In the forums of the website Crochetville there’s a sort of contest or competition going on during the Sochi Winter Olympics. It’s called the 2014 Crochet Games of Ancient Greece and is open to any crocheter on the planet. During the Games crocheters from around the world will work on a crochet project of their choosing, starting at the time of the Opening Ceremony and finishing at midnight the day of the Closing Ceremony. The deadline for joining is the Opening Ceremony of the Sochi Games.
I think it’ll be a lot of fun. I decided to join. One of the requirements is to pick something challenging, and I certainly did that. In honor of my brothers’ Cosmic Wombat Games All Us Geeks Stones of Fate Contest and Kickstarter Campaign this month, I decided to crochet their logo, the Cosmic Wombat. 
This will be challenging as I don’t have a pattern so will have to make one up. Also there’s color changes, which I’ve never done in an amigurumi (which are almost always crocheted in spirals or unjoined rounds). I’ve only ever done color changes when working in rows or joined rounds. So I get to learn something new. Also I have to figure out how I’m going to do the space helmet (I haven’t decided yet, but I do have some ideas). And then there’s the time limit. All in all this project should prove very interesting and definitely challenging. I can’t wait to start! I will be posting my progress a few times during the games, so stay tuned.
Here’s a picture of a wombat I crocheted to get me started. It worked up very quickly. I was rather surprised about that. I used regular worsted weight or 4-ply yarn and an F or 3.75mm hook. I find using a smaller hook size with amigurumi enables me to crochet tight enough that the stuffing doesn’t show through (and I normally crochet with a tight tension). I’m thinking that sometime in the future I might tweak this pattern and make other animals with it. If you would like to make one yourself, you can find the pattern here: http://amysodyssey.wordpress.com/2009/10/26/wombat-amigurumi/ 
If you want to be sure to read my updates on my progress subscribe to my blog over on the left sidebar. You can subscribe by RSS feed to your feed reader or you can get the blog posts emailed to you. Also, if you have any comments or suggestions for my project, please tell me in the comments. And finally, if it’s not too late and you want to join the Crochet Olympics, hurry over to Crochetville and register as an athlete. Then come back here and let me know so I can go read what your project is and root for you during these Games! Enjoy crocheting and enjoy the Olympics!
Rachel's Reflections 