It was another beautiful clear day this morning and I enjoyed a bit of time with my coffee on the porch watching the lake. I am so looking forward to spending more time there this spring and summer … but it sounds like we are going to have to wait for a bit longer because we are going to have a Nor’Easter later this week. Ugh!

Just when I was getting used to the sunnier and warmer weather and was ready to move on from the winter … SO … this morning I was on a mission to get some food into our house, run my errands: drop off my car insurance payment, return a blouse to Old Navy, mail a photo to my brother in Massachusetts, deliver a form to move to another doctor’s practice, and pick up some bagels, etc. It was a productive morning and I’ll finish them off tomorrow morning when I go to pick UP the groceries.

I’ve been working on my Jelly Roll Blanket this afternoon. I am having some fun with this pattern. Partly because I’m finding little gems in my leftovers basket and partly because it feels good using up the bits and bobs and a little bit because it’s such a simple pattern. It’s a great one to work on while the TV is on.

I’ve been collecting bits and bobs of fingering weight (and other weights, too) yarn since I started knitting. I “can’t” throw away yarn that may be useful down the road. A few yards of yarn can be used to hold stitches for a sleeve or for a provisional cast on or … well, you get the idea. As a result, I had a large tote bag full of yarns and a basket, too. I’ve pulled most of the scraps/leftovers and tossed them into my basket for this blanket. I’m also using a bag of fingering weight yarn that I bought when I thought I was going to dye yarn so I’m holding the scraps double with the white to “unify” the blanket. It’s still going to be very scrappy.

Today I started the third strip which means that I’ve completed two. I’m enjoying pulling balls of leftovers out of the basket randomly and adding them into the blanket. I can remember some of them; what they made, who I made something for. And some of them might as well have been pulled out of the stratosphere! I have no clue where they came from. Ha! Ha! But regardless, I’m making progress of making *ahem* 20 30 40 years of leftovers disappear. AND I’m making something that will keep me warm and make me smile.

This is a long-term project, however. I don’t have any intention of finishing it this month or even in the next couple of months. I have made a few minor changes to the blanket pattern because I found The Crazy Sock Lady who is making two of these blankets. Here is what she says about her changes (I’m following these steps):

CHANGES I made for a more crisp/neater join

First Strip: on EACH row
K 1st st through the back loop. Slip last st purlwise with the yarn in front.

All other strips when joining…
On right side:
K 1st st through the back loop.
To Join…K to last st. Leave last st on the left hand needle. With the right needle pick up both strands of the V on the strip to the left and place then on the left needle. K the last st that was left on the left needle together with the 2 strands of the V that were picked up.

On wrong side:
Slip 1st st with yarn in front, K to last st. Slip with yarn in front.

This is a fun, simple project for those times when I don’t want to think about what I’m knitting. Today I worked on it for nearly an hour while I read some emails and watched TV. I’m completely enjoying knitting this blanket and look forward to sitting under it in the fall and winter when it’s a bit larger.

Gone Knitting.