I’m heading to bed after spending the evening on the couch alternating between dozing with a fever and sniffling with a sore throat. There’s a bug going around the office and it seems to have settled with me today. Bad bug! Weekends aren’t for being sick! Hopefully I’ll feel better in the morning!

But, in the interest of blog fodder, I offer you a link to this sweater, now on its recipient.

I like color. It still surprises me that some people never manage to break out of the monochromatic prison they find themselves in — particularly in the city.

Today’s wardrobe theme was green — green shirt, green hat, green sweater, green necklace, and green socks — none of them the same green, of course.

Looking at my socks made me realize that I don’t think I ever shared them with you. I mean, I shared them in various states of progress, but never as a finished pair.

Ta da!

They’re Ann Budd’s Lace Cuff Anklets from Favorite Socks knit in some of the very first yarn Chewy Spaghetti ever dyed. I bought it from her off eBay, when, I believe, she was trying to get rid of the early skeins made from a different base than her subsequent yarns. The colorway is Lush, which it is — practically glow-in-the-dark neon, in fact. The interplay of the various greens kept my needles flying, and I don’t think I’ve ever been more in love with a variegated color before. The yarn itself was a very loose ply, which made it very splitty with practically ever needle I used (US0, 1, 2, 3, and 4, once all was said and done). But do keep in mind, as I said before, this was a discontinued base, so I wouldn’t judge the current crop of Chewy Spaghetti yarns on this experience.

You may notice that the sock looks a bit tight. It is. The original pattern called for DK weight and this is light fingering, and for whatever bone-headed reason I can’t recall anymore, I decided to knit the pattern as written. I believe it’s a four stitch repeat, so it’s not like it would have been hard to cast on more stitches.

Realizing during the first cuff that I was going to need more room, I did think to increase a few stitches, but not enough to make the stockinette portion quite large enough. And I may have factored that in when knitting the second sock and may have added four extra stitches right from the start. But given the foot of the sock has a gauge of 11 stitches per inch, it just felt like they went on forever — and I was glad to finally get them off the needles last month.

But I did accomplish two things with these socks: a pair for St. Patrick’s Day and a girly pair of cuffed socks. They look particularly nice with Mary Janes, both these and the black leather ones I wore with them today.

Life seems to have a two-tone quality to it these days. Knitting progresses (I’ll finish Row 83 before bed tonight), but I’ll be glad to move on to a different project when the Ravelympics concludes at noon on Sunday. Will I be done with the super secret project? Ummm… it’s hard to say at this point. Definitely maybe.

And while I’m knit, knit, knitting along, I’m also watching record amounts of tv. I have seen a variety of sports — from beach volleyball to the steeplechase to BMX racing — and have enjoyed almost all of them. I admit some of them make me nervous; I hate seeing athletes get hurt. And I refuse to watch the equestrian events for that reason: it’s bad enough if the person gets injured because they, at least, chose to compete; it’s just devastating to see an animal get hurt. (I have no reason to believe any horses have been injured during the Games thus far; if you know otherwise, please don’t share…)

But while I can be a nervous fan, I also really enjoy watching athletes go out and give their very best. Sometimes they come away with a World Record or a medal. But so much more often, they come away with nothing (imagine being last in the 100m qualifier and having that be your only event!), and it merely was enough for them to have competed for their sport and their country and to have put in their hardest effort. The athletes are (generally) gracious when interviewed — either in victory or in defeat — and I find myself very hopeful about the future of the world when I watch the Olympic coverage.

And, I suppose, that’s really not such a bad thing after all.

While I’m off working on my Olympic project (I’m on Row 27) and watching (wait for it) the Olympics, I offer you this knitting-related interview with the non-knitting member of the household. I first saw it on Donna‘s blog a few weeks ago and it has since popped up all over the knitting blogosphere:

Me: What is your favorite thing about my knitting?
Rudi: The consistency of your stitches.

Me: What is your least favorite thing about my knitting?
Rudi: How it can suck you into a mental vortex. That and the fact that the stash takes up a lot of room. But I shouldn’t be picky, says he of the bikes and skis.

Me: What is something I have knitted, that you recall as good?
Rudi: Where to begin on that… I would definitely say the … uh … the first pair of socks you knitted were impressive. And the latest pair of socks were really impressive. And that (flailing his arms in a pulling over the shoulder motion) shawl … thing.
Me: The shrug?
Rudi: Yeah, that. I’m a guy; what do you expect…

Me: Do you think knitters have an expensive hobby?
Rudi: (grinning) Depends on the kind of yarn they get, doesn’t it?

Me: Do you have any hobbies?
Rudi: Uh, yeah.
Me: Would you care to elaborate?
Rudi: Road biking, alpine skiing, collecting way too much music, dabbling in politics and computers.

Me: So, if we compared money/time spent on hobbies, who would win?
Rudi: I, I think…. I don’t know. Our hours don’t overlap too often. I’m sure you would say I would win and I would you say you would win.

Me: Do you have a stash of any kind?
Rudi: Music would be about as close as it gets. Spare bike tubes. Nothing compared to what you have.
Me: So you wouldn’t say that the old bike frame and the spare wheels and the old seat in the closet are a stash?
Rudi: Okay, they’re a stash. Touché.

Me: Have I ever embarrassed you, knitting in public?
Rudi: No.

Me: Do you know my favorite kind of yarn?
Rudi: Your favorite kind of yarn probably has something to do with alpaca. Probably an alpaca-silk blend of some sort. [Mmmm… That would be lovely…]

Me: Can you name another knitting blog?
Rudi: Probably a few. Ravelry isn’t a blog; it’s more of a meta site… Wendy Knits. The Yarn Harlot. Purling Sprite.
Me: Very good.
Rudi: Those are the three that come to mind quickly.

Me: Do you mind my wanting to stop at yarn shops wherever we go?
Rudi: No.

Me: Do you understand the importance of a swatch?
Rudi: Oh, hell, yeah.

Me: Do you read Sprite Writes?
Rudi: Yeah.

Me: Have you ever left a comment?
Rudi: Yeah.

Me: Do you think the house would be cleaner if I didn’t knit?
Rudi: Probably not. [He’s right.]

Me: Anything you’d like to add?
Rudi: I loved it. It was much better than Cats. I’m going to see it again and again and again.

I apologize, but I will not be posting much about my participation in the Ravelympics, the knitting version of the Summer Games, here on my blog. The item I’m working on is destined for a reader, so it would hardly be fair to talk about it where they can read about it. Their surprise would be diminished and I would be sad to do that to either of us. So, if you’re a knitter (or crocheter) on Ravelry, please feel free to follow along with my progress there.

Suffice it to say to everyone else, I hope that I finish a little faster than when I participated in the Knitting Olympics in 2006.

And in the meantime I will share progress reports only in terribly vague ways, such as, “I have just finished the sixth row.”

…

I have just finished the sixth row.

…

After work I’m heading to the Sculpture Garden to meet with members of our local team, Team 51, for a few hours of knitting and tango music. I’m really looking forward to it.

Oh, and speaking of the Olympics, don’t forget that in addition to their stellar record on the environment (second only to the U.S., I believe) and their exception perspective on human rights (ditto), China also has an intriguing perspective on neighborly relations (::sigh:: ditto). My fellow knitters and I would like to remind you, as you’re watching the Opening Ceremonies, that NONE of us is free until ALL of us are free. Please feel free to read more here.

Two knitting works in progress:

This is the first of a pair of socks I started back in March — you know, for St. Patrick’s Day. The second sock is done, but lacks the cute little picot edging around the edge of the cuff. Seriously, it’s less than an hour’s work and I still haven’t done it.

The yarn is Chewy Spaghetti in Lush. The pattern is Lace Cuff Anklets by Ann Budd.

This is my Tour de France challenge project. Although I did master the new skill of knitting toe-up (my personal challenge for the knit-along) as opposed to cuff-down, I still seem to have a long way to go. Happily, I’m at the turning the heel point now so should make better progress in the weeks to come.

The yarn is Epicurus’ Superwash Merino in White Sage. The pattern is Bastille Day Socks by Yuliya Sullivan.