Knitting Olympics, Day 2

Today is the first time since college that I’ve watched hockey. It’s a sport that (as you may have gathered from my post about ice skating) I didn’t grow up with, and so never really learned to watch. I went once with a college boyfriend — a Flyers fan, he took me to a Bruins-Flyers game, at the old Boston Garden, which probably wasn’t the best introduction to the sport. But today, watching women’s hockey and knitting away merrily, I’m kind of getting into it. And it’s also been cool hearing how many of the women playing for the US (and several other countries) are from the Harvard women’s hockey program. My freshman-year floormate was one of the founders of the program, and a stalwart of the team for four years. And look what’s come of it!

As for the knitting, I’m making progress, though not perhaps as much as I’ll need to finish by the end of the Olympics. (I feel a bit like one of the guys looked in the cross-country part of the Nordic combined: I’m knitting and knitting, but I don’t seem to be getting anywhere....) I’m doing the long tunic in three shades of grey from Vivian Hoxbro’s Shadow Knitting, though the greys I’m using are lighter than the ones in the book. The book recommends placing a marker every time the pattern changes, which led to another Jamaican bobsled moment. I needed 17 markers for a 10-stitch repeat over 170 stitches. After scrounging through every single box, needle case, and stray unfinished object bag I own, I came up with 18. I don’t think I’ve ever used this many markers in any project, and, given the very light-weight yarn, they feel really awkward. It’s like holding a handful of marbles. And I’ve only done about 5 inches. Hopefully I’ll get used to it soon!

Of course, tomorrow there’s supposed to be a nor’easter, so I should be able to get a lot of Olympic watching and knitting in between sessions of shoveling. 20 inches to go on the back, then a matching front, and a pair of sleeves. Right....