A few changes to the schedule...

Time for another quick update to attempt to keep me on track. Also I made quite a few changes... including pushing out most of the wristwarmers to a goal date in December (right before each Christmas party they need to be gifted at) and adding Christmas ornaments to be completed this month instead. I'm hoping that's more doable? Technically I'm just adding more work for myself before Christmas though. Anyway, here's where I stand:

Wristwarmers for Brett - First one is fwo, second one has only the thumb (and a quick fix where I dropped stitches on the bind off - from throwing it in my knitting bag without securing the end properly after binding off - whoops!) and fw left - Goal date: 11/30
Wristwarmers for Mary - fwo (I actually had Mary try them on because I was worried they might not fit her. She liked them so I'm giving them to her anyway.) - Goal date: 11/27
Wristwarmers for Clara - Not started - Goal date: 11/27 12/13
Wristwarmers for Michael - Not started (might use a fo I almost gifted him last year instead of making new ones) - Goal date: 11/30 12/23
Wristwarmers for Desmond - Not started - Goal date: 11/30 12/23
Wristwarmers for Mindy - First one halfway done (I decided to use the green yarn that I originally bought for Mary's to make another pair. They look like the right size for Mindy? and I think she said she likes green and purple...) - Goal date: 11/30 11/27
Wristwarmers for Mom (different pattern) - Not started - Goal date: 12/25
Hood/Cowl for Clara - About 1/3 done and making it up as I go (considering dropping this one as well. I'll decide after taking a closer look at it once more) - Goal date: 11/30
Trouty Fishy for Seth - Not started - Goal date: 11/30
Hunting Cowl for Seth - Done (fwo) Crocheting this was so much quicker than knitting - Goal date: 11/30
Plaid Cowl for ? - First few rows done, double knitting still so slow going (considering pushing this goal date out to Christmas too) - Goal date: 11/30
Thermal Sweater for me - Just need to do a couple more inches then the yoke and neckline (no additional progress since last update! Need to work on this immediately!) - Goal date: 11/29
Dishcloth - still fwo - Goal date: 11/30
At least one spinning project - Fiber blended (somewhat badly - lesson learned, I think) - Goal date: 11/30
Scarf for Magz - Not started - Goal Date: 12/31
Fiber for Hannah - Not started; use peacock colors fiber - Goal date: 12/13
Nymphalidea Shawl for me - still set aside. Resigned to not picking this up until January - Goal date: ?
Spinning of autumn leaves fiber - plan to both start and complete this weekend (am probably delusional again) - Goal Date: 11/23
Christmas Ornaments - crocheted Christmas ornaments per Snappy Tots CAL (the CAL is one ornament per day, but I'm hoping to get caught up and do as many as possible by the end of the month... yes, again delusional) - Goal Date: 11/30

I am aware that I've just added to my list rather than actually made much progress. Strangely, I still feel good about the additions... Though I'm finding myself more and more tempted to drop some of my other projects in favor of the new ideas. This is nothing new to me and it's why I have a list of UFOs longer than every blog post I've made so far. Perhaps I'm cursed... or perhaps I just have no will power when it comes to crafting.

Quick Update

Just a quick update to keep myself as on track as possible:

Wristwarmers for Brett - First one is fwo, second one is almost half done - Goal date: 11/30
Wristwarmers for Mary - First one is 75% done (I think these will be Mary's but might end up as someone else's too) A few hours of work left - Goal date: 11/27Wristwarmers for Clara - Not started - Goal date: 11/27Wristwarmers for Michael - Not started - Goal date: 11/30Wristwarmers for Desmond - Not started - Goal date: 11/30Wristwarmers for Mindy - Not started - Goal date: 11/30Wristwarmers for Mom (different pattern) - Not started - Goal date: 12/25Hood/Cowl for Clara - About 1/3 done and making it up as I go - Goal date: 11/30Trouty Fishy for Seth - Not started - Goal date: 11/30Hunting Cowl for Seth - Need to restart - Goal date: 11/30Plaid Cowl for ? - First couple rows done, double knitting so slow going - Goal date: 11/30Thermal Sweater for me - Just need to do a couple more inches then the yoke and neckline - Goal date: 11/29Dishcloth - Finishing work only - Goal date: 11/30At least one spinning project - want to blend some fiber first - Goal date: 11/30Scarf for Magz - Not started - Goal Date: 12/31
Fiber for Hannah - Not started; use peacock colors fiber - Goal date: 12/13Nymphalidea Shawl for me - set aside for now, only finish if by some miracle I finish the rest (this is still itching at me and I can't bring myself to take it out of my purse, just in case I think I can somehow finish it by my originally intended goal date of 11/16. Yes, that part of me that thinks that's possible is delusional) - Goal date: ?

I just realized that I'm traveling over Thanksgiving weekend, which means that I probably won't get as much done as I think after Thanksgiving day. That means I should probably move up all of the "11/30" goal dates to "11/27" goal dates... especially since it's going to be hard to upload pics and post the finished projects from my phone.
Hm. I'm going to keep that in mind, but not actually change my goal dates just yet. There's still a possibility that I'll have plenty of knitting time during our trip and it's also possible that I won't run into any problems uploading from my phone. We'll see just where I am about a week before Thanksgiving...

Last night I finished up the first wristwarmer for Brett and got well into the second one while watching the Bourne series. I'd never seen them, but I tend to like action/conspiracy type movies so I've been wanting to see them for awhile. They were good, if a bit predictable and they made great movies to knit during since they were mostly easy to follow even if you missed that last bit because you were counting.

I also couldn't help myself and I cast on for the next pair of wristwarmers which I think will go to Mary? I haven't quite decided and I'm using yarn that I had in my stash instead of the yarn that I specifically picked out for Mary's gift, but it is in colors she likes. I'll do a progress report with pics eventually here. The second pair are made with self-striping yarn in autumn colors and I think they're gorgeous. The linen stitch looks pretty neat with self-striping, though not quite as I expected. But they're so pretty that I'm having a hard time going back to the plain dark blue ones I'm making for Brett.

I'm going to the Knit Group tonight at my local coffee shop, so I should be able to work on either one for a few more hours tonight no problem. I'm just not sure which pair I'll end up working on first.

Rearranged Project Priorities

I've already changed my mind and rearranged my goals list for this year's Christmas knitting. It now sits at (and I've included a progress report this time):

Wristwarmers for Brett - First one 95% done should take about another 3-4 hours of work to be completely done - Goal date: 11/30
Wristwarmers for Mary - Not started - Goal date: 11/27
Wristwarmers for Clara - Not started - Goal date: 11/27
Wristwarmers for Michael - Not started - Goal date: 11/30
Wristwarmers for Desmond - Not started - Goal date: 11/30
Wristwarmers for Mindy - Not started - Goal date: 11/30
Wristwarmers for Mom (different pattern) - Not started - Goal date: 12/25
Hood/Cowl for Clara - About 1/3 done and making it up as I go - Goal date: 11/30
Trouty Fishy for Seth - Not started - Goal date: 11/30
Hunting Cowl for Seth - Need to restart - Goal date: 11/30
Plaid Cowl for ? - First couple rows done, double knitting so slow going - Goal date: 11/30
Thermal Sweater for me - Just need to do a couple more inches then the yoke and neckline - Goal date: 11/29
Dishcloth - Finishing work only - Goal date: 11/30
At least one spinning project - want to blend some fiber first - Goal date: 11/30
Scarf for Magz - Not started - Goal Date: 12/31
Nymphalidea Shawl for me - set aside for now, only finish if by some miracle I finish the rest - Goal date: ?

I apparently have a lot of wristwarmers in my future... They're actually pretty quick and I think they're useful. I bought a bunch of yarn that I can use when making them too. I just have to decide if I'm going to make all of them in the linen stitch that the pair for Brett uses or if I'll switch to basic stockinette for the rest for the sake of efficiency.

The hood/cowl thing I'm making for Clara is a bit of mystery. I'm basing it off a picture her mom showed me on Facebook that I couldn't find a pattern for. I'm making my own version which is far from the same thing, but I'm hoping it's close enough that they'll like it anyway.

Trouty Fishy I don't think will take too long, but I'd like to knit it while Seth isn't around (which is pretty much never...) so it'll be tricky. Also, I'll have to try to plan the yarn pooling so that the coloring comes out at least semi-fish-like.

Hunting cowl for Seth was actually started, but I really don't like the yarn I bought for it because it's difficult to knit. It's a super bulky chenille-type yarn. I recently found my humongous crochet hook, so I've decided to give the yarn a second chance by trying to crochet it instead.

The plaid cowl was a pattern that caught my eye in the Interweave Knits Magazine. I'm planning to do a fair amount of double knitting next year (more on that later) so I figured this cowl would make good practice and a good gift. I'm leaning toward gifting it to my dad, but Seth also says his dad might like it. However, we're already getting his dad a big gift this year, and I don't have anything in mind for my dad yet. I also don't have anything in mind for Mindy or Michael yet beyond generic wristwarmers...

My thermal sweater is coming along nicely though there is a slight concern that it's going to be too short overall. I'm going to add a few rows to the body and to each sleeve before joining them for the yoke. Hopefully making the waist hit lower won't screw it up too bad...

I made a dishcloth this month already, but I've misplaced it. I think it's on my bedside table under the mountain of other projects and yarn though. I just have to find it and sew in the ends and get a pic up here. It's just a basic granny dishcloth.

I plan to use my new blending board to blend up some multicolored 'dye sopper' fiber. I'm thinking I'll end up with some possibly ugly art yarn, but since I haven't tried that before, I figured 'why not?'

I saw a pattern for a scarf called a Luna scarf and I just can't help myself. I love Luna and every time I see something Luna, it makes me think of my friend Magz. So, I picked up some yarn to make her this Luna scarf and I'm thinking I'll use some pink fun fur from my stash to accent either edge too (it's crocheted lengthwise, so first row and last row).

The Nymphalidea shawl is getting put on the back-burner for a couple reasons: (1) I don't think I can get it done by the 11/16 deadline anyway, (2) it's for me, not a present and I feel guilty for putting so much time into that so close to Christmas, and (3) I'm really not looking forward to blocking that thing!

I'll be traveling for Christmas, so I'm hoping to get most of my knitting done by the end of November so I'm not rushing about and trying to finish when I should be packing - or driving. However, this doesn't apply to the scarf for Magz because since I'll be travelling for Christmas, I won't see her until I'm back for my annual New Year's Eve party.

Let's see how long this modified list lasts, shall we?

I'm baaaack!

It's that time of year again. You know, the one where I set ridiculously high goals for myself and struggle to the last minute to finish Christmas presents that I should have been working on all year long. (Not to mention, post on a blog that I should have been updating all year long)

Yeah. Here's where I could say that I'm not doing that this year. ...Except I know that would be lying.

I do participate in Ravelry's Harry Potter Knitting and Crochet House Cup group (HPKCHC) - which means that I have gotten plenty of projects done in the last year. However, were they Christmas presents? Was I thinking and planning ahead so I wouldn't have a last minute scramble to make all the things?

...Of course not. I'm still me. I got distracted by the hexipuff craze going around the knitting community:

And I made a dozen or so of these - not enough for an actual blanket, but enough to take up a fair amount of my time. So far, the cats have decided that I made the hexipuffs for them and I'm not even sure where half of them are anymore. Maybe they'll make a blanket some day, but not this Christmas.

Then I got distracted by this still unfinished market bag:

I'd planned to make a million of these things. I was so excited... and now, I can't remember why. I've already stolen the needles from this project for another one and this project is doomed to be frogged.

Let's not forget my "Love Potion Antidote" made from the Zuzu's Petals pattern:

I loved dyeing the yarn for this, I loved knitting the pattern, I loved how the pictures turned out. Basically, I loved everything about this project - until I realized that it barely fit over my head. That's right, all that time and energy, and it turned out too small for me to actually wear. It's still sitting abandoned in a pile of other knitted stuff and yarn until I decide what to do with it. It's way too pretty to kill (frog) but I also can't actually use it. What do you do with something like that?

To be fair, I did make things as gifts, but most of those were already given out throughout the year as either birthday gifts or just-because gifts. I sent this awesome hat to my brother for my nephew:

Unfortunately, it didn't fit him, but I hear his baby cousin got a little use out of it. Strangely, I followed the pattern (and gauge, I thought) for an adult medium and it's too small for a toddler. I want to make another of these hats, but I'll have to make it a lot larger...

I also made this cardigan for my seven year old niece:

She absolutely loved it the first time she saw it, but when her mom tried to get her to put it on, all she did was whine the whole time apparently. So she does not look happy in every picture of her wearing it. Oh well, maybe she'll wear it again and we'll get a good picture of her modeling it. I was really happy with the cardigan anyway. It was even nominated for a prize within the HPKCHC group! I was super excited about that.

I finally finished these wristwarmers for my friend, Magz:

She's been waiting for these for years. I'd actually completed the knitting years ago, but I've been putting off the finishing work for much longer than it took to knit them. Finally done now though, and I gave them to her for her birthday this year.

I also had one commissioned project:

My mom's friend asked me to make her a copy of my Slytherin scarf, but in her favorite team's colors. I had some yarn leftover so I also made her a matching slouchy hat/beret:

As you can see from my choice of backdrop on that one, I knit most of that whilst playing D&D. She seemed to love both the scarf and the surprise hat and I was very happy with the finished products as well.

Technically, I do have some projects that could be used for Christmas presents, I'm just not entirely sure who I should give them to. I've got these:

All of which I made with no one in-particular in mind. The problem is, I still have no one in-particular in mind for any of them.

My niece seemed to like the hat while she was modeling it for me, but it was technically made in an adult size, and that's some of my handspun yarn and I've never seen her wear any of my other knitted gifts. I'm not sure if she's lost them or if they're put somewhere safe or what, but that unfortunately makes me hesitant to gift any more. I like to see my gifts used! Of course, it hurts when it's lost because it's being used, but at least it got a good bit of use first. (Sometimes it hurts a lot. I've left my favorite hat in a restaurant and had my favorite fingerless mitts fall out of my coat pocket unfortunately - both made in yarns that are discontinued.)

Anyway, I've still got to match my finished projects up to people before Christmas. I also have a list of projects that I still want done by Christmas:

Khaleesi for my mom (started -twice- and torture to work on) - Goal date: 11/30
Trouty Fishy for Seth Goal Date: 12/25
Fingerless Mitts for Brett (SIL, Mary, requested them for her bf. We still need to decide on pattern) Goal date: 12/20
Thermal Sweater for me (not actually a Christmas gift... since it's for me, but ... I still want it done!) Goal date: 11/29
Nymphalidea Shawl for *cough*me*cough* (hmm... maybe I'm being selfish this year?) Goal date: 11/16
Spinning projects (lots of them - these I can gift to Hannah, Magz, and possibly my mom. And I can keep some for myself... for next year's Christmas presents, of course...)

Oh, did I mention that I got distracted by spinning a lot this year too?

I'll detail my spinning to-do list in another post. I've got to get pictures of all of the fabulous fiber I've collected lately!