Where the Streets are Paved with Gold and We Walk in Pretty Socks

As the Olympics drew to a close last night, so did our Ravellenic Games.

First off, thanks to everyone who competed under the Black Goat name. I appreciate all of you! Prize info will be dealt with in a couple of weeks. Gotta give me some time to get back in to the school routine!

As most of you saw, I did manage to get my shawl, Love Street, done yesterday. I blocked it last night and did the last little bit of finishing work this morning. The rain even held out and I managed to get a photo shoot in of it.

Made with Malabrigo Silkpaca in Damask, this beauty only took me a little over one skein to do. I think I started the second skein with only four rows and bind-off left.

There are beads throughout the whole body. I added extra to the edging, because who doesn't love more pretty shiny things? I'm so glad I chose to use a bead that would stand out rather than blending in.

And true to form, it came out nice and big. 72-inch wingspan and a 20 inch spine. Perfect for short little people like me!

But this one isn't for me. My dear Renee is the new owner of this lovely shawl. When showing her the yarn, she sat there and kept petting it, so I knew I just had to make her something with it.

As for my other project...

That's right. Got my first pair of socks done.

Yarn is Malabrigo Sock in colorway Turner, which is a lot more green than any photo has managed to capture. Vanilla-Latte pattern from ravelry.

They're far from perfect. Plenty of mistakes, but dang it, I did it. I challenged myself and learned something new. And they fit me. As a plus sized person, finding socks that actually fit is a nightmare. But now, I can make them to suit my needs.

Guess that means I need to go start another dozen pairs. Especially because I don't have anything interesting on my needles. I feel a debilitating case of start-itis coming on... 

Wooly gods help me.

Going for the Gold-en Fleece

As most of you know, the Olympics start this Friday in Rio. What some of you may not know is that Ravelry (the yarn smith's favorite place) also hosts it's own set of games.

And this year, we've got us a team.

That's right, this is your official welcome to join Team Black Goat and bring home some golden fleecy glory.

Why bother, you ask?

Because anyone who participates, even if you don't finish, will be entered in to a prize drawing for some scha-weet prizes.

We have an Official Chatter Thread to hang out in and talk amongst ourselves.

Now, there are rules to the whole shebang, and Ravelry has set up some great FAQ's to help you along.

For those of you new to the games entirely, check out A Good Place to Start.

When you're ready, create your project page or pages. That's right! You can do more than one project! For help on making sure the project is properly set up for the games check out Ravelry's Guide to Project Creation.

Not sure what event you want to join? Check out the Event List.

This year, laurels are being awarded by team captains. These are elements that your project may contain, like beads or cables. That list is also included on the Event List link right above. You may also want to take a glance at the Events FAQ if you have any questions.

Now, your project page is going to need some fancy tags to make sure it's put in the right category. DON'T PANIC! All of your tagging questions will be answered in the helpful Tagging Tutorial.

JUST A NOTE! TO MAKE SURE YOUR PROJECT IS PART OF OUR TEAM, IT NEEDS TO BE TAGGED WITH OUR TEAM NAME!

Use the tag teamblackgoat (all one word, all lowercase) when adding the rest of your tags to your project.

As you can see from my project page, I am entered into the Shawl Sailing EVENT. I have added the bead and lace LAURELS as well. I've joined Team Black Goat and my project is an official part of the games.

I have used the Official Ravellenic Games graphic as my placeholder image. If you'd like to do so as well, the image can be found HERE.

I plan on making an official Team Black Goat avatar soon. When I do, it will be posted in our Chatter Thread.

Now, prize info. What you're really interested in.

My plan is to have two giveaways. One is for everyone who participates under the Black Goat team. Join the team and become an official "athelete" to be entered. This means that you'll have to have a properly tagged project page.

The other is for everyone who COMPLETES their project. It will have a little extra umph to it, too.

So, I think that pretty much wraps it up. If you have any questions, feel free to leave them in the Chatter Thread or ask them here.

This is going to be so much fun, people.

For Gold! For Glory! FOR THE YARN!!!