feast or famine

I swear my knitting life is feast or famine. Either I can't think of anything I want to knit or I have a bunch of projects or ideas for projects going. The summer of socks was kind of a reaction to that and after doing several plain vanilla socks I feel like I have the knitting feast back.

I finished a small project that is a gift and so I won't say much about it until it hits its recipient. Except that it made me want something like it, so I restarted a project I had finished and ripped out last year.

Then I finally got the girls to decide on colors for the sweaters I want to knit them, and that yarn is currently winging its way here.

THEN, well I started something a little ambitious. Or maybe starting is too strong a word since currently I have 16 stitches on the needle for an informal swatch. If this were a sweater, the swatch would be bigger, but this is a lap blanket and so I just want to make sure that a) I'm in the ballpark for width and b) that I'm going to like the fabric I'm creating.

And yes, I said lap blanket. A lady in my book club was diagnosed with some pretty serious cancer this summer. I'm not close enough to offer to do the things that would be helpful (meals, driving keeping company etc), but I feel moved to want to do something, so I decided I'd knit something. At first I thought hat, but not everyone likes hats. Then I thought fingerless gloves because I understand the chemo centers are cold and I know my friend likes to read. But fingerless mitts don't keep me as warm as I like, and several websites I saw suggested lap sized blankets. So I went looking and found one that I think she'd like.

Ok, it is called Chevron baby blanket and it was the number one pattern (based on popularity I think?) under the blanket pattern in Ravelry. I think it is a good size, although I want to be sure I get the width right because I could add repeats for length. I have not completely decided if I'm using 3 or 4 colors. I have bought three. Or rather I bought two and had one in stash. I am making this in Vanna's choice just because I want it to be easy care. I have a cream (which I owned and is not actually Vanna's choice, but another craft store brand) and a soft blue and a soft purple. I was considering a green. Michael's wouldn't let me use more than one coupon today (although they sometimes do) and so I decided to swatch a little and see if I need more yarn or colors. I can always make multiple trips.

I'd like to finish it before the next book pass which I think is December 2, although at the rate I have been knitting, I might not make it. I'm not really doing any hand knits at Christmas, so maybe this is doable. Plus I knit better on a deadline. Ok I don't knit better, I just decide not to clean and knit instead.