le clapotis, n. m., lapping: the act of winding around or swathing

this may well bore you to tears, but this post is really mostly for me, so i can remember the experience of whipping out this clapotis in 16 days for the knitting olympics and how hard it was! i also want to remind myself that i CAN meet a goal i give myself if i really try, even when it's a big HUGE challenge for me. and man--do i LOVE my clapotis!!!

pattern: clapotis, from knitty.com
variations: added one increase set and thus, one decrease set (and if i had it to do over, i would add at least one more straight set as well--i had about 60 yards of yarn left over)
yarn: ~2.6 skeins of a.l. de sauveterre's estelle (100% cashmere, sportweight)
color: orion
needles: US size 6 lantern moon 14-inch rosewood needles
timeline:

• august 25, 2005: order yarn
• august 31: yarn arrives
• february 02, 2006: join knitting olympics
• february 03: form team clapotis
• february 04: wind yarn
• february 09: knit swatch for gauge/size; frog swatch
• february 10: clapotis started during televising of opening ceremonies
• february 11: some progress in increase rows, photos taken
• february 13: knit and frog 2.6 sets of increase rows because of stupid mistake
• february 16: meet knitting group, finish increase rows, drop one stitch!
• february 17-18 moderate progress
• february 19-20: stalled--too much going on, friends visiting, etc.
• february 21: knitted for 3 hours with jenn, made mistake, pulled out all progress. blah.
• february 22: dance class--behind on knitting
• february 23: hippie's game night--watched all of the extended verion of the two towers and most of the return of the king while knitting. at end of day, through 7.6 sets of straight rows.
• february 24: no knitting, went dancing instead
• february 25:
  8:39am: made tea, put in the rest of the return of the king, ate half a bowl of cereal, started knitting
  10:07am: made oatmeal and more tea, put in lost dvd, kept knitting
  1:38pm: made hippie go for pizza, stopped knitting long enough to eat some, still knitting
  2:30-ish pm: hippie goes to back room to work on computer, so i break from lost and put in some other dvd--i have no idea what
  3:40pm: take short break for girlscout cookies and milk
  8:50-ish pm: hippie runs out for chinese food, more lost
  somewhere around midnight: hippie goes to bed, put in end of pride and prejudice (the A&E one)


• february 26:
  12:40-ish am: make tea, put in sense and sensibility dvd
  2:32am: finish straight rows, take photos, move from couch to chair in effort to minimize back pain
  3-something am: movie ends, get up and walk around a minute, make more tea, eat some girl scout cookies, and put in ever after dvd
  5:something am: take involuntary nap in middle of purl row, sleep for about an hour and 40 minutes holding knitting in hands
  7-ish am: wake with violent start
  7:13am: make tea, start knitting on the couch again, back up ever after dvd to where it was when i passed out
  8:24am: make tea, eat some cereal, keep knitting
  10:10am: wake up hippie, make coffee for him and tea for me, tell him he's on his own for breakfast since i have to knit
  noon-ish: eat some leftovers for lunch. things at this point are kind of a blur. i just keep knitting and knitting, knowing in my heart i am not going to make the 2pm deadline for gold. blah.
  2pm: write blog post about failure
  2:07pm: keep knitting--i am determined to finish today
  3-ish pm: take shower, let hot water run on hands for about 20 minutes
  3:30-ish pm: put in pirates of the carribean dvd, beg hippie to go get milk so i can eat the rest of the girlscout cookies
  3:57 pm: last of the girlscout cookies, milk, more tea, become bored with dvd, move to comfy velvet bedroom chair and opt to talk on the phone with meredith instead--thank god for headsets
  7-something pm: nearly give up, decide to go out to dinner with the hippie instead of knitting any more, even though i am almost through decrease rows
  8:00pm: closing ceremonies come on tv in the restaurant, filling me with new determination--pay for dinner and run home to finish up
  8:39pm: decrease rows complete
  just after 9pm: finished! hands go completely numb while inraveling last dropped stitch
• february 27th: take photos, blog about completion, but failure to achieve gold


• february 28th: receive comments on blog post saying gold is deserved since casted on in televising of opening and bound off in televising of closing--email yarn harlot to ask her for a judge's ruling--yarn harlot grants gold medal! yay!!!!!
• february 29th: gold medal received

much thanks to the hippie, yarn harlot, and team clapotis, for all the support! and thanks to my kitties for keeping me company through the whole thing. i can't believe it's taken me all week to get around to posting this! click here for the complete set of photos. :)