Knit knit knit...

In which the cat commits a heinous crime, and my attempts to resolve the situation leave me committed to a massive new project...

So, I have a new boyfriend.  Well, he's not quite so new at this point, it's been a few months.  But he is very lovely.  He also has a lovely house.  In that house is a lovely sofa.  On that sofa was a lovely crocheted blanket.  Then The Cat visited.  I think we can all tell where this is going.

Apparently as they age, cats find it more and more difficult to retract their claws.  And I'm sure The Cat did not mean anything more sinister than a nice stroll across the back of the sofa.  However, having heard a scuffle and a thud, followed by some pitiful yowling, we rushed into the living room to discover him completely cocooned in what had formally been a very smart blanket-throw.  The previous tasteful and neat decorative holes formed by the crochet had now been transformed into less artistic rents, roughly the length and breadth of a cat's leg.

Lovely boyfriend was lovely about the whole thing (once he'd finished laughing), but I was racked with guilt for my association with a manic, blanket-murdering feline, and the death of what I assumed was a rather expensive piece of home decor.  It was in this mood that I made the somewhat rash promise to knit him a replacement blanket...

Actually, this project has turned out to be very enjoyable, although absolutely massive!  I'm doing it in afghan squares, which means that each piece is quick enough for me to finish before I get bored.  Each square has a different design - some courtesy of the fine members of Ravelry, some designed by me.  I'm intending on posting each square as I go, complete with the patterns (if it is my own design).

Oh, and the murdered blanket turned out to be from IKEA, and cost about a tenner.  Typical!