a surprise in the mail ... and blanket no.1: progress part 3

I have got a big smile all over my face this morning. I came home after dropping the big kids at school, cold and wet after trudging through the snow again (my enthusiasm for snow is rapidly waning!), to find an interesting looking package on my doorstep, what's more my name was on it - ooooh! Christmas is over and it's a while before my birthday, what could this lovely little package be ...

I had completely forgotten that at the end of last year I won an online giveaway from the lovely Christina. This is proof that sometimes being forgetful is good, it was a lovely surprise to find that in the brown paper package was my prize ... Lenny!

He's a cool little owl, made by Allie, who has travelled all the way from Australia, he loves London and English muffins - how apt that he has ended up in the UK with me!! Thank you Christina and Allie, I couldn't be happier with Lenny, at the moment he likes to sit in my vintage Pepsi box, but when my workroom shelves are built I hope to find him his own little shelf to perch on. Please pop on to , earlier this week I read that Christina had quite suddenly developed a terrible eye disorder, please drop by to wish her well.

Can you see what's hiding behind my new little friend ... yes it's the blanket. It has been a Long, Long time since I documented any progress on my boy's blanket. There is good reason for my silence ... no progress has been made! Spare crafting moments are few and far between chez moi, and since the summer every little opportunity has been given up to making presents. It's crazy that I have missed out on so many perfect blanket making months, there is nothing better that being able to snuggle up underneath a project whilst making it ...

You will have probably noticed that I have totally overshot my deadline to finish it by this winter - woops! Now, in the post-Christmas lull, I have finally been able to open my big project bag again and attempt to make up for lost time. To tell you the truth I was a teeny bit worried, it's soooo long since I picked up the blanket that I wasn't sure I'd be able to remember the pattern. But, Lucy's lovely ripple is like riding a bike, once you have mastered it you never forget. I'm happily hooking away again, the ripples are so rhythmic that I can crochet and catch up on my fave TV dramas at the same time - I love a good bit of multi-tasking!

The problem is it looks no different ... isn't it funny how, when you are making something sizeable, at the start it seems to grow exponentially, yet once you're well on the way it's so hard to see any changes. I'm at that stage now, I know for a fact that I have added half a dozen rows this week, but can I see any difference! I've had to resort to counting and measuring. There are currently 36 stripes, and after a bit of folding and jiggling, I estimate that I need another 16 rows to make it square, then about another 16 rows to make it a good rectangley blanket shape, and then there's the edging. So I'm roughly halfway ... I'd better get a move on if I want to finish by next winter, only Keith and I have just got into 'The Killing', it's brilliant, but this whole multi-tasking thing doesn't work when you're watching foreign films with subtitles!