Not so Relaxing Ravelympics!!

So, Ravelympics started out nice and relaxing. Working full-time I decided to be rational and pick projects that I would be capable of finishing while working, taking care of the house, and spending time with Hubby and Little Man. But I still picked something on the challenging side. This sweater is a gorgeous design from the book Vintage Knits for Modern Babies. I loved the look, and although I read others had a little difficulty, I bought the yarn called for and decided to give it a go. There are 2 things that make this a tricky knit. One, the eyelet pattern can be difficult to navigate with the decreases...the rows aren't written out, you have to "read" the fabric you have already knit to know what goes where...I could handle this hurdle, some people can't. The second hurdle was the separate 5-stitch ribbed buttonhole band. It was fiddly. The back and front pieces were knit at the same time, and then...BOOM, the bands are knit separately and then have to be seemed on...worth it, but a little annoying at the time. But there was another hurdle that threatened to derail my project totally...I bought the 2 skeins of yarn the pattern called for for the 0-3 month size, and it wasn't enough yarn! I had to buy another skein to finish the second sleeve, the button bands, and the neckband. So I had to trek back to the yarn store, with my fingers crossed, to see if they had any more of the yarn in the color I needed. Thank goodness they did! But I lost 2 days because of having to wait for more yarn. (Oh, and I did knit to gauge). Hurdles aside, look at how beautiful it is! One medal down at this point!

Next it was on to a bear for the Mother Bear Project. The Mother Bear Project sends crochet and knit bears to children in Africa affected by HIV and AIDS. I hope to make more of these not-so-little-guys to send in. The feet, legs, torso, head were all knit in one long continuous piece...very interesting construction!

Then I finished a pair of teal baby booties to go with the first project since I had some yarn leftover. And then I rushed over to Ravelry around 10:30 PM to post the last two projects to the Finish Line thread to be eligible for my medals.

So in the end, the Ravelympics weren't relaxing, but they were the challenge they were intended to be! Check out my new medals on the sidebar!