My just-finished "Hansel" also has been doubling as a great lap blanket on these cool spring nights, so I've had knitted blankets on the brain recently. I love the idea of having a long-term piecemeal project I can work on whenever I need a break from whatever current project is on my needles, and a blanket feels just right for that. Some of these blankets, like the Beekeeper's Quilt were actually some of the first patterns I ever found and loved on Ravelry, I actually think the Giant Granny Square Blanket was how I got introduced to the Purl Bee! I also love the idea of blankets because though they take a huge time commitment, they have the potential to be beautiful heirlooms, like the Shale Baby Blanket by Jared Flood or the Farm Blanket for a new baby. So sweet.
A few months ago we purchased a vintage floral couch for our living room and we love it, but it's rather hard to accessorize, so I've been doing lots of brainstorming for blankets that wouldn't look terrible if we left it lying around. I'm also very slowly working on a stash-busting blanket of sorts that I should write up soon here.
While spring may be a counter-intuitive time to start knitting a blanket, I actually think it's perfect. By the time you want to be wrapped up in all that cozy, fall should be just around the corner.