The London 2012 Olympics are less than 100 days away.
In the knitting world, there is an activity called the Knitting Olympics, with an offshoot called Ravelympics. The idea is to cast on for a project at the beginning of opening ceremonies, work on it while watching whatever events interest you, and then finish it before or by the end of closing ceremonies. The Games start on 27 July and end on 12 August - 17 days (if I did my math right).
On Ravelry, you can sign up for specific teams depending on what you're working on and post updates. Overall, it's a fun knitting community phenomenon.
During the last Olympics, I managed to finish a blanket that had been languishing for far longer than I care to admit. I had all the squares made, but it was a matter of sewing them all together and there were more than 100 of them.
This time, I'm thinking of working on a project that is London- or British-related. So far, I've come up with a few possibilities.
One is the Hitchhiker Scarf by Martina Behm, which was inspired by The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams, who was British. Ideally, you end up with 42 points on your scarf (in the book, 42 is the answer to Life, the Universe, and Everything). I've made this pattern once already, and enjoyed it a lot, although I only ended up with 36 points. However, the pattern is flexible enough that if you run out of yarn before you get to 42 points, you can bind off wherever you need to and still have a nice scarf. I have a skein of yarn that I reclaimed from another project that I think would be enough for 42 points. Theoretically, the knitting of this could be divided up to work on a certain number of points each day, although because of how it's knit, the rows get longer the further into the project you get. So it would be a matter of doing more points early on, maybe.
Another other option is the Tudor Grace scarf by Anne Hanson. The Tudors were a ruling family in England (starting with Henry VII and ending with Elizabeth I). It's a lace pattern that has a six-row repeat and purl rest rows on the wrong side. It's a lovely pattern that I've been eyeing for awhile. But would I be able to pay attention to the events and knit at the same time without messing up the pattern? That is the question.
There is also the Miss Woodhouse shawlette by Wendy Johnson. It's a very pretty piece, and the name reminds me of Jane Austen's Emma Woodhouse. However, Emma is my least favorite of the Austen novels, so I'm not sure I want to go that route.
I was also thinking of a Dickens-related project, seeing as this year is the centenary of his birth. However, I've not come across anything that appeals to me.
Since these are the summer Games, I'm not inclined to knit something heavy like a sweater or another blanket. Hence the scarf or shawl option. It's a matter of what can I get accomplished in two and a bit weeks of knitting, which will mainly be evening knitting. Any of the above mentioned patterns would probably just squeak in under the deadline.
Any votes or other pattern ideas?
