Olympic Agony

I've done it. I've joined not one, not two, but three Olympic Knitalongs.

I joined the "official" Knitting Olympics hosted by the Yarn Harlot.

Then I got sucked into the Team MIT group effort to whip up a blanket for Afghans for Afghans.

Then, I figured that if I was being such a joiner, I might as well just add my name to the roster for Team Boston.

So, what am I going to knit??? I have no idea, but lots of options. But first, a recap of the rules, from the YH's site:
1. The project must be a challenge for you to complete in 16 days.
2. There are no rules about what a challenge would be. Like the real Olympics, there are many areas to compete in. If you are a new knitter, then a garter stitch baby sweater might do...If you are experienced, well. I've already considered Torino. Use your own conscience.
3. While this is intended to be somewhat difficult (like the Olympics) it is not intended to ruin your life. Don't set yourself up for failure. (Olympic athletes may cry, but they do not whine pitifully, sob and threaten members of their family with pointed sticks because they haven't slept in five days. ) This is intended to (like the Olympics) require some measure of sacrifice, and be difficult, but it should be possible to attain.
4. No casting on before the flame is lit.
5. Finish before the flame goes out.
6. You may swatch before the games. (I consider this "training.")

What would challenge me? Some days, finishing anything is a challenge! (Case in point, the bitty baby booties I posted about earlier this week, started back in September...) But, here are some top contenders ...


JACKE ROUGE

This is my take on the Jacke Apricot in Rebecca 27.

On the surface, this one seems to break rule #4 (no casting on before the flame is lit.), since I already knit the back. However, there are some flaws. I don't like the armhole depth. I'm resizing and re-gauging on the fly. As a result of that, the ribbing won't not match at the side seams. I also think I'd like the fabric better at a tighter gauge.

I might just call the back a swatch and restart the whole darn thing. It would definitely be a challenge for me to rewrite the pattern for a different finished size and a different gauge, and to complete the whole thing in 16 days.


DALE of NORWAY LADYBUG HAT

Ever since I started knitting and shopping at *good* yarn stores, I've loved Dale's baby patterns. I especially love the ladybugs.

I would like to tackle a stranded color project, since the sum total of my two-color knitting experience consists of a 1" band on a baby hat and 1" of a now UFO-ed mitten cuff.

But, I know that a baby sweater knit at 8 sts/in, while learning two-color knitting techniques, will NOT be do-able in 16 days given other time constraints (job #1, job #2, husband, etc.). So, I'm thinking of making the hat now and tackling a sweater later.


STASH IT FOR CHARITY
I have a good amount of stash yarn that has been waiting to be knit into items for charity. I would LOVE to get some knitted up and sent out during winter, while someone might still need a hat or mittens. I could try to knit a certain number of items for charities, including the Dulaan Project and local shelters, schools, etc.

Help me decide -- vote in the poll or leave me a comment!