WIN PRIZES FROM US

You may never experience the thrill of representing your country at the Winter Olympics, but you can represent yourself and win your own medal during the Knitting Olympics! The Yarn Harlot, a fervent knitter and blogger, has created the Knitting Olympics as a challenge for knitters worldwide.

Stitch Your Art Out loves this idea and is sponsoring a local version of Knitting Olympics just for you!

The challenge: to complete a knitting project during the 2006 Winter Games.

The details: You may begin your project from the moment the torch is lit during the Opening Ceremonies on Feb. 10, and continue throughout the Winter Games, with the goal to finish before the torch is extinguished at the closing ceremonies on Feb. 26. The project should be doable, but challenging. If you're advanced, you may want to tackle a sweater. If you've just started knitting, maybe you'll want to finish a matching scarf and hat combo. You may just want to finish something that's been bugging you. Crocheting counts. Anything goes!

(Cynthia here: My plan is to start and try to finish the neck-down pullover from Knitting Pure and Simple, pattern 9726, in Mountain Colors Twizzle. It was coming out too small the first time I made it, and I had to rip it out after a LOT of knitting. I have needed just this kind of motivation to get going on that beautiful sweater again. I have never in my life knit a sweater in just over two weeks. We'll see about this.)

That's over two weeks of knitting time AND Olympic watching! Will Michelle Kwan continue her reign as an Olympic sweetheart? Can Apolo Anton Ohno stay on his skates long enough to win gold? And can you finish weaving in that last end before the Olympic flame goes out?

If you participate, not only will you be joining thousands of knitters across the country, but also Stitch Your Art Out will select your name from a random drawing for a $50 gift basket of Knitting Goodies. To award the gift basket, we will have our own Closing Ceremonies for all knitting athletes, whether you finish or not. (Please--no physical or mental damage allowed from knitting!) For anyone who participates, we'll have snacks, prizes, and special prices on Monday, February 27, from 5:15-6:15. We will all show off our stuff (....or at least that part of our stuff that we have managed to finish!) We will draw the name of the grand-prize winner from those who are there. (Can't make it? We'll also have a random drawing for a prize from all those who enter. We don't want to leave anyone out!)

We'll have great surprises that night for EVERYONE! All Knitter Athletes will be a winner, even if you don't meet your goal! You need to sign up to particpate! Sign up by sending us an email to stitchyourartout AT yahoo . com, and tell all your knitting friends to have them sign up too! In your email, briefly describe your Olympic project.

Let's get ready to knit! Go Team Stitch!

Our Athletes so far:

Susan: Adult-sized wool socks
Cindy: Booga Bag
Cynthia: Top-down sweater
Nancy: finish the Oceania Shawl
Deb: Boucle/silk sweater
Karen: project
Ginger: Twin-sized afghan for charity
Kirsten: Summer Sweater
Patsy: Cobweb wrapper in peach
Cynthia: Blizzard Sweater
Nan: Socks
Sandy: Cousin's sweater
Sally: Baby sweater, hat, booties
Lisa: Vintage Bubble Bag
Laura: Two sets of mittens, finish coat
Kim: Crocheted afghan