Cotton matters

In a gesture of magnanimity, those on Mount Ravelry decided to permit sign-up slackers like me to participate in the Ravelympics fun after all. This afternoon I strode to the podium and received my medal for completing the Bag-n-Tote Backstroke. Scroll down the sidebar to see what Bobicus Maximus honored me with.

Obviously I was going to knit the bag despite not making the initial cut in time for the knit-along, yet there's something about being allowed in after the fact that pleases me a great deal. I can't explain it. It's like being a grade school kid who does well on an assignment but is more in thrall of the scratch-and-sniff sticker the teacher put on it than the grade.

Fresh off the podium, I was energized to find a new project. I was tempted to aim for a better result on the Everlasting Bagstopper, but the thought of entering a different Ravelympics event was enticing as well. I debated trying my hand at the 4-Corners Dishcloth, but learning the invisible cast on, using waste yarn, and grafting like mad seems slightly too dangerous to attempt for now.

For now I'm going to turn my attention to making another market bag. If I get it done in time for the end of Ravelympics, fantastic. If not, that's OK too. I left the apartment in pursuit of yarn and color inspiration for the second bag. The closest JoAnn's had a limited selection of Sugar'n Cream that didn't do anything for me. Michael's had even less. Hobby Lobby came through again as the best stocker of cotton brand, although at first I was sure if any of the colors were jumping out at me.

I settled on Early American Ombre for the bag's body and Bright Navy for the base, garter stitch edging, and handle. I'm considering doing something crazy and knitting the half of the top edging and handle in Bright Navy and half in Wine. (And when I say half, I mean half of each row, not half of the rounds.) Wine doesn't exactly match up with the similar color in the yarn, so I'm undetermined on that stylistic component for now.

I thought that the balls of variegated yarn were lighter than the single color balls, and sure enough, there's only two ounces versus two and a half. There's probably a good reason why the variegated is more expensive--you get less for the same cost--but it's beyond me. Anyway, I'm restocked and ready to start knitting again.