Where did the time go?

Wow. It's nearly October, and I am not at all ready for it. October is generally my busiest month of the year, and this year is no exception.

First, we have Pearl and the Beard! They'll be at the Beachland Tavern on Wednesday, October 3, and they're lots of fun. Example:

And bonus yarn!

I am really looking forward to the show, and hope lots of my fellow Clevelanders can make it!

After that, there's the North Coast Tour de Stitch, so my mom and I will wander across northeast Ohio visiting cross stitch tours. Oh, and there is coincidentally a production of Xanadu that weekend, so we'll have to catch a performance. I doubt we'll get to sit on the stage this time, though.

The next weekend will be spent in University Circle, at a Kirtlandia meeting and at the art museum for a knit-out.

Then it's off to Rhinebeck for a week at the Fred Compound! It will be great to see so many good friends again. We'll probably trek into NYC at some point and explore another bit of the city.

What else? I don't think I have anything planned for the last weekend in October, but you never know.

As usual, I am a slacker about posting. I have added 10 pages to my flickr photostream since my last post. Wow, that's a lot of knitting. And lots of Zuzu pictures. Finished the cowl to match the mitts, but still haven't sewn on the buttons. I have the buttons, so that's a good start, right?

Finished the fifth cowl in the Great Cowl KAL, and decided that I really disliked the yarn. Thankfully my coworker liked the finished object, and I was very happy that the cowl found a new home.

In April, went to Gretchen's wedding in NYC! Congrats, guys! My husband agreed that NYC is not as terrible of a place that he thought it would be, and perhaps we can go back someday, because we only touched on a fraction of what the city has to offer.

I wanted to wear a blue dress to the wedding, and knit a botanical garden shawl to match. Unfortunately, I ended up wearing something else, and the shawl is now on loan to Ewes d'Bleu as a shop sample for Lace Lux yarn.

While in NYC, I needed a walk-around-and-knit project, so I made a black hat my husband, as he can always use more hats.

Oh, yes. When we got back from NYC, Zuzu was diagnosed with diabetes. We started giving her shots twice a day. I got rather good at it, and if she was sleeping she might not even notice the injection. After a while, her kitty torture was reduced to once a day, and more recently she was declared normal enough to go without shots (just after I bought a box of syringes, of course!) Apparently diabetes in cats sometimes resolves on its own. I wouldn't be surprised if we have to go back to once-a-day shots eventually, but we'll see. Anyway, knit Lancet, and since I am most familiar with the word "lancet" as what is used to draw blood for glucose testing, I referred to my project as "my junkie cat."

Gratuitous cute kitty picture!

Also knit a Wingspan, because it was perfect for kauni. Wore it to a class with the Yarn Harlot, and while it is a bit bright for her taste, she ended up knitting one, too. (She also called me and Mary weird, but hey, we never claimed to be normal. And apparently the weird had more to do with our butterfly headbands than anything else.)

What else? Went to Maryland Sheep and Wool for a day in May. Also had to visit the Great Lakes Fiber Show since it's so close to home. Made the Like Honey cowl. From the end of May to the beginning of June, knit Thao, Undine, finished a slightly modified test-knit of Stepped Laceline Shawl, and Vlad.

They've all found good homes, although I am a huge slacker and still need to mail Thao to her permanent residence.

Apparently I've been knitting a lot of Liz Abinante designs. She designed the cowls, and Lancet, and I also did Vouissour and Squinch.

Oh yes, in June I walked in a Color Run. And of course my hands could not be idle, so I have a hat. Also walked in a Color Me Rad with my sister in August, so she has a hat, too.

Did a very quick test knit of Dash Mitts, and may need to make more as Christmas gifts.

Still playing along in KALs, and did Nefarious Web, the TTL KAL, the Summer Solstice KAL. Did Madame Phelps (quietest KAL ever!), although still haven't blocked it, and am still slightly peeved that my "500-yard" skein of merino-tencel was more like 360 yards. The designer used 440 yards for her project, so I thought that 500 yards should be plenty. Nope. Needed to rip back the endless short rows, and didn't really add a ruffle at the bottom.

I love how this turned out!

I really disliked blocking the edging. Sent to a friend and she is welcome to re-block at will.

Given to a coworker who retired.

Finally finished my Ka'ana. (Love it! So soft and squishy, and the colors are gorgeous.) Needed some relatively instant gratification so started (and finished) Red Sumac. Got sucked into the endless garter stitch that is Color Affection. Finally finished my travel socks Finally made a Jayne hat.

Can't forget Zuzu's mane.

My kitty is so tolerant! On the needles now I have yet another KAL, Malice in Wonderland. I am slightly disappointed in this one, as the ads implied something a bit more complicated. Yes, it will be huge, and I will probably keep going, but I'm not sure if this one will live with me or if it will find a new home. Working on Spring Thaw in some amazing yarn. Silk and cashmere. Incredibly dreamy stuff. Talk to Rain and get yourself some. I would really like to finish that today, but of course it depends on how much longer I stare at the computer! Current meeting knitting is Afternoon Tea. We'll see how much longer that lasts.

Waiting room picture, not my magazine.

Anyway, I should get back to knitting and laundry. Funny how laundry never ends. One last thing: I looked at my project page to do this post, and sensed a theme. Can you see it?

That's all, folks! Catch you on the flip side!

Another contest!

Happy Half-Price Chocolate Day to everyone!

Stopped by Malley's to celebrate, and picked up a box of chocolate covered twinkies along with the discounted chocolates. I think I will offer one chocolate covered twinkie as a prize in a contest. Leave a comment to tell me why you deserve a chocolate covered twinkie and maybe you will win! They look very interesting, but I won't be eating them due to the whole beef fat in the filling thing.

Let's see, what have I been knitting lately? Finished the Knitterati mystery shawl.



Started the Hazel/Hunter KAL, and am nearly done with the first sock. (Picture is outdated.)



Finished the second cowl in the Great Cowl KAL with more kool-aid dyed yarn.



Started the numma nuuma shawl KAL as well. Will work on it a bit more tonight.



Finally got the last part of the summer shawl KAL, so I can finish. I'm not sure about how the leaves are all dangly, though. I like the idea of leaves dangling somewhat, but I think I'd rather have them halfway dangling (as shown in the sketch) rather than dangling by the "stem." May need to swatch and experiment before finishing this one. No real deadline, though, so it can wait a bit.

In Zuzu news, she has recently discovered that she likes seaweed. She also had an encounter with Kitty Foe the other day.



I made a no-sew fleece pillow, and Zuzu adopted it before it was finished. She started climbing on it when I was tying the fringe, and is sleeping on it right now.

Anyway, should get back to the needles. Must finish projects!

Let's KAL, shall we?

I am finding myself being drawn in to KALs this year. Signed up for a Fronkenshteek KAL last year, and because I am a slacker, am just finishing that now.

Signed up for Janel Laidman's Knitterati club, and have been working on the mystery shawl from that. Thinking about casting on for the socks, too.



*Really* looking forward to casting on for the Hazel Knits/Hunter Hammersen KAL. Need to finish Fronkenshteek first.

Also got sucked into the Great Cowl KAL.



Have also been knitting some non-KAL items, such as a hat for the Trout Club auction. (Check out my Borrowed Buddha!)



Also knit a lovely slouchy hat for me.



Went on a scarf kick for a while and made a Hitchhiker and a Spectra.





That may be it, so far. January was a good month for staying in and knitting. Today was a lovely day for sitting outside in the sunshine, which is very unusual for February. New possible goal: knit a mile a month. We'll see how long that lasts.

Failure, a.k.a. I Love Lists

Well, I didn't manage to finish all of the sweaters in 12 months. I still have four to go, all relatively close to being done. That said, I definitely spent a lot of time knitting in 2010. The list is as follows:

• Eight sweaters, one of which had to be frogged about halfway before it could be finished
  
• Seven blanket squares*, and seamed the blanket - it was much more work than I expected
• Four partial sweaters - all more than halfway done
  
• Two pairs of fingerless mitts and one pair of cabled mittens
• Two and three-quarters baby bibs
  
• Two and a quarter scarves
• One and a half shawls
• One Very Large felted bag
• Half a pair of socks
  

*I think I made additional blanket squares for other blankets, but can't quite remember and didn't keep track. Maybe that was 2009.

Reasons for failure:

• Too many projects. I worked on many not-sweater projects for various reasons, and frequently had more than one sweater in progress at the same time. I know that different situations require different projects, but I feel like I didn't finish enough before starting something new.
• Poor time management. I purchased a smartphone in April, and I think that really affected my knitting. I found (and still find!) myself playing solitaire more frequently than I should. Also, it is very easy to put down my knitting to look at the email message that just arrived. Or to browse Ravelry, just because I can.
  
• Just plain laziness.
  

Things I learned:

• I really like knitting sweaters, preferably seamless ones.
• While I love hand-painted/kettle-dyed yarn, it is a PITA to switch skeins frequently. Will consider yarn selection a bit better.
  
• I can knit A LOT! (Hmmm, maybe I should add a pair of Alots to the list.) When I participated in NaKniSweMo in Nov 2008, it was definitely a challenge, and I found it much easier to knit a sweater in a month now. And back then I spent weekends "working" on call, spending Friday night and all day Saturday sitting in an office knitting.
  
• My knitting has improved in the past few years. My finished pieces, while still not perfect, look a lot better than my NaKniSweMo sweater.
  

Anyway, I still have hopes of finishing the mostly-done sweaters in January. But first, I think I need to test knit a shawl, because I have a serious case of startitis and all this finishing makes me want to start something new. Unfortunately, the yarn I had planned to use is a bit short on yardage, so I need to spend some time in the stash room figuring out what else to use. Will need to finish Spoke first, because the needle for the shawl is holding Spoke stitches ready for the edging. (And why, oh *why* did I work on Lia's sleeves yesterday when chances were good I could have finished Spoke?)

So. Goals for 2011. I want to focus on pairs, and attempt a sort of 52-pair plunge. That said, I do not want to be nearly as strict as the Official 52-pair plunge people, who insist that all pairs should be socks. Plus, I want to operate on a calendar year rather than the arbitrary year that they use, so this is a self-challenge rather than a group KAL.

Guidelines and Goals:

1. While I want to complete a pair each week, I am not limiting pairs to socks. Mitts, slippers, gloves, shawls, hats, and even bags can count as pairs. As long as there are two items, it's a pair. Items do not necessarily need to be identical, but do need to be similar to each other to count. A beanie and a balaclava cannot count as a pair, but two shawls of similar yardage and same weight of yarn will count. (I was tempted to try to knit 12 shawls in 2011, but that will wait for 2012. Along with the Autumn Rose pullover.)
   
2. WIPs will count. This is not cheating, this is encouragement to finish some of the things that have been languishing in my WIPs pile for far too long. Like socks! And the slippers that have been sitting around for two three EEP!!! four years waiting to have the cuffs sewn on.
   
3. In 2010, I discovered that I really like knitting sweaters. It was very tempting to extend my sweater-a-month challenge through June, especially since I didn't quite finish. I'd like to knit at least two sweaters, preferably four, in 2011, and those may or may not count towards the pair goal; I haven't decided yet. See Rule #1, similar weight/yardage sweaters can count, if I decide to count them.
   
4. Stash knit down! While Christmas 2011 will be another year of slipper gifts, and I will need to order yarn for those, I'd like to knit as much as possible from stash.
5. I'd also like to get back to cross stitch, at least a little. Ever since I learned to knit, my cross stitch projects have languished, and I'd like to finish at least two small cross stitch projects in 2011. I don't think these will count towards the pairs, but it's another personal goal.
6. Another personal goal is to read at least 100 books in 2011. If 2010 was any indication, I can still read a decent bit while knitting a lot.
   

Anyway, time to go dig around in the stash to see if I can find yarn for the test knit. Then finish Spoke to reclaim the needle. And if I can knit two shawls, that's a pair!

Perhaps I won't get to finish Spoke today after all. It has been claimed. That's what I get for leaving it on the floor.


Also, I might as well include the 2010 book list here, since there are so many lists already. In 2010,

• I fell a little bit in love with Rob Sheffield,
• read some charming but incredibly poorly-edited books about what might happen when Buffy the Vampire Slayer turns into a soccer mom,
  
• was amazed by how Jill Ciment can create such amazing characters in such small books;
  
• and laughed at several rewritings of classic novels.
  

I read some excellent books, and some trash, too. Fun stuff! Here is the list:

1. The Stupidest Angel, Christopher Moore
2. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
3. The Book Thief, Markus Zusak
4. Ladies and Gentlemen, the Bible!, Jonathan Goldstein
5. The River King, Alice Hoffman
6. Venus Envy, Rita Mae Brown
7. Snow Falling on Cedars, David Guterson
8. Girl Sleuth: Nancy Drew and the Women Who Created Her, Melanie Rehak
9. Uncle John's Unsinkable Bathroom Reader, the Bathroom Readers' Institute (90% read in 2009)
10. I Capture the Castle, Dodie Smith
11. Tailchaser's Song, Tad Williams
12. Wishful Drinking, Carrie Fisher
13. Kit's Law, Donna Morrissey
14. The Glass Castle, Jeannette Walls
15. Latitudes of Melt, Joan Clark
16. An Ordinary Man: An Autobiography, Paul Rusesabagina with Tom Zoellner
17. Soulless, Gail Carriger
18. I Don't Care About Your Band: What I Learned from Indie Rockers, Trust funders, Pornographers, Faux Sensitive Hipsters, Felons, and Other Guys I've Dated, Julie Klausner
19. The Rapture, Liz Jensen
20. Sand in My Bra and other Misadventures, Jennifer L. Leo, ed.
21. Don't Sleep, There Are Snakes: Life and Language in the Amazonian Jungle, Daniel L. Everett
22. Einstein's Telescope: The Hunt for Dark Matter and Dark Energy in the Universe, Evalyn Gates
23. The Tattoo Artist, Jill Ciment
24. The Last Train from Hiroshima: The Survivors Look Back, Charles Pellegrino
25. Three Bags Full: A Sheep Detective Story, Leonie Swann
26. The Glass Room, Simon Mawer
27. Carpe Demon: Adventures of a Demon-Hunting Soccer Mom, Julie Kenner
28. California Demon, Julie Kenner
29. Demons Are Forever, Julie Kenner
30. Deja Demon, Julie Kenner
31. The Fossil Hunter: Dinosaurs, Evolution, and the Woman Whose Discoveries Changed the World, Shelley Emling
32. The Law of Falling Bodies, Jill Ciment
33. Half a Life, Jill Ciment
34. Heroic Measures, Jill Ciment
35. Demon Ex Machina, Julie Kenner
36. Remarkable Creatures, Tracy Chevalier
37. The Wood Wife, Terri Windling
38. Beyond Heaving Bosoms: The Smart Bitches' Guide to Romance Novels, Sarah Wendell and Candy Tan
39. The Island, Victoria Hislop
40. Changes, Jim Butcher
41. Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, Seth Grahame-Smith
42. The Help, Kathryn Stockett
43. Major Pettigrew's Last Stand, Helen Simonson
44. Kushiel's Dart, Jacqueline Carey
45. The Swan Thieves, Elizabeth Kostova
46. Bite Me: A Love Story, Christopher Moore
47. Just Kids, Patti Smith
48. The Historian, Elizabeth Kostova
49. Stones from the River, Ursula Hegi
50. To Love and to Cherish, Patricia Gaffney
51. A Fine Balance, Rohinton Mistry
52. Ahab's Wife, or, The Star-Gazer, Sena Jeter Naslund
53. The Secret Life of Bees, Sue Monk Kidd
54. The Charlotte Gilman Perkins Reader, ed. Ann J. Lane
55. i know i am, but what are you?, Samantha Bee
56. The Reluctant Fundamentalist, Mohsin Hamid
57. Last Call: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition, Daniel Okrent
58. In the Forest of Forgetting, Theodora Goss
59. The Water-Method Man, John Irving
60. Queen Victoria: Demon Hunter, A.E. Moorat
61. Saving CeeCee Honeycutt, Beth Hoffman
62. Windflower, Nick Bantock
63. Bullet Points, Mark Watson
64. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Stieg Larsson
65. The Girl who Played with Fire, Stieg Larsson
66. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest, Stieg Larsson
67. Bitten, Kelley Armstrong
68. Little Bee, Chris Cleaves
69. Foreign Correspondence, Geraldine Brooks
70. A Visit from the Goon Squad, Jennifer Egan
71. Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom, Cory Doctorow
72. Little Vampire Women, Louisa May Alcott and Lynn Messina
73. The Anubis Gates, Tim Powers
74. McKay's Bees, Thomas McMahon
75. Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Dawn of the Dreadfuls, Steve Hockensmith
76. Talking to Girls About Duran Duran, Rob Sheffield
77. Changeless, Gail Carriger
78. Year of Wonders, Geraldine Brooks
79. The Sheriff of Yrnameer, Michael Rubens
80. Jane Slayre, Charlotte Bronte and Sherri Browning Erwin
81. Perfume: The Story of a Murderer, Patrick Suskind
82. The Believers, Zoe Heller
83. Heart-Shaped Box, Joe Hill
84. Vampire Vow, Michael Schiefelbein
85. Love is a Mix Tape: Life and Loss, One Song at a Time, Rob Sheffield
86. The Darkest Night, Gena Schowalter
87. The Pillars of the Earth, Ken Follett
88. Little Women and Werewolves, Porter Grand
89. The Great Typo Hunt: Two Friends Changing the World, One Correction at a Time, Jeff Deck and Benjamin D
90. Priceless: How I Went Undercover to Rescue the World's Stolen Treasures, Robert K. Wittman and John Schiffman
91. Only Revolutions, Mark Danielewski
92. Mansfield Park and Mummies, Jane Austen and Vera Nazarian
93. Mr. Jefferson and the Giant Moose, Lee Alan Dugatkin
94. I Shall Wear Midnight, Terry Pratchett
95. Two Truths and a Lie, Katrina Kittle
96. The Passage, Justin Cronin
97. John Dies at the End, David Wong
98. Catching Fire: How Cooking Made Us Human, Richard Wrangham
99. If I Stay, Gayle Forman
100. Half Broke Horses, Jeannette Walls
101. The Blessings of the Animals, Katrina Kittle
102. Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void, Mary Roach
103. A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, Dave Eggers
104. And the Heart Says Whatever, Emily Gould
105. Poplollies and Bellibones: A Celebration of Lost Words, Susan Kelz Sperling
106. God's Dog: A Celebration of the North American Coyote, Hope Ryden
107. Palimpsest, Catherynne M. Valente
108. The Killer of Little Shepherds: A True Crime Story and the Birth of Forensic Science, Douglas Starr
109. Kraken, China Miéville
110. The Kindness of Strangers, Katrina Kittle
111. Angus, Thongs, and Full-Frontal Snogging: Confessions of Georgia Nicholson, Louise Rennison
112. Fallen, Lauren Kate
113. Don't Worry, He Won't Get Far On Foot: The Autobiography of a Dangerous Man, John Callahan
114. Field Notes from a Catastrophe: Man, Nature, and Climate Change, Elizabeth Kolbert
115. Side Jobs, Jim Butcher
116. Blameless, Gail Carriger
117. The Man Who Loved Books Too Much: The True Story of a Thief, a Detective, and a World of Literary Obsession, Allison Hoover Bartlett
118. Greywalker, Kat Richardson
119. Rest You Merry, Charlotte MacLeod
120. Bright of the Sky, Kay Kenyon

The Smart Little Chickadee

Short post here, because I don't have too much to say. Still plugging away on my sweaters, which are still mostly as described although I have been working on Spoke again, and my Owls is about ready for the sleeves.

Anyway, I know I've shared stories from the birdfeeder before, and this is another. When we got dumped on with snow (so much that they sent a backhoe to do the plowing - see below), we did not shovel the deck, so instead of refilling the feeder that hangs at the edge, I just stuck a feeder on the ground, right outside of the door.


Our snowplow for Dec 13-14

Well, it took a bit of time for the birds to find it, but they did, and were thrilled to have more sunflower seeds to eat. (And suet, as I hung the suet cage from the handle of the sliding glass door.) Obviously, the feeder gets emptied every few days.

This morning I noticed that the feeder was empty, so I opened the door to refill it. There was a chickadee watching from the beam of the deck roof. I refilled the feeder, stepped back inside, and that little chickadee was at the feeder before I had closed the door.

But not for long! Here comes Zuzu, curious as to why the door had been open without her knowledge. Off flies little chickadee! Apparently little chickadee knows that humans aren't generally dangerous, but cats frequently are. Hence the title of this post.

What else? I am very entertained with this. Potty humor for paleontologists! Or just silly stuff for kids and kids-at-heart.

In other slightly science-y news, I stayed up to watch the start of the lunar eclipse. In part because I was playing with chocolate, so I could share candies with my coworkers. I still have several things to make, but thankfully there are a few days until Christmas so I can delay just a bit. Haven't started with the dark chocolate yet, and I don't think my family will mind that I won't share many dark chocolate treats with my coworkers, as there will be more for them.


Crappy cell phone picture of the start of the lunar eclipse because I need to find my camera cable to download the better pics

Well, I should probably stop typing and start being productive. I have a lot to do before Christmas, and lots of knitting to be done before the end of the month!

GAH! How did it get to be December?!?!?!?!

Yes, I procrastinate. Not one of my better qualities, but hey, I usually work well under a deadline (as long as no one is staring over my shoulder), so whatever. But EEK! Really? I am not ready for December! Would much prefer it to be oh, maybe September? Anyway, the sweater quest continues, with a few interruptions here and there.

Made Eugenia's mitts for the lovely AutumnBreeze as part of a swap. I hope she likes them! I'm not sure if she's unwrapped that far yet. (Pattern is Rav link.)



A friend's daughter is going through a bit of a rough time as a new big sister, so I made some fingerless mitts for her.



Which then sat in my house forever and ever before I finally got to the PO to ship them. Hopefully they'll still fit!

*Finally* finished seaming Mom's sweater, and she likes it. Yay! One completely-finished sweater!



Tangent: we went to the Rally to Restore Sanity at the end of October, and had a lovely time. Wish we had more time to spend wandering various Smithsonian buildings, but we saw the Hyperbolic Crochet Coral Reef, which is what I wanted to see, so I was content. Will have to go back another time.



Back to the sweater quest... Sweater #2 is still waiting to be blocked, seamed, and buttoned. Sweater #3 and #4 are completely done. Yay!! Sweater #5 has had some progress made, and just needs the second sleeve and front. Sweaters #6-8 were mentioned previously, and about in the same shape. Issara needs closures, and then she's done.


Sweater #3


Sweater #4


Sweater #5

Sweater #9 is still trudging along. I would not have started if I had read the pattern the whole way through before starting. LOTS of 1x1 ribbing, which does not work well with the yarn I am using, as I like to do my ribbing using the Portuguese technique, and Freedom Spirit is too delicate for all that tension. Currently the sweater is in my car (well, the piece-in-progress), where it gets dragged out occasionally.



Sweater #10 is still waiting to be fixed, but I just need to figure out the start of round stitch and it will be good to go. May try to do the sleeves this weekend and then finish the top.



Sweater #11 turns out not to be a test knit, as I could not get gauge for the design. Turned to an older pattern that I've wanted to do for years, since I first saw it showing up on "real people" on Ravelry. Not that it's an ugly design on its own, but it really shines when worn by people with curves rather than stick-thin models. Anyway, it is still breaking my habit of green sweaters. Which isn't actually *too* bad, as I will end the year with at most six green sweaters to wear. Green sweater #1 ended up in Oklahoma with 'lista, and even though Sweater #5 is notoriously short so I added a few stitches to compensate, I wonder if it will be a belly sweater. Which means that it may need to find a new home, too.



Sweater #12 is another older design that I've wanted to do for a while. In fact, I started the project in 2008, but it got sent to time out when I realized that my gauge was much too small and I didn't care for how the yarn was pooling. Anyway, I am modifying the design significantly, to match my gauge and size, and skipping the waist shaping as my waist has disappeared lately. The yarn is still pooling, but rather than having large blotches of the yellow-green it is spiraling around the sweater. Which I can deal with. Should probably be alternating rows with another skein, since it's hand-dyed stuff (I love Briar Rose!) but am not. We'll see how it turns out.



I need to come up with a good strategy to get things finished on time. And here I am typing rather than knitting... Am currently considering adding a week to my schedule for every pair of things I made in 2010, since I am intending on devoting 2011 to pairs. Socks, gloves, slippers, mitts: pairs. That would give me an extra month, just about, because I made two pairs of fingerless mitts, one pair of mittens, and a pair of baby bibs. Longer if I count the pairs of squares I knit... But I am going to try to get things done this month. It is theoretically possible, at least as of the 4th. We shall see what happens. I don't know when I will fit in the Christmas candy/cookie-making, but perhaps I will go a few days without sleep. Or take a few extra vacation days. If all goes well, I won't go to work between Christmas and New Year's, but I am not counting on that.

Well. What else? As it's not a post without a Zuzu picture, here is my longcat:



Her front paws were near my ankles, and her back paws were by my hip. For a small cat she is definitely stretchy!

Back to knitting I go! Cross your fingers that I can finish something this weekend!