This 'n that

I am finished crocheting afghans out of Red Heart yarn. For now. I know, I know. But Red Heart is absolutely perfect for crocheted afghans! On that last afghan my crochet hook was SQUEAKING as it pulled a YO through a SC. And it started to feel like I was crocheting with a plastic bag and not yarn. But, I have enough of a burgundy Red Heart yarn to do one more afghan and then enough of a lovely wheat colored sportweight Woolease to do a final afghan. The Woolease shouldn't feel like a plastic bag (I hope). I love the old fashioned ripple pattern and have made several afghans using this pattern. All these afghans will end up as gifts. Then fini. Until it happens again.

I ripped out the sox I was knitting in the Magic Loop style. As I've mentioned, I can't make short row heels. Arggh!! So I ripped out what I had done and started over on my dpn's using my favorite pattern (found in Lucy Neatby's Cool Socks Warm Feet) . I am almost done. So now I am going to make miniature socks using scrap sock yarn and practice, practice, practice on that short row heel. Arggh!!

I gave away a quilt recently. It is one of those strippy, pieced scrap things I make for charity. A guy on Freecycle requested some heavy blankets for his mother who is in the last stages of heart failure and just couldn't keep warm. I emailed that I had a quilt which is much better! His brother (and the brother's little 5 year old son) came by the house to pick it up. I heard from the guy later in the evening that his mother just loved the quilt and called it her cuddle quilt. I'm glad I could lighten someone's day.

I have started reading fiction again. For the longest time all I have been reading is magazines and non-fiction. I have been buying and stashing fiction books but not reading them. So now I have 3 huge stacks of books of my own to read and then Auntie loaned me all 6 of the Harry Potter books. I have now read the first 4. I have taken a break from 'Harry' and switched to Gregory Maguire's Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West. I'll let you know how it is.

Am I boring you yet?