Ravellenic Games 2012

For those who don't know, Ravelry is a really fantastic site for knitters and crocheters. It is a community, store, pattern haven, and information portal for everything yarn-related. I love Ravelry, and much of my life really revolves around it. For every Olympics, they put on Ravellenic Games (formerly known as the Ravelympics). These games are where knitters and crocheters participate in our own Olympic-type games, starting a project at the opening ceremonies of the Olympics, and going on a quest to finish that project by the time the closing ceremonies come around. It's a wonderful way to be motivated to finish a project, challenge yourself, and have a great completed object at the end. When you post your finished project into the finish line, you get a medal (an image to post to your profile, project page, or where ever you wish), as an added bonus.

I've been knitting for a few years now, have tried many different techniques, and knitted several different things. I was definitely confident to participate in these Ravellenic Games. And, I'm really glad I did. My choice of project was the Summer Flies shawl. In my past shawl knitting experiences, it takes me many weeks to finish. Mainly because I get frustrated when something goes wrong, then I put it down and don't come back to it for weeks later. I wanted to push myself to finish a shawl in a little over 2 weeks, with mistakes and all.

I started out, and was amazed at how fast it knitted up. I was on a roll with this shawl, and even finished a little earlier than I expected to. The games ended on the 12th, I finished knitting it on the 6th. It wasn't until the 11th that I did the finishing touches on it though (mainly blocking it, which took longer than I expected). I photographed it and posted it into the finish line just in time, however. Just barely. I have to give my fiance credit for helping me take the photo of it though. He stood there with the camera, taking many pictures as I looked at them saying "Yeah, I don't like that one, take another." The poor guy.



I am unbelievably pleased with it. I finished on time, it looks fabulous, and when fall comes around, I'm going to wear it everywhere. Oh yes, I am. It will also look fantastic over my cold weather pea coat. Also, it was with this project that I gathered courage to attend my first knitting group. I do have a lot of social anxiety, so attending the knitting group was huge for me. It was at a residence which raised my social red flags (I kind of feel better meeting on neutral grounds, like a coffee shop), but I went anyway, and am really glad I did. The women I met there were really great, they didn't make me feel uncomfortable or awkward in their home, and I left there feeling really excited for the next meeting.

Anyway, I'm still hoping and waiting for my medal for finishing my Summer Flies, it's obscene how many times I refresh the forums to see my name listed among the other Ravletes. But it should come soon. After participating during these games, I can't wait for the next one, I had such a fun experience, and it really boosted my love for knitting even more than I thought possible.