As I have mentioned before, I like to make things. Some time last winter I got a hankering to relearn a skill my mother had taught me in high school- the gentle art of knitting. So I bought the Learn-to-Knit Afghan Book by Barbara G. Walker and dove in. With the help of the internet and some way-too-hip NYC knitting stores I got needles and yarn and figured out how to cast on, knit, purl, and bind off and I was on my way.
The book teaches you a series of knitting skills and patterns, and you make an appx. 1 foot square with each pattern. In the end you're supposed to have a huge afghan made of 63 squares showcasing your new skills. Today, a year after beginning, I am proud to report that I am on square 13, I have lost one square, and I made a slight error in yarn purchasing so I am actually making two smaller afghans rather than one big one. (apparently worsted weight alpaca yarn is just not the same as worsted weight acrylic yarn). I took a really loooong hiatus between last March and this January, and now I'm really on a roll--I have high hopes that a year from now I may be nearly finished with this massive undertaking.
Though frankly I may need to take another break from the afghan soon to knit something that I can actually wear. I have a pretty high tolerance for delayed gratification but I am longing to have someone compliment my scarf and ask where I got it and be able to say "Oh thanks, I made it!"
Bring your knitting to DC--we can knit on the train ride home! And ps, you are going to have to teach me some of those more advanced panels...they look great!