Ravellenics 2014

This post is going to be short and sweet because I need to get back to my Ravellenics knitting!  This will be the second Olympics IN A ROW that I've participated in! I'm going to give myself a pat on the back for that one!  Though, to tell the truth, I've been thinking about chickening out and not participating.  Why you ask?? Well, I've been feeling slightly overwhelmed with the quantity of projects I'm "currently knitting".  How many projects you ask, well it's enough that I gave myself a goal of finishing up at least two of them by Thursday.  One project was my Olivia Cowl, which was the knit-along for Park Avenue Yarns (PAY) last month and the second project was my PAW Hat, which was the knit-along for PAY in December.  Yikes, why yes I had gotten behind!

Olivia Cowl in progress

I barely squeaked in finishing these projects!  I finished up my Olivia Cowl late Thursday evening and finished up the PAW Hat this afternoon.  And by finished I mean I wove in all the ends and seamed what need to be seamed.  No, I did not get to blocking, but I'm counting these as done anyway! 
 

Finished PAW Hat!!!

Not sure why these projects lingered as long as they did.  Okay, I do know why.  The PAW Hat lingered around because I was being lazy about the seaming.  Oh and all the ends that had to be woven in....that alone was a herculean event.  Seriously.  I don't know if I've had a project with that many ends to weave in!  Once I finished that I pretty much considered that project done.  Even though it was a hat that was knit flat and clearly not wearable without being seamed.  But, I digress and need to get back to my Ravellenics knitting.  More on that later.  

Copernicus is such a helper when it comes to photographing hand knits...NOT!

Oh and the Olivia Cowl.  Don't get me started on that.  Such a deceptively easy knit, I mean it's basketweave stitch!  It's only knits and purls! Well, I won't let something as simple as "only being knits and purls" deceive me again.  Turns out that basketweave stitch knit on the bias, yes folks that's right, ON THE BIAS, is a bit of a challenge.  It didn't help that I decided to knit with a very dark yarn either.  It took me awhile to wrap my head about knitting basketweave like that.  The pattern is a 16 row chart and you repeat those 16 rows 12 times total.  I'm not kidding when I say that it took me to almost my ninth pattern repeat before I finally into a rhythm and memorized the chart. 

Loved being able to wear this today!