This is one in a series of posts about an emergency (of my own making) project – here’s the post that started it all, the first update, the second update.

Yesterday, I knit the main body until it was 36″ (91cm) long and added a garter stitch border, so it’s now 38″ (96.5cm) long. To add some width to this skinny blanket (it’s only 18″ or 46cm wide), I picked up stitches along the I cord edge and knit a 3″ (8 cm) garter stitch border. I started to cast off using Jeny’s Suprisingly Stretchy Bind Off, but it was too stretchy and made the entire border look like a ruffle. I ripped it out (I’d only done 1/3 of the stitches) and got everything back on the needle and then it was time to go with my kids and their friends for Korean barbecue at Honey Pig for my oldest’s last night home before heading off to his freshman year of college today.

Phew.

You may be wondering how I’m pulling this off – don’t I have other weekday responsibilities? I’ve been a stay at home Mom for the last 12 years, with a little bit of contract technical writing thrown in and, briefly, a part-time job at a history magazine publisher. When the boys were all smaller, I spent most of my days playing with or chasing after them while still trying to fit cleaning & grocery shopping & meal making in. But now that they’re older, I have lots of time for knitting. And the general mess that comes with 3 boys and pets has broken me of my need to always have a clean house – these days I’m happy if I keep up with my own laundry (the kids all do theirs), keep the house mostly clean, and keep our beige living room rug from looking gray with dog hair.

So skipping out on most of that stuff for a few days isn’t a big deal. So far, I’d say I’ve spent maybe 30 hours on the blanket this week, and with another hour or two, I’ll be done. Actually, I could more accurately calculate the time I’ve spent on it by tracking the number of episodes of Sons Of Anarchy I’ve watched. I have 2 more seasons to go and then I’ll have watched the whole thing!

The bigger accomplishment I’ve had this week, bigger than the blanket, is distracting myself from Brandon getting ready to leave for college. He doesn’t need me all up in his grill about what he’s packing, what he’s leaving, and what he’s getting rid of; I’ve had mixed emotions about all of this and we haven’t even made the trip to drop him off yet! So: devoting myself to this blanket this week has been a great distraction. I may finish it before we leave this afternoon, which means I may have time to dye it tomorrow afternoon when we get back. We’ll see what shakes out.