Thanks for all the votes in the comments of my last entry, peeps!

And the surprise winner, by a good margin, was

TWEEDIE!

But here's the thing…
I kept thinking.

[Yeah, I know - Boy keeps warning me about that.]

I'm not getting around to my goal of finishing all my UFOs before the end of the year [that's UnFinished Objects, to you non-knitters], and a girl does like a sense of completion.

So now I'm thinking about working through my UFOs during the Olympics:
Gold medal if I finish all of them;
Silver if I finish all but one;
Bronze if I finish all but a few.

Time to go rustle them out from the boxes and knitting bags where they live to see what I'm up against.
But if it works, and I medal in this event, I'd get to knit Tweedie as a prize!

Win/Win?

I mean, frankly, there's nothing like giving your brain a break from the things that really matter (like getting 12 Unpatterns ready for launch in two months' time) (and designing a trade show booth) (and getting sexy marketing materials organized and printed) (and re-designing a workshop for trade show participants) by planning what you're going to knit in …

February.

But I got a little taste of Olympic fever when we were up north across the border (Victoria being deliciously close to Whistler, host of the Winter 2010 Olympics). So now, there's a part of my brain that's planning for the Winter Knitting Olympics, which probably starts when we're at Madrona.

For Torino 2006, I set myself the absurd challenge of whipping up Alice Starmore's "St. Brigid" in 17 days. And, to be honest, I got a bronze for effort: back and most of the front done in time. Had I not hit the speed bump of needing to add a full repeat for length (which meant ripping back the front neckline, a heinous bit of shaping - in pattern), I might have muscled through. As it was, I finished it before the … Summer Olympics were finished (yes, in 2008):

So this time around, I'm playing a bit more conservative with my goals.
Sweater? Sure. Charts? Perhaps. But no all-over cable craziness!

In the last 24 hours, I've settled on three top contenders, and decided to take it to the vote with you all (mainly so I can reclaim my prefrontal cortex for more important matters, like, um, work).

In the first corner: "Tweedie"
by Hanne Falkenberg.
Pros:
• size 4 needle or so (my fastest size … really!);
• no charts to speak of, just color wrangling every 3 rows;
• cachet of putting "Falkenberg" on my knitting C.V.;
• plus, I actually already own the kit!

Cons: well, none, really.
Bought this kit at Stitches West a few years ago after seeing one of the Madrona gals sporting it. Loved it, loved the shape, loved the colorway, and it would make a great addition to the wardrobe.
(Besides, I've been assured by others that if I knit this, my ass will indeed look that good in jeans.)

In the next corner: "Ivy League Vest"
by Eunny Jang.
Pros:
•Fair Isle a serious opportunity to show off chops;
•no sleeves to speak of (thereby vastly increasing chances of actually finishing);
•great color play opportunity before Olympics, and chance to use what I've learned from Feral Knitter in color workshops;
•plus a chance to use some of my Shetland stash!

Cons: well, none, really.

In the third corner: "Seneca"
by Jared Flood.
Pros:
• a chance to hop on the "I [heart] Jared" bandwagon;
• lots of stockinette makes up for the presence of sleeves;
• cool cablework, but only in a few select places;
• plus, I actually already own the yarn and the booklet!

Cons: well, none, really.

In the fourth and final corner:
One of the Official Vancouver 2010 designs
by Kristina Hjelde for Dale of Norway.
Pros:
• actually knitting an actual Olympic sweater less than 500 miles from the Games!
• lots of stockinette plus strategically-placed colorwork
• an official patch to put on the sleeve when you're done (we loves us our schwag).

Cons: don't own the yarn, don't own the pattern book – but Yarn Barn does let you choose a unique colorway! I'm thinking charcoal gray for the main color, plus natural and orange for the contrast colors.

So what say you, Gentle Knitters?
Vote in the comments.
The brain you save may be my own!

(By storm, not with storm, fortunately. We were quite lucky with the weather, considering it was late October!)

After landing off the Victoria Clipper and fortifying ourselves with an Irish Pub lunch, we scattered to the four winds for some shopping expeditions before reconnoitering in the luxurious corner suite of D&E to celebrate E's birthday a few days early.

[No snaps of the chocolate cake, as it was already being devourered by the time I got my camera out and ready. Chocolate waits for no woman! But reports came in that they had gotten E's name right - a point of contention and humor in previous years. Phew!]

The next day's highlight was - what else? Tea at the Empress.
The girls get dolled up for the occasion:

The Empress herself got dolled up for us, too! See the red ivy against the brick? Stunning.
High tea hit the four major food groups, too: Caffeine, Chocolate, Sugar, and Cream.

Watch your fingers and toes! We was hungry!

Some of us had worked up an appetite by getting in our roadwork of a morning... a gaggle of us went out for a 4-mile walk or run first thing. Virtue has its own rewards, in the form of lovely views:

And some man-made wonders, too:

Of course, there was yarn shopping - when would there not be yarn shopping? The Beehive took great care of us, as we swarmed in and swooned over all the Handmaiden and Fleece Artist in one place (yet another way it pays to be Canadian, eh?). E and C and Tropical Girl fell in love with some colorwork mittens, and the staff were kind enough to unpack a box of them that had just come off the truck. Tropical Girl even got some with her favorite shade of teal in it! Can't wait to see how those all come out.

I fell down just a wee bit... No skinned knees in the mohair department this time.

Left: 2 skeins Berocco "Sundae", a bulky, burly-yet-soft concoction at 2 sts/1" that will become something holiday-ish for Boy. (No spoilers!)

Right: 2 skeins Fleece Artist "WoolieSilk 3ply," in lovely browny-greeny shades. Destined for some sort of linen-stitch cowl, plus a beaded beanie from the new Churchmouse Classics pattern!

All that yarn fondling makes a girl kinda pooped. Time for a pick-me-up:

And then, in true akabini form, I found a great breakfast place on our last day.
Complete with knitted tea cozies!

And all too soon, it was time to head back home....
With the added bi† of drama of some weather out to sea. There were rumors that the boat might be cancelled, but our valiant steed forged on despite the wind and rain, and we made it home safe and sound late Friday night.

Thanks to the Clipper for our safe passage!

We are home a little lighter in the wallet, but also a little lighter in our hearts for all the great times and giggles. Anything worth doing is even more worthwhile with good friends – and I'd go to the ends of the earth bo†h for and with these ladies.

Knit on, Sisters!

a) Starts at ungodly hours of the morning, with a view...

... and a new project.

b) Add a passel of great friends:

(Look at how they're sitting there, so well behaved.)
(Yeah, right.)

c) Whisk all of the above off to foreign climes:

(That's the boat we rode in on. Actual view from our hotel room balcony.)

d) Marinate.

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Needles is taking Victoria by storm!
Lock up your yarn, books, shoes, and handbags!

[We're here for the rest of the week. Expect more hilarity.]

Who brought the gin?

[This is the fella who walked a half-marathon and then some to track me as I squirrelled my way around greater Chicago. Send him a shout out! I'm a lucky gal.]

Oh, and in one of those surreal, "The Universe Has A Sense of Humor That Rivals David Byrne" sort of moments, first-husband Stephen's baby boy George has a birthday today, too!
Shouts out to Georgie, who got this friendly birthday greeting on his momma's Facebook account today:

Dear Mister Big Man.
Clearly, you are not in receipt of our memo.
Further growing is not authorized, at least until you gain clearance
pending a house visit by the Unofficial Aunt & Uncle Squad.
Future violations will be penalized by withdrawal of car keys.
This is your first warning.

I mean, really. Two years old already? Sheesh.

I always say: It's nice to participate in a sport where the Olympic-level athletes are only TWICE as good as you are.

That city sure knows how to throw a party!

Number of runners: 45,000

Number of spectators: 1,500,000 (!)

Number of runners in the 5:15 pacer bunny group: 20 or so

It was such a different race from last year's Seattle Marathon.
Okay, first off, it was flat flat flat, so I never really 'hit the wall'
like I did at mile 20 (where the hills began!) in Seattle.
I basically tucked in to the back right of the pack behind our pacer bunny
(Pacer Paul, wherever you are, I LOVE YOU) and just hit cruise.

A very nice feeling.

Steady and even the whole way, I finished strong with Ellie from Talahassee, Florida - 3 months pregnant and doing great. We even got a bit ahead of the pacers, to finish in 5:14:25.

So thanks to all of you for putting up with all the running-related posts.
Not that this will be the last of them. After a week or so of resting up,
I'm sure I'll be plotting where to run my next marathon!

Last long training run was last Saturday, a "little" 12-miler, which somehow felt exponentially better than the 15-miler the week before. (There was a lesson in there about overtraining, i.e. don't do 8 miles of speedwork the day before a long run. Legs o' lead at mile 10.)

Yesterday (Thursday) was travel day, the Day of Multiple Transportation Modalities:
• Walk 6 blocks to the bus stop in front of Aldrich's Grocery;
• Bus #7 to Poulsbo, transferring to the #90 Kitsap bus to Bainbridge;
• Ferry to Seattle;
• Walk to the Bus Tunnel;
• LIGHT RAIL almost to the airport, and a bus shuttle to the airport itself.

And then, sadly, the two environmentally unfriendly options: the plane to O'Hare and the shuttle van to this week's new digs.

So here we are, happily ensconced, looking forward to a day of picking up my bib number and packet at the giant expo, perhaps getting my bib signed by Deena Kastor, and then lazing about inhaling carbohydrates.

Oh, and in knitting news, here's what made it on the trip:
• One Unpattern Toe-Up Sock in Casdcade Heritage yarn;
• One Unpattern Top-Down Hat in Frog Tree Alpacas fingering-weight alpaca;
• and One Unpattern Sleeveless Pullover from the bottom up in Sublime Soya Cotton (which I am loving much more than I expected to.)

Just a wee bit nervous that that's not enough knitting for one week.
But I hear there are yarn stores. (Recommendations, anyone?)

First up in the series? A top-down sleeveless shell. (Not out of any sense of priority; rather, because I had the yarn for it a few weeks ago, while waiting to get down to the Mouse to procure the other batches).

Yarn: Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece
Needles: US 6 / 4.0 mm Inox metal, 24" circular and 16" circular US 4 / 3.5 mm for edgings

The stitch pattern here is a kind of rib, with a column of K3 flanked by one stitch in garter stitch. When you're knitting this pattern flat, it goes: K3, P1 on the RS; then all P on the WS. When working in the round, you need to remember to alternate one plain round of all K with one round of K3, P1. Make sense?

The V neckline was created by increasing at the neckline edge of each front every fourth row. The neckline and armhole edgings were worked by picking up 3 sts for every 4 opportunities around the opening, then working one round K1, P1, then binding off wih a decrease bind-off (my new favorite).

I incorporated some Girlie Shaping in the waist by working double-decreases in the K3 panels to convert those K3 into K1s – made for a nice ribbed effect at the sides.

Bottom hem worked with the same detail as the neckline and armholes – and yes, I bound off first, then picked up and worked the edging after. Sounds redundant, but makes for a nice, firm edge that doesn't really want to curl or flop up.

The first stages of work in a set-in sleeve, top-down garment are a bit fiddly, with little pieces of kniting hanging out all over the place, but it's worth the fuss and bother in the end. I start with the back neck area, casting on a panel of sts for one shoulder, then working a curve by casting on gradually more and more sts at the neckline edge. Set that aside, then work another panel with the curve at the opposite edge to create a piece that is mirror-image opposite to the first. When these two pieces match and are 1-1/2" deep, you can finish off the bottom of the back neckline by casting on all the sts that you need to make the rough neckline opening the width you want:

The back can then be worked straight down until you are a few rows short of the desired depth to the armhole. You can finish up the armholes now (creating a curve just like you did at the sides of the back neck, essentially), or wait until you have the fronts done.

To start the fronts, you return to the cast-on edge of your shoulder panels, pick up stitches and immediately begin working the neckline increases (for a V-neck like this one). [If you're working a crew neck, simply work even to a point just above your desired rough neckline opening depth and then fill in the curve and bottom of the round neckline exactly as you did the back. Presto!]

(The wee orange markers in the photo sat between my new, increased, neckline sts and the original shoulder-panel sts – this made it easy to keep track of how many increases I had done, which in turn made it easy to tell when my neckline was finished. Since i was doing armhole shaping and finishing up the armholes before I finished the neckline, this saved me a lot of headaches.

Given the deep 'V' here, the normal order of operations got a bit topsy-turvy here: my armholes were completed before my neckline was done, so I only joined to work in the round after I had added in all my neckline sts.

After the pieces are joined to work in the round, it's smooth sailing … unless you're creating some contouring to follow the shape of your body.

This photo was taken at the point where I transferred some sts to long cables (from my beloved Denise set, the pink cables from their breast cancer-fundraiser set) in order to try it on and check the placement of my girlie shaping.

[Note: when you're checking your garment depth, it's handy to have already finished off the neckline edging and the armhole edgings, since the act of finishing off those edges does tend to hike the whole garment up by a bit.]

Bind off at the bottom, finish any edgings you hadn't done already, weave in your ends and wear it out to dinner! (Or, in this case, pop it on one of the Rockettes, the fleet of mannequins I ordered to adorn the TNNA booth.) (Boy was so lucky: on his wedding anniversary, 8 new women showed up in his life! Of course, they don't say much, but I know plenty of guys who like those quiet types.)

Next up: Who could resist a yarn called "Cocoon"?

Three days ago, we had temperatures in the '80s
(that's the high twenties for you Celsius types).
This morning's Dog Walk Forecast:
T-shirt, Cardigan, Rain coat with fleece lining,
Socks and Boots, Scarf, Mittens, and Hat!
Handknit count: 2.

Dang.

Good thing I'm knitting sweaters.
Pix tomorrow, peeps - I have one done already, with the second one up to the sleeves!

Running news: Taper. Need I say more? Gotta love the taper.

Knitting news: Just sold my first pattern in Malta! Gotta love Patternfish.