Well, in amongst things breaking, I have been working on stuff.

The quilt shop I most often frequent is offering a "buck a block" program - each month, for $1, you get the instructions and fabrics for a quilt block. If you do the whole year, you have a sort of sampler quilt. (At the end of the year you need to buy the "finishing kit" with sashing and such in it).

Here's the first block:



It's made using a product called "Thangles," which are a sort of paper foundation that help you to make the squares pieced from triangles. (There are a lot of quilt patterns I have avoided doing - like Bear's Paw - because you have to make a jillion of what are called "half-square triangles" and sew them together. There's a quick-piecing method but even that, I find to be a real PITA. (especially having to DRAW all the little lines on your fabric. For those who don't quilt: pencil + fabric = drag.)

The Thangles are a little better. At least with these you don't have to write on your fabric.

I have to admit I sort of like the idea of only having to commit to doing one block per month.

I also finished the first Jaywalker sock:

I've begun the second but decided to photograph before I had the finished pair.

These socks are knit using Lisa Souza Dyeworks' "Sock!" yarn, color combination called "Petroglyph." (I think "Tiger's Eye" would also work as a color name.) I really like the colors in this sock - it's a lot more toned-down than many of the hand dyes out there, more subtle. And after knitting with the cruddy scratchy "Essential" yarn, the "Sock!" is a real treat - it's nice and soft and has a good feel, both to knit with and to wear.

The one difference between this sock and the printed pattern is I used size 2 needles (actually that was a mistake, I grabbed the wrong set). But now I'm glad I did, because the sock would have been VERY tight done on 1's.

I've also been picking away at other long-term projects, ones where there's not really progress to show: I'm still working pretty actively on the Hourglass pullover; I'd like to get to the point of dividing for the yokes before I go on my travels next week (I think I'm going to take it with me and try to finish it). I'm also knitting on the long-term project of the cranberry-colored "Art Mohair" stole. I'm getting closer to finishing on that. And I've begun a pair of simple socks out of some Regia 6-Fach that I dug out of my stash.

I'm conflicted on the Regia socks: I began them for me. Then I thought, "I should put these in the Dulaan box when they're done." Then I thought: but I really like the colors. Then I thought again: but I have so many socks already. So I don't know. If nothing else - I should have enough of the yarn left over (I originally bought 3 balls and it looks like I will use 2) to make a pair of tiny-child socks out of the leftovers.

I'm more or less following the pattern in "Not Just Socks!" (that, and its companion book, "Not Just More Socks!" are recent book-purchases). I really like these books - they show the possibilities of a ball of sockweight (or in some cases, sportweight) yarn. The patterns in the book are largely written for the self-patterning yarn, some of them particularly exploit its striping (there are a couple of neat hats). I find myself looking at my (extensive) self-patterning sockyarn stash a little differently now.

I think a fun gift for an advanced-beginner (or better) knitter would be one of these books, plus a couple of the 100 g balls of sockyarn, and maybe the needles necessary for a project or two (if you think the intended recipient won't have the proper sizes; most of the patterns take 1's or 2's). There's hats in these books, and gloves-mittens-wristers, and scarves, and even a vest and a camisole (those last two obviously take more than 100 g of any one color). There are also socks, including a pair of tabi socks in the second book. There's a baby set in the first book and a pet bed in the second.