knitting, Ravellenic Games, Ravelry, Team Knit Equals Joy

The Ravellenic Games: FAQ

Posted on July 23, 2016May 8, 2020 by Carol

The Ravellenic Games = awesomeness! But what do you do? How do you participate? This list of FAQs will help you navigate the waters and have a fabulous time.

Frequently Asked Questions – General

The Ravellenic Games?? In a nutshell, Ravelry members have organized a site-wide knit-a-long that takes place during the Olympics. This thread is home to the 2016 Ravellenic Games. Cast-on occurs during the Opening Ceremonies (or any time thereafter), and projects must be completed by the Closing Ceremonies. There are events (categories of projects) and laurels (types of techniques). When you complete and post your project as directed, you will receive virtual awards and laurels, which you can proudly display on your project page and/or your profile.
When is the event? Friday, August 5 starting at 19:15 in Rio’s time zone (BRT) through Sunday, August 21 at 23:59 (BRT). If I’m looking at the time zone converter correctly, that means I can cast on at 15:15 here in the Pacific Time Zone.
What are the rules? The rules are to pick a project that will challenge you, and to have fun!
Do I have to watch the Olympics to participate? No, not at all.
Do I have to be on a team? No, you can be a participant without a team.
Can I be on more than one team? Yes. The rule is that each project must be associated with no more than one team.
Why would I want to be on a team? A team is like a virtual knit night. We will exclaim over your projects, cheer you on if you falter, and dance a happy dance when you cross the finish line.
Why would I want to be on Team Knit Equals Joy? We are really good at the above! And we have prizes! Read more below.

FAQs – Team Knit Equals Joy

How do I join Team Knit Equals Joy? Our team thread is here. You can post and say you are joining, or just join the conversation at any time. Tagging your project with ravellenics2016 and teamknitequalsjoy2016 will automatically list you as one of our ravthletes.
Do I have to knit a Carol E. Herman pattern to be on Team Knit Equals Joy? No! You can knit any pattern you like. But knitting my patterns will give you extra chances for prizes! 😀
What about prizes? We already have a queue of physical prizes like yarn, project bags and the like for our team. Prizes will be awarded at the end of the Games via random number generator and will be chosen from our team’s finished projects. We have a thread here with more detail and where we will post our finished objects.
What if I have questions? Post them in the team thread, send me a private message on Ravelry, or ask below.

If you are reading this, you are invited to join Team Knits Equals Joy. I hope that you will consider it. We have so much fun, and an event like this really does provide a lot of inspiration, incentive and encouragement to learn a new technique, finish a languishing WIP (work in progress), or even to frog something you never are going to make and free up that yarn for something else.

Hope to see you there!

~knit equals joy

Carol E. Herman Designs, knitting, Ravellenic Games, Ravelry

Team Knit equals Joy – The Ravellenic Games 2016

Posted on July 12, 2016May 8, 2020 by Carol

Team Knit equals Joy is joining the Ravellenic Games! The Ravellenic Games – a fun way to connect with other knitters and to challenge your own skills. They take place during the Olympic Games but, of course, are not affiliated with those games. The goal is to challenge yourself to begin and complete at least one project between Friday, August 5 and Sunday, August 21 – and to have fun doing it.

15 events cover just about any type of project you want to make:

Afghan Marathon, Bag Backstroke, Cowl Jump, Frogging Trampoline, Garment Polo, Hat Dash, Household Heptathalon, Mitten Medley, Scarf Hockey, Shawl Sailing, Sock-Put, Sweater Triathalon, Synchronized Spinning, Toy Toss, and WIPs Wrestling.

The Ravelry-wide event awards virtual prizes. Generally these are a graphic you can post on your Ravelry profile page and on your project page. Pretty fun to post those prizes proudly!

We will have prizes in our Knit equals Joy team, too…real prizes like yarn, bags, patterns… come check out the thread in my Ravelry group for more details!

We would love to have you join our team! It’s like a giant KAL, and so much fun. Hope to see you there!

knit equals joy

Photos by unsplash.com.

knitting, knitting patterns, Ravelry

Passport Mitts Knitalong Wrap-up, and Something New

Posted on December 14, 2015January 1, 2016 by Carol

We wrapped up the Passport Mitts Knitalong (KAL) in my Ravelry group last month. We had a lovely time, with over 900 posts in the knitalong thread (meaning we’re chatty) and 13 finished pairs of mitts during the six weeks of the KAL. You can see all the lovely mitts as well as the prizes that were won here, in the FO (finished object) thread. I hope you’ll hop over there and take a look.

Here are some of the beautiful mitts, photos used by permission. Each of these knitters does beautiful work!

Joyce made two pairs, one for her daughter and another for herself, using Berroco Folio. She took a couple of pictures at the family farm:

I love this photo Heather took of mitts she was making with Lorna’s Laces Honor, in the colorway Gobsmacked (how perfect is that for a colorway name???):

Meg used Rowan Felted Tweed DK, in the colorway Scree. I also used Rowan Felted Tweed for my mitts, and loved the lightweight yet warm fabric it created:

Blue was a popular color for these mitts, and the other major contender was orange. Jen made beautiful mitts in Berroco Ultra Alpaca Light in the colorway Candied Yam, perfect for these pictures she took around Thanksgiving:

Alex made mitts in both of the popular choices, being the top finisher with three completed pairs of mitts! She made two pairs in Ella Rae Lace Merino DK in Orange and a pair in Classic Elite Yarns Inca Alpaca in the Navy Heather colorway.

Melanie made this stunning pair of mitts using Lion Brand LB Collection in White. It is amazing how white and natural yarns make cables pop. She bound off in pattern, which makes the top edge look like pearls. It’s not written that way in the pattern. but it is a wonderful modification.

Melanie wrote the following when she posted her finished mitts, and allowed me to share it here:

I completely love these mitts. Carol, this pattern is so classy and tasteful and beautifully written! I used Lion Brand 100% superwashmerino that I can only order from their online store. I ordered quite a bit of it several years ago, so this beautiful pair was knit from stash. The yarn shows awesome stitch definition, which is a perfect match for these mitts. The only problem I have is that I decided to make these for a friend… And now I want to keep them.

Thank you so much to everyone who participated. Your work is lovely and inspiring!

As a follow-up, my friends Leanne and Martha requested a hat pattern to go along with the Passport Mitts. We are currently testing the Wayfarer Hat, and the pattern will be available soon. The hat is written with the option to make it as a close-fitting beanie or to modify it for a slouchier fit. Stay tuned!

knitting

Every Time

Posted on December 1, 2015December 2, 2015 by Carol

This is a lovely post…about how sometimes something happens that changes our focus – whether it is something uplifting we have read, meeting up with friends, or taking delight in a little boon, surprise, or gift. Alex won one of the finished object prizes in our recent knitalong. It was a joy to send this yarn to her because she understands about beautiful yarn. Please enjoy this post as well as Alex’s blog, alexand knits.

I also wanted to add a link to Knot Another Hat, the yarn shop owned by Sarah Ericksen Keller. Sarah made the gorgeous, amazing yarn that is part of this story.

Oh, and that hat pattern Alex mentions is just about ready for testing… 😉

alexand knits

Stuff is hard right now, as I’ve mentioned. However, it seems like whenever I’m getting too down on myself, something happens to help me change my focus. Sometimes it’s a blog post that really strikes a chord for me, or a knitting group meetup, or getting a really cool free pattern or something. It often comes from my fiber community, local or virtual.

Today, it was this:

Envelope is facedown to protect the innocent
I was just sitting down to have a cup of half cocoa, half coffee, thinking about whatever random negative noise was in my head, and thought I would check the mail. I found an envelope and recognized the name on the return address right away. Here, you can open it with me:

In case you can’t tell, that’s yarn in there! To be specific, handspun yarn made of merino, silk and cashmere. It’s 168 yards of…

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knitting, knitting patterns

Yes, I am still working on the Colorwork Tee!

Posted on October 23, 2015 by Carol

As you can see from the above picture, I am on my third go-round with the Colorwork Tee. You can read about the first two swatches here: What I Learned from the Swatch and here: Colorwork Tee Progress.

The tee now has a rolled neckline. The plan is to offer options to leave this neckline or to pick up and knit either a corrugated ribbed neckline or a regular ribbed neckline. Stitch counts and charts are looking good and I am champing at the bit to get back to knitting this!

It seems to me that I should be further along by now. But sometimes other things move up the priority chain and have to be finished first. Here are some of the other items:

I am teaching a basic sock class at Tangled Purls, our local yarn shop. The sock above is my shop/class sample. The Zen Yarn Garden Serenity 20 (20% Cashmere) yarn I used made knitting it up a joy. Then I was thrilled when I read the idea of making Kitchener kits for the knitters taking the class. It was great to provide a way to practice the Kitchener stitch on larger yarn and needles before tackling it on their socks.

Tomorrow is Part II of the class, so tonight I will finish this sample heel flap and heel shaping, using highly contrasting colors to highlight the sock construction. I always love blue and yellow together!!!

The pattern is Basic Sock by Churchmouse Yarns and Teas. It’s a great pattern.

Basic Socks have been so much fun that next month it’s going to be Basic Christmas Stockings, pattern also by Churchmouse Yarns and Teas. Last weekend was spent frantically knitting to finish the sample. Getting a good picture for the store’s newsletter was another story…but here we are and that can be put aside for awhile. I’ll make Kitchener kits for that class too…in Christmas colors, of course!!!

The Passport Mitts KAL continues in my Ravelry group, and I’m knitting along, as well. I’m working on a red pair, using Rowan Felted Tweed DK in the colorway Rage. I love love love this yarn! It is so light, yet warm, and the colorways are wonderful! Here is my progress as of the other morning:

The knitalong goes through November 15th, so there is plenty of time to join in. Did I mention that there were prizes? Lovely, yarny, prizes! And a knitting bag, too.

Finally, I started my Stroll Cardigan by Olive Knits, once again using the wonderful Rowan Felted Tweed DK. This colorway is Ginger. I finished 3 or 4 inches of it, but worked on it while watching football, and somehow got off on my raglan lines, so I frogged it. But I can’t wait to get back to it!!! (When? I don’t know!!!) I even found the perfect earrings to coordinate with the sweater.

I’d best get knitting now! Have a wonderful weekend, and I hope you have some time to knit – or to do something creative and beautiful!

knitting, pattern, Ravelry, Uncategorized

Passport Mitts Revealed

Posted on October 8, 2015December 5, 2015 by Carol

Hi all! I hope you’ll take a moment to read this lovely post by Alex. She’s joined in the Passport Mitts knitalong on Ravelry and has already finished her first pair of mitts! The next pair is in an orange colorway, and I can’t wait to see how they turn out. Alex is a wonderful knitter and blogger; enjoy her post! 🙂 Thank you for the shout out, Alex!!!

alexand knits

The second FO I have to share today is my first pair of Passport Mitts! I’ve posted here before about this pattern and the designer, but I want to say a little more. Specifically, if you’re looking for an awesome and supportive group of people to “hang out” with on ravelry, please go check out the group at Carol E. Herman Designs. Carol (cehermanator) and many of the group members have been so welcoming to me that, even though I hadn’t yet knit any of her designs, I still felt comfortable just jumping in and chatting with people. There’s currently a KAL going on for the Passport Mitts. It’s the first time I’ve participated in one, and it’s been really fun so far! It just started a couple of days ago so there’s plenty of time to come join in if you’d like. There’s great chatting, camaraderie…

View original post 330 more words

knitting, knitting patterns, pattern

A New Pattern and a Knitalong

Posted on September 16, 2015September 30, 2015 by Carol

Passport Mitts, my new design, is now available on Ravelry. This pattern was originally written as an exclusive design for Tangled Purls’ Passport program. The exclusivity period is now over and so I am able to offer the pattern for sale to everyone.

The mitts are long and elegant with details that make them a great additon to your fall wardrobe. They make a perfect project for your holiday gift giving! The pattern is written in two sizes.

To celebrate, I am offering a discount to readers of this blog. For 20% off the $4.50 purchase price through September 30, 2015, use the coupon code PMblog20. Click here to purchase the pattern now, and enter the coupon code at checkout. You do have to belong to Ravelry to purchase patterns, but it is free and easy to join, and it is an amazing website with a huge database of patterns (among other fantastic features)!

We’re also having a knit-a-long (KAL) in my Ravelry group starting October 1st. A KAL is great fun. We discuss our progress, ask questions, post pictures – and at the end, there are prizes. I’ve found some gorgeous yarns that will be the KAL prizes. Winners are chosen from among the finished projects randomly. We truly have so much fun! I hope you will join us! You can sign up for the KAL here.

Some of the Prizes: