eye of the tiger

(Indulge my inner '80's child for a moment and insert forte syncopated synthesizer notes here)

Rising up, back on the street
Took my time, took my chances
Went the distance, now I'm back on my feet
Just a knitter and her will to survive. . . eye of the tiger

Kiri Shawl
Knit Picks Shimmer in Happy Dance
Size 7 Addi Turbos, 24 "
Final dimensions: 60" by 30"
Successful attempt: 1/20/06- 1/30/06
Modifications: 11 repeats of Chart 2 instead of 12

After all the tribulation, I feel absolutely giddy to be ending the saga of Kiri on a high note! Watching that awkward, jumbled mass metamorphose into a delicate shawl during blocking was amazing. I am absolutely hooked!! More lace is definitely on the horizon. The only thing I'm not too thrilled about is the yellow pooling, but I suppose it adds some interesting character. I haven't much to complain about, though, as this was a one skein (read: $5!!) knit. Even better, this qualifies as another 3-fer KAL deal: What's Your Skein?, It's NOT a gift! and Show Your FO! Overall, I would say that I'm pretty pleased with Kiri and am even more pleased to finally be done with this shawl. She even gets a thumbs-up Fonzie "Aaayyy!"
By nature, I'm not a very competitive person, but having tasted the agony of defeat several times, finally finishing Kiri was especially sweet. Now, board games with my family however, are an entirely different issue. Bring it on, baby! Pictionary at our home is cut-throat, dog-eat-dog insanity. Once that sand hourglass runs out, boom, it's over. In the blink of an eye, you're being heckled by the masses, with tomatoes being pelted at your pathetic attempt of a drawing. Those "all-play" cards are the worst, with both teams going for the kill simultaneously, no holds barred.

This past Christmas, the six of us played, with The Mercenary and Fredo on my team. (Darn straight I made sure to pick the resident artist for my team! Cut-throat, remember?) Anyway, one of those notorious all-play cards came up and The Mercenary and Mom decided to tackle the beast head-to-head. Determined, they steeled themselves for the challenge as the hourglass was inverted. The Mercenary begin scribbling furiously. . . Fredo and I peered over her shoulder to see unmistakable pictures of flags. "Canada!" I yelled. "Japan!" Fredo chimed in. As Mexico and the UK joined the picture, it became clear that individual nations were not the intended answer. With The Mercenary gesturing wildly and circling all the flags, my train of thought turned. "Global!" I screamed. Nodding yes, yes so vehemently that I thought her head might break off, I tried again. "International?!" More maniacal head nodding. Then the unavoidable and desperate stream-of-consciousness spewage as the sand trickled faster. . . "Worldwide, transatlantic, Meridian line, equator!" Eyeing the last grains of sand, the Mercenary drew two distinct pictures separated by a plus sign, in one last desperate attempt. It was clear that the second picture was a tree. But the first? My face contorted as I took my best guess at the crude depiction before me as the hourglass stopped. . . . Ass-tree?! The Mercenary started laughing so hard I feared she might pee her pants, but Fredo and I had the last laugh when she finally managed to yell out, "Country!!"

Pretty offensive and crude, I know. I'm sorry if I offended anybody. Trust me, we're pretty straight-laced girls and it never occurs to us to even think that word, much less use it, which was made it all the funnier at the moment. And hey, if you're going to play Pictionary, you play to win!! Eye of the Tiger, baby!

And finally, I've been working on a little something in this pretty little number gifted to me by the lovely Allison over at Perknitious. I've been saving it for something special and I think I may have finally found the perfect knit for it. Keep your fingers crossed for me. . . I hope to have pictures to share by next week!