Let the Games begin

You know when you lose something like your purse and your heart skips a beat and you get that horrible feeling in the pit of your stomach? Well that's the Oh-no-second, the split second when you think - what have I done? Well today I got that feeling, only it lasted for hours. Please tell me, when I signed up for the Knitting Olympics - what was I thinking? I used to live in Spain, does that make me Spanish enough to claim that the airline lost all of my equipment? Will that get me out of it? What about regulation kit, does possession of a knitting machine get me thrown out?

Of course I could quit whining and just get on with it. I have 16 days to turn this into this...

The yarn is Patons Fairytale 4ply (60% acrylic, 40% nylon) in Olive Green on steel UK size 10s. Scout is included in the photo as by the time I'm finished it'll be + 1% dog hair (and he's curious and wouldn't move).

I'd decided to wait until the start of the opening ceremony to cast on, I quite liked the idea of starting with the majority of other knitters. Oddly there are 3482 Olympic Knitters as opposed to just 2400 Olympic Athletes. I started to curse not getting the 5 hour head start that the 2pm local time cast on would have given me, but given the fact that I don't know what I'm doing, it's probably a blessing that I waited. I mean I have a vague idea of what I want it to look like at the end. I know the measurements it needs to fit and I know the gauge of the yarn. That ought to be enough, right?

Since I'm struggling with the construction from the waist down, I started my cast on onto a crochet chain so I can get on with the top half while mulling over the bottom. Hopefully by the time I get to turning it around to work the other way I might have a vague clue what I am doing. I'm also working in one piece, it saves time on seaming and will give me a better idea of the shape as I go.

This must seem like a very half-assed way of working, but I prefer working my own designs on the hop. I find it's a lot easier to see what needs to be done with the item in front of me, rather than just on paper. It generally means a lot of frogging, but that's why this is a suitable challenge.

Tune in for more Olympic commentary as the Games progress, expect tears and tantrums on the way. I look forward to checking out the competition!