Looks can be deceiving!

I woke up with a fire under it today to work on a couple things I had thought of forever ago and promised myself I wouldn't rest until I'd worked on them. This one is the first:

Looks like Tunisian crochet, right? But it's not! I'm working on some color combos and swatches and then will type up a pattern for test *knitting.* I'm really excited about this design!!! Hoping others will like the invention (extensive googling and ravelry searches turned up nothing so it looks like I might be the first person to think this up / execute it?) and get excited about it, too!

I'm also working on converting a lot of my knitted patterns to crochet (!!!) and designing more crochet (and knit) patterns as well. I'm bistitchual so feel my patterns should reflect that better. My goal for this year is 12 new patterns. I've already put 4 out in the universe so am thinking that momentum might just make this my most prolific year yet!

I AM VERY BORED AND TIRED OF BEING HOME ALONE ALL DAY, to say the least, but I guess I am getting a LOT of crafting done. Cannot wait to go back to work, that is for sure!!!

My throw blanket is about 2 feet long now, and over a foot of that was from one day's crocheting. Yowza! Sadly, I'm almost out of Golden Girls reruns. Guess I'll have to find something new to watch / knit / crochet to while I'm waiting to go back to work.

Spinning plates—in perpetuity, it would seem

Of course I need more projects, so I decided to start an all-in-one-piece blanket to add to the cabin-fever frazzle because I am very smart.

I know it's laying there in a rumpled heap and may not make a lot of sense right now, so allow one of the cats to demonstrate how to use it:

He is so helpful—thank you, Scotty! (◕‿◕✿)

If you'd like to make your own version of this the pattern is on the project page in my Ravelry notebook. The design is intentionally very simple to make it quick to work and create more opportunities for modification. Some ideas for different variations:

• vertically-striped lap blanket (4’ / 1.2 m in length)
• horizontally-striped throw blanket (4’ / 1.2 m in width)
• enlarge the blanket by increasing the foundation row
• stashbust with many-colored solid stripes (hold fingering or sport yarns double to meet gauge)
• work in two colors
• marl colors together à la Sophie Digard
• hand-dyed yarn fade-ient
• thicker stripes
• thinner stripes
• work all the eyelet rows in one color

If you'd rather work this as a smaller lap blanket you can bust a lot of stash and give the blankets as gifts to folks you don't get to spend time with while self-isolating. Another option is to make this as a scarf, or a stole, or...the sky's the limit!