Ravelympics: Opening Ceremonies

The Ravelympics start in just a few hours and I'm super excited! (If you remember back, I was suppose to have completed two pairs of socks by the start of the Ravelympics. This did not happen. I finished the first pair without a problem, but stalled on the second pair when I made a mistake in the cuff, so I put it down and started a brand new sock. Whoops.) I'm part of the Bad Ass Artificers, the Ankh Morpork Knitters Guild's team. (Bad Ass is the name of a town in Lancre. There was this donkey, and it stopped in the middle of the river, and it wouldn't go backwards or forwards. Bad Ass. See? Yes, I know that 'Disobedient Donkey' might have been more... acceptable, but this is the Discworld and on that improbable world riding through the cosmos on the back of four elephants atop the shell of a giant turtle, if an off color joke can be made, it will be. Lancre people get use to explaining this.) I've had a lot of fun getting to know some of my teammates over at the Discworld group at Ravelry. The trivia thread has been especially fun. Finally, a use for my encyclopedic knowledge of all things Pratchett. I'm competing in two events: the Hat Halfpipe and the Mittens Moguls.

For the Hat Halfpipe I will be knitting the Bloody Stupid Johnson Hat. This will be a bit of a Frankenhat. The BSJ Hat has been in my queue for years. I love all things Terry Pratchett, so obviously a hat inspired by one of his characters appeals to me. However, as much as I love the cables (left picture), I've never been a fan of the top of the hat. Then I happened upon Kirsten Kapur of Through the Loops' Empire Hat (right picture). The stocking cap is the perfect amount of whimsy to compliment BS Johnson's Quantum Mechanics assignment. I'm knitting it out of a white Ultra Alpaca Light.

For the Mittens Moguls I'll be knitting Susie's Reading Mitts out of a beautiful blue tweed. If the Bloody Stupid Hat was all about love for the pattern, these are all about love for the yarn. I found the yarn - Queensland Collection Rustic Tweed - at Purl's Yarn Emporium in Asheville, NC a few weeks ago and couldn't put it down. I immediately started looking for a pattern that was plain enough for the tweed, but complex enough to be worthy of this beautiful yarn. I'm super excited about both projects and can't wait to cast on!