i have no idea what anybody else is getting. Mr. Goth’s family are all getting gift certificates, and at least one is getting a crumpled $10 bill (because payback is, well, you know). Or they’ll be getting a visit from us and nothing else – we’d talked about that too.

I finally restarted the Bat Shawl this week. The first chart is finished, and I’m working on the rows in between charts right now. I’ve stalled out on Margaret; I just need to start that I-cord and get the damn thing finished already. I still don’t have a quotation for it, but I’m leaning toward two of my favorites: One from Emma Goldman, the other from Bessie Smith. We’ll see if I’m brave enough for the second one.

There are also some toys from NeedleNoodles‘ book Creepy Cute Crochet. I’ve finished two already, and want to work my way through at last half of them. You’ll get to see them when they’re all finished…

The Bat Shawl has to be ripped out completely and redone. There’s a huge hole in one of the bats. I have no idea how the hell it got in there (might have had something to do with a Green Russian consumed during that portion of the shawl), but it needs to go.

While we were on our mini-vacation, I started a couple more knitting projects (pictures to follow, and I’ll put ‘em in the gallery when they’re finished): a pair of hiking socks for School Girl (she had a really good time hiking to Inspiration Point), and a washcloth. At least one person knows what the design of the washcloth contains…for everybody else, it’ll be a surprise when it’s finished.

And I came home from an errand this morning with a shopping bag filled with Cotton Ease. It’s for toys. Honest.

I’m also going to try overdyeing once again. The gray CVM is pretty, I think, but I’d like to try another stab at dyeing it. This time it’ll be with just a single color; there’s enough variation in the fleece itself to make some interest. At least that’s the idea.

Margaret, the sweater from Mason-Dixon Knitting: Outside the Lines that I’ve been working on for well over a year now, is almost ready to have some words put on it. Almost.
Last week I installed the sleeves, sewed up the sides and sleeve seams (Fun! W00t!), and went ahead and finished the neck. Instead of the ribbing the pattern calls for, I just did 7 rows of stockinette. It curled up nicely, and matches the ribbing and bind-off on the saddle sleeves. At least that’s what I’m telling myself.

While I was getting ready for School Girl’s field trip, I inadvertently found my good mini Bosworth spindle with the baby alpaca, and decided to bust out the stockings for another go. I think I have enough already spun to at least get up past the heel on Stocking #1. No pictures yet because well, you’ve all seen what a sock toe looks like. Right? That’s what I thought.

I also finished a card for my mum for Mother’s Day. You won’t get to see that until next week, when it’ll already be there. I can’t tell you how happy I am to have something for Mother’s Day done on time.

Best of all, I didn’t miss the Kentucky Derby today. Go SuperSaver!

I really love this pattern, both the children’s pattern and the adult one. The adult link leads to the revised version of the clogs; I’ve got a pretty wide foot, so I think I’d prefer the older version I have anyway.

I also made a teensy bit of headway with the sweater. See these? Yes. Those are sleeves. 2 of them. If it wasn’t for the fact that I have to seam them now, I think I’d prefer this, making both sleeves at the same time. It doesn’t actually go faster, but it feels like it’s faster.

It isn’t knitting, but I finally finished the sundress I’ve been working on. It was my first experience with an invisible zipper; which would have gone a hell of a lot better if I hadn’t screwed up the rest of the side dress seam. The zipper’s in the side, which is kind of weird and awkward to get into, but looks really pretty when worn. Nope, no pictures of that one.

I finally finished the Cathedral socks. They turned out pretty well, I think.

They’ve taken an incredibly long time for a pair of socks. The only thing I can say for myself is that it’s been a tough 6 months here, and I’m happy they’re finished at all. But anyway.

I did make two Swiffer sleeves. These ones are crocheted, and went incredibly quickly. Two in two days, which isn’t bad for most people. For me right now, it’s pretty damned good. It’s even helped me solve a dilemma that’s been eating away at me for years now. I’ll write more about that later; suffice it to say that I’ve found what I’m making some people for Xmas this year.

I’m still picking away at the sweater. Next week (on our Family Anniversary, no less) will make 1 year since I’ve started. I need to start looking around for something to put on the sweater. There’s enough room on the top and bottom for a short quote – I think there could be two separate ones, or I could do something that goes around the sweater from front to back and around again.

A couple of weeks ago, I started on some felted clogs for my nieces in MN. I really love this Felted Clogs pattern; it works up really quickly, there’s minimal sewing (which has caused problems for me in the past with the seams felting weirdly), and they always are well received. Somewhere in the house there’s a huge clog waiting to be felted. There’s one sitting in the living room, waiting expectantly for its mate to turn up. This seems to happen a lot here. As soon as they’re both reunited, I’ll take a picture before they hit the washer to be fulled.

I also sewed School Girl’s costume for her historical American presentation. I just love Simplicity costume patterns, especially if you don’t need historical accuracy and/or can sacrifice a little authenticity for a hell of a lot of speed and ease. I think it turned out pretty well. School Girl even thought it was comfortable to wear, which is saying something. In fact, it went so well I started to make something for myself for this spring. I haven’t sewn something like that in a very, very long time. So far it’s going together okay. As long as I don’t feel rushed or have to have it finished by a deadline, I think it’ll be okay. The pattern I’m using is Parfait from Colette Patterns.

There is a spinning thing that I’m working on, but I’ll save that for another post. Enjoy your Giant Chocolate Bunny Day tomorrow.