Friday, February 7, 2014

Ravellenics 2014!

The Olympic opening ceremonies have started in Moscow!  You know what that means- the 2014 Ravellenic games have officially commenced! :)  My first Ravellenic games were way back in 2008, when I knit the Ravellympic Sweater Spring to make my Mom a sweater!  I succeeded with a gold medal my first games (huzzah!) but the last few games my sights have been too high.  My latest attempt was the summer games two years ago, when I attempted to finish my Effortless Cardigan before the games were up.  The odds were heavily against me, since I was just coming back from a month-long climbing trip.  I had less than a week, and instead of finishing the whole project, simply finished the body.  Boo!
My goal this time is pretty realistic, though it's going to require me to really work hard to get it done.  I'm participating in the WIPs Dancing, since I'm more keen to finish some projects than I am to start one.  I have two specific projects in mind, both that will require dedication and effort to finish (and finish well).
First up, and the one that I want gold in the most, is finishing The Dude Sweater!

I think a little over half of the work on this sweater is currently finished, but it still has a long way to go.
What's Finished: The back section, the left front section, and a little over half of the right front section.

What's Needed: Both sleeves, the facings, the collar, weaving in a thousand ends, and seaming.  I think Scott also wants this to have three or four buttons on the front of the sweater instead of a zip-up, so I'll be modifying the facings to add those in (that shouldn't be a problem).
The Hurdles: Time at home.  This project is much to big to bring anywhere, so the only time I can work on it is at home.
Just finishing this sweater is going to be a big enough project, but because I want to challenge myself just that much more, I added a second project to finish during the games.  Because, after all, this is the Olympics!  May as well challenge myself to perhaps the point of crazy and see what happens... ;)
My second project to finish are the Narwhal Mittens!

What's Finished: I'm about halfway finished with the colorwork section of the first mitten.
What's Needed: The rest of the first mitten and the entire second mitten.  I'm actually debating whether or not to line the mittens, as the yarn is squishy and stretchy and fits beautifully over my own hands right now, so I may not actually line these.  If that's the case, I wouldn't have to knit the second pair of mitten liners.  I'm going to make that judgement call when I'm finished with the first mitten, because if they fit well without the lining and they still seem warm, I'll stick with just the outside colorwork.
The Hurdles: I'm actually only going to work on this mitten when I'm away from home, as this project travels well.  For example, tonight I'm heading to my friend Alex's house for an Olympic Ceremony party.  The Dude is way too big to bring, so this project is great since I still want to work on a goal.
I think if I finish at least the first mitten and get past the cuff of the second, I can claim a silver medal for this project.
The Big-Picture Hurdles: My hurdles for both projects are going to be balancing my time between dancing, school, knitting, and training for climbing.  Normally I would perhaps spend a little less time on climbing or dancing, but the day after the Ravellenic Games end, I'll be competing in a climbing competition.  This means I still have to train for climbing at a fairly high level, which is at least 3-4 times a week for 2-4 hours a session.  It's also go-time for dance competition season, so I'll be choreographing and down at the studio quite a lot over the next couple of weeks.  Honestly, the games couldn't have come at a busier time for me.
Then again, working on time management and staying focused on goals the next two weeks will be great motivation!
My team this year for the games is mildly arbitrary, but I love the name- I'm on Team Fire-Breathing Kittens!  I didn't have time to get to Yarn Harbor to sign up for the games before they started, but I'm pretty happy with the team I'm on.  I have to make up a little picture at some point with one of my cats breathing fire (and relearn how to use Paint) but for now, it's Dude Sweater time before climbing training!
Here's to an awesome next two weeks!
Let the GAMES BEGIN!! :)

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