Lizard Ridge update

Some progress has been made on the Lizard Ridge Afghan. I am finding that I don't mind short rows so much anymore. I have FINALLY figured out how to pick up the wraps so that they don't show on the right side and I am very happy with how it looks now. I would still like to learn how to knit backward - I think I'll try to learn that next week as it is getting a bit cumbersome to keep turning it back and forth and I expect it will only get worse as the blanket gets bigger and bigger. The only thing that bugs me is that in every single skein of this yarn so far, I have found a knot near the end of the skein. It ends, for example with a yellow strand knotted to a blue strand. The colors are completely different and I need to cut the yarn and start with a new one. This has happened with every ball - so in effect, I will have twice as many ends to weave in (although I am weaving them in as I go) and the color changes sometimes look a little wierd - like the yellow stripe right through the red "bumps" in the picture below.

All in all, I very much like this pattern and the blanket that is emerging. When finished, it is supposed to be blocked flat - I'm not sure I will do that. I kind of like the little "bumps". They look almost like little pillows to me.

The above pictures represent 6 pattern repeats (each pattern repeat is 12 rows). The whole blanket will be 24 repeats so I am about 25% done. Right now it measures 15 3/4" long (I didn't measure the width because I didn't want to take it off the needles-lazy, I know) - so by the time it is done, it will be a little longer than 60" - a respectably sized blanket.