I should not be swatching...

I should be working on this:

Excuse the color; it's actually much brighter green than this.  This is my Evellyn Anne blanket sample for Knit Picks; it's about 18 inches wide now.  There's still a lot of work to do on it.  But I got distracted...by this:

I had the idea of making another in-the-round square blanket, this time with cables instead of lace.  I'm just swatching at this point, but I'm liking what I see.  Each panel started with the center plaited cable, then came the rope cables that twist toward that center braid.  And as you can see, I've just started the next columns of cables; ropes that twist away from the other ropes.  After that will come another set of braids....and ropes twisting towards the braids, and ropes twisting away from the other ropes....you get the idea.  So far, I love it.  I'm using worsted weight "I Love This Wool" from Hobby Lobby and size 9 needles, so that the stitches are not so tight.  This yarn is great for cables, and it's very warm and snuggly.  In fact, I'm loving this so much, I might have to go buy some more of this yarn in this color, to finish it!  I had planned on just doing a swatch, and using it as a potholder, but I find myself wanting to see how it would look as a whole blanket.  I was thinking baby blanket, but now I'm wondering how much yarn it would take to make it 5 feet wide, so I can snuggle up under it!  I'm also wondering (naturally) whether Knit Picks would like it...

♥

I had a much better workout this morning.  Worked my arms and shoulders.  I'll probably be a bit sore tomorrow, but that's alright with me.  I was able to pop my back last night, so that pain is almost gone, thank God.  I only did 10 minutes on the elliptical, and the last three were torture because my ankle and knee popped.  I made it to ten, and switched to a stationary bike, which I did for 13 minutes.  I was going to do 20 on the bike, but the darn thing automatically adjusted the resistance on me, and the last minute or so I was talking to myself: "Don't give up. Come on. You can do it. Don't give up. Damn this hurts. Don't give up. Don't give up. Don't give up. Don't..."  It didn't work, and I bet everyone around me thought I was nuts.  I gave up.  I'll do better tomorrow.  So long as the machines let me tell them what I want to do instead of the other way around.

I noticed in the mirror last night that my thighs were looking better, so I measured them this morning: 26 inches.  *Sigh*  My waist used to be 26 inches, once upon a time.  Okay, so that was a long time ago, but still...