FO Alert!

I have a FO to report!! (Finally!) Although I still have quite a lot to do in weaving in loose ends, I finally got the afghan put together.



I really like how it turned out. Even DH said last night, "That's really nice! The colors are great!"

Also, I was much surprised to learn that I've won another blog give-away. The ladies over at Romancing The Yarn are so awesome! Fran Baker has some sock yarn she was parting with and I will be the fortunate receipient!

Look what else came my way today!



Here's the rules:
• Thank the person who gave this to you.
THANKS Val!!
• Copy the logo and place it on your blog.
• Link the person who nominated you.
• Name ten fun facts about yourself.

1) I like a splash of milk in my tea.

2) My guilty pleasure is watching Desperate Housewives.

3) I spent too much $$ on magazines last time I was at a real bookstore.

4) My favorite indulgence right now is a cup of almond biscotti flavored tea (with milk as stated above) and a real biscotti to go with it.

5) I used to visit a "rock shop" located in the basement of a house in my nieghborhood as a kid and buy up pretty, polished rocks. Then my friend Linda got her own rock tumbler and we made our own. I was so jealous of her rock tumbler! Then the kids received one for Christmas a few years ago. What fun!

6) I used to love riding my bike around the neighborhood I grew up in during the late afternoon in autumn. I could hear other people in their homes sometimes. On occasion delicious smells of something baking in someone's oven for their supper would waft by in the air. Sometimes when I'm out on a walk and catch a smell on the breeze I am transported back to those days of leisurely riding around Riverside.

7) I played the organ for my church for one terrifying, gut-wrenching summer. I was truly horrible and it made me throw-up from the nerves. (Sorry if you were eating while reading this....)

8) A couple times my sibs and I rode our bikes up the state highway a few miles to the near-by Stone State Park. We carried back packs and took a picnic with us. It was fun.

9) I enjoyed all the fishing outings I went on with my grandparents and family as a kid. Even when I didn't catch anything, I still had a good time.

10) Some days I'm still not sure what I want to be when I grow up.

Ok - I'm supposed to give this to the most frequent commentors on my blog.

That would be:

McVal
Two Cables & A Frap
Cathy over at Kerowynsmom
Marie-Jolie
Caffeine Girl

Congrats Blogger Buddies!

Oh So Close

Well, the Knitting Olympics has drawn to a close and I'm afraid I did not earn a medal.

I feel I came oh so close and truly gave it an olympic effort, however, I fell short of having a completed afghan at the close of the day yesterday.

Here's where my efforts got me at day's end:



All squares are knit. (Yeah! This in itself was quite a goal given the fact I do have a life other than knitting and ended up with 2 days of unforeseen travels which took out my ability to knit!)

8 of the 12 squares have their first round of edging done. I think this will be the slowest part of putting the pieces together as the rest of the edge colors will have much easier to sort out and pick up stitches in lovely bound-off rows. (Unlike the first edge, which is being picked up rather slowly in an attempt to get it somewhat even across!)

I do LOVE the colors, as well as the pattern. It will definitely cheer up the living room on cold, wintry nights.

(However, now that it's March, we're not going to acknowledge the potential for more cold, wintry nights!)

Happy knitting (even if there are no medals involved!)

Defining the Goal

I think it's important at this point in the Knitting Olympics to clarify my goal.

My goal for the games is to complete the New Traditions Afghan from Knit Picks.

It is made up of 12 blocks (6 each of two different patterns.) The games last for 17 days. In my mind that means if I complete 1 block a day, I should have 5 days left over to add on the borders and stitch the blocks together.

Thus "completing" the afghan.

What I need to clarify is this:

While the blocks are coming along swimmingly.......


(I have 5 and 1/3 of the 6 done!)

......the one small detail I forgot to factor in is this:


(all the darned finishing work of weaving in tail ends this pattern involves!!!)

So, I have decided that my original goal still pertains, as long as we all understand that a completed project means having all the knitting and sewing together done, but may/will lack the fine detail of having all the ends woven in.

Happy Knitting!