I try to keep it under control, but I seem to have developed a much worse case than usual of ‘startitis’ just recently.I suspect that the cause is twofold; one is the weather change (see the plants we brought inside for a couple of nights?), and the other is the sudden need for a couple of thank-you gifts.

Here is photographic full confession:

Too many projects??

However, I am making progress! I have finished the shawl collar on the green cardigan for K, and have finished the first chocolate lace sock. Unfortunately, it looks like that sock’s foot may still be too long… I am waiting for a fitting opportunity for the recipient before I start (there’s that WORD again!) on the second.

The orchid summer top is going into winter hibernation, so I won’t be looking at it for a while.

The red cuff on the birch dpns is the start beginning of a pair of Evangeline cabled fingerless mitts; thank-you #1, using the wool/alpaca blend Cascade Yarns Lana d’Oro. (See pictures on the Sweet Sheep blog; the pattern is a free download on Ravelry, but you have to have a free account to log in.) I hope to have enough yarn left over to make a companion Calorimetry.

The fall-colored swatch of Plymouth Happy Feet (color 17) is for thank-you #2, a pair of socks for a rabbit-breeder friend. You can’t tell from the picture, but the sock swatch is on needles from the same set as the swatch for the blue and white mittens-to-be. Yeah. I think buying more needles is the solution to that problem.

Of course, there’s my Ithilien Brocade Jacket. I have made good progress (considering the fractured nature of my knitting time) on the first sleeve. The large size of the chart and frequency of color changes makes this one a poor candidate for take-along knitting, so the smaller projects have taken over those bits of knitting opportunity.

Oh, yes, not to forget the paua-shell colored yarn that I need to finish spinning for a sleeveless top, which didn’t make it in this little photo shoot.

The tell-all picture does show some versatility… a little lace, some cables, color work… at least I’m not in a rut!

So that’s SEVEN works-in-progress, three of them major, without even counting the hibernating top.And I see that the yarn I want for my next design, the one in the sketch, is now available.And affordable.Resistance is futile.

The diagnosis is in. My case of knitter’s startitis is incurable, but since I can expect the symptoms to fluctuate, it won’t be this bad all the time. Fortunately, the recommended treatment is not painful, consisting of regular exposure to yarn fumes and frequent periods of fiber manipulation.