I got Gold!

My Selbu mittens are finished, washed, blocked and now drying.

The backs, that the public will see most of the time. I think that is called a Norwegian Flower.

The palm side with the Norwegian flower on the thumb.

I'm looking forward to making more of this style of mitten. I received a few books at Christmas so I should be able to mix it up a bit. D keeps laughing about the fact that they are so pointy. "Just like Cowboy boots." They fit well and seem very thick and warm. Now I will just have to test them out on a walk around the neighborhood. When they're dry of course. I'm not sure they will be dry by Monday with all that yarn in them.

As thrilled with them as I am. I'm already looking forward to starting other projects. It is such a relief to have a successful project. It is a great high going into your next one with great feelings.

Oh did you hear that? My sweater swatch just called to me to measure it so I can cast on for a new sweater. Yes dear I'm coming, just let me get the tape measure.

I am in!

I relearned how to knit in September 2006. I had learned as a child but somehow it never "took" with me at that time. I remember thinking it was fun but not being disappointed when it left. In the mean time I took up counted cross stitch as my hobby of choice. After completing several large pictures and having them framed and hung on all the walls, I became more receptive to another hobby. What can I say we were running out of wall space.

I accepted an invitation from a friend to come to a knitting group. Luckily it was the right knitting group for me. I was hooked. Since I did not really understand that much about knitting I started to go to the internet and books to figure things out. I found blogs and podcasts that I still love now. The first blog I found was the Yarn Harlot, and I went back and read old posts of hers.

I was so disappointed when I found I had missed the first ever Knitting Olympics. The concept is you cast on a project during the opening ceremonies and must be finished with the project by the time the olympic flame is extinguished. The really cool part is you decide what your project is. It should match your skill level at the time, not too hard, not too easy. It should be a challenge but not try to kill you. I fell in love with the idea. (Mom always said I was in love with being in love.) I was so bummed that I did not know about this when it went on. I was not even a knitter back then. (Perish that thought)

I made a promise that the next time the knitting olympics happened I would do it. Since the Yarn Harlot did not do the summer olympics I did not do them. Or at least that is the reason I gave at that time. As the Yarn Harlot points out knitting is more of a winter sport. I'm not saying you can't knit in the summer I'm just saying that it makes more sense to me to knit in the winter. Blankets, kitties on laps, it is just a whole other level of comfort I'm talking about.

So I tell you all that to announce this: I am a participant in the 2010 Knitting Olympics!!!!

I don't know if my project is technically eligible for olympic status but it fits the challenge portion. If it does not fit the letter of the law, it fits the spirt of the law.

My Selbu mittens have been challenging me from the start. I have restarted the right one 4 times now. Ironically it is the one on the left in the picture below.

The astute knitters among you may be able to tell why that mitten will be ripped out and re-cast on tomorrow night. I was knitting along worrying about whether the stranding is too tight and will make the mitten pucker in places when I noticed something is missing. That little bit of white yarn halfway up the mitten on the right is where the thumb will go. I forgot to put that in on the other mitten. Craptastic!

This mitten has been pushing all my buttons like a 4 year old in need of a nap time. So it goes into yarn stage again tonight and we start all over on it as my Olympic challenge. All those other times were training. Now we get serious, now we go for the GOLD! You and me mitten we will be whole and glorious in 18 days or one of us will be in little pieces on the floor. I'm not saying which of us but I know where the scissors are and have the opposable thumbs to use them.

Oh yeah, my team (of one) name. Sheep Junk! Go team Sheep Junk!