For a few days right after the Ravellenic Games ended, I was all knitted out. I could not bear the thought of picking up WIPs I set aside during the Games. Knitting felt too exhausting for me. So I turned to my latest hobby: weaving.

Before I show you that and the projects I finished for the Games, here’s a photo of the kiddos after our pre-Eid, last day of Ramadan blasphemous lunch at Hard Rock Cafe. This town is such a hypocrite when it comes down to it. The country is supposed to be observing a month-long sunrise to sunset fast but some places are actually open for meals during the day. It makes you feel like such a rebel when you sneak into an establishment to grab a meal.

Anyway, more about the weaving and knitting after the jump.

When Color Affection came out as a kit from The Plucky Knitter in December 2011, it was an instant hit. The kits were selling faster than hotcakes. And if you know anything about Plucky shop updates, this is an even more frantic one!

One of those Primo kits jumped into my cart (Neapolitan) and is waiting for me to cast on. In the meantime, for practice, I knitted this project for the Ravellenic Games under Team Blue Moon 2012.  Apologies for this, but I had to have the mandatory shallow depth-of-field photo of the finished shawl.

Naturally, I used Blue Moon’s Socks That Rock in lightweight.  Two skeins are Rockin’ Sock Club colourways from 2010 (top and bottom colours).  The off-white/green colour is Sweet Pea, the mid-green is Pond Scum and the dark green is Pining for Ewe.  Don’t ask me how long it took me to decide on the colours!

With over 5300 projects on Ravelry, there was plenty of notes and tips that offer help, especially in making the edge stitches loose enough to allow for elasticity.  At first, I was using the lifted increase as prescribed on the pattern, but as I moved into the final section with three colours of yarn alternating, I found that the lifted increase makes the edges tighter.

So I decided to switch to the YO/ktbl increase wherein you replace the M1 with a YO and then on the following row you knit that YO through the back loop.  I kept the yarn twists at the edge very loose, or I thought I did.  It still ended up being tight on that final section which causes that corner of the shawl to curl around itself.  See photo below.

Otherwise I am happy with this shawl and will still knit up my Plucky kit.  Just need to be mindful of that edge and make sure it is super loose.

Project: Green is Golden (Raveled!)
Pattern: Color Affection by Veera Välimäki
Yarn: Socks That Rock, lightweight (used less than a skein for each colour)
Needles: US7 / 4.5mm
Cast on: 28 July 2012
Cast off: 11 Aug 2012

Last time the Games was held in 2010 under a different name, I knitted a Travelling Woman shawl. In keeping with this theme, this time I knitted up a Saroyan shawl which was also designed by Liz Abinante. That’s Angela and Cam all sorted from the Bones series! I really need to knit up a pair of Temperance socks next.

This shawl was a surprise to me.  I usually avoid shawls knitted sideways, but with the knitted on edging and using large needles, this was actually alright. I made this for Team Amiras and while the actual knitting probably took 3 days, it languished for a while as I had a million miles of garter stitch to do for the Color Affection. But I did cross the finish line with this shawl too and did not let my team down.

Project: A Ray of Sunshine! (Raveled!)
Pattern: Saroyan by Liz Abinante
Yarn: The Plucky Knitter Superwash Worsted Merino, colourway Princess Phone, 430 yards
Needles: US10 / 6mm
Cast on: 28 July 2012
Cast off: 13 Aug 2012
Notes: I did 11 repeats of the straight section 

I was finally able to give my sister her Melody Shawl.  Hence all the modelled photos of the recent FOs since we had a chance to do them quickly at Hard Rock Cafe.  At first she was saying the shawl was a bit small, but at the end of the day decided that it was the right size.  I think a proper sized woven wrap is in order soon. 

Whoops!  What happened here?  An accidental switch to manual mode maybe?  Pardon the mess.  Here is another finished woven scarf using yarn from way down the stash.  While I love the fabric created by STR, I do love the drape of this MCN (Lotus Yarns Chakra).  These are from the Pin-Up Club of 2009 I think, the brown is Jayne and the orange/peach is Lena.

Project: Lena Jayne (Raveled!)
Pattern: Plain weave on my 15″ Cricket
Yarn: Lotus Yarns Chakra
Warped on: 12 Aug 2012
Finished: 17 Aug 2012
Notes: I had 122 ends on a 10-dent reed. The finished scarf measures 80 inches including the fringe and 7 inches wide.

Weaving is certainly my new love. I will always knit, becaus elet’s face it I cannot possibly weave socks! But the instant gratification from weaving is so powerful that I just want to keep on weaving. I cannot bear seeing the loom naked so as soon as I take a project of it, I dress it up again with something new.

Actually the latest one is my first attempt at houndstooth. I had a couple of false starts last night but I started over this morning and I think I got it. I was beating too tightly at first so could not see the pattern clearly. I might also be using the wrong yarn (Sundara Fingering Merino) but I’m willing to give this a chance. More on the houndstooth scarf soon.