Olympic Knitting

I am awarding myself an Olympic medal, even though I'm not finished yet. I'm like those competitors who were just glad to be there, with no real hope of winning a medal.

As I understood the rules of the Yarn Harlot's Olympics, it was about challenging one's self, and this I have done. I am so excited about the progress I've made and even more importantly, the anticipation of actually finishing it. I've hit a bump or two, but I've worked through them and I'm still making progress. The most recent snag was when I realised yesterday morning that I'd knit for about four inches using size sevens instead of size eights. I'd started the sweater using the correct size, but decided to substitute my Susan Bates for wooden needles while in New York, just in case airport security was tight, and somehow I bought the wrong size. When I realized it yesterday, I went to the knit shop in Blacksburg and bought a third set so I could knit on the correct size on the five hour return trip. If you look closely, you can find the difference in guage, but I'm thinking (hoping) it won't matter that much after blocking. My oldest daughter (the one who knits) also assured me that the alpaca will have enough give that it won't matter.

So should I put the medal on my sidebar now or wait until the sweater is completed?

(By the way, I just re-read the rules and I don't think I really qualify after all, as one of the rules is to complete the project by the time the flame is put out. But I am happy about this so doesn't that count too?? And did you notice I doubled the number of cable crosses in one weekend? And isn't that flame lit somewhere else anyway?)

Oh and since Steve is out of town, I treated myself to a movie, The Last Station, at the Naro after work. I loved it, you should definitely see it. I notice I really like love stories about older people more now and watching Christopher Plummer and Helen Mirren (oh to be her when I'm that age) was wonderful. Plus, she walks around in shawls looking so regal. I want to look like that, but I'm afraid I'll just look frumpy in my shawls.