sometimes conforming is fun

I admit that I have been trolling the internet for more afghan patterns. I simply wasn't feeling the love for the last pattern I picked out. Mary and I have been IM'ing links back and forth to each other. There are so many patterns to choose from, its unbelievable.

I'm blaming it on the fact that we got six inches of snow and are supposed to get more today. It looks really cold out there (especially when the weather man has started factoring in time limits for how long it is safe to be outside) so I figure it is a good idea to just keep making blankets in case something catastrophic happens and there is never any heat again and the only thing that stands between me and frostbite is that one crocheted blanket I never took the time to finish.

(Okay, unlikely, but it sounds better then "I wanted to make this.")

So the place that I decided to go mooch off of for inspiration was Ravelry. This is not something I do lightly. To seek inspiration there is like locking yourself into the yarn store of your dreams with no money, no credit card and no knitting needle/crochet hook. It can turn you into a raving lunatic if you don't go in focused on one project. (I have visions of a special ward in a mental health institution dedicated to knitters/crocheters who just couldn't control themselves and now use their yarn stash to pad their cells. I'm serious, its that powerful.)

While poking around on there, I remembered a project that I had marked as a favorite. The Babette Blanket.

Now this blanket basically sucked knitters into crochet like a tractor beam. It developed a cult following almost instantly. Don't believe me? Then check out the flickr group dedicated to it, and the Ravelry group (gotta belong to the site to see that one, join if you haven't already, its free) and just for good measure, google it and see how many people have blogged about it.

So I figured in light of my desire to cover the world in crocheted afghans right now, why not join the cool kids and make one too?

I started it yesterday:

This thing is like crack. There are over 200 blocks in it. Granted, 50 of them are only two rounds (those are what is pictured above) but that's still a lot of blocks. I figure this one ought to keep me entertained for a long time. (Maybe...toss some stress in there and it could be done by the end of the week.)

Its a scrappy blanket. Which meant I actually had to spend money on pink yarn. (Yes, it was mildly painful. But I recognize that it balances the overall color scheme of the whole thing so I pulled up my big girl panties and picked out two shades of it.) I'm not using the yarn suggested in the pattern because, well, I'm not made of money to be honest. Talk about pricey pricey.

So its all Vanna White yarn again. Washable, on sale, good quality, played nice on the last one I completed. Gets high marks in my book.

I'm pretty sure Dooley will approve of this one as well. Although I had to take little man to the vet yesterday and it took four cookies and tons of baby talk to get him to forgive me. It was a rough visit but all will be well. Poor little man.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go give myself hand cramps and crochet the rest of that blanket...