Well, that good intention went well didn't it?

Not.

Still no completed knitting to show off. Lots of mucking about in the real life areas since June what with packing for moving back home to California and then unpacking once we got here. Not to mention getting through the first month of school etc. It all just left much too little time for my hobby life. Which is annoying as all get out. And nearly equal amounts of tinking to knitting means very little progress to show for what time I did have for knitting. Plus much of the knitting now is "secret" so really I got nothin' blogwise.

But this is ridiculous. So I think I'll just blog the secret knitting anyway and hope that the recipients are smart enough to not read my blog between now and Winter Solstice. I thought about ending that sentence with just Solstice so that when the deadline for the knitting blows by and I wave at it, I can tell people, "Oh, I meant the Summer Solstice" when they ask where their present is. Then I decided that I really should try to aim for the goal. And maybe my nice readers, if I still have any after such a dreadfully long hiatus, will cheer me on to completing everything in time. Or, you know, something.

So here's the knitting list for the holidays (and my family's inconveniently timed birthdays falling as they do in the winter also) so far:

For the FoUI (aka hubby): Mittens, a "Professor" sweater (anyone who has an idea what that means past leather elbow patches please please please clue me in), two pairs of socks, and maybe if there is time, a hat.

For the Remembrall (aka daughter): a vest, a knitted stuffed toy, a sewn stuffed toy, a pair of socks, a doll sweater, and maybe some other knitted or sewn clothes for her dolls and a pair of fingerless mitts.

For my Mum: a sweater (the blame for which can be laid completely at my daughter's door - she piped up oh so helpfully at dinner one night last week that I could knit Mum a sweater for her Holiday present this year), a pair of fancy gloves (which was what I was "sensibly" limiting myself to)

For my first BFF: A scarf and a pair of socks that are seriously overdue from her birthday.

For my second BFF: a pair of socks.

My BFFes may have to settle for New Year's presents because this list is already scary scary scary long and that doesn't even allow for the fact that I kinda wanted to have a knit by me shawl to wear to the FoUI's office holiday party this year.

And of course, considering my track record over the last 6 months with completed knitting this list is preposterous raised to the ridiculous and multiplied by insane. But very much in keeping with jumping in where angels fear to treadle, right?

So I've got a plan. The official start is Monday. If I knit the entire evening every night from now on, I might make it. If I guessed right about how long each thing was gonna take to knit. I plan to work on three projects at a time; one big and two smaller more portable ones. Starting with the FoUI's mittens and one of the pairs of socks, and the Remembrall's vest. Progress thus far on this is nil. I am designing the Remembrall's vest and I know what I want it to look like. But getting there... not so easy. The FoUI's mittens and socks I can pretty much just knit. Although I will need him around to be sure of fit issues. So since he'll be out of town all week next week tonight I need to find and wind yarn for these two projects and get started on knitting them so I can be sure of the fit before the body is inaccessible for a week. The yarn is found and the first skein wound for the Remembrall's vest. So it is also time to start swatching for that.

Just as soon as I finish a couple of design things I was doing over the summer...

Go ahead, laugh at me. I am. Progress report and photos on Wednesday.