Another first: my first comment on my blog! My secret mitten pal--the one is writing for me--is reading the blog. It's a little intimidating to think of someone else reading. I tend to think of this as a sort of diary, rather than as something other people might actually read. Hmmm, need to remember not to post about the Haagen Dazs binges!

I still haven't heard back form my secret mitten pal--the recipient of my handiwork--so I haven't started her mittens. Hopefully within another few days either she'll surface or I'll be assigned another partner. Not that I anticipate geting very far with hter mittens quickly. My rather ambitious Christmas knitting projects are taking longer than I had hoped. Progress report so far:

Felted traveling jewelry cases, etc: knit and felted, need zippers and linings sewn in.
Loop-de-loop corkscrew scarf and hat for Nora: knit, but crocheted edging needs ripping out and redone in the right yarn
Fringed scarf in peach/brown/ivory self-striping for Devon (?), finished. Matching hat needs seam sewed.
Green and black Cascade 220 felted men's clogs for Helmut, finished.
Aubergine Lamb's Pride and rust/aubergine Soho women's clogs for Ulla, knit. Need sewing and felting
Greta's Aran sweater and hat: Hope to sew raglan seams and add colllar today.
Plymouth grey-blue tweed Dashing fingerless mitts for Brad, one done, one just started
Cotton lace shawl/scarf for Mom, cast on and 2 rows done.
Brooks Farm Primero scarf for Katrina, haven't even ordered Knitpicks options needles yet!
Green Ultra Alpaca celtic cable scrarf for Denny, not started.
Dr. Who scarf for Martin, still need to buy remaining Debbie Bliss Casharan yarns.
Knitty's Wisp scarf/capelet for Meg, not started.
Geoff's socks. Also not started.

Sigh. Can I make it? I don't know. One distraction is that I keep working on the Noro Kochoran ruana for me when I should be Christmas knitting. Still, I think I can both finish it AND do the Christmas knitting as long as the shawls don't bag me down. It wouldn't really be terrible if I couldn't finish Katrina's shawl in time. We don't ualways exchange Christmas gifts in any case. I find I haven't much interest in doing the shawl/scarf for Mom. I really don't like knitting in the cotton. There's so little give that it's not much fun to work with. But it's what she needs for Florida, particularly since the other two shawls I've made for her are heavier. I did see a pattern by Lucy Neatby that I'm contemplating switching to. It looks from the picture and description to be simply short rows, fanned out from the neck. They start fairly short with the "ties" of the shawl and lengthen towad the back. I think the shape would work well for Mom, easily staying on and would probably look in the variegated yarn I've bought. And the simple garter stitch would be easy. But I'd rather liked the idea of doing something in a lace pattern, to make it seem a bit more special. Think I'll let it marinate for a while.