CUT!

Now for the good news - I finished Lorelei's scarf. Pictures will be posted later. Now I can concentrate on finishing the hat.

Knitting update

I've been working on a scarf for Lorelei for a couple of weeks now. It's a simple pink checkerboard scarf and it's about half finished. I'm hoping to get a lot of knitting in this weekend and get close to finishing it.

And for the first time, I have two active knitting projects on the needles at the same time. A couple days ago I started Tychus for Lorelei's Dad. I've already finished one of the five wedges. This is a project full of firsts -

• First hat
• First time using long tail cast on
• First time using more than one color
• First time using short rows

So far it's turning out pretty well.

I also bought some books this week so that I can teach myself how to knit socks. They've become my new obsession - mainly because of all the pretty sock yarn that I've been coveting.

Projects in the queue:

• Socks
• Wavy Scarf
• Irish Hiking Scarf for Lorelei's Dad

Trish's TV this week - Feb 3

There wasn't much on tv this week that I watched. But I'll try to find some highlights.

• Veronica Mars - this was a half great episode/half not great. I loved the Weevil/Logan story, except for the end. I love Logan more every week. The Wallace story I hated, except for the girlfriend fakeout. I started laughing hysterically when I realized what was going on. Next week should be really good since it looks like the mayor is about to be implicated in the bus crash.
• Will & Grace - I love me some Taye Diggs and I actually found this episode funny (that's rare these days), but what is with the whole green card/fake marriage thing???? That's one of the lamest story lines in a while. Sadly, I won't miss this show when it's gone.
• 24 - I'm finding this show really satisfying this season. I haven't watch the last season or two, but it's reminding me why I loved it the first season. Every episode there's at least one great twist/surprise. The first lady is awesome. Her craziness just keeps me coming back for more, but someone needs to smack down her wussy husband.
• Gilmore Girls - the last few minutes this week were definitely different for this show, but I'm still not sure if I loved it or hated it. The directly was great, but it's the story that I'm undecided about. They were fighting, not fighting, fighting, etc. I'm not sure if anything was resolved or how the Lorelais relationship with the grandparents will be going forward. I think I was looking for a resolution and I didn't get one. Oh well, still a great episode and another Logan that I love.