Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Ravellenics 2012

I suppose it's about time I launched into the Ravellenics knitting that happened this summer.  Ravellenics (previously known as Ravelympics) coincides with the Olympics, so every two years knitters and crocheters and fiber artists gather their fiber and tools and get to work.  There are events and badges, goals and accomplishments, and it is really neat to see what we as a community can do in a short amount of time.

I participated in a few events which included the Frogging Trampoline and the Hand-Dyed High Dive. I also entered items into the charity knitting event, one skein wonders, the mitten event and the hat event.  That sounds like a lot, but it's not really.

For the frogging event (Frogging Trampoline), the requirements were that the item to be frogged (unraveled) must be at least 25% complete, and that you take a before and after shot.  I frogged two items.

First up, the Bathrobe.  I've talked about this knit a lot but never really got anywhere with it.  It'd been languishing on the needles, untouched, for too long.  Every time I went back to the pattern I spent half the time trying to figure out where I left off, and then getting frustrated because the pattern instructions were unclear to me.  Aside from that, the Bathrobe was meant to be for Squishy, who is now closer to 4 than 3 years old and the pattern size I was knitting was 24 months.  Too small!! And too big at the moment for Lovebug.
Before
 After
(I apologize for the quality of some of these photos.  
They were taken on my phone in bad lighting!)
The second item I frogged was Evie's Sweater.  I almost had her sweater reknit after frogging it once already, but I just couldn't come to terms with the density of the fabric.  I was trying to use yarn that was too heavy, even going up a couple needle sizes the sweater was thick and hard to maneuver.  It never would have been comfortable for her to wear.  I really want to knit her this pattern because it would cover the majority of her body and neck and give her tiny body warmth in the winter.  Perhaps I can get myself in gear and get this knit for the coming winter...with the proper yarn!
Before
 After
I also competed in the Hand Dyed High Dive.  This was for yarn and/or fiber that was dyed during the Ravellenics.  I dyed two skeins of fingering weight wool.  One for a prize drawing for Team Itty Bitty Knitters and one as a yarn swap with a friend.

I also knit 2 items, a pair of color work fingerless mitts and a hat during that time, but I'll save those for another day.

2 comments:

  1. So how do awards work Rae Lynne? Do the group members vote upon it or the Ravelry staff?
    The yarns you dyed are terrific.

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    Replies
    1. Hi Stefanie! :) Everyone gets an award for their project as long as they complete the project within the specified period of time and post a photo in the appropriate thread. They are then earburned to the Awards Podium where they receive the award badge and banner. I think teams get points based on the number of projects completed, but we aren't terribly concerned about that. :) And there's no actual voting that happens, more of just a badge of participation. :)

      We did have a prize thread for our team. If you knit one of Susan Anderson's designs (as we were Team Itty Bitty Knitters), then you were entered to win a prize. And prizes were drawn by Random Number Generator. :)

      And thank you for the kind words on the yarn. :)

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