Here We Go Again

With the excitement of the Olympic knitting over and the shakes from Olympic watching withdrawl subsiding, it's time to turn my focus back on the regularly scheduled knitting.

First up, Brandy's blanket aka "the Magnum Opus". It was off the needles before I left for Hawaii, but everyone who saw it agreed that it needed a border. The first thing I did upon casting off Grandma's socks, was pick the blanket up and weave in all the ends. (Ugh... is there ANYONE who actually LIKES weaving in ends out there?) And then- I faced a familiar foe- crochet.

I spent the entire weekend this last week fighting with crochet. I OWNED the hdc (half double crochet) and I fear that I can actually read a crochet pattern now. (I'll try and forget that knowledge asap.) Sunday evening the border looked like this:

I decided NOT to do the second color border, as I think the first color finishes this off nicely. The blanket is going to be blocked, heavily, and hopefully next week I'll show you the finished product and have it in the mail to my very patient friend.

With the blanket essentially done, I picked up a project I have been practically chomping at the bit to start. Behold! I give you "Pink Insanity!"- hopefully my entry for Stampede this year!

Doesn't look like much does it? Perhaps that's because I have chosen the tiniest yarn and the tiniest needles to knit it with. (Hence the reference to insanity, because I am clearly insane to attempt this.) I'm knitting this blanket on fingering weight yarn and size US 2 (3 mm) needles. To give you an idea of how tiny the stitches are, I took this photo.

Why yes, I am crazy. Thanks for asking!

The husband keeps calling this project my "Stampede 2012" project after seeing the tiny needles and stitches and doing the math on how long this could potentially take. Despite all of his doubts, and quite frankly mine, I have taken on this challenge with great enthusiasm. I'm so excited about knitting this project, and if everything goes as planned, this going to be a BEAUTIFUL blanket when it's done. I'm projecting, and aiming for an 8 week finish. I know I can do this!

Cross your fingers. (And maybe have the men in white coats on stand by... this could be a slightly bumpy ride.)