Another thing.

Although I have a pile of partly-finished items, and it's "Aftober" on KnitTalk, which means we are challenged/encouraged to finish things, I started a new one:

This is the Radiant Rays Blanket, and I'm doing it in the pattern yarn, which is discontinued but I have some cakes.  Not the six the pattern requires, but the final version is around 55" across with all that yarn, so my three cakes (and a smidge I might use from a similar colourway) should do a decent-sized baby blanket.  As you can see, one cake in and it's about 21" across.

Once you get to the penultimate row, you stop and take all those chain lines, then link them together from the centre to the edge.  The final row locks the loops so they stay in place.  I am debating whether to also add a small border so it's a bit more finished, but I'll see where I am when done with the third cake.

The first two or three rows were challenging, then the wedges had enough stitches to be visible.  Now it's almost at autopilot stage, although the first stitch after the chain line is fiddly.

I've also been doing chores.  And listening to news.  I know people in Israel, and when I was there it was during the Lebanon war and we were traveling close enough one day to hear the shelling.  I've heard quite a bit from friends about the air raids and bombings, and I suppose it being the 50th anniversary of the Yom Kippur War was too tempting.  Plus Shabbat, when many Jews would be observing the day of rest.

I try to not be political on this blog - there are so many of those, if you want to read them.  But how can I not mention this?  I've mentioned the war in Ukraine, which is well into its second year.  Parts of my family may have come from that area (documents are a bit sketchy), certainly from that part of Europe.  Both seem to be just more examples of how certain factions of the world want to destroy Jews.

Genocides and wars keep happening all over the world, not just in these two areas, although they are of the greatest attention to most Americans.  That level of hatred and fear of people - so great that you want to wipe them off the face of the planet - is something I just cannot comprehend, despite the examples that show themselves day after day after month after year............