2010 Knitting Olympics - Done!!!

At 4:45 this afternoon I completed my 2010 Knitting Olympics project.   And it fits!

(from theYarn Harlot's website - my medal for finishing!)

(thanks for the challenge)

2010 Knitting Olympics - Update

Last night (Friday the 19th) during the Ice Dancing compulsory programs I reached the 50% mark on my Sea Mist Gansey sweater.  This is fun and I am on schedule!

This is the front of the sweater - the body is knit in the round to the armholes, then the front is completed.  I am a bit concerned that I might run out of yarn so have ordered another skein directly from Harrisville and hope that it arrives in time.  Because the color may be slightly different I will save knitting the back yoke with the new yarn until last, hoping any slight color change will not be noticable. 

So onto the sleeves starting today.

Sea Mist Gansey for the 2010 Knitting Olympics

Stephanie Pearl-McPhee, the "Yarn Harlot," has issued a 2010 Knitting Olympics challenge on her blog - to start and finish a challenging knitting project during the Olympic games in Vancouver.

My choice for this Olympics is a project that I have wanted to make for over three years.  That many years ago I found the book "Sweaters from A New England Village" by Candace Eisner Strick in my local library. 

The book, published in 1996, tells the story of Harrisville, New Hampshire and Candace's fascination with the beautiful Harrisville Design's yarns, and contains 20 of her original patterns featuring the Harrisville  Designs yarns.  I immediately fell in love with the "Sea Mist Gansey" sweater pattern, to be knit with a worsted yarn.

Shortly after finding the pattern I went to Stitches East in Baltimore in October 2006 and there, to my surprise, was a booth of Harrisville Designs Yarns.  The beautiful Orchid yarn (wool, mohair, and cashmere) in Juniper green appealed to me immediately so six skeins came home with me.  I immediately wound the hanks into cakes ... and the yarn has been sitting in the drawer ever since.

Fast forward to the present.  When Stephanie announced her Knitting Olympics I decided that now is the time to knit the sweater - a winter sweater for the winter games.

Being the accountant I worked up a spreadsheet of the various parts of the sweater and the stitch count (50,143), then set up daily goals.  So far, as of Saturday night, I am ahead of schedule!

Enough blogging - now back to knitting and watching winter sports!