smariek knits: ravelympics

Showing posts with label ravelympics. Show all posts

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Triumph Cable Scarf Pattern

Triumph Cable Scarf

Pattern: Triumph Cable Scarf (see below for pattern)
Yarn: Elann Luxury Merino Superwash DK, Cafe au Lait
Needles: 5mm (US8)

Here it is! My Triumph Cable Scarf which I designed as my Cable Steeplechase and Scarf Stroke (Ravelympics event) project. I am so thrilled about being able to complete this scarf within the 17 day window. I just hope that watching the Summer Olympics wasn't a prerequisite for this because I did most of my knitting while catching up on other stuff I had Tivo'd. This is Cable Scarf #11 in my series of cable scarves.

I used about 4.5 balls of Elann Luxury Merino Superwash in the Cafe au Lait colorway. This yarn is soft soft soft for a "superwash" yarn, I think it is because of the Merino wool. The scarf measures 173 cm (68 inches). I hadn't yet decided whether I wanted to block the scarf, and didn't want the scarf to become overly long if I did eventually block it. I thought I would like the scarf more after a little blocking, so that the center cable panel can show itself better, however I later decided that I preferred the more "scrunched" up look. So no blocking for this scarf.

Note: Row-by-Row Pattern last updated 9/15/2008. Chart last updated 9/1/2008, corrected 2 squares on Row 1 of chart. Please download newer version(s) if you have a previous copy.

Triumph Cable Scarf Pattern in chart format has been available for quite some time, look here:
http://smariek.blogspot.com/2008/07/triumph-cable-scarf-chart.html

Triumph Cable Scarf Pattern in row-by-row instructions format:
Triumph Scarf Pattern from Box.com (no registration required, just click on link & save file)

elann.com Peruvian Luxury Merino Superwash
100% Machine Washable Fine Merino Wool
21-22 st/4 inches 3.75-4.0 mm (US 5-6)
112 m (122 yards) per 50g (1.75 oz) ball
$3.98 USD per ball

Stitches used in the Triumph Cable Scarf include:
Four-Stitch Cable Crossed Every Fourth Row, BW1 pg 241
Knit-Two Purl-Two Ribbing, BW1 pg 39
Six Rib Knot Cable, BW3 pg 76

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Monday, August 18, 2008

3 balls out of 5

Triumph Cable Scarf, 3balls length

Woohoo! I've knit 3 balls out of 5 in my Triumph Scarf.

I've discovered that I was all wrong last week about how much progress I should be making each day on this scarf. My goal should not have been to knit x inches per day. Since I have only 5 balls of Elann Luxury Superwash DK yarn for this scarf, and knowing that I only have 17 days to knit this scarf, then I really should have figured on knitting 1 ball of yarn every 3 days, which should leave me with a little extra time to weave in ends. In this case, I am on schedule. :-)

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Check out this needle gauge made by Karastix. It is so cute! And it's exactly what I need! This 29 hole needle gauge is what I need for those in-between sizes most needle gauges don't measure (such as 3.0 mm). I experienced some needle discrepancies while knitting these fingerless mitts where some of my needles which were marked US2 / 2.75 mm were actually more like 3.0 mm (which is not quite US3 / 3.25 mm). Unfortunately the Susan Bates needle gauge I have does not measure those in-between sizes. So this needle gauge would be perfect! And you have to admit that the turtles are really cute.

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Saturday, August 16, 2008

5 Questions Meme & Friday Fill-In 85

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I've been trying to work on a blog post for many days now. Unfortunately I haven't been able to sit down and focus on this one thing. I've never been good at doing something when I feel "interrupt driven".

Georgi tagged me for this meme a while back. I started typing this up and then it got buried in draft mode. I've only just rediscovered it!

The Rules:
Rules are posted at the beginning. At the end of the post, the player tags 6 people and posts their names. Then the player goes to each of the “named” people’s blogs and leaves a comment, letting them know they’ve been tagged and asking them to read your blog. If you’ve been tagged, you do the same, letting the person who tagged you know when you’ve posted your answer. Your answer, of course, is the answer to the following questions. Here we go!

1. What was I doing 10 years ago?

Let's see, 10 years ago was 1998. Where was I then? That was the year I visited Nashua, New Hampshire and Washington, D.C. for the first time. And outside the USA, I went to Vancouver and Victoria in Canada around Christmastime. Back then I was working for an investment banking firm in downtown San Francisco.

2. 5 things on my to-do list today?

-- Write to Carolyn in Maine. I've been trying to do this for months and months and months.
-- Laundry. There's always laundry...
-- Pay bills. Ugh.
-- Get photos off my camera because the card is full!!!
-- Knit a little.

3. Snacks I enjoy:

Depends on whether I'm in a sweet or salty mood. Lately my snacks have tended towards Kettle Chips in their lightly salted flavor, blue cheese, and chocolate. Not all together in one sitting.

4. Places I’ve lived:

Davis, CA
San Francisco, CA
Sunnyvale, CA

5. Things I would do if I were a billionaire:

-- Pay off the mortgage. Then realize that we can buy a bigger place in a neighborhood with a better school district, lol.
-- Donate anonymously to help others.
-- Sign up for classes. The list includes: French language, Latin language, cooking classes, knitting classes, photography classes (and a Photoshop class).
-- Travel a little.
-- Hire a maid.

If you decide to play, please leave a comment so we can go take a look at your responses. :-)

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Triumph Scarf, 2 balls length

I've made some progress on my Triumph Cable Scarf. I haven't had a chance to measure the length, however I think the finished length will be fine using the 5 balls of Elann Luxury Merino Superwash I have. It's Cafe Au Lait color which I've grown to like even more while knitting this scarf. It is too bad this color is out of stock at the moment.

Miss M stabbing my Triumph Scarf with the knitting needle

I had to share this photo of Miss M stabbing my scarf with one pointy end of my knitting needle. She's always trying to "help" when I take photos, usually by pulling or patting on the knitting. Other times she isn't touching the knitting but happens to sit between the knitting and my light source, causing a shadow over part of my knitting.

Pattern: Triumph Cable Scarf (chart download is linked here)
Yarn: Elann Luxury Merino Superwash DK, Cafe Au Lait color
Needles: 4.5 mm (US7)

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Other things in the works include:

-- I'm still working on my MIL's Regina Scarf. I started this back in January and although it does not need to be done until Christmas, it really should not take this long to finish a scarf!!! I do chip away at it when I'm not working on the Triumph Scarf. I'd say I'm about 3/4 done with the scarf. I don't think it will be completed by August 24th though. I should just concentrate on finishing the Triumph Scarf first.

-- The Elann HUGe swap. I'm averaging 2 items per month and am currently working on #8 (out of 10). I need to find out when the deadline is and where to send everything. I know I've emailed Theresa about it, but I think she's really busy cuz I haven't heard back from her in months.

-- I've got a lacy knitting thing coming down the pike.

-- I'm thinking about trying KnitPicks Gloss sock yarn for a cable scarf. It's 70% merino wool and 30% silk, so I'm hoping it has enough "body" to hold up to cable stitches and that it will be next-to-skin soft. There aren't too many colors to choose from. I find myself gravitating towards the Cosmos dark purple color that will be available on September 5th.

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Not much else going on. Miscarriage #2 started last night at 7PM and went on for a few hours. It wasn't quite the same as last time and I'm worried about it being incomplete. Last time it just took a few hours on Easter night, perhaps this time it'll span a few days. I'm glad I managed to postpone my appt which was supposed to be yesterday afternoon and rescheduled it for 2 weeks later.

I think I'll make a little more progress on my Triumph Scarf tonight as I watch one of the movies I have waiting to be seen. My choices this time are: Shrek 2, Shrek 3, Fantastic 4 Rise of the Silver Surfer, Constant Gardener, and The Departed.

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The next project has been chosen for The Fashionable Late in '08 KAL. Smoke rings! Go check it out! I've got too much on my plate to participate so I'm joining Bets on the cheerleading squad.

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FRIDAY FILL-IN #85

Yes, this is a little late...

1. The last meal I had at a restaurant was Dol Sot Bi Bim Bap (from a Korean restaurant). It's yummy stuff! Make sure you get the "dol sot" version and not the plain Bi Bim Bap.

2. People spitting in public is something I intensely dislike.

3. The full moon beautiful.

4. San Francisco Left Turn (which is really 3 right turns) is one of my favorite local expressions.

5. Sometimes it's best to keep one's mouth shut.

6. I have absolutely no idea what is the best movie I've seen so far this year, but it might be Bourne Ultimatum which I saw in April!

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to relaxing with some knitting (but that didn't quite happen), tomorrow my plans include relaxing with some knitting (really gotta catch up on the Triumph Scarf!) and watching a movie and Sunday, I want to go out for dim sum!

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Monday, August 11, 2008

Ravelympics - Day 1 & 2

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Day 1 (Friday, 8 Aug 2008):

Triumph Cable Scarf, Day 1, 10 rows, US7 needles

It looks like I'm off to a slow start on Day 1 of Ravelympics 2008. I only managed to cast on and knit 10 rows. I'm not sure how long I can make this scarf since I only have 5 balls of Elann Luxury Merino Superwash yarn and this Cafe Au Lait colorway is currently out of stock. I'm hoping to get at least 5 ft out of these 5 balls. This would mean I should try knit 3.5" to 4" each day if I hope to finish the scarf within 17 days. Perhaps I should make that goal 4" to 5", so that I can finish early enough to have time to weave in ends. Does that sound like a plan?

Ok, looks like I'm a bit behind here. I didn't measure my 10 rows here. It's probably 1.5" to 2" long, so I better knit 6" or more for Day 2 if I want to keep up. We can't be falling behind at the very beginning can we?

I'm already wondering whether I should use 5 mm (US8) needles instead of the 4.5 mm (US7) needles I started with. Hmm. Starting over would mean falling behind even further. Better decide soon though.

Pattern: Triumph Cable Scarf (chart download is linked here)
Yarn: Elann Luxury Merino Superwash DK, Cafe Au Lait color
Needles: 4.5 mm (US7)

Day 2 (Saturday, 9 Aug 2008):

Triumph Cable Scarf, Day 2, US 8 needles

Here's Day 2. I frogged Day 1's work and recast-on with US8 (5 mm) needles. I knit about 35 rows. I like the results with the larger needles. The pattern will look better after some light blocking. I will have to pin it out to show you what it will look like.

I'm afarid that's all the knitting I've done. The house is sick. Miss M has had the sniffles lately. I wonder if this has anything to do with last week being her first week at day care. And DH has had a cold these past few days. Wonder if this is not a coincidence with Miss M's sniffles. Anyhow, it hasn't been fun at home this weekend with two kids to take care of.

This Triumph Scarf is for the Cable Steeplechase event and the Scarf Stroke event. I still need to work on my MIL's scarf, the Regina Scarf, for the WIPS Wrestling event. I started her scarf in January and need to get it finished in time for Christmas. So I'm hoping Ravelympics will get me off my lazy bottom and finish this. It really should not take this long to make a scarf!

I saw Ratatouille this weekend. What a cute movie! I definitely want to see it again. I'm going to try to make some more progress on the Triumph Scarf tonight while watching another movie. I haven't decided whether it will be Eragon or Spirited Away. I'm leaning towards Spirited Away, however I'd want to watch it in the original Japanese language which means reading English subtitles. This will slow down my knitting a little bit. Even though the DVD has an English language track, I actually prefer watching foreign movies in their original language. Weird, huh?

I've fallen off the blog reading wagon in recent weeks and am trying to get back on it. So I'm gonna try to catch up on internet time as well as make Ravelympics progress.

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Can't figure out what to do with leftover wool yarn? Check out these dryer balls made with wool yarn. I've heard of dryer balls you can buy in stores, haven't had any first hand experience using them. Do they really work?

We recently replaced our washer & dryer. Will have to tell you about that in another post.

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Saturday, July 05, 2008

Triumph Cable Scarf Chart

This is a followup to my original post about the Ravelympics and the swatch I made for it.

Last night I created the chart for the Triumph Scarf swatch you saw yesterday. It's rather amusing how this came about. It all started on Friday when I translated that center-cable chart into row-by-row instructions while adding in the extra cables/stitches on either side of it. I got all of this onto 2 sheets of paper, then transcribed them onto index cards (which I knit from). Then I translated what I had on my index cards into an Excel chart. I must say that as time consuming as this was, it was way easier than doing the chart for my Hera Scarf (btw, I still need to get off my lazy behind and type up the row-by-row for that one). I uploaded the chart to Box.net this morning, so y'all can take a lookie if interested.

I think the only reason I managed to get all of this together so quickly is because Miss M spent the night with her grandparents. It was a nice little change for us, DH & I, to go out to dinner. Nothing fancy, just The Fish Market Restaurant. I've never been disappointed with the fish there. I had sea bass, he had sablefish. It's actually a kid friendly restaurant. I've taken Miss M there for lunch and she loves it. I think having the basil tomato side dish and the flourless chocolate cake has something to do with it. It was a nice change to actually get to eat the tomatoes last night; Miss M usually eats them all.

Ok, I'm feeling good about this. I have my pattern. I have my yarn. I even set aside needles for this. I'm just waiting for August 8 to begin knitting. Hopefully I'll be able to finish by August 24 and have some photos to share with you. I think the Ravelympics is a fun way to motivate me to start and FINISH a knitting project.

Triumph Cable Scarf Chart can be downloaded here:
Triumph Cable Scarf Chart from Box.com (last updated Sept 1, 2008)

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I'm so bummed. My little laptop mouse is dying on me, it works intermittently. While rummaging through a box (yes, we still haven't unpacked from out move), I fished out an old Microsoft Explorer mouse. Plugged it in. It works! Yay! However this mouse drives me nuts!!! The wheel does not click. It's smooth scrolling and feels weird. And that's not all. It often does absolutely nothing when I scroll the wheel. So I end up having to scroll several times before my window actually scrolls up/down. And I find it difficult to scroll precisely. Very very annoying. I'm finding myself using the window scroll bar more than the mouse wheel. I definitely need to find another rodent...

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Friday, July 04, 2008

Triumph Swatch

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I managed to find some time last night to knit a swatch of the pattern I wrote up yesterday for the Knitting Olympic Trials. I know it doesn't look like much. I used some mystery acrylic that I dug out from my charity knitting box and it wasn't very good to knit with.

I like how it turned out, although I'm not 100% sure about the border I chose. Should I leave it alone? Minimize it a bit?

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Check out this blog for an ongoing contest with weekly prizes that runs until August 31!

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Thursday, July 03, 2008

Knitting Olympic Trials

Elann Luxury Superwash Merino DK yarn

Yesterday, I found out about the Knitting Olympic Trials from Kimberli, who is organizing the event in the Ravelympics Group (formerly named Knitting Olympics Ravelry Group). The idea is to start a knitting project during the opening ceremonies (August 8) and finish it by the time the Olympic flame goes out (August 24). Doesn't that sound like a fun challenge? And the best part is that you'll (hopefully) have a finished project by the time it ends! There are many events and teams. I haven't had time to look through all of them. The first event that jumped out at me was the Mitten Medley. Then I later saw the Scarf Stroke, which is more suited to my comfort level. I know the Ravelry group can seem overwhelming when you first look at it (I sure thought so!), but it's really supposed to be low stress and fun. Just choose any project you want to start and finish during the time frame. Your project will probably fall into one of the event categories. Joining a team is optional.

This morning while Miss M was occupied I managed to sit down and think about what to make. At first I thought I'd try lace, then nixed it. There's no way I could concentrate on lace. So I fell back to cables, something I can usually knit while watching TV. I've scribbled down my pattern and haven't had a chance to swatch it. I'm not even sure I'll do that since I have so many other knitting projects I need to clear off my plate (*cough*HUGe swap*cough*) before I can comfortably begin. I also need to figure out what yarn to use. Right now I'm think of using the light brown ball you see above, Elann Luxury Superwash Merino. This would be a refreshing color change for me. And the yarn is such a pleasure to work with, it feels so soft in my hands.

When I get a chance, I'll try to chart up the scarf pattern I have in mind for the Scarf Stroke event so you can see what I have in mind. Or maybe I'll actually take the time to swatch it and then show you what it looks like. I'm really tempted to name the pattern Triumph. What do you think? Hey, it still follows the theme for my series of cable scarves! :-)

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