Training

The Ravellenics Games begin tomorrow and I’ve been having a dickens of a time with the long wait between deciding the pattern and yarn for this years event.

 I’ll be participating in the Cast On Trapshoot, or as a friend calls it, the Cast On Crapshoot. The goal for COT is to complete 30% of a project between Opening Ceremonies of the Olympic Games and the Closing Ceremonies.

My pattern choice is Tibetan Clouds by Sivia Harding. I’ve had this pattern high in my queue ever since I saw it on Ravelry. I even bought the book it was first published in – not that I wouldn’t probably buy anything that Clara Parkes publishes anyway.

I’ve tried to cast on Tibetan Clouds since it was first published and frogged because the yarn just wasn’t right. After winding yarn – two different colorways – I finally firmed up my color choice. I’ll be knitting Tibetan Clouds in Lost City Knits Twin Canyons colorway Silver Bells. The subtle silver shading will, I think, make for a beautiful stole that will be quite dressy especially when worn with a little black dress. My own little black dress is really a black travel dress that I’ve been wearing for almost a decade.

Because I just finished a shawl with extensive beading I’ve decided not to bead this time around, although it would look quite good with a little bling.

Last night I decided it was time to swatch, or what some of the knitters are calling
“Training”. To my surprise I discovered that I have everything from a itty bitty needles with a lot of zeros in their name to huge needles that I’ve used once. I have almost everything, except the size 5US called for in the pattern. It would have helped to have discovered this a bit sooner, but I swatched with a pair of 4US dpns and think they’re going to be perfectly fine.

How about you? Are you competing in Ravellenics? Will there be wagering?