The Knitting Olympics asks knitters to challenge themselves with a project that will stretch their limits and test their mettle as a knitter. Or cause a repetitive stress injury, whichever might come first.

I chose Tonk’s Snow Peacock for my project because I knew that long rows in natural colored yarn was a recipe for a project that stalled out and dragged on if left to my own devices. I don’t normally knit anything in natural colored yarn because I am 1. very pale and 2. very clumsy and the combination makes me look like a ghostly ragamuffin. However, the recipient of this shawl requested a warm white shawl since it will be her wedding veil. I’m all too happy to comply if it means that I get to play a role in outfitting a lovely person as she legally defines her relationship with the man she loves in front of all their friends and family.

So far things are moving fairly smoothly, I cast on as the torch was lit in Vancouver last Friday evening and have knit varying amounts every day since then. I’ve had a few upsets, including discovering that the garage needed to be totally rearranged due to a leaky roof. I’m just a few hundred stitches shy of halfway done so I’m feeling quite confident that I will be able to finish the knitting–if not the blocking and photographing–of the project before the Olympic torch is extinguished on the 28th.

*yes, 51,000. That’s a lot of stitches. Every stitch is full of love and good wishes for the couple, that they may be as strong and happy a couple as my husband and I are.

I ended up taking an impromptu trip east to stay with my mother for a week, which saved me a little money on postage as this was a gift for her. We got a little bit of snow while I was there, which is the perfect backdrop for this lovely shawl.

I knit this one in Madeleinetosh Tosh Sock yarn in the color Malachite and used less than one skein. The pattern is easy, and the main body stitch pattern is extremely easy to memorize. In fact, I liked knitting it so much that I started a second one, in red, for myself.

About 2.5 years ago, my husband accidentally broke my $40 plastic ball winder. It had some flaws, the all plastic construction being one of them (there was no way to fix the broken one without causing it to stop turning, which would have rendered it decorative rather than functional). Instead, I decided to upgrade to a Strauch Jumbo Ball Winder because they’re handmade from wood and metal and the price was reasonable for the materials and craftsmanship. Also, it winds up to one pound balls!! So I ordered it, and anxiously anticipated the balls I would wind.

When it arrived, it didn’t work. Yarn would slip off the center post during winding and create a yarn barfy mess. I chalked it up to user error for awhile but after a year I still couldn’t make it work. I emailed Strauch and within twenty-four hours had received support both via email and telephone. The company diagnosed my problem and told me that if I would just ship the winder to them they would repair or replace it and ship it back to me. Fast forward 13 months. I still had not shipped the winder to them, so I sent another email asking if I could still send it off to them. Again, within twenty-four hours they had responded with “Of course! We were wondering what happened to you!”

I packed it and took it to UPS on the evening of January 11th. It arrived in Virginia on January 18th and was repaired and shipped back to me on the 19th. Yes, they fixed it the same day it arrived with them. It arrived back with me yesterday and I am so pleased to report that it works perfectly. I wound a ball and it was a. super fast and b. super easy. No frustrating slippage. I’m so pleased that I chose to spend my money with them, because it’s been an investment well worth making. And now, I need to find a 1 pound skein to wind. Giant yarn balls, here I come!

I bought my husband this Ice Invaders ice cube tray for his Christmas stocking. I’m trying to come up with some ridiculously nerdy cocktail to go with them. I feel like perhaps it needs to be bright green.

Knit for an online friend whose family is going through some major upheaval and shake-up, I enlisted the help of Lisa and a double fistful of other knitters and crocheters to help me create enough blocks for a big Blanket of Love.

The squares came from as far away from Japan, all carefully stitched with love and good wishes for speedy resolution of the family’s sadness and stresses. Lisa and I seamed all of the squares together, zip-zip-zip, edged the whole thing with a black crocheted edging and sent it to it’s new home in the Midwest where we hear it created quite a stir of joy.

We live in an amazing time, where people who are scattered all over can create such strong, amazing bonds and make a real difference in each others lives. I am proud of being able to corral a little bit of this to support someone who needed a little bit of reaffirmation that there is good in the world. I am proud of every person who set aside their own worries, cares, wants and projects to take the time to help with this (one woman squeezed a square in the week before her wedding!) It’s a great thing sometimes, this crazy internet.

Just a few things of note that went on this year:

January After three and a half weeks of cleaning, painting and packing we moved from our crappy apartment across town to a sweet duplex with a washer/dryer in the garage and both a front and back yard.
February We settled in to the new home, and found great joy in having a dining room table.
March We adopted a second cat, a big black former-tom cat that we named Ollie, since then he’s made it clear his name is really Bob.
April Celebrated my husband’s 30th birthday, and our good friends Matt and T welcomed baby Arthur to the world. Saw Joel McHale do stand-up in Portland and finally visited the Japanese garden there.
May Planted my first “on my own” garden with the knowledge learned from family gardens growing up. Learned quickly how much faster things grow in this warmer climate.
June Celebrated my 28th birthday, started to harvest delicious foods from the garden.
July Made it through the wicked heat wave, thanks, in large part, to a window a/c unit that we installed in 105º heat.
August Won a blue ribbon for my Desdemona shawl at the Lane County Fair.
September Got a diagnosis for my husband’s sleep apnea. Attended the beautiful wedding of Jodie and Anthony and watched their cat while they were on a mini-honeymoon. Our second great-nephew arrived in the world. Came down with crud and spent the latter 2/3 suffering from a raging case of bronchitis.
October Got a CPAP for my husband and as such, got my husband back. Took a trip home to the east coast where I spent not enough time with my New England family. Headed south to Massachusetts and then west to Rhinebeck where I was able to finally put real faces and voices to many wonderful women I know online. Was graciously hosted by Lisa, whose presence in my life is a daily source of joy. Returned home, came down with Rhinebeck crud. Drove south with my husband to San Francisco to see Kevin Smith and spend the weekend visiting with our friend Bonnie.
November Mourned the passing of a friend and of a family member but remain thankful for the memories we have of them.
December Full of joy. Celebrated Christmas in our home with my husband’s mother and stepfather. Did mass amounts of knitting, baking, wrapping, and cleaning.

Not all of 2009 was joyous for us, but we are lucky in that the good generally has outweighed the bad. We have big plans for 2010 to be even happier, full of projects and friends and family and love. I wish the same for everyone else out there. Let a new decade begin!

Wishing you all the joy and love possible as we slog through these dark, cold days. Whatever you celebrate–or not–I hope you are surrounded by people you love with an abundance of the kindness inherent in the best of the human spirit.

Perhaps my Christmas knitting would go faster if I had some Doozers to help me out. Man I love Fraggle Rock.

There are so many things I have to be thankful for this year. Here’s the short list.

• my husband
• our family
• good friends
• my husband’s job
• our home
• two happy spoiled cats
• a fair amount of yarn and fiber in my office
• being part of a community that shared freely its knowledge

So cheers, and happy Thanksgiving to everyone who celebrates and Happy Thursday to those who don’t.

Marnie posted a link on twitter to this recipe on the Food Network this morning and even though we’re not celebrating Thanksgiving until Friday this year, I went ahead and immediately made some changes and tossed my berries in the oven. Just over an hour from start to finish, this sauce can be made quite a bit in advance (the recipe says it keeps a few weeks in the fridge) and takes almost no active time. The result is a rich sauce, tangy and sweet, with just a hint of spice. Perfect for any dinner, and you can easily adapt the flavors to suit your meal. You could try changing out the juice and almond extract for tequila and cayenne pepper, with lime zest in place of the orange for a spicy kick on your turkey.

Baked Cranberry Sauce (adapted from the Food Network)

1 12 ounce bag of cranberries, fresh or frozen and thawed

between 1 and 1 1/8 cups sugar, depending on how sweet you like it.

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1 tablespoon orange zest

1/4 cup orange juice

1/2 teaspoon almond extract.