Knitter in Progress

I have decided to challenge myself during the Olympics. I believe that knitting is a winter sport and the Knitting Olympics is the Harlot's domain. So I've decided that the summer Olympics, for me at least, are all about stitching. Starting with Opening Ceremonies tonight and going through Closing Ceremonies I am going to get 300 stitches in per day on QS Swimming with Dolphins. Wish me luck because in addition to all of the this stitching, we have the madness of "back-to-school" next week. Before(8Aug08): After: 25Aug08: Olympic Update. Well, my Olympic stitching was a bust. I'm like one of those countries with like two athletes neither of which have a chance to medal they're just happy to be there. I got 1201 stitches done over the course of the games. It sounds good but in order to have reached my Olympic Gold I would have needed 4800. So I didn't make it to the podium--frankly with such a poor showing I can't even see the podium ;) I did read 4 boo...

Here's the monthly update on the Barn Raising front. This is the big picture(so to speak). All the squares I've made to date stacked up. This picture is a little dark but these are the squares I knit for Diva and I this month. **clockwise from top: STR Sherbet(Diva), Cherry Tree Hill(me), Skully square/STR Rook-y(me, because I made all mine to trade and didn't have one left for me), and RRFW Burning Rubber(me). These are squares I got from Stacey and Wanda in exchange for a couple of Skullys(now I just need one from Miss Cynthia and I'll be all set--no hurry though). Finally, these are squares for Stacey's Dad. **clockwise from top: STR Ruby Slippers, STR Jasper, Great Adirondack in Cranberry Bog, and Opal. I will not get as much done in August because school starts and I have some stitching and socks I want to work on :)

July Goals: Knitting-- **no new cast ons--finish stuff already on the needles-- DONE, no new cast ons. ** I finished 6 Barn Raising Squares this month Stitching-- **QS Swimming with Dolphins(SAL weekend 11-14)-- DONE **Provence Sampler(HAEDless SAL weekend 18-24)-- skipped this month as my sis was in town. Reading-- **finish one book-- DONE, read Dark Lover by JR Ward August Goals: Knitting: **no new cast ons Stitching: **QS Swimming with Dolphins(SAL weekend 8-11) **Provence Sampler(SAL weekend 15-18) **TT K (2 QS Wednesdays) Reading: **finish 2 books Other: **workout for 1800 minutes **lose 5 pounds

If you are a HAED stitcher(Heaven and Earth Designs for the uninitiated) or you want to be one, now would be the time to buy a chart. Specifically, this chart: Ching-Chou Kuik is the artist and she donated this piece for Michelle and Bob(the brilliant duo behind Heaven and Earth Designs ) to use as a means of raising money for tornado relief. Their house and much of their property was destroyed by a tornado and they are overwhelmed with where to begin--to say the least. This chart will only be available for two weeks and then it's gone forever. If you would like to help out, go here for the details.

Sorry about the MIA-ness. It's been a busy July here at Casa KiP. First there was the excitement of the 4th of July. Then one of my sisters came out to visit--the first person from my family to come out since we moved here in 2005. She wanted to show her kiddos the mountains so we decided to take them to Glenwood Springs to swim in the hot springs . It's about a 3 hour drive from here to there and you definitely see a lot of mountains on the way. **left to right--Tank(nephew), Little Diva-in-Training(niece), Diva, and Rage My sister doesn't knit **gasp** or craft at all really **double gasp**. She runs, and runs, and runs, and then she runs some more. She came here to run in a higher elevation. There was much talk about her mile times and how ticked she was that she was running slower here. I just smiled, nodded, and said more power to ya. Why can't someone figure out how to get knitting/stitching to give you a runner's body? I'm jealous and envious of my sister...

I finished 9 squares in June. I had to have 9 of these squares done in time for our CWKK weekend, so that I could exchange them with everyone who was participating. Here are the squares I received: (clockwise from top left: Jeni , Terrie , Kelly , Genia, Mary Kay , and Michelle --thanks ladies!) In addition, I finished two more(the bright pink one is actually from Stacey for Little Diva's blanket).

I finished Rage's socks. A few months ago he went through my Socks That Rock stash and found a skein of lightweight in the Lapis colorway and he insisted that I make him socks with it. He loves them(he wanted a pair so he could "skate" around the kitchen like his sister does with her handknit socks). Stats: Yarn: STR lightweight in Lapis Needles: size 2 dpns Pattern: Classic Beginnings Socks for the Family(Wyman)