I've been talking all week about this baby blanket project that would not end, and I'm happy to report it finally has, and the results can be found in the Sampler Baby Blanket pattern. I've set this pattern up differently from normal, with a gallery of the pictures of individual blocks and links to their instructions. This made it possible to share larger pictures of the finished blocks, which I know many of you appreciate.

While this project was conceived as a baby blanket, you could use these squares to make blankets and afghans large and small, in any color combinations you like. You can also use all the blocks on one project, or do a blanket full of Garter Stitch or Basketweave squares all in different colors for another interesting look.

You can also find all the individual block patterns here, where you can combine them as you like for your own blanket.

Knitting a person's initial onto a knitting project is a great way to personalize what might otherwise be some pretty plain knitting. You can add a monogram to a Stockinette Stitch afghan block, a sweater, even a felted bag.

I spent some time this week coming up with an alphabet for knitting, block capital letters that can be either knit into a fabric (work in Reverse Stockinette Stitch on a field of Stockinette) or stitched on after the fact using duplicate stitch.

The size and shape of these letters should work out to about six inches square when used with a medium-weight yarn, but of course your size may vary depending on gauge. You can also use these easy shapes as the basis for your own charts, should you want a bigger or smaller letter.

And because I haven't had a chance to actually knit all of these, I'd love it if you'd let me know how they turn out in real life or if you have any suggestions on how they might be improved. Clicking on a link on the page linked above will take you to a .jpg of the knitting chart, which you can then print out (it will come out darker than it looks on screen). Enjoy!

Earlier this week I asked about different ways you like to finish afghans. While I'm pretty much a non-border person, I have been known to crochet around a blanket to make it look a little more finished or to add another pop of color. This is pretty easy to do even if you're not a crocheter, and it can make a big difference to the look of your finished project.

Of course you can also knit a border onto a finished afghan by picking up stitches all the way around with a circular needle and working whatever pattern stitch you like. There's nothing difficult about knitting on a border, though you might want to play with a swatch to determine how many stitches you want to pick up around the edges and to decide what kind of pattern stitch you want to use.

Either way, adding a border does add a more finished look to a blanket or afghan that you might want to experiment with (assuming you're not like me and actually either knit blankets that aren't gifts or knit your gift blankies enough in advance that you have time to consider adding a border should you want to).

The residents of a retirement home in Michigan have been in the Christmas spirit for a long time now, knitting up sutffed animals, blankets and clothes that will go to kids throughout the world through Operation Christmas Child, a charity that sends shoe boxes filled with goodies to kids in need. The retirement home also collected books and school supplies to go in their boxes (if you want to help this charity, by the way, they're accepting offerings through mid-November and you can find local drop-off locations here).

Anchorage Daily News, says all the bad news out in the world makes her want to hunker down and knit something for someone else. There's no doubt that helping someone is a great way to life your spirits, and knowing you're literally bringing someone comfort and warmth gives you a good feeling as well. The article lists ways to help in Alaska, but you're sure to be able to find local giving opportunities wherever you are.

Some knitters in Perthshire, England, have gone a long way to help others with their knitting. They learned about a project to knit a 23-mile scarf to raise money for charity. The project was started by a yarn store that's no longer open, and the scarf is about 200 meters (218 yards) long and living in an attic. They say any pieces yet to be donated will be made into blankets and sent to Africa.

Knitting isn't so easy when you only do it as a quirk of your television character. At least that's what Chi McBride of "Pushing Daises" told Buzz Sugar. His character Emerson Cod is a straight-talking detective who also happens to knit. McBride says he "can stitch one stitch, which is great, so I can make a scarf that will reach from here to the moon." But he hasn't been practicing since the show's hiatus during the writer's strike, and now he's feeling a little rusty. It's a good hobby off-camera, too, you know?