only a couple more days

of Olympic {and thus, my Ravelympic} coverage.

here's a quick update.

cj's darkside cowl

Medals were awarded:


Most recent project completed is a pair of fingerless mitts for my mom.

Pattern: Fetching by Cheryl Niamath
Yarn: Cascade 220 wool in Navy #8393
Needles: US8 Bamboo dpns
Started: 2.23.2010
Finished: 2.26.2010
Medals:

I liked how this pair turned out even better than the 1st pair I made last week. Made one pattern change. I didn't go with the picot edge at the top of the mitt. Rather, I used a normal bind off...just doing so in pattern instead. I think I may have to redo the top edge of my brown mitts this way also so it doesn't roll back anymore.

more FOs and medals too!

Luna Lovegood Scarf (see post on 2.18.2010 for more info)

Medals:

my next project to cross the Finish Line was this grocery style bag:

Pattern: Elisa's Nest Tote

Yarn: Brown Sheep Cotton Fine in New Age Teal (knit with 2 strands held together)
Needle Size: US 10 straight and US4 dpns
Start Date: 2.16.2010
Finish Date: 2.20.2010
Medal:


And most recent project to cross the finish line is this cute cowl I made for cj!
(medals to be awarded later today)

Pattern: Darkside Cowl by Sarah Fama
Yarn: TLC Baby in Sky Blue
Needle Size: US 8 (16" circ)
Start Date: 2.21.2010
Finish Date: 2.23.2010

I'm REALLY enjoying this. I'm getting so many projects done or at least begun! What fun!

another Ravelympics project completed!

check out my new scarf:

Pattern: Luna Lovegood Scarf by pinkleo {on Ravelry}
Yarn: Caron Simply Soft in Grey Heather
Hook: Size F {yup...this one's crocheted!}
Start Date: 2.14.2010
Finish Date: 2.18.2010

my Ravelympics 2010 medals {so far!}

well folks, here they are! my "medals" for finishing my Fetching mitts.





okay, so this last one isn't actually a medal...it's a cute avatar {the ravelry people call it a ravatar!!} with the ravelry mascot Bob the dog that i got for participating.

i'm hoping to soon complete one of the 3 other projects i'm working on. if i could just focus and do one at a time, i'd be done with at least my second one by now. i know i will finish 2 of them...but the scarf i'm making with malabrigo lace {really really skinny yarn!} is probably going to take too long. ah well, even if i don't get it done, i'm having fun and i'm glad to have started knitting with it...it's so pretty and soft!

will post more pictures when i finish something else!

dorky me.

there are times when i feel like such a dork! i was just checking out the Ravelympics rules again. apparently i didn't need to wait until the Olympic torch was lit to start my projects. apparently i could have began right at the START of the opening ceremony! it really bugs me when stuff like that happens. i mean, really. why did i get that in my head that way? i was so certain. well, it is my first Ravelympics, so i'll just chalk it up to a learning experience and hope next time i read the rules i understand them better! lol!

one more thing!

i almost forgot! BOX DAY!



that's right...our new school books arrived last Friday! the boys had fun digging in and checking out what new books we got for Core 4. {now to just finish up core 3 so we can begin to use 'em!}

Ravelympics 2010 update PLUS a funny kid story!

My first knitting project for the 2010 Ravelympics is complete!


Pattern: Fetching by Cheryl Niamath
Yarn: Berrocco Lustra in Lus Champignon {about 1/2 skein for the pair}
Needles: US8 Bamboo dpns
Started: Feb. 13, 2010 Finished: Feb. 14, 2010
Happy Valentine's Day to me!

{I'm not thrilled with the eyelet edging at the top of the mitts...with this yarn, it tends to roll back down. I may try to gently block it, but it's acrylic yarn, so I'm not sure how well it will block. If I ever do this pattern again, I'll use a wool or wool blend yarn. But I really like the cables and ease of the pattern.}

Since yesterday was Valentine's Day, and since I couldn't start my Ravelympics projects until the Olympic torch was actually lit, I made these 3D crochet hearts while watching the opening ceremonies.


And yes, I gave them to my honey as his Valentines Day gift...handmade by me, with love.

Now for a funny CJ story.
My boys went ice fishing on Friday with my parents and then spent a couple nights with them. Grandpa is a Nascar fan and on Saturday afternoon he was watching the Nationwide race.

Evidently Danica Patrick has started driving Nascar's Nationwide series. When CJ saw her on the tv, he said "There's Mommy!" He was convinced he was watching ME on tv!


Danica Patrick


NOT Danica Patrick!

When Danica's car was wrecked, CJ watched her get out of the car and was saying "Mommy's okay! Mommy's okay!" It was so funny, my mom had to call me right away and tell me about it. And ever since, I've been wondering why he'd think it was me. I do have a little bit "in common" with Danica. That is, I also have long, dark hair and our facial shape is similar too. But that's where the similarities end. I don't race cars, and you couldn't pay me enough to do the ads Danica has been known for! But I'm gonna guess the hair was probably what got him thinking she was me.

Anyways, I'll just take it as a compliment and have a good laugh!

Don't forget to cheer on our Olympic hopefuls!

Go Team USA!

let the games begin!

we sat up late last night watching the opening ceremony for the 2010 Winter Olympics. it was a pretty amazing program...too bad for the technical difficulty at the end, but it turned out okay in the end!

more importantly for me, the lighting of the Olympic flame marks the start of the Ravelympics! that is, ravelry's olympic games!!

this is my first time participating in one. basically, it's setting goals for your knitting/crochet projects to complete one or more projects during the Olympics. must be finished by the time the flame is extinguished. i've got 4 projects i'm planning on doing. i'm pretty sure i'll have no problem with 3 of them, but not certain about that fourth project...i might not have enough time since it uses lace weight yarn. i'm excited to begin though. i didn't actually start any of my projects last night, although i could have at 11pm. i was getting tired, though and didn't want to start off with mistakes. so i'm going to get started right away this morning.

let the knitting begin!

curriculum, continued...

it's ordered! already!

i really can't believe i didn't spend a week {or more!} agonizing over every little detail. only one day and i'm all done! hooray!

now comes the really hard part--waiting for it to get here! lol! but oh what fun when it does!!!!

then i have the joy of getting all our new books organized and labeled and yeah...that's when my OCD tends to show. oh well. it's a pretty rare problem for me, so i won't complain.

homeschool curriculum shopping!

yes, it's that time for me again. time to figure out what we need for our next level of schoolwork. it's kind of weird buying it in february, but since we're nearly done with Sonlight's Core 3, it's time to order our new books so we can keep on with our schooling.

we plan to continue with Sonlight so next is Core 4 {American History, part 2}. although i've typically bought Sonlight's 5-day schedule {more books!}, i'm thinking this year i'm going to just get the 4-day schedule with the hopes that Core 4 won't take us quite as long as Core 3 has. so that covers Bible, history & geography, reading & listening comprehension. i also get our Singapore Math from Sonlight--it's a pretty good math program and we like it.

i plan to continue with apologia's elementary zoology books. we'll be on book 2...swimming creatures of the fifth day. so that covers science.

for art, i'm going to get the Artistic Pursuits for Grades 4-6, Book 1. and i plan to continue teaching bubba piano & guitar, so that covers music.

we have our English book from BJU Press and will continue with it. plus i've already got the next book for our handwriting program so i don't have to worry about that right now either. we also have Rosetta Stone's Latin American Spanish as an elective course.

and finally, for P.E. we are doing 30 minutes of exercise each day {okay so it's actually most days} using our wii fit plus. it's so hard to do much else up here in the middle of winter when it's below zero more often than not {especially when you're not outdoorsy-types to begin with!} but at least we now have something that gets us moving a little and is fun to boot! i also have hopes and dreams of using our Total Gym for P.E. but i need to be able to get the Total Gym set up again before i can {note: home remodeling can be a messy business}.

i think that covers everything. i hope i haven't forgotten something!!!!

now to actually get what i need on order!