What I'm working on, what I'm not. And what I will be.

Firstly, let me thank you for your kind comments and good vibes for Cathy. Her six-hour brain surgery yesterday went well - the tumor was completely removed, and the nerve it was on (the balance nerve) was not damaged. Hooray!

Thanks, too, for the assurances about my knitting mojo. It has been disappointing not to have finished something I had such high hopes for, but I have let it go and am moving on. Still don't know what Cathy's socks will be yet, but I know they will be, sometime this summer.

In the meantime, I have dabbled with another little bit of knitting. For Mother's Day, Tiny Dancer gave me this yarn:

KnitPicks Shimmer, in Turquoise Splendor

Okay, truth be told, I picked it out and ordered it. Still, he was pleased as could be to give it to me, and I think he'll be even more pleased when I have a finished shawl to show him and to remind him that he gave me the yarn for.

I'm working on the the Shoulder Shawl in Syrian pattern from Victorian Lace Today (the book was also a Mother's Day gift, from My Old Man). The pattern is super-easy, though I'm afraid I won't think so when it's time to make the border. And I really love the yarn and, in particular, this colorway. So you noticed that this just so happens to be the same colorway this same shawl was shown in in the Spring KnitPicks catalog? Well, it's true - and not the first time I've gone with the exact same color a pattern is shown in. The power of suggestion - it is quite strong over me.

What's interesting to me about this knit is that, in addition to imagining myself wearing it at the beach in July (*fingers crossed* that I actually get it done by then), I also find myself dwelling a lot on fond remembrances of my trip to the Middle East exactly 12 years ago. And I only just now realized why that might be - because that trip included several days in Syria, and of course this shawl is in a so-called Syrian pattern. See? I wasn't joking about the whole power of suggestion thing. I've said it before and I'll say it again - I'm a marketer's dream.

This is the only thing on my needles right now. Well, if you don't count what's about to be frogged (Cathy's Charade Socks) or what is hibernating (My Old Man's zippered raglan) or what isn't supposed to be hibernating but that I find I am not working on: the Tomten. Megan so generously - and quickly - sent me three skeins of KnitPicks Sierra in Pool when she read about my Tomten disaster. But the moment was lost. The Knitting Mojo, she is a fickle thing. I do have almost a whole tomten done now (minus one sleeve and a contrast border), but I only pick it up every several days, and then I only knit a few rows. I guess once I realized I wasn't going to get them both done in time for spring, I lost my zeal to Get Them Done Right Now. And now that the weather is warm, I have warmer weather projects on my mind. Fortunately, they are big enough that I think they will fit for a long time. Maybe I'll even get them both done in time for fall (even though they are in spring colors; I'm sure the boys won't mind. Okay, maybe Little Buddha will mind. He's kind of picky about what he wears.)

So that's what I'm working on, and what I'm not. Now, on to what I will be. Because I know you're dying to know.

Ali at Skeins Her Way is having a Pre-Summer Contest. The prize - the pattern she wrote and some Blue Sky Alpacas cotton to knit it in. The rules - pick which color cotton you would want, and then write a post outlining your summer knitting goals. (Oh, and if you jump over there and enter from here and mention that I referred you - then I get an extra entry. And I know you really want me to win, right? Because what better cure is there for the sad loss of mojo? Don't you think I need to win a little something? Oh wait! I just did!)

So without further adieu. Here are my knitting goals for this summer:
1 - Shoulder Shawl in Syrian Pattern (see above) - for me
2 - Socks for Cathy
3 - Socks for Sockapalooza Pal
4 - Two Tomtens for my boys (*ahem* okay maybe I won't finish them, but I hope at least to work on them!)
5 - Tempting for me - here's the yarn for it (a Mother's Day gift from Little Buddha - please notice that it's not even the color featured in the original pattern!)

KnitPicks Shine Worsted, Green Apple

All in all, I'd say that's a fairly modest list, given my usual ambitious tendencies. The reasons for this are: a) I realize the shawl is likely to take a whole lot of my knitting time, and b) my to-sew list has grown unwieldly beyond belief (you know it's bad when the people cutting the fabric at the sewing store for you comment on how many projects you are apparently planning to pull off!)

So, there ya have it. Everything you could possibly want to know about what I'm knitting, what I'm not, and what I will be.