Stop the presses, I'm going to talk about knitting! Yes, folks, I really am. I think I might have bitten off more than I can chew with my Ravelympics goal of finishing three WIPs. I had hoped to finish the Anais top, the Bayu wrap top, and the secret gift project. However, when I made this plan I was under the mistaken impression that the Olympics lasted a week longer than they do, and now that I've realized my error, I'm thinking the odds of me meeting my goal are pretty slim. Regardless, I have been trying. I've made loads of progress on the secret project, and I think I can finish that, and I also think I can finish Anais if I actually get it out, since I only have one lace sleeve cap to go (plus the sewing on of said sleeves). But, the Bayu top might be an issue - I hadn't worked on it at all until Thursday night, when Anne-Marie was over to watch the Olympics. She pointed out that it wasn't going to knit itself and that maybe I should get on with it, so I did. I hadn't worked on it for at least a month because I had finished the straight part of the back and was on the shoulder shaping, and I had decided that I was going to do it with short-rows instead of stairstep decreases, but I got confused. I had done short-rows on Anais and it seemed really obvious to me when I did that, but the Bayu has a lot more decrease rows and more sloping shoulders, so I was concerned that it wouldn't work. So I decided to put a lifeline in before proceeding, just in case I messed it up, but it ended up being unnecessary. I finished the back, and yesterday I cast-on the right front wrap piece. I'm in the seed stitch morass right now, but then it will get exciting. Or at least faster, being stockinette. Here's the back piece - I'm glad I put the lifeline in because it really allows you to see how the short-row shaping works. 
It's so much tidier than bind-off decreases, and leaves live stitches so that the shoulders can be grafted (or three-needle bound-off, which is my intention) instead of seamed, which is also a lot neater. I tried to impress Dave with it, since he's had to sit through my expositons on the miracle of short-rows before, but he was nonplussed. Although I think he understands the general concept now, which is something. The man is a saint - he has to sit through SO much chatter about knitting, and walk around so much yarn, and get yelled at for sitting on the knitting so often. Then again, I am also a saint, since I have to trip on spare bike tubes, and get tangled in handlebar tape, and accidentally knock over carbon wheels in the night while getting a drink of water.
It's so much tidier than bind-off decreases, and leaves live stitches so that the shoulders can be grafted (or three-needle bound-off, which is my intention) instead of seamed, which is also a lot neater. I tried to impress Dave with it, since he's had to sit through my expositons on the miracle of short-rows before, but he was nonplussed. Although I think he understands the general concept now, which is something. The man is a saint - he has to sit through SO much chatter about knitting, and walk around so much yarn, and get yelled at for sitting on the knitting so often. Then again, I am also a saint, since I have to trip on spare bike tubes, and get tangled in handlebar tape, and accidentally knock over carbon wheels in the night while getting a drink of water. 
