Nearly Finished--Really Finished

I finally finished the Bushfire blanket yesterday:I know, I said it was just about finished months ago. I don't even want to look how long ago that was, but somehow finishing is not my biggest strength and it took until this week for me to get back to the last couple of steps. I made the second fringe and worked in the loose ends. Then my friend M came to pick it up. She's found the right home for it to go to. I'm glad of that.

Apart from my usual slowness in actually finishing things off, the other delaying factor has been the big table. Well, not the table itself, but all the stuff that accumulates on the table. I wanted to have the whole table top clear so I could spread out the blanket and make sure all the fringes were even. Now I have a beautiful big clear table to work on. I'm hoping I can keep it like that for a while.

Share My Excitement

I ordered a new spinning wheel last week. It's a Suzie Pro by Majacraft--my dream wheel. I hadn't expected it to arrive until later in the week, if that. So I nearly jumped out of my chair when I saw the Australia Post van pull up yesterday morning. Out came this box:I didn't have the mental energy to put the wheel together yesterday, but I couldn't resist at least unpacking the parts. Now today I have various tasks to do, including the fringe on the bushfire blanket which has been all but finished for months now. I think I'll intersperse those tasks with the various steps of assembling my wheel. I'm hoping that will get me gently through the day with a smile on my face.

Meanwhile, Back at the Armchair

I've finished the red wool-alpaca capelet. Now I've started knitting a little neck warmer out of mint green bamboo-cotton. It's a perfect Spring project and designed to limber up my circular knitting skills:
But I still have two major "armchair projects" requiring attention. The Bushfire blanket is all finished, except for one of the fringed edges. I can do that as soon as I manage to clear my big table. Clearing the table is a challenge. The fringing is easy enough. The Engagement Gift blanket needs a few more rows of crochet. I'm not sure how many because I have plenty of wool and I could really go on for ever. I need to decide how big is big enough. Then it too needs to have the fringes tied and cut. That project is going to wait for the next cool morning. Meanwhile, I could pull it out and measure and plan how many more rows it needs. Maybe I could do that when I have the big table clear . . .

Done!

Well . . . almost done:This morning I crocheted the last stitch on this blanket. Now I just need to finish it off. There are a few loose ends to be stitched in. And I'm planning a twisted cord fringe for the sides. That's why there are so many long ends of wool hanging off the edges.

A friend of mine is working with bushfire victimes from Healsville and Kinglake, so I've asked her to find a good home for it. I'd like it to bring some hope as well as physical warmth to people who are managing the aftermath of the fires.