Peace of Mind Organizing

Olympic knitting

17 July 2008

Two years ago, during the 2006 Winter Olympics, the Yarn Harlot organized the Knitting Olympics, in which participants cast on for a new knitting project during the opening ceremonies of the Olympics. Medal winners finished their project by the closing ceremonies.

It’s happening again this year, but the official Knitting Olympics is a winter event, so over at Ravelry, they’re calling it the Ravelympics 2008. Same concept. And I’m going for it. During the 2006 Knitting Olympics, I’d only been knitting (as an adult) for about a year and it seemed more than I wanted to take on. But this year I’m totally into having an excuse to devote some intensive time to knitting.

Now comes the fun part, figuring out what project I’m going to take on during the Olympics. The rules state that it has to be something that’s a challenge to knit in 17 days (cast on is August 8th and bind off is August 24th)—and only the participant can make the judgment call about what constitutes a challenge.

I’m going to register for it at Ravelry (deadline: August 6) and also with one of my local yarn shops, Knitty Couture, which is hosting the event by staying open late during opening and closing ceremonies and having knit-ins throughout the month—and handing out medals to all participants.

If you’re a knitter up for a little challenge, I encourage you to go for it. You can read the rules on Knitty Couture’s blog. Or go over to Ravelry to register for an event and join a team.

Not a member of Ravelry yet? I strongly recommend you join the 150,000 knitters and other fiber enthusiasts who are making Ravelry an amazing social-networking site for people who love yarn. It’s still in beta testing, so you have to register for an invitation, which you should receive within a couple of days of registering.

Tagged with: knitting, knitting olympics, knitty couture, ravelry

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