And...

Sickness. Not anything horrible, I've just not been feeling well all week, and it culminated in nearly 14 hours of sleep on Friday night. The night I was going to spend slapping together a dress, weaving in ends, and sewing buttons. Crap.

So, instead of getting the pregnant women sick, I did not attend the shower and did not make the dress. I shall instead hold on to the materials for next years' Halloween and make a dress then. That way, I can focus on Christmas knitting (and the ever-present test knitting) as well as some things for an Etsy shop, and if my size changes in between, the dress will fit next year. I will also take the time to mark out the seams nicely and be less annoyed that they are not incorporated into the pattern pieces. Hopefully.

I'm on the final stretch for the year. My goals for this year were to:

Make a 101 in 1001 list for Japan. This is not yet complete but is an ongoing list with some things crossed off and others being added.

Read 12 books on my booklists (see sidebar) and one in Japanese. I've read 30 books this year, am in the middle of four others (one on my iPod, one paperback, one on my home laptop, and Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone in Japanese), and 11 of those 30 have been on the lists. I also finished A Series of Unfortunate Events and read the Twilight series this year. Of the 11 that I read, three of them are the His Dark Materials trilogy by Philip Pullman, so only count as one, and one of them is the Fellowship of the Ring, which is not listed individually on any list either, leaving only 8 books counting towards the goal. So, in 62 days, my goal is to read 4 books that count and finish Harry Potter. I can tell you right now that Harry Potter is a very long shot because my Japanese is still nearly non-existant, though I have gone through Little Red Riding Hood in Japanese. Two of my other books are also list books, so I'm doing pretty well with that.

Finish over 50 projects, increasing the number of FOs for the year from last year. As long as I finish the sewing projects currently on the table and all the holiday knitting, I will have made the goal. Wooo! Two months for 17 FOs, when the rest of the year, ten whole months, contained less than double that amount? Yes, I agree, looks crazy. But, there are six items that just need minor finishing (ends woven in, blocking, buttons) to join the FO list, a test knit that needs to be finished soon-ish, five or six sewing projects that can be completed with a full day in the sewing room, and then another six (minimum) Christmas presents. That right there is 17, and can possibly be completed by the end of the month. Actually, probably will be completed by the end of the month. Well, at least fiften will likely be completed by the end of the month.

Once I'm done with the Christmas rush, I have yarn for two or more vests for work and simple projects for me, mostly in the round and stockinette, that will really help me work through my stash and expand my wardrobe. I have enough leftovers from the cardigan I made for my Mother in Law and from the Helix lap blanket for a sweater vest from each, and some stash yarn for either a couple more sweater vests, tank tops, or camisoles. I want to leave Japan with a lot less stash than I brought, so the big things (20 skeins of Patons Classic Merino for a huge blanket, worsted and DK weight yarns in sweater quantities) should be used fairly soon so I can get some use out of them (and before I break down and buy things to fit those niches).

All I want to do, knitting wise, is cast on for a nice warm fairly quick sweater vest for me. Box one of Christmas goodness must be sent out in early December or even late November; box two should follow quickly, so there is no time for a sweater vest just yet. I'm trying to make it a motivating factor instead of a lack of mojo for other projects factor. I'd better finish off the four nearly complete projects tonight so I can cast on some Christmas socks tonight - new projects are always exciting!

After that long, boring, rambling, pictureless post, I will next time give you some FO posts of things that have been living in the sidebar at 100% for far too long.