I have cast on my first new project of the year: The Fan Shawl and I'm using three balls of King Cole Mirage in the "Kiev" colourway. I hope the shawl will be a bit more blanket-like than shawl-like. So far the yarn + 4mm needles combo is producing a nice firm fabric. I'd like to have a warm, washable pseudo-shawl to wrap around me in the living room sofa. Here's hoping the wool/acrylic blend will actually block well (I like to live life dangerously sometimes). I have previously worked with the yarn and liked it then, but as soon you move away from doing plain garterstitch and into decreases/picking up stitches, Mirage becomes horribly splitty. The colours are great, though, and they cheer me up on a grey winter's day.

Speaking of winter, the Winter Olympics are upon us very soon. For certain knitters, that signals the start of the Ravelympics (basically knitters join an online group, decide on a project to cast on during the Winter Olympics opening ceremony and have finished by the end of the closing ceremony). I chose not to participate in the Beijing Ravelympics for personal reasons, but I am going to participate this year. Thing is, Mid-February is going to be a busy time for me and I already know I will have a big project on the needles by then. So, I've decided against a cardigan or a pullover for the Ravelympics. What then?

The obvious answer is either a Revontuli shawl (I have a brand new ball of Kauni in my stash!) or a hat/mittens combo. I finished 2009 feeling like I hadn't knit enough accessories and that my head and fingers were always cold, so that might be a good idea. I will be reorganising my stash tomorrow, so I might uncover the perfect yarn for a perfect Ravelympics project. I'm thinking colourwork rather than lacy texture simply because Glasgow continues to be freezing cold and I'd rather knit something super-warm that I can use until warm weather arrives (July? August? Never?) than something really pretty and delicate. Having said that, I like the looks of the Gosai beret and mittens.. Must. Resist.

First, though, back to modular knitting. So much for being a process knitter - I just want that shawl wrapped around me pronto.