Semester approaches

Well, I didn't think it could happen but the spring semester starts tomorrow. I feel very ambivalent about it. I mean - I'm looking forward to seeing my students, but I had such a short break - I really could have used at least another week. The thing is - I don't even need the break to relax - I would just like some more time to prepare.

Enough complaining! Well, I've been easing my anxieties about the upcoming semester by...you guessed it...getting some knitting done (along with more progress on some school work - lectures and such). The good news is that I've made a lot of progress. My goal tonight is to finish the back of the Manly Sweater. With that, I plan on posting a picture tomorrow of the completed back - a lofty goal but I think I'm up for it.

In other news, friends of ours are about to get engaged. My friend, the bride to be, doesn't know yet - but my husband found out from his friend, the groom to be, that he's planning to propose and soon! Soon as in, a few weeks!

So, here comes the dilemma...how to mark the occassion? I'd really like to make them a beautiful knitted gift - but I haven't been happy with anything that I've seen. Yes, I know about the Lovers' Mittens - although it's a cute idea, I just don't think it's special enough. So, I'm contemplating a beautiful afghan or maybe a tablecloth. There's this afghan that I'd love to make from Last Minute Knitted Gifts. It's the "Ombre Alpaca Blanket" - see picture below. Gorgeous, right? But, the afghan requires something like 44 skeins! Even if I decide to use Knitpicks, the afghan would be about $140 which is just too much. I thought about maybe making the afghan using a yarn with a different gauge so that I could use less - but I'm not sure how to go about doing that. So, I reach out to you, any ideas? I'd love to hear any suggestions you might have about a special gift or pattern, etc.




Any suggestions?