Well That's One Thing Off The List

I made the executive decision not to work on my Doctor Who scarf over the weekend. I was very close to finishing Baby Blanket Gamma, so I decided to just plow on through and get that sucker done. And I did. See:

I put the blanket down, turned around to grab the camera,
turned back around and found this...I guess this means she
approves?

Basket Blanket by Cori 2011.

Pattern: None to speak of, really.
Yarn: Bernat Baby Sport Solid in White (1 skein), Bernat Softee Baby in Lemon and Mint (2 skeins each).
Hook: G

So I had initially envisioned this as being a big granny square in mostly white with a few stripes like that first one: with the sides in one color and the corners in another (made of smaller squares). After doing that first stripe however, I gave up on that idea. So it alternates between the granny square stitch and just solid double crochet. What can I say, I get bored when there isn't a specific pattern.

Still, I am pretty happy with this. I hope that it is enjoyed by its recipient. Baby Girl certainly loved cuddling up with it while I was making it (and after I finished as you can see in the above photo). I will note, however, that I will never ever use Bernat Softee Baby yarn again if I have a say in the matter. It feels very nice, sure. But it constantly catches on itself and it is too easy to stick the hook through the strands of the yarn, which makes working with it frankly just a pain. Not to mention that its tendency to catch added to what must be some truly inferior winding equipment meant that the center-pull skeins were a joke. Yarn snags all over the place. Even after I had used my ball-winder to rewind the skeins myself it still kept getting tangled. I think I'll stick with Vanna's Choice Baby for my preferred acrylic baby yarn going forward, thanks.

Next up is a pair of amigurumi. I was just going to make two of the same pattern (a puppy) to make things easier on myself. But after looking at the knitting pattern I had chosen last night, I think it is a little bit too advanced for me right now when I need to get them done pretty quickly. I will save the pattern to try again at another time when my knitting skills have progressed a bit. Meanwhile, I am in need of a new pattern. None of the crochet puppy patterns I have found really appeal to me, and at least one of them does need to be a puppy. So I think I am just gonna have to try to make up my own. Should be interesting. Wish me luck.

I got home from seeing Thor on Friday to find a package from Knit Picks waiting for me on the porch, huzzah! Behold the awesome yarny goodness!

3 skeins of cotton yarn, 8 skeins of sock yarn, and a book!

I don't know when I'll be able to make use of all of that gorgeous sock yarn (or the nifty patterns within the book), but I am looking forward to doing so quite a bit! After my daughter had fun playing with and organizing the yarn as I unpacked it from the box, I did promise her at least one pair of socks from the group. Good thing that book has a pattern for tiny feet too!

Speaking of Thor, I absolutely loved it. Definitely will be getting that one on DVD. In my humble opinion, it is exactly what a comic book movie should be. It was fun, and funny just to, but not over, the line of silly. The action scenes were beautiful, everyone involved was clearly having a good time and no one was just phoning it in. A beautiful man kept running around without his shirt on. The story was easy to follow but not ridiculously predictable, and it made me very excited for more. That's about all I can ask for, really.

On a much sadder note, tonight sees the series finale of Stargate Universe and thus the closing of the book on this version of the Stargate franchise. I am sad to see it go, as you are no doubt aware. Still, I have very much enjoyed it while I could, and I look forward to adding this season of phenomenal television to my DVD collection.

Stop by tomorrow for my thoughts on the episode, and then we'll start figuring out where this blog goes from there in regards to Stargate. Rest assured, my Stargate blogging will not end with Stargate Universe. No how, no way.