A Sweet Package

...arrived on Friday!

Inside, a precious baby boy blanket with two burping cloths (I don't have the heart to untie the ribbon to show off the blanket) meant for a little someone ready to greet the world in a couple of months. The blanket is adorable and I know the momma-to-be is going to love it. Heck, I love it! Thank you, Valerie! You outdid yourself for sure. :-)

I first spotted this baby blanket on Valerie's blog and quickly asked if I could commission her to make one for me. I needed a baby gift and loved the picture she posted of a similar blanket she had made for a friend. Just to let you know the magnitude of her good-hearted kindness, she didn't hesitate for one moment with her answer, but she wouldn't take a monetary payment, instead she proposed a swap. I have never been part of a swap and was more than willing to give it a try. FYI, Valerie would like to learn how to knit one day because she admires the craft so much, but doesn't have the time since her daily life is filled with family, work, and craft activities, so she asked me for a knitted item. I thought, no problem, I can handle it and more than happy to oblige. Coincidentally, the Ravelympics were approaching and I had been admiring the Drifted Pearl Scarf from afar, so who better to knit this beautiful scarf than for Valerie and take part in this great knitting event - it was meant to be.
So here we are, Saturday - one day left. Between laundry and the Olympics, I'm almost done with the scarf, but I must confess, the week before last, I snuck in a knitted cowl inbetween knitting Valerie's scarf and work. It was a project giving me trouble for the past couple of weeks and needed completion.

Pattern: Spiral Cowl - Ravelry
Needles: cir US 9
Yarn: Noro, that's all I know...the label is long gone. The skein had been lingering in one of my knitting bags for much too long. This is the cowl that gave me trouble and I wasn't about to let a little ol' cowl break me.
Mods: The only modification I made was the picot edge. I decided against it when it turned out a little to stiff for comfort. After the eighth or something like that, attempt at frogging and restarting, a simple garter edge worked just fine.

Good luck to all knitters still working on their projects for Ravelympics.

Now, back to laundry, knitting, Olympics, blogging and watching the news about the earthquake in Chile. Positive thoughts and prayers go out to everyone affected by the earthquake, to Marie Osmond for losing her son and to a local girl, a Poway teenager, gone missing while going for a run afterschool...praying she is returned home soon.