Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Catching up

I'm not sure how many followers we have at this point, but if you were wondering where we disappeared to, I'm sorry about that.  Karen was actually here with me for tow weeks, along with her husband and kids, AND our parents! It was a big ol' family vacation (except for the part where I still had to go to work). 

So while they were here, I didn't do much knitting, because we spent most of the evenings doing things.  We enjoyed a lot of dinners out, and did a LOT of shopping.  And when I did have time to make stuff, I did little things, and I decided not to worry about blogging.

But I'm back, and full of updates!  Here's what I've finished since last time:

My KSP1 KAL Handwarmers v2, knit with Inspiration Dyeworks Basic Sock in the Knitting Samurai Plus 1 colorway on US 1 needles.  I LOVE these! Going down a needle size made a huge difference, and they fit just the way I like them.

My Hamrick fingerless gloves, made from a mystery yarn from my stash, on US 2 needles.  I made this pattern up as I went, and finished them in a day.  I really like these, too, as a kind of fancy look, and I've decided that I'm going to write out the pattern and put it up on Ravelry.  The name comes from the event - I knit them up to wear to a friend's wedding.

Mum's Moonlight Shawl!!! I finished the knitting last night, got it soaked and blocked, and it's almost dry - it's going to be ready for Christmas! I'm so excited!  I knit this in Cascade Yarns Alpaca Lace Paints on US 1. I also added some teeny tiny seed beads, which don't show up in this photo very well, but add a really pretty sparkle in real life.


I also finished one of my Hermione's Everyday Socks, and I cast on the second.  I'm just past the toe, about two repeats into the pattern on the top of the foot.

I don't have any photos yet, but I also made a few crocheted necklaces for my mum.  I'll try to get photos of those soon, and I'll post them at some point.

So all of that is done!  But there is still so much to knit!  So here's what I've got on the needles:
- my beau's Christmas present
- KSP1 KAL Handwarmers v3 
- my Hermione's Everyday Socks
- my monster sweater
 
Why is it called my monster sweater? Because it looks like I'm knitting a muppet-type monster!

And there's still so much to knit before Christmas! 


Tuesday, October 1, 2013

A quick one

This week has been crazy, and it's only Tuesday! Yesterday started out with a surprise root canal (happy Monday!) and ended with my out-of-town guests arriving just before midnight. I haven't slept much, and I really need to get to bed, so I'll keep this quick.

What's finished? Little things!

This is a pair of Fortune Cookie Booties, which will be a future baby gift for a friend.  The pattern comes with several adorable fortunes that you can print out and tuck into the booties, and I picked up a takeout style box to package them in.

Baby Converse! A good friend wanted a fun way to announce her pregnancy at work, and so I knit her these cuties to put on her desk.  They took very little yarn, and about six hours to finish.

I also finished my second pair of Knitting Samurai Plus 1 handwarmers, but I haven't had a chance to photograph them yet.

I cast on a pair of Hermione's Everyday Socks (modified to be toe-up), and I sewed myself a little bag to carry sock projects in while I walk. Again, photos to follow. Did I mention I have house guests? I love them, but they make some things fall to the side for a bit.  

I also worked on Mum's shawl and Tara's shawl again.

I've got plans to cast on for several KALs this month, but I'll share more once I get things on the needles.

And that's all for now, folks! Happy making things!

Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Cake, cake, cake, cake

Today is going to be so much about cake! Because there was just soooo much cake in my life this weekend!  Also, please be aware that this post is going to be very photo-heavy. 

But first, my knit FOs:

I finished a cardigan for the birthday party, with two days to spare. But I forgot to take photos, because I didn't wash it until the day of the party.  Oops.  But I do have a pic that I snagged from Facebook:

This was knit out of an unknown yarn - it was some stash that I inherited from my grandma, and it really wanted to be a baby thing.  I used the same pattern that I used for Columbo's Cardi a couple weeks ago, from the 'We Like to Cardi' pattern in the fall 2013 edition of KnitSimple, using US 4 needles. I'll get a photo of the little girl wearing it sometime soon.

I also finished my stripey socks, which are no longer for me.  However, they are about to find a new home as a birthday gift!

These were knit out of Patons Stretch Sock in Spinoni Stripes, on US 3 circular needles. It was my first time trying two-at-a-time, top-down socks on a single circular.  It was interesting... I'm not sure I'll do that again any time soon, but I may try magic looping one sock at a time.

Finally, I finished my first pair of handwarmers for the Knitting Samurai Plus 1 Color KAL! 

 
The yarn is Basic Sock from Inspiration Dyeworks in The Knitting Samurai Plus 1 colorway. It only took 20g for this pair, so I'm totally making more. I used my standard handwarmer pattern (one that I made myself), with a row of YO, k2tog at each color change in the yarn. These were done on US3 needles.

I also worked on Mum's Moonlight Shawl, Tara's Shawl, and I cast on my second set of handwarmers for the KSP1 KAL.

And then, I worked on the cake.

One of my good friends asked me to do a cake for her daughter's birthday.  But not just any cake:


She had total confidence in my abilities, which is both lovely and terrifying. But if she thought I could pull it off, then by gosh, I was gonna pull it off.

The cake physics had me worried, I'll admit. I mean, I've watched all of 'Ace of Cakes' and lots of 'Cake Boss,' but I don't do this for a living. I don't have all of the tools and supports to do this. However, I do have access to awesome people who like to build stuff.  Between my beau, the daddy, and the handyman at work (hi, Ray!), my friends helped make the support system in my brain actually take shape.


Once the support was ready, it was time to bake. And bake. And bake. I started on Friday, after work, around 6:00. I got all of my supplies laid out for a photo op:


Yes, I used boxed cake mix. But I modified them to make them slightly more dense, to better support the weight of the finished cake (hence the pudding and three dozen eggs).

There were seven different flavours of cake. From bottom to top, we had Triple Chocolate Fudge, Lemon, Red Velvet, French Vanilla, Strawberry, Butter Yellow, and Funfetti, plus a smash cake in Funfetti.  That's a lot of cake.  


I went to bed around midnight, and had ten of the sixteen layers baked. I also had the broom started - I used crispy rice treats to mold the sweeping part of the broom.  That was... A mess.  I don't know when I forgot how to properly make that stuff, but it was really gooey, and I couldn't keep it from sticking to my hands, and I definitely needed my beau's help to keep from getting the stuff all over the kitchen and dining room.


I started again on Saturday morning around 9, baking the remaining cakes and doing the first layer of frosting. By about noon, I had frosted the broom, and was starting to do the final frosting and stacking.  Boy, that was a messy job!  The edge of each layer got a thick layer of white frosting, then got threaded on to the centre support.  Once in place, I heated some purple frosting in the microwave, then drizzled it over the layers so it started to look drippy.


I took pictures of the first few layers as I added them, then realized that I needed to hurry up! I put ten layers in place before we moved it from the dining room table to my car.  The remaining four layers, the smash cake, and my decorating kit all piled into the back of my car, and I sat on the back seat, holding onto the center support with one hand, and the panic handle with the other as my beau drove the 1.3 miles to the party location.  That may have been the most stressful car ride of my life.  

But we arrived in one piece, I finished the stacking and frosting, and voila! The cake was ready before the party started at three! (If you didn't do the math, that was about 12 hours of baking and decorating.)


It turned out well, I think.  Well enough that someone at the party wants me to make a cake for her next party ;)

And that's the story of the cake.

Tuesday, September 17, 2013

Holy stash, Batman!

The big project this week was cataloging my yarn, putting it into Ravelry and taking photos of all of it. I have added all of the yarn that lived in my office, with the exception of about a dozen half-or-less balls that don't have any ball bands or other identifying features. I still have some yarn in the basement, but that's just going to have to wait.  As of right now, I have 132 different types of yarn in my stash.  And there are many of those with multiple skeins.  So.  I'm probably going to try a yarn diet.

Except that I bought more yarn today.  But it was on sale! Sugar and Cream cotton for only $0.97! I got five balls.  But that will all get used up for Christmas presents (I hope).

I also got my yarn for the Knitting Samurai Plus 1 knit-along! It's from Inspiration Dyeworks, and it's soooo pretty!


I do have a couple of finished objects this week.  First, I finished my Cherry Sour socks:


These are my personal vanilla with a 4x2 rib and a Fish Lips Kiss heel, knit out of Patons Stretch Sock in Cherry Sours on US 3 needles. I used my Clover Takumi double-pointed needles.  I love the way they look, but they're just a little bit too big for my tiny foot. I only cast on 48 sts, but they didn't work out. I think it might be because of the stretchiness of the yarn. I'm going to try the same formula with some less-stretchy yarn, and see how that works.  Luckily, both my mum and my sister have feet just slightly bigger than mine, so one of them will be getting some socks!

I also cast on and finished this little guy:


He's knit out of Knit One, Crochet Too's Babyboo, leftover from my iPad cover a few years ago, on US 4 needles. I used my Clover Takumi dpns - I think I prefer using bamboo or wood these days.  He's based on a free pattern I found on Ravelry for The Lorax, by Rachel Gallegher-Miller. He's destined to be a birthday present for a first birthday party this coming weekend.

What else am I working on? I'm glad you asked! 

I started my handwarmers for the Knitting Samurai Plus 1 podcast knit-along.  If you don't watch it, you should go check it out! http://knittingsamuraiplus1.blogspot.com

This is a variation on my usual handwarmers - cast on 36 sts on US 3, knit a bit of 2x2 ribbing, knit until I like the length, cast on extra stitches for the thumb hole, then decrease gradually to the wrist, and end with some more ribbing. Because of the circulation problems in my left hand, I'm supposed to wear gloves to keep my hand warm and keep the blood flow optimal. And because I knit, I'm always working on new handwarmers. Most of them are pretty plain so far, but now that I've got a good stock built up, I feel like I can get more complicated.

I cast on for a baby sweater yesterday, because I felt like the monster alone wasn't going to be enough of a gift, so I'm rushing to get that finished by Thursday night.  And if you're observant, you might recall that I said the party is this weekend.  It is.  It's on Saturday. But I'm also baking the cake for the party, and that's going to be... Big.  There will be photos next week, because I'm not sure if the cake is supposed to be a surprise.  But suffice to say, there will be at least 12 layers baked on Friday night, frosted on Saturday morning, and assembled Saturday afternoon. And it's going to be AWESOME!  There is no sweater photo, because I'm too busy knitting it to find a place to lay it out, make it pretty, photograph it, crop, and upload. And I'm lazy. 

I'm also still working on Mum's Moonlight Shawl.  I decided to make it a bit more fancy, and have added seed beads to the garter stitch rows, and so far, I really like the look, even if it is a bit of a pain to work with.  I think it's going to be worth the trouble.

And Tara's Shawl is still getting some love, though only at work on my lunch breaks.

I've turned the heels on the stripey socks, and decided to give them away. I'm about halfway down the foot (these are top-down instead of my preferred toe-up), and I need to get the recipient's foot length before I go much further.

I thought that I had a photo of Nora's legwarmers on my Photo Stream, but I guess I was wrong.  I'll try to get that for next week!

Whew! That was a lot.  Hope you enjoyed seeing what I'm working on!



Tuesday, September 10, 2013

Cleaning = knitting?

I attempted to continue my clean-up this week... and attempted is the key word here.  I pulled out my bag o'baby hat yarn. This was all bulky, pretty stuff that I had purchased specifically to make baby hats from the book Welcoming Home Baby. I had made several of them in the past, but they didn't make it into Ravelry, so I can't be sure when exactly.  In any case, I pulled out the bad and started weighing all the partial skeins to enter into my Ravelry stash. As I was going, I realized that there was very little leftof a few of them, and that I could quickly use them up.  So I did!

The Criss-Cross hat:


The Chunky Beanie:


The Dashing Through the Snow hat:


Even more exciting than the baby hats, though, are the socks for my beau! I finished his TARDIS socks!  They're knit mostly out of Malabrigo Sock in Impressionist Sky, and I loved working with this yarn!


I also finished Nora's legwarmers, but totally forgot to take a photo, so I'll try to include one next week.

So those are off the needles. Still in progress - but without photos because they look almost the same as last week - I have my stripey socks, Mum's Moonlight shawl, and Tara's shawl.  

And because it feels wrong to have just one pair of socks on the needles, I started my Cherry Sour socks (named for the yarn, not the pattern). I'm trying the Fish Lips Kiss Heel again, and it looks better this time. It turns out that I've been wrapping the yarn wrong for my purl stitches since, well, always. I think that's why the first pair looked wonky.  Here's what they look like so far:


I'm debating starting a new pair of armwarmers, but I feel like I should finish some of these other things first.  Maybe I'll let myself cast on once I finish a pair of socks.

Where does that leave me in terms of my goals? Not too bad!

- I want to finish my beau's socks by Sept 14, which is the next time I'll get to see him face to face.  DONE!

- I want to finish Mum's shawl by Sept 30, because then I can enter it into the My Sister's Knitter's KAL on Ravelry. WORKING ON IT

- I want to finish my stripey socks by Sept 30 to keep on track for the 26 Pair Plunge. ABOUT TO TURN THE HEELS

- I want to finish Tara's shawl by Oct 18, so I can send it to her without extra postage costs. MAYBE BE ADJUSTED TO DECEMBER...

- I want to start and finish the legwarmers by Sept 30, so I can get credit for my HPKCHC class. DONE! Just need to post them.

- NEW: Finish Cherry Sour socks by Sept 14, to keep on track with the 26 Pair Plunge and then let myself cast on some armwarmers. 

And that's what's going on in my craft world!




Wednesday, September 4, 2013

Slowly cleaning up

I have started the process of cleaning out my office. Most of my family is coming to visit in a few weeks, so I need to have room for everyone to sleep.  I've got an air mattress to set up in the office, but right now, my office is kinda covered in yarn... I started reorganizing my stash a few weeks (or months) ago, then got distracted trying to knit all the yarn.  Tonight, I pulled out all of my fingering weight yarn and entered it all into Ravelry. That... Took a while.


This is all of my fingering weight yarn, spread out on my bed. You can see, there's a lot of it. I've got several pairs of balls, because I like to knit two socks at a time when I can manage it. I've also got a Baggie full of little balls, ones that are too small to make much with. They're going to be used for my sock yarn blankets, I think, or maybe lipgloss cases. 

In addition to organizing my yarn, I have been knitting! First, finished objects! I started a baby sweater last week, you may recall.  I knit the 'We Like To Cardi' baby cardigan by Vickie Howell, from e Fall 2013 Knit Simple magazine, and i made the 12 month size. I used the mill end yarn that I ripped out of a blanket - I have no idea what it started as, but I used 73g of it.  I knit the sweater on US 6/4.00 mm needles. It took me four days. Four days! That includes weaving in ends and sewing on buttons! Ready to see it?


I also started and finished a pair of handwarmers from the leftover Lorna's Laces Solemate in Zombie BBQ. I think I used about 30g. The pattern is one of my own making - I cast on 36 stitches on US 3/3.25 mm needles, then improvise as I go. I wish I had been better about updating Ravelry as I made handwarmers last year, but I'm pretty sure I've got at least two dozen pairs now.


I've still got lots on the needles. I turned the heel and got past the gusset decreases on my beau's TARDIS socks:


I finished another color section of my stripey socks:


I got a few more rows done on Tara's shawl:


And I'm about 12" into Mum's Moonlight Shawl: 


I really SHOULDN'T start anything new, but... I'm a Not-Quite-First-Year in the Harry Potter Knitting/Crochet House Cup on Ravelry, and there's an assignment due at the end of September, so I think I'm going to cast on legwarmers for my niece.  

But! I do have goals!

I want to finish my beau's socks by Sept 14, which is the next time I'll get to see him face to face.

I want to finish Mum's shawl by Sept 30, because then I can enter it into the My Sister's Knitter's KAL on Ravelry. 

I want to finish my stripey socks by Sept 30 to keep on track for the 26 Pair Plunge.

I want to finish Tara's shawl by Oct 18, so I can send it to her without extra postage costs.

I want to start and finish the legwarmers by Sept 30, so I can get credit for my HPKCHC class.

Think I can do it??



Tuesday, August 27, 2013

Knitting and cake

Lots of stuff to show you this week! First, the knit FO:


The Fuss-Free Baby Blanket is done! It only took 16 days, but it was SUCH a drag at the end. The last round was 712 stitches. That's a lot. It was taking a really long time for each round, and it didn't look like much progress. But it's done! I've got just a teeny bit of yarn left. I'm thinking about making a matching hat, or maybe a stuffy. We'll see. 

Also finished, cake! My friend threw a first birthday party for her son this past weekend, and I made his cakes. There was the main cake:


And the smash cake:


And the 36 cupcakes:


Can you tell what the theme was? I'm pleased with how the cakes turned out, and so was she! And it looks like I'll be using the same cake pan to make a Minnie Mouse cake for her daughter's birthday in December. 

With the baby blanket finished, I started to focus on my beau's socks. I'm now about to turn the heel, which means I still can't take it out and about. But once the heel is done, they'll be much more portable. Oh, and while there is only one sock in the photo, I am doing two at a time, so the second sock is just as far. 


Speaking of socks, I've pulled out my grey stripey socks again. They travel somewhat better than the TARDIS socks, although I don't think I'm liking the two-at-a-time magic loop socks. I'll keep going, and I'll try it again before I make any decisions. I'll also try going toe-up and see if that makes a difference.  I'm not sure. I just really like my DPNs. 


I started a new project yesterday at lunch, when I forgot my socks at home. Luckily, I had a skein of yarn and some needles in my car, so I cast on Truly Tasha's Shawl by Nancy Bush. It's a free pattern that I found through Ravelry. I'm using I Love This Yarn in Purple. 


Finally, I cast on another baby project tonight. This one is We Like to Cardi by Vickie Howell, and you can find it in the Fall 2013 issue of KnitSimple. I'm using the unknown millends that I frogged a few weeks back. Because I cast it on tonight, I don't have photos, but I'll have some next week. This is my first attempt at any sort of lace pattern, and it's going okay so far. We'll see as it goes on!

Tuesday, August 20, 2013

Breaking out the sewing machine!

This week, I've only got one FO, and it's not knit or crocheted.  I've been working on my baby blanket (more on that in a bit), and it got big enough that it wasn't really purse knitting anymore. Technically, I could fit it into my Namaste purse/project bag, but that bag is big, and I tend to fill it with purse stuff and portable electronic gadgets and it gets REALLY heavy. So! I decided to sew myself a project bag!


I've been staring at all of the awesome bags on the podcasts I watch, and while I'd like one of the lovely box bags, I feel like that one would need an actual pattern to turn out well. Also? Zippers take me an awful long time to sew in properly. So I went with a drawstring bag, because I was sure I could wing it. 


I dug through my fabric box and found about a yard of fabric leftover from a set of curtains that I sewed for a friend's nursery several years ago. It's a Winnie-the-Pooh print, and I picked up some grosgrain ribbon to trim the top and make a drawstring channel. I made a rectangular bottom and reinforced it with a piece of cardboard, lined the whole thing, and did all of the trimming in one evening. And now I have a cute project bag for baby blankets!


I'm really happy with it, and I'm planning to use it for all of my baby blankets - which actually means that I'll be much more likely to have just one baby blanket going at a time. 


And speaking of baby blankets... I'm still working on the Fuss Free Baby Blanket. I still really like the look, but it feels like it's slowing down. It's knit from the center out, and every round gets bigger.  I just finished the second pink stripe, and I'm up to 588 stitches per round. So it makes sense that it's taking longer to finish a round. My purple and blue stripes are going to be less than 25 rounds, because I'm not going to have enough yarn... But I'm okay with that. I think it'll turn out well. Here's the progress so far:


The only other knitting I touched this week was a new project: I cast on the TARDIS socks for my beau!  I'm soooooo excited about these! The main colour is Impressionist Sky in Malabrigo sock, and it's just delicious to work with. He tried it on before I did the colorwork section, so I'm crossing my fingers that they'll still fit after that section. Once I get to the heel, I'll get him to try them on again. Cross your fingers for me!


And that's been my week in crafting!

Tuesday, August 13, 2013

A touch of start-itis

I just want to start knitting All The Things! 

I only have one finished object this week, and it's going at the end of the post this time, so if Lorna is reading, she can stop and still be surprised(ish) at her birthday present.

What's on my needles? I'm glad you asked! I'm still working on the Moonlight Shawl for my mum, but I don't have any new pics yet. I'm still working on some striped socks for myself, but they haven't seen any action for a couple of weeks, so no new pics there, either.

I did start a new baby blanket, because things just wouldn't be right in the world if I weren't working on one of those. I found this pattern from someone who posted in the Knitting Samurai Plus 1 podcast forum over on Ravelry. Steph is running a baby blanket KAL, and someone else was working on this pattern, and I just knew it would be perfect for using up some stash that was left after I finished the blanket and hat set for a friend. In 2008. The yarn has been around for a while, and I'd love to get it out of my stash. The pattern I'm using is called the Fuss Free Baby Blanket by Louise Tilbrook. It's a free download on Ravelry, if you're interested. So here's the best photo I could manage:


It's awkward to photograph, because it's a square blanket, but knit in the round on circulars. I have to say, I LOVE this construction! I'm just finishing up my first blue stripe, and I think I'll have enough yarn to do another set of stripes, then finish off with the white.  If there's anything left, I'll make some booties or a hat - this yarn WILL get used up!

I haven't started anything else yet, but I've come close. I stopped by my LYS yesterday on my way home after work, and I picked up two balls of sock yarn so I could finally cast on the TARDIS socks that I'm planning to make for my beau. I had already purchased two balls of Malabrigo Sock in Impressionist Sky (I adore that color!) for the main part of the sock, but I didn't have the black or white for the accents. I wanted to cast on as soon as I got home, but I held off. The accent yarns are Cascade Heritage Sock, and they look to be just a teensy bit thinner than the Malabrigo, so I want to swatch and see if I'll need to change needle sizes for that section before I get going. Wow, I've totally grown as a knitter! Back in the day, I would have just cast on, gauge be damned! 

While the ladies were caking up the skeins for me (did I mention that I'd really like a ball winder of my own?), I picked up the latest Interweave Knits - it's the Unofficial Harry Potter edition! I wanted to cast on all of the projects, right then. So, of course, I bought the magazine. There are just so many awesome things in there! I'll be knitting myself at least two pairs of armwarmers/handwarmers, and I put out a call to my friends on Facebook - if you provide the yarn, I'll knit you anything you want from there. With the caveat that it's first come, first served, and that you'll have to be patient, because knitting isn't fast.

And finally, that brings me to my FO, Lorna's birthday present. Lorna, if you're reading this, close the browser and go away now. Now!
.
.
.
.
.
Just in case...
.
.
.
.
.

Voila! A pair of socks! They're knit using Lorna's Laces Solemate in the colorway Zombie Barbecue, using US1/2.25 mm needles. I used 54g of a 100g skein, so I'll probably make myself some handwarmers, and a sock blanket square, and hopefully a hexipuff when I finally buy the Beekeeper's Quilt pattern.

And that's what's been going on in my crafting world! 

Tuesday, August 6, 2013

Two FOs!

I am in a finishing mood! And I'm doing really well at resisting the urge to cast on all the things, which is very good. 

So this week, I've got two FOs. First, the picnic blanket that wouldn't end. It took up my whole weekend, but I got it done! Including the coordinating bag! 



That's off the needles - well, hook. It was crocheted from a pattern in Crochet Today's special blanket edition from a few years ago, using a 5.0 mm hook and Red Heart Super Saver in Real Teal and Turqua. 

I didn't think I was a yarn snob, but after working with the acrylic Red Heart, it was so nice to move on to better yarn. It was just so rough on my fingers! I hope that I can avoid using it again for a while. 

After I finished that, I moved on to Heaven - Plymouth Yarn Heaven, that is, in color 122, on US 10.5/6.5 mm needles. I finished a baby blanket for Tiffany and Phillip!


You can see the diagonal stripe in the center if you look closely - I had two balls of one dye lot and four balls of another, so I intentionally spaced them like this. You can't see it so much in person, and really, it's going to be all bunched up around a baby, so it won't matter much. But the point is, I prefer an intentional stripe to a random clump. 

Once I finished those, I moved back to a pair of gift socks. I turned the heel of the first sock, and I'm partway up the leg. I'm nearly done, because it won't be a really tall sock, and I've only used 24g of a 100g skein, so I'm going to be fine for yardage. This is really good, because I want to use the leftover yarn to make a pair of handwarmers for myself! 

Here's a sneak preview of the socks:

Still on the needles are Mum's Moonlight Shawl, my grey stripey socks, dishcloths, and my sock yarn blanket (which I have misplaced! If you see my baggie of yarn scraps, please tell me!). 

Finally, I've also been in a ripping mood. Last week, I started ripping out a ripple afghan that I started a very long time ago. I finished winding all of the yarn back into center-pull balls. A few nights ago, I started ripping out a baby blanket that I started in 2004. That's NINE YEARS AGO. If I haven't finished it by now, I'm not going to. I'm actually going to reuse the yarn to make a baby blanket using the same pattern I'm using for the sock yarn blanket, but I've got to finish ripping it out first, and finish knitting and crocheting a few other things. 

So that's what's going on in my crafting world!