I'm trying to be productive today, I really am. It's a Saturday morning and what am I doing? Going to have some bloodwork done that I was supposed to do before my physical in March. I've been either sick, busy, or forgotten until now, since I have to fast the night before and I tend to be a night owl. Just routine checkup stuff, like cholesterol. Then it's off to COmcast to return the cable box and modem. I switched to RCN two weeks ago and I've gotten 3 prerecorded phone messages about returning my box. Sheeh! I'm going already!

On the craft front, I've now cast on three times for the Lace Ribbon Scarf, and I thnk I've got it. The first time was when I was still working on the baby gifts, and I wanted to have a new project to carry around. Part of the cast on got stretched out, and it still bothered me 4 rows in so I ripped it out last night. Cast on again, went along merrily, and realized that my cast on was waaay too tight. RIP. Now I have 8 rows, can see the pattern emerging, and the yarn is even getting soft. Amazing! I'm using Plymouth Yarn's Sockotta, which I bought a year ago for socks, I think. Now that I've started this scarf I have found a sock pattern I want to try this year, but it needs a self-patterning yarn that makes a clearer stripe pattern so the stitches will show up better. Broadripple by Rob Matyska

I thought that I would spend this entire week cross stitching, since I felt I needed a break from knitting after cranking out baby gifts one after the other. Don't get me wrong; I enjoyed making them. I would think about the parent(s) and baby to be and try put my love into the piece. It all turned out beautifully and is posted on my Ravelry, and I've put the finished pictues below. I did end up working on a hibernating cross stich, the 18th Century Band Sampler (or Long Dog Mystery Sampler). I really like the colors in this piece, and someday I'll get this one finished and framed. I'll post a picture this weekend.