Any other Olympic fans out there? I love the Olympics…especially in the Winter! The outdoor events are a knitters dream! A huge sea of people in hats & scarves…no better people (or knitwear) watching than that!
And of course, it’s not just watching. The athletic games have inspired many knock-off competitions (and many cease and desist orders!) Never fear…the IOC may have taken the original name but the re-branded, Ravellenic Games are set and ready for cast on!
If you don’t know about the Ravellenic Games, you can find the group with all the details HERE! The idea is simple, pick your event (anything from cowl curling to scarf skating), cast on during the opening ceremony, aiming to finish by the closing ceremony. Complete your goal and you get a medal!
I’m a highly decorated knitter! Here’s a sampling of my medals…
The medal is a jpg blog badge. Unlike the real Olympics, there’s no drug testing here and it’s easy to cheat. Obviously, winning isn’t the point of these games. The Ravellenic Games are really about fostering community and challenging yourself.
Knitting groups – virtual and in real life – form teams to support and cheer each other on (and often award prizes! If you don’t have a team and you’re interested, check out your favorite indie dyer…those groups get the best prizes!)
After giving it deep thought, I’ve decided to enter the Hat Halfpipe, thirteen times. I had a minor hat binge back in December but it didn’t come even close to scratching my hat knitting itch. The games span 19 days, certainly enough time to knit several hats. In the interest of setting a stretch goal, a baker’s dozen it is!
I’ve certainly got the yarn for it. Now to come up with that many patterns. I could easily bang out 13 striped hats from the oddment bin. That might be too easy though.
I think I should create some guidelines for example, at least 5 hats should be fingering weight, 3 hats should have bills, 2 hats should have cables, 4 hats should have non-stripe colorwork, 3 hats should be from Wooly Wormhead patterns, etc. I need to think on it a bit before I make decisions!
I’m open to suggestions…got a favorite pattern or some other crazy idea? Lay it on me! I’m ready for a big showing in the Hat Halfpipe! Who else is participating? I’d love to hear your goals!
FogKnits 
Ooh, have fun with that :) I’m not taking part, I’m just happily knitting along my very long and rather ambitious to-craft list!
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I’m using this as an excuse to knit a few things not on the list. LOL.
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Sounds great! I’ll be knitting a pair of socks and frogging a long time UFO.
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I can knit 13 hats but 2 socks somehow is just not within my abilities. LOL. I finally frogged my poor half sock after nearly a year.
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That’s a fun idea! I love the winter Olympics, especially figure skating. I’m excited to watch.
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I’m the right age that the first time I saw figure skating it was Tonya Harding & Nancy Kerrigan. LOL. Needless to say, this year I’ve been super excited about the figure skating!
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LolI was a baby when it all happened so I only learned of that whole incident recently. I grew up in the era of Tara Lipinski and Michelle Kwan and loving them.
Have you seen I, Tonya? I’ve already seen it twice and I’m a bit obsessed, haha. Easily my favorite movie all year. It’s definitely gotten me pumped for the Olympics because I went back and watched a bunch of Tonya Harding’s routines after I saw it. If you’ve seen it, I’m curious to hear the opinion about it from someone who was watching it unfold at the time since all the people I’ve talked to are my age and didn’t know anything about it beforehand.
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I’ve seen it twice as well. I absolutely love it. It’s pretty much how I recall things happening. I sort of feel bad for Tonya. She was definitely fighting stereotypes about class and her athletic ability should not have been judged by what part of town she was from but at the same time, c’mon…her competition ended up with a knee bashed in. That’s not cool.
Mostly, I feel bad for Tonya because I don’t think the film vindicated her or anything like that. She’s still the butt of the joke.
This year the national trials were only an hour away. I didn’t know until it was too late though, the good events were all sold out. I didn’t want to pay $50 to see the junior warm up.
I’m bummed Ashley Wagner didn’t make the team this year. I really like her.
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Yeah, I feel bad for her as well. As someone who didn’t have any prior knowledge and didn’t have any opinion on the matter beforehand, I left the theater (mostly) on Tonya’s side. Regardless of whether she knew about the attack in advance, I can see why she would be scared to speak up about it once she realized who had done it (at least with the way the movie portrays that relationship).
It’s hard not to feel bad for her given the way the movie portrays her upbringing and life. It’s a real shame that her career was ruined.
And that’s so cool! I’ve never seen figure skating live, I bet it would be so much more exciting in person than watching on TV.
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my LYS is sponsoring an in-house (not on Ravelry) fun free style event – we knit or spin whatever we want, can clear out WIPs, or start fresh. Building the sense of community. As for hats – I am with you, they are fun and use up scraps and can be whipped up in no time! One I like and have made dozens of is the super bulky button hat by Jill Bucold. Bulky yarn held double! So fast to knit up on big needles, and you get to highlight a gorgeous button on it as well. I also enjoy the Alpine Topper by Kendra Rafford. It calls fro bulky (one strand) but I have adjusted it to worsted weight as well. It is GREAT for using up scraps of colors, I have been more creative with the colors than they show (they typically use two, but more is better if you choose the colors right. :-) )
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I think I know the button hat you’re talking about, or at least something similar. AND, I’ve got a couple 4″ buttons that are showpiece buttons…button hat is a good idea!
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If you look in Ravelry it pops up pretty quickly, and is free. And cool 4 inch buttons would be amazing!
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I couldn’t find jill bucold, did find jill bujold but her bulky button hat didn’t have pictures or even any finished projects? I’m guessing there’s a better pattern entry that I didn’t find?
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It is bujold, sorry! When I search for button hat, filtering for bulky and free, it is the 3rd from the left in the 6th row of results, shows an orange hat with a striped button on a mannequin. Tiny text underneath says kaleidoscope shawl. I am on my phone or I would send you a link. I just tried the same filters searching for super bulky button hat and it is the first result. 😉
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Just did the same search again and I found it this time?? So weird.
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Opps, just spotted this. Glad you found it!
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I think I must’ve started on the last page of the search or something…none of her patterns seemed to have pictures. I guess it could have been a glitch in ravelry or my computer too…whatever. I found it now :) That was the style I was thinking of, I’m gonna start stash diving so I can pair everything up! The button is a big piece of coconut shell that’s been lacquered green. It’s a great button!
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Glad I mentioned it, and that you were able to find it. It is SUPER easy, and because of the thick bulky yarn, it is only about 50 stitches, as I recall. I make them out of lamb’s pride bulky, held double, but you could use a whole pile of thinner yarns held together, too. Loads to get creative with.
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You can name your place Hatlandia
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I’d live in Hatlandia!
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I have never heard of this before, what a brilliant idea! And I love the medals :)
Having just read the article about the Ravelympic games, I’m even more keen to get into Ravelry. What a team!
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Right? Kind of funny how the IOC protects it’s copyright. Oh well. I’ve gotten used to saying Ravellenic. They can’t take the idea away…only the word! :)
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Such a fun idea. I’m fairly new to knitting, so need to focus my attention on what I’m creating rather than being distracted – especially by the ski and boarder cross!
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Yeah, maybe start by knitting while watching a hockey game, you can probably get away with sneak peeks!
The most distracting part about the skiing and other outdoor events for me, is the long panning crowd shots between the action. Everyone has knitwear on! So many great hats and scarves!
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