better late than never

At long last, my clapotis is blocked. It was my first blocking experience and now I want to block everything. I'm glad the clapotis expedition is over, I have to say, and I hope the person I give it to really enjoys it. Here's the pre-blocking pic:

The Giant and the Newest

Hi all!
I finished my Giant Clapotis with the 3 hanks of CTH DK Silk/Merino in Cabin Fever, and started on the other one. These were my Kwan and Hughes for the Knitting Olympics, and I am determined to finish them BOTH. Yes, I will agree with you all, the pattern is addicting and the fact that I am working on my 4th shawl is proof enough. :)
There are pictures at the bottom of the page on my Clapotis photo section. The newest Clapotis is being made with James Brett's pink Marble which is distributed by Kertzer. This self striping yarn has a trace of a halo and even though it is acrylic, the dropped stitches seem to stick like mohair does.

Feel free to post your comments here or on my site!

Very excited to finally wear a Clapotis I've knitted,
Kimberly
=:8
http://www.somebunnyslove.com

I didn't block my clapotis. And the purl side might be the right side, who really knows. Anyway, here it is. More photos in my blog. Oh, and I loved the yarn but one of the three skeins was significantly lighter than the other two. I used it in the middle and it doesn't show too badly.

A belated 'thank you' to Jackie for hosting Team Clapotis!

The scarf version is finished

Actually, I did finish Sunday, but I had to block it overnight. The scarf version is much shorter than I would like, so if I do another one, I'll knit the full size. I think it needs more blocking too.

gold medals are available!

check out the yarn harlot's post about presentation of gold medals, which includes information on obtaining a certificate of participation as well as entering drawings for prizes. her writing about this is fabulous as always. and did you guys see that sweater she made??? that thing is impressive! thanks to stepahie for coming up with the idea for the knitting olympics, and thanks to all of you for joining team clapotis. the support and camaraderie are GREATLY appreciated! this has been tremendous fun, and i have lots and lots of ideas for my next clapotis. and for those not yet finished, PLEASE keep posting pictures and updates--i for one and very interested in how your clapotis come out!

Finished!

I can't believe it, but I finished while watching the closing ceremonies Sunday evening! The details are posted on my blog, but it was such a wonderful experience. I'm still on a high from finishing.

gold, gold, gold!!!

so i emailed the yarn harlot and asked her if i qualified for gold since i cast on during the televising of the opening ceremonies and finishing during the televising of the closing ceremonies, and she said YES!!! i am ridiculously pleased by this. thanks to chris for the idea and to susan for the support of it--y'all are why i investigated. :)

I did it!!!

I won Gold!!!

Pictures and details on my blog.

Thanks for everyone's support and encouragement here. They were great Olympic games, weren't they?

whew!

i knitted literally all weekend trying to make it, and still failed to get the gold. however, i DID finish knitting while the closing ceremonies were being televised here, which i thought was a nice parallel to casting on when the opening ceremonies were televised. i may not have walked away with a gold medal, but i sure do feel olympian about this whole thing. this is the largest thing i have ever knitted, and also the second most complex (the most complex being the beaded bodice on crumpets). i started with 7 droppped stitches on saturday morning, finished the straight rows at 2:32am, and completed the knitting at around 9pm on sunday night. i knitted all night, except for a little involuntary nap at 5am. (i fell asleep in the middle of a purl row and slept for almost two hours with the needles in my hands!) i wasn't planning to block this, but i think now that i will--i love the ridges, and i think they will get more pronounced if i block. and since i can't stop taking pictures of it, i will probably post one more after blocking. i had more yarn left than i expected, probably 60-70 yards--if i had it to do over, i would knit a couple more straight sections and use up more of the yarn. and i have to say, this yarn is a joy just to handle and it knits VERY smoothly. this is the finest gauge (and quality!) yarn i have used for anyting bigger than a hat, and i love it. it's so even, and the fabric is beautifully drapey. unraveling the stitches was no picnic, but i think it was worth it!

i am sure i will be cross-posting about this whole experience over on my blog if you're interested. and in the meatime, i have a little gallery of start-to-finish pics on flickr here.

There's always Beijing in 2008.

Well, I didn't make it, despite a really strong push in the last few days. This is a massive project, and to those who crossed the finish line, congrats. As for me, I'm really thrilled with the way my shawl is coming out. The striping is more subtle, but more beautiful than I expected. And I'm a little disappointed that I didn't make it onto the podium. But there's always Beijing in 2008.

My Clapotis is Done

I will post pictures on Tuesday as I will be away until then.
Thanks for all the support.
KAtie

Stumbled across

So I finished the Clap. But I'm not happy with it. The extra yarn I got for the "design feature" is the perfect color, but the gauge on the size 7s I was knitting with is too stiff. That means my shawl is all beautiful and drapey until you get to one end which is all stiff and pointy.

I know there are no do-overs in the Olympics. And I vowed to wear the mess at least once this week to make it officially done. Then I may have to rip it, rip it. If I just would have listened to that scared little voice inside my head when I started those two extra pattern repeats way back in section 2. The shawl would have been plenty wide without them and I'm sure I would have had enough yarn for a proper finish. Oh well. Lessons learned, I guess.

For a picture, go here.

DNF

Time ran out and I still had eleven stitches on the needle. Very sad. But I'll finish up today and have a lovely clapotis to show for all the time spent. Photo to come later.

Thanks to everyone who posted and shared photos and comments. This was great fun!

filled with disappointment

in spite of knitting all day yesterday, pulling an all-nighter, and knitting until my fingertips are literally numb, i am not going to make it. it's 2pm EST, the closing ceremonies are beginning in turin, and i am still decreasing. i am SO CLOSE, but i don't think i am going to get to completion in the next hour. blah. i am still going to finish today, and i will post pictures at the bitter end. :(

Skating in under the wire!

Well I have finally finished. Work has been so crazy during this olympics that I was really worried I wouldn't make it but after I got through the first set of decreases it really sped up. I'm very happy with how it turned out and with the colors. I was planning to give it to my sister but now I'm going to have to struggle and figure out what to do. Here is a photo. I've loved seeing everyone's progress and all the different clapotis (clapotee?) and the different yarns everyone has chosen. I'm hoping Songbird publishes a photo as she used the same colorway as me but in a silk blend. I'd love to see how that looks different. Thanks to the organizers of this blog - it has made the olympic knitting even more fun. Wishing everyone happy clapotis wearing!!

Done, done, done!

13 hours left and I have officially crossed the finish line. I am so happy to have this done. I'm also glad I did it, even though it was a lot of heartache at the end. I enjoyed the process of watching this Clapotis come to life. I'm even more happy to be able to give it to my mother-in-law. And I'm proud to be a gold medalist for Team Clapotis! Thanks for all your support gals! I couldn't have done it without you cheering me on!