Bribery is Best When Chocolate is Involved

Um, hello? Is anyone still out there? I always say I'm going to make more time for blogging and I've been super terrible at making that time lately. I cannot believe it has been more than a month since I last blogged. Again! Somehow the whole Christmas season got away from me. I didn't even knit that many gifts. A pair of flip-top mittens for our niece (I would show them to you but the horrible cell phone picture I took at midnight when I had finished them the night before they were gifted is really best kept to myself) and a pair of socks for my step-dad. Plus a pair of socks I had knit for my mom months ago. Oh, and the socks?

Yeah, they have some problems. Namely that they are not actually finished and it's well after Christmas now. Thankfully my step-dad was very understanding. I do want to get these out to him as soon as I can though.
The last time I blogged I did promise I would tell you whether I finished my OWL project for the Harry Potter Knit and Crochet House (HPKCHC) cup Fall term. Well, the truth is; I didn't. Honestly I should have had plenty of time to knit a sweater in 3 months. I've done it faster but with the play and then starting my new job, it got to be about a month where I didn't even knit. That's not entirely true. I did knit but it was about 5 minutes a day and it was all on my Froot Loops sock. That was just all the energy I had for anything. Then the last week or two I really tried to bust a move and get the sweater done. I ended at the deadline; 2 am my time on December 1st right here:

It's very close but it isn't done. I need to crochet around the cuffs and the bottom of the body.

That's supposed to stop the curling.
Then, I'm also supposed to do a collar.

Also, I decided on the evening of the 30th of November, the last night, that I should sew in the zipper with a sewing machine. It was a great time-saver except;

The bottom isn't quite even so that needs to be fixed. I'd really like to have this finished and actually be able to wear it. I think it will be a very useful sweater but I need to take care of these few issues. I just need to suck it up and work on it again. I set it aside after I knew I couldn't finish (about 10 minutes before the deadline) and I haven't touched it since, except to take these pictures.
I am trying to make more time for my knitting since it really helps my sanity but sometimes that means important things like housework get completely neglected. I'm not that sad about that but if someone came to the door right now, I might hide. I do have something lovely and new on the needles though.

I went through all my UFOs (Unfinished Objects) and I was so impressed that I only found 15 that I decided this lovely yarn that I got from a friend's destash could be cast on. So, on January 1 as a fresh start to a fresh, new year, I cast this loveliness on. It's Yarn Love in the Charlotte Bronte fingering-weight base and it's called Poppies in Winter. All through December as I was working on my Christmas knitting it was sitting in the corner calling to me to knit with this lovely brightness.

I have two beautiful skeins and it's becoming the most wonderful half-pi shawl.
Occasionally as I do a purl-back row I do wonder why I decided a half-pi was a good idea but it will be lovely.
I do need to do a project, something smaller, for this month for HPKCHC but I am loving working on this shawl so much! I actually had to bribe myself to work on my step-dad's socks this weekend but I want to get them finished so I can get them to him. I'm not sure what the bribe actually is though. Maybe it's to eat one of the tiny bags of Cadbury Mini eggs I got at the store the other day. Yes, it's true I found the first of the Easter candy and bought several teeny single-serve bags of Cadbury Mini eggs. They're so good that I've hidden them from the husband. They may all be for me.