UFOver

Today is the last day of October, meaning it's also the last day of UFOctober. Here's how I managed to perform on my goals:

1. The #$%(! Jailwalkers. I wanted to figure out whether it was worth knitting the second sock. It was not. The first sock went into the garbage where it belonged, and the second skein went to a friend with small children who enjoy wearing handknitted socks.

Status: Goal met.

2. The SOS07 Gypsy Girl Ominous Skies socks started for the Summer of Socks '07. Much tinking and frogging, and one or two practical jokes played by my yarn, and these are in the FO column. I've even worn them twice already, and am getting close to forgiving them for their obstinacy.

Status: Goal met.

3. Jojoland Cashmere blend socks/Bears socks. My goal was to finish one or the other pair with the ultimate goal of having only one pair of socks OTN again. Well, the Bears socks were frogged. The Jojoland second sock is living on my desk at the family business, where I knit it in fits and starts when I can be roused to go into the shop in the first place. Because I forgot to rescue the Jojoland from my dusty, barely used desk, and because the Bears sock was frogged, I ended up taking different sock yarn on the airplane to Denver. I knit the cuff and part of the leg, and haven't touched it since. The Jojoland needs to be finished first. Also, the Bears sock yarn is being reincarnated as a clapotis for my mother. It's on the needles, but just barely.

Status: We're going to have to call this one a draw. Not a complete failure because I did work toward the ultimate goal. But certainly not a complete success, either.

4 and 5. Secret knitting parts one and two. The secret baby yoga pants and the secret baby cardigan are done. (Romance authors reading this are giggling over the names of these projects -- "secret babies" being a hackneyed but omnipresent plot device in romancelandia.)

Status: Goal met.

6. The crapghan. Well, I managed to purchase another hook to replace the one Miss Six hid in an undisclosed location. I pulled out the crapghan and found the remaining three balls of Red Heart a/k/a Dead Fart yarn and crocheted less than a full row before allowing myself to wander away. My definition of heaven? A place where cheap crappy yarn evaporates instantly before it can pollute the environment with its awfulness. And Grandma, I'm sorry, but if you're in Heaven According To Me now, you'll be able to grasp why I resist this little part of family tradition so much. I will do the afghans in your pattern and your yarn to honor you and continue the afghan tradition. But I won't like the yarn.

Status: Goal met. Very grudgingly. I've got to figure out a way to finish this damn thing.

In addition, I knit the aran watchcap and 8.75" on Fulmar. Which makes for a pretty durn good UFOctober. Thanks again to Heather for organizing this. It really motivated me to make some progress on KIPs that might otherwise still be stuffed in the bottoms of bags.

UFOctober

Heather over at Tinky McFrog is sponsoring a monthlong UFO-athon. The idea is that you pick a few of those lingering UFOs and make some progress during the month of October.

Sounds like a fine idea to me. I mean, do we even know how many unfinished objects I have anymore? Count me in.

I should start off by saying that we don't have to work exclusively on UFOs all month. We get to name exceptions. My exceptions will be Fulmar (of course!) and the clapotis, if I ever get around to actually casting on for it.

So here are my selected UFOs:

1. The #$%(! Jailwalkers. I will start by washing the one finished sock to see if that improves the yarn and the fit. If not, I'm chucking them. I'm about 90% sure that this will be the outcome because I just can't imagine washing will improve these enough to make them wearable. Which really sucks because I love the look of them. Oh well.

2. The SOS07 Gypsy Girl Ominous Skies socks. Summer of Socks '07 has been over for, I dunno, a few weeks. It's been a month or more since I lost interest. Would like to finish these and get them off my needles and my conscience. I've only got to knit the foot of the second sock, and these are in the FO column.

3. Ditto for the Jojoland Cashmere blend socks. Or the Bears socks. Either one. I'd like to have just one pair of socks OTN again. No need for a bajillion at once.

4 and 5. Secret knitting parts one and two. These have been lingering since July, knit in bits and dabs, and I really need to get them done. More than that I cannot say because they're a secret. Shhhhh!

6. Be nice to get a little done on the crapghan. Ah, yes, we remember that dayglo monstrosity. It's been stalled thanks to the ever-delightful Miss Six, who likes to hide my crochet hook as a little joke on me. We have this routine where she asks me to "knit with one stick, not with two," and then I know she hid the hook and wants me to go to my crocheting and exclaim over the missing hook. Many giggles ensue as I hunt for the hook. So fun. Except this time? She hid it, got distracted, never came to play the game with me, and now the hook is gone.

Yeah, I know. Cough up the cash for another size G and get the lousy crapghan done already. And, you know, that would be a really good idea except for the part about how I'd really rather knit.

So there you have it. If I can complete 4 out of 6 items on this list, I'll be ecstatic and my OTN list will almost feel manageable.

Which is a darn good thing, because I've allowed myself to be persuaded to knit Catherine Parr starting in October. This is shaping up to be the winter of Starmore!