As if I didn't have enough on my plate

But heck, spice is the joy of life... or something like that.

For this year I am working on 2 major projects right off the bat. The first is a full baby set for a coworker who is having her 1st great-niece in May. It's a hat, booties, sweater, and blankie, and I'm going to throw in a knit toy. It's all in pretty pinks and whites, a little sparkle in there. The pic is of the hat and booties that are finished. I have started the blanket and sweater, and hope to be done by the end of the month. The booties will have laces in a pink/silver ribbon. She is paying me a nice commission, which is a price I quoted her, so I am feeling a bit of a pinch on this.

But not so much of a pinch that it kept me from starting my own charity project - Acrylic oddball pet snuggles! I am on 3 charity groups, midwest babies, midwest preemies, and oddball snuggles in cotton, but none of them allowed for stash use of ick acrylic that all knitters have in the back of the closet. (When you start knitting, you accumulate this acrylic at an alarming rate. It's cheap, the colors can be great, and people gift it to you from their own stash to get rid of it.) So we all have this stuff, but nothing to use it on. The pet snuggles are perfect, because the pets don't care, and they get washed a TON, so eventually soften up some. I think the only thing that might slow me down on this is the needles, they need to be knit on size 10 - 11 circular needles that you may or may not ever see again, because they go along with the project in the mail to the next knitter. Which is fine, but I'm running out and haven't gotten any back. And it's not even close to garage/estate sale season, which is where I get a lot of them. (Any readers harboring these needles? I could use them!) The blanket in the picture is the 1st of the project, called "hugs n snugs" and is knit in double stranded acrylic, red heart for both yarns, in variegated and solid blue. not the prettiest, but not the ugliest either. This one goes on to Tracie on friday when we meet for coffee and knitting and I get the next midwest preemie blankie from her for my turn. Fun stuff guys. Seriously fun stuff.