I have been working on a blanket - yes, another one!  Actually, I’ve been working on two blankets but the second one will have to wait till later.

This is based on Kristina’s beautiful pattern - Vortex Shawl.  It’s knit circularly from the center out and I worried about getting the cast-on right.  As it happened, I didn’t have any trouble with it and was off and sailing in no time!

The beginnings went quickly, as always with a design like this.  I have, however, gotten to the point where I can only do a couple of rounds at a time.  That’s not a problem :)  When I’m not focusing on getting one thing done on a timeline (like the scarf), I can do a couple of rounds every day - sometimes even four rounds if my arm holds out :)

I have no idea where this love of making blankets comes from but around late May/early June the blanket bug started biting me so I started looking around.  I had also had the hankering to make something redredred.  When I found the pattern for the Vortex Shawl, I knew I had found my blanket and out I went to yarn shop!  I’m using Patons Wool and, as usual, finding it very pleasant to work with.  I’m on the fifth ball now and haven’t encountered a single knot yet.

I don’t know yet how big this thing will grow.  I started out with the idea of making it 70” in diameter which would be suitable for a double-bed, say.  But I’ve recently become aware of the advantages of a lap blanket - something just big enough to cover the lap and legs and it’s about that size now.  There’s also the matter of a border or an edging.  I would like to do one (the Godmother’s edging from Walker’s second treasury keeps s[peaking up) but I can’t decide whether to do it in the same red as the body of the blanket, or in a contrasting color.  Cream?  Black?  Purple?

It’s a good thing I don’t have to decide today as I tend to be notoriously slow about these kinds of decisions :)

I saw a film this afternoon that I’d like to recommend.  It’s called The Golden Boys and stars David Carradine, Rip Torn, Bruce Dern and Mariel Hemingway.  It is a gentle and charming romantic comedy set in Chatham, MA of 1905.  The movie was filmed entirely on Cape Cod and great attention was paid to period authenticity.  The musical score is also quite wonderful.  A word of warning though - this is not Die Hard.  There are no heart stopping car chases, no breath-catching perils or traumas and almost nothing in the way of sex or rough language.  This is an older style film.  If you’re over 45, you’ll probably enjoy it :) 

I loved it!