We're making progress!

I got a couple new swatches done yesterday, which will be going to Knitter's as submissions for the Fall issue, along with the long-suffering Quick To Knit Gifts and Nursery Knits designs. I'm quite happy with how they all turned out, although I'm a little concerned that the felted bag isn't going to dry in time to mail it out tomorrow! I forgot how long it takes the big felted things to dry. Maybe I'll set it in front of the fan for awhile. Right now it's stinking up my office - love that wet wool smell!

I'm starting to wonder if the February issue of Knit Net with my sweater in it is EVER going to be up. For awhile, I was obsessively checking the site every day (even though they send out an e-mail when they put the new issue up), but I've sort of given up. It's sort of anticlimactic when you send something off to be published, and it doesn't show up when it's supposed to. I guess I should be happy that they're publishing it at all, after the big mailing snafu...

I also royally messed up my Spun submission... For some reason, I got it into my head that the deadline was March 20. Yesterday, as I was rereading the acceptance e-mail I got from Tara in preparation for sending the pattern off to her, I found out that she wanted it by February 20th. Oops! Fortunately, the new issue isn't up yet and she's going to slide my design in despite my huge biff. I really need to get myself more organized. Gah!

Bill's company had their Employee Appreciation Night on Friday, so we got to go out for an adults-only evening. They rented out the basement of an old bank building which used to be the vault but is now set up as a ballroom. The theme was games, so they had board games set up on the dinner tables (I really wanted to sit at the table with the Homer Simpson Operation game, but we ended up sitting at the Scattergories table with folks from Bill's department). They also had brought in a bunch of arcade/bar games - there was a ping-pong table, two air hockey tables, a couple of dart boards and a head-to-head basketball game. There was also a putting game, but it was totally lame because even the good golfers couldn't make any of the shots (so someone like me had absolutely no hope without divine intervention). All in all, it was a fabulous time, made even better by the fact that raises and bonuses were announced earlier in the day.

This just in... Bill played in another racquetball tournament this weekend. He won his first game, lost the next two and was playing in the consolation championship this morning. Well...he won the consolation round! We'll see if he gets a trophy or anything. The last time he won the consolation round, they were giving out cheesy little towels as a prize (he was VERY disappointed with that). Congrats, honey!

Since I don't have any pictures of my own knitting that I can show you, I'll let you look at other people's. Here are our socks for today:

Choomon finished a pair of Jaywalkers in a great grey-and-orange combo.

Cece finished some awesome Supermerino Broadripple socks. Love that Artyarns!

Check out new knit-alonger Julia's sock progress! She doesn't have an M yet, but she's got a bunch of great socks on the needles. That does a sock knit-along mama proud!

Sheri's sock post has it all - socks, yarn p*rn, and a very cute kitty-and-kiddy pic at the very end.

I also have a sock-related request from Shetha, who is trying to find a good toe-up sock pattern that uses a symmetric short-row heel and works for a large-gauge yarn (6 sts/in or so - she's using Artyarns Handpaint Stripes). I've just barely ventured into the world of toe-up socks, so I can't really help her (I'm such a traditionalist). If you have any ideas, please send them to me or comment on her blog. Thanks, sockers!!!