An FO and 2 WIPs

Hello all. I am somewhat fatigued, and I have no photos pour vous, but I'm posting anyhow because it's been awhile and I feel like it. So there.

I finally finished the Crochet Crop Cardigan by Monica Brown. I'm pretty gosh darn pleased with it too, I might add. The color is good, the shape is good, the fit is better than I expected, and all that good stuff. The pattern originally called for 4 buttons, but I had 3 big buttons that looked really good, so I sewed those puppies on, and there you have it. I used 5 skeins of Brown Sheep Company Cotton Fleece, so the cost of the sweater was under $50 if you include the buttons. I find this to be a tremendous bargain for something so darn cute. One of these days, when I get my lazy butt around to it, I'll post some pictures. Monica's patterns are really cute - you should go check them out! Very well written too, which is always a crowd pleaser.

I found out my friend Gloria is preggers, so I am making a Baby B.A.G.S. (big-ass granny square) and the Heartbreakingly Cute Baby Kimono from Mason-Dixon Knitting. Does anyone have any suggestions as to how to avoid ginormous loops of yarn on your edges when you are casting on extra stitches using the backward loop method? I'm finished casting on for the sleeves, and I think I'll be able to hide the extra yarn in the seams, but it would have been nice to avoid this altogether. Let me know.

I also found out that my next-door-neighbor's grandson's wife is pregnant with twins. Looks like I'll be making the Tiramisu Baby Blanket by Alicia Paulson for those babies. I really like to crochet, but I've found that I'm not a huge fan of following crochet patterns (except for Monica's, because they are short and sweet). Many crochet patterns are eighty bajillion pages long, because it's possible that you need to write instructions for each darn row, unlike knitting. I like Alicia Paulson's blankie because it is literally one page long and the repeat is over two rows and it is just easy and it looks pretty and it looks complicated too, so I can impress people. And that's what it's really all about. Okay, not really, but it's fun to impress people anyways.

I need to get started on my Green Gable again. I put that on hold for a while as I finished the Crop Cardi. I have a bunch of summery tops I want to knit, and it would be nice to finish them in a season when I could actually wear them, rather than waiting until next year. However, I'm feeling the afghan urge coming on again. I started a ripple, and I really want to make a Vintage Stripe Afghan by Bella Dia, and I have an idea for a nine-square granny using 9 different variegated yarns that I think will look pretty nifty when all's said and done. And I have to crochet 3 baby blankies. Woo. But all that double crochet, it's all so easy and fast and satisfying...

Maybe I just won't work anymore. I'm sure WT won't mind if I just sit my ass on the sofa 24/7 and crochet afghans.

Har dee har har.

Another reason that I have not posted for a little while is because all of my attention and energy is being sucked into Ravelry. I can't wait until everybody can join. It's so fun. I'm not even sure why it's fun, it just is.

This will probably be my last post until next week, as the fam and I are going to Santa Fe on Thursday. I am very much looking forward to this. We'll be staying with my aunt and uncle (free lodging), and my cousin will be there with her kids (free babysitting). So it'll be good. Not to mention they're only a stone's throw from Taos - can you say Georgia O'Keeffe? Like one of my favorite artists ever? Dude, I so hope we get to visit Ghost Ranch. That would totally make my day. My week, even. Bah, it'll be fun no matter what.

My head hurts. I'm going to bed. Thanks for reading my rant. Talk to youse guys soon.