*passes out*

First, the 12″ squares CAL:

I still need to do a border around the edge. I stopped short of the 12″ to accommodate a solid dc border in the green I used for the flower. I’m sure I’ll get around to that sometime before the April square is revealed (note to self: start badgering craftADDchick soon)

The other monthly check-up is the charity crafting. I fell five points short of my goal for February, but with tonight’s effort I’ve caught up! I’m making March’s goal 20 points. We’ll see what happens.

Here is the Lollipop blanket:

Now with border!

You’re just going to have to imagine what the purple shell blanket looks like finished. The sun was long gone by the time I finished it and the indoor picture of it looks really really bad. Mom and Dad will be dropping by tomorrow and I’ll be sending them home with them. I’ll try to remember to take a picture before we say goodbye!

In other news, I have an update on the “make your own centre-pull ball” technique. Here is a picture of the ball from yesterday after making the border on Lollipop:

Not too shabby!

I’ve made a bunch of swirly hexagons up and, after consuming copious amounts of caffeine to counter the hypnotic effects, I posed them in a couple of ways for your consideration.

Which do you prefer?

Option 1 (aka Klingon Layout)

Option 2 (aka Opposite Layout)

Vote in the comments! Or via e-mail if you’d prefer: fantastic dot mio at gmail dot com

In the meantime, I’ve joined a swap on Craftster! Specifically, the Amazing Crochet Motif Swap. It’s being run by my favourite crochet pusher on Craftster, craftADDchick (some of you may remember her from the 12″ square crochet-a-long). It should be fun!

In completely unrelated news, I’ve bought a new book! You see, Charles wanted to get out of the house this weekend, and really wanted to get some new reading material so we headed off to Chapters at Runnymede. He took lots of pictures, and I bought a book:

I’ve barely had a chance to look at it, really. What post-it notes? Oh, and just ignore Charles if he suggests that I’ve been keeping the book next to the bed so that it’s handy just before I go to sleep. (My most creative time is between 11pm and 1am. It’s a curse.)

And he didn’t even buy anything. *sigh*

Anyhow, more pictures from my trip to Alberta under the cut!

Safety first:

Huge tracks of land next:

And finally, the stupid-face Michaels in hick-town Medicine Hat:

To be fair, I should post a picture of the Michaels in Toronto, oh wait!

Yeah, I’m not bitter at all…

I’m not sure what I think of this pattern. I had to fudge it in a few places, and I found a couple of spots unclear (those two problems may be related, come to think of it).

It’s pretty, though, and I think it will make a great addition to the blanket!

In my defense, he’s never been that easy to buy for. I mean, ok sure, he could always use socks, but where’s the fun in that? (No, I won’t be knitting him any socks… men’s size 13 wide. ‘Nuff said.) I used up all of my best gift ideas on him at Christmas. So what to do?

Naturally, I thought of a really excellent gift for him: a memory blanket! 24 hours is plenty of time to whip up a warm blanket for a man who is over 6′ tall! Right-o.

Clearly this idea was more of a Christmas idea. I told Dad that I wanted to get him something, but instead he’s getting a really kick-butt Christmas present.

I’d better make it now!

Here’s the plan so far: I’m going to make it in squares, probably mostly 12″ squares. He likes blue, so that will be the main colour. So far my memories list to use for possible squares (all ideas might not be used) are as follows:

- braiding my ridiculously long hair
- a car up on blocks
- fixing things (maybe tools?)
- a toy plane made out of a spark plug and Popsicle sticks (yeah, I’m probably going to have to chart this one out myself, that’s ok)
- car racing (TransAm)
- anosmia
- cake decorating
- Smallville
- piano tuning (he tuned my upright as a kid and I still don’t know how he did it, being unmusical as he is. lol)
- cooking (specifically something to do with rice)
- Star Trek
- living on the beach
- Made in Canada
- vacuuming a cat, or spraying water at a cat (she loved both! I think an existing square with a cat would work and I could add the details)
- elephant butt (probably a square that has the front of an elephant would be easily modified.)
-macrame
- Boy Scouts
- (edit to add) a model plane made out of Coke cans (I can’t believe I forgot the Coke plane!)

Do any of my loyal readers know of any existing squares that would represent any of those things? Or of patterns that could be modified to create them? Or of a site that makes for easy crochet charting?

I’m thinking that the hair braiding one could be some kind of cabled border around the blanket… I do have ridiculously long hair, so it would make sense. How well do blue and brown go together?

For those of you who are only in this for the pictures, here is my progress on the yellow and green striped baby blanket:

Here’s where I am so far:

I’d have more done if it weren’t for this:

And this:

Why are you looking at me like that?

I’m sick. That’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it.

It serves multiple purposes. It creates a sense of community, what with everyone making the same thing and chatting about it. Crocheters of all experience levels tend to participate, so there is help available if you get stuck on a particular instruction. You’re more likely to finish what you started when you know others are waiting to see how it’s coming along.

These are all wonderful points!

My problem is that the CAL I’ve decided to join is the 2009 12″ Squares one. Basically, a new square pattern is posted on the first of every month, everyone participating whips one up in the colour(s) of their choice, then posts a picture. By the end of the year you’ve got 12 (or more) squares that you can then join together to make a nice blanket.

Where’s the problem in that? Well, I finished my first square yesterday. (I swear it doesn’t look as wonky in real life as it does in the picture!)

What should I do today? Well, I know what I should do today; I’m only about half-way through my To-Do list of the day. What I want to do is make a whole blanket out of 12″ squares. Right now. Today. (Ok, more realistically: over the next several days.)

But I have to wait until next month to get the next pattern. I see a lot of fillers in my future…