One down!

I finished my first Olympic Afghan block last night and wanted to share. I used it as sort of a gauge swatch, since most of the stash yarn I'm planning to use is good old WoolEase. I chose a simple knit/purl pattern called "King Charles Brocade" that I've always liked but never used before. Now that I know approximately how many stitches will give me a 7-inch-wide block, I'll be moving on to more challenging stitch patterns.

And speaking of challenges . . . my personal Olympic challenge is to work exclusively on charity knitting during this time. For some of you, that may seem like nothing. Trust me, though; I had to fight hard to keep from giving in to that almost-completed cabled cardigan as it kept whispering seductively from its project bag. ("Just a row or two on my nearly-finished second sleeve won't hurt!" "No one will know if you just swatch for my buttonband that you've been wanting to experiment with. I know you can't get it off your mind!") I did manage to ignore it, though, and wove in the ends on the above Olympic afghan block with only a sigh or two. Maybe it will get easier.