I finished the baby towel. I don't know if I will make another one any time soon though. It was easy and knit up quick, but it was SO BORING! Nothing but garter stitch the whole way through - yuk! I used Bernat Cotton Handicrafter yarn, which is really cheap, and once I washed and dried it, it thickened up and softened nicely. Here is a photo of the finished product:


I couldn't pick my next project, so I just started on a baby hat. I had some pretty blue yarn to use, so I figured I could make it, and one of the two friends still expecting, or even myself, one of us would have a boy!

I started counting up the active WIPs and WIMs that I have.....about a dozen, for all the ones I'm actually serious about. Most are christmas gifts, but a few are needed sooner, and some very soon (a week and a half!) so I'm getting a bit worried. I need to keep the needles moving! I started a hooded baby towel for the first baby gift. I haven't decided about the yellow blanket yet, so I can give her this new project instead. I'm halfway done almost, and I only started on Thursday. Photos this weekend if I finish it!

I started a lace scarf for the raffle. I've done one full repeat of the lace pattern (12 rows) and I like how it looks. It will take a while, it's on 3.5mm needles or something like that. The wool I'm using is some unidentified stuff in a naturall beigy grey colour. I am thinking of koolaid dying it after I knit it all up. Even just to add a touch of colour, I really don't like the plain colour it is now, but I wanted to work from my stash.

Still working on the baby blanket, I'm about 1/3 done. I will need to have a baby gift to give my field hockey coach in two weeks. She may get this blanket, or I may have to whip up something else, we'll see. I may like this blanket too much to give it away too........

This other baby blanket I'm working on is turning out nicely. I'm not in love with the pattern, but it's nice enough. I've done about 7 inches so far, so it's coming along. It will probably be a gift for one of 3 upcoming babies.

I'm still mulling over ideas for the daycare raffle. I thought about doing a mohair shawl, as that would use up some of the MASSES of mohair I have. Of course, when I checked out my stash I found a lot of it is "mohair like" but not actual mohair, and that I didn't have more than a ball or two of a lot of the colours/styles of yarn. I also haven't found a pattern I like. There was one in the knitter's stash, but the one mohair yarn I had enough of, is WAY too fluffy so it looks funny knit up. I may do a fancy scarf instead, that doesn't take as much yarn.

As painful as it was to frog that last baby blanket start, I'm glad I did. I'm just starting the new pattern, and I'm liking it much better already. It's a fairly simple repeat of stockingknit sections and little lacey bits that will make a sort of basketweave. I think it will look nice, but not be TOO complicated, and yet interesting enough to keep me at it.

I got a flyer for this year's Daycare raffle at work. Last year I donated a packet of handstamped cards I made, plus a hooded baby sweater and booties in Lion Brand Microspun. They turned out really cute and I had fun making them for a good cause. (the raffle earns money for the daycare to buy new books and toys, since they don't charge too much to parents who have their kids there, most of whom are students) The thing is, last year, I didn't have any other kids to babies to knit for. This year, I have TONS of babies to knit for, so I don't know if I have time to knit something for someone else. I might have to look for a really quick pattern, maybe make another "5 hour baby sweater" or something. I'd really like to donate something.

Off to the frog pond! I took a pattern out of A Passion for Knitting and adjusted the width a bit, since I was using a thicker yarn than they called for. Well, it was STILL ending up about 20% wider than the pattern, and I know I would have run out of the yellow cotton I was using. Plus, I hated the pattern. It was excruciatingly boring, so far consisting of a wide garter edge and plain stockingknit. Ugh! So here is a photo, pre-frogging:



I think I may try the Cabled Eyelet Blanket as it looks much more fun and interesting. I did a swatch of it in acrylic about the same guage as the yarn I have, so I should be able to adjust the size ok.