The finished product

When I first heard in May 2006 that my sister was expecting a baby, I had just learned to crochet. My aunt had bought me a great teaching book and some hooks and yarn, so I thought I'd try my hand at one of the patterns in the book, the Mile-a-Minute Blanket.

Needless to say, as a beginning crocheter, I was not able to crochet a mile a minute.

And finally, almost 18 months later, I have completed the said blanket! Okay, so there was a period of about a year when I didn't work on it even one stitch. Hey, one gets busy. There's a lot of things to do. And once my nephew Ethan was born last December, I lost steam, thinking, "Oh great. I've missed the boat. Now what?"

But when my sister said a few months ago, "So now that you're pregnant, are you going to finish that blanket and keep it for your own baby, or are you still going to give it to Ethan?" I cringed. At the time, I was swamped with work. But last week when I had nothing at all to do, and David was on call, I got out my yarn and more-than-half-finished blanket, and set to work.

So Lisa, the blanket is finally finished! And I'm looking for someone who can hand-carry it to the States and put it in the mail for Ethan. A gift for All Saints' Day or something! I'm humiliated that it's taken this long, but at least it's complete. Not the greatest craftsmanship, granted, but I'm still a beginner, so I ask for grace.