Startitis is kicking in big time, what with all the holiday knitting plans and all.

let’s start with the old WIPs:
the mittens just need thumbs. they’ve been in that state since Sunday. I really should finish them this week.

the HP bookscarf has a whole 3 rounds added since last seen. not really photo worthy.

new WIPs:
I started a pair of the Fiber Trends clogs for myself today.
the poinsettia wreath was started Monday. I have 8 petals done, I think.

there you have it - a week’s gone by, and that’s where we’re at. doesn’t feel like much.
(sorry, no pics this week. I’m being a slacker.)

thumb aversion has kicked in. I spent much of the weekend knitting on the mittens while watching Pride & Prejudice (both the A&E/BBC version, and the Keira Knightly version. let me just say, I totally get the Colin Firth love now).

then, last night dh & I went to see HP5 at the budget theater (cuz I’m tired of waiting for it to come out on video. only took 3 months to hit the budget here. on the other hand, Stardust, which came out what, a month ago?, is also at the budget. I’ve given up trying to figure out how long it’ll take a movie to switchover). didn’t want to work on the thumbs, didn’t want to work on the toe of his sock (need to take notes = too complicated for pre-movie knitting), every other WIP is designated as ‘too complicated’ (short rows, cables, intarsia, stranding. see, nothing suitable). so I pulled out the HP bookscarf and got a whopping 2-3 rounds done. go me!

still in the throes of thumb aversion and too complicated projects, I spent much time trying to decide what to throw in my bag for bus knitting. my bag is ready to burst: the thumbless mittens, the slow-going bookscarf AND some red yarn to work on the poinsettia wreath.

I now have two small petals done. (out of 25 total petals. not too bad, at this rate, I should have all the petals done by the end of the week. then I can start on the berries, the leaves, the other leaves, and the other berries. and then I’ll have to overdye the overdyed yarn to a proper shade of green and work on the base. I still think I can have this done by Thanksgiving, which is the goal. and keep up the productivity on the rest of the holiday knitting.)

Finished critter: bear
Yarn: Lion Brand Fun Fur Prints in Sandstone (I needed just a little bit more than one skein)
Needles: Size 9
Pattern: Magic Friends from Idle Hours. (I purchased it from Needlework Unlimited)
mods: none

Started: 21 September 2007 …
Finished: 6 October 2007
made for: a xmas gift

the actual knitting went pretty quick. it took me a few days to get around to stuffing and sewing it up.

I made a pair of earrings Wednesday night. dh says they’re very ’80s. (no picture)
Thursday evening, I made a necklace:

here’s hoping that if I start this, I’ll continue it, and I’ll at least know what to talk about once a week.
(this will also be my first attempt linking images from flickr, so bear with me)

with the holidays approaching, there’s a lot to work on. I got tired of losing my WIPs (and UFOs), so I dedicated a shelf to them. theoretically, this will help me locate them quicker when I need to force myself to work on something on a trip or some such.

so, here we go. this will also help me get honest with my WIPs on ravelry.

from the top of the progress bars:

the plain mittens. these will go to one of the yarn shops (most likely the Yarn Cafe) that’s collecting mittens for the winter. (hmmm… after seeing their mitten graphic, I’m thinking maybe I could embroider a snowflake or something on the back… or maybe I’ll leave them plain. we’ll see.)

brown waffle socks. for dh. I know, it doesn’t look like much yet - I’m still working on the first half of the short-row toe.

L’s mitten(s). these were to be last year’s xmas gift. my goal is to have them done by the end of this month.

k-chan #2. why is it still listed if it’s 100%? because it still needs to be felted.

furry bear. just needs to be stuffed and finished. (for some reason, the picture makes me think of the gingerbread man)

penguin in progress. yeah, doesn’t look like much yet.

sea lettuce. I love the way the yarn (Lucy Neatby’s merino in seashell) is knitting up. mom picked out and bought the pattern & yarn at Wisconsin Sheep & Wool, and swears she could never knit it (she knit us scarves when we were kids). so I’m knitting it for her, which isn’t all bad (especially since I love this yarn!).

the strap of the Tasha bag. (most of the pieces are finished, but not pictured. just need to finish the strap and the cables that go across the top of the side pieces). I have a ways to go on the strap - it’s folded at the point where the side of the bag switches to the strap.

vintage velvet. this is another slow-going project.

the Harry Potter bookscarf.

some of you may recall that I joined the MS3 group over the summer. that project is in hibernation mode. this is how far I got:

um, yeah. you can stop laughing now. pitiful, isn’t it? I think that’s still Chart A. some day I will have a beautiful finished stole. some day.

now, if you’ll excuse me, distraction is calling: