Christmas Progress

So, I've got 5 out of the 12 squares done for the blanket, and am starting to worry that I am not going to get it done by Christmas. Kris told me to go ahead and set it aside and worry about Dad's Satchel, figuring that since his Grandmother is Serbian Orthodox, we can send it to her for Orthodox Christmas, which isn't until January 7. So, I started Dad's Satchel this morning, and am just over 10% of the way through it so far. Thank heaven for stockinette on big fat size 13 needles. =) Oh, and did I mention that I ordered some yarn from Elann to make a lace scarf for my family grab-bag gift? Because I really needed one MORE project with a Christmas deadline. I am clearly insane. I also received another order from the fabulous Sue at Little Knits (shameless plug once again - she rocks!) today. I ordered 3 more colors of the Madil Kid Seta that she had on sale so that I can make (eventually) the very fun Hodgepodge sweater from Knowknits (also the designer of the infamous Swoncho, which I AM going to finish someday). The original (to the left, there) is done in Kid Silk Haze, but when I saw the Kid Seta on sale, I had to go with it. I am doing it in significantly different colors: Light peach, hot pink, lemon, salmon, light pink, and lime, as seen above, to the right (top to bottom, L to R). It's going to be a very brightly colored sweater, that's for sure. :D The new winter Knitty just came out the other day, and of course I have a bunch of new patterns that I have added to my to-do list. At this point, I should catch up about three weeks after I am dead, especially since Knitty comes out every three months or so, and there are always several patterns I have to add to the list. My faves from this issue are Tempting II, Festive, Tubey, Pomatomus, Thuja, and Marley's Ghost, and I think that if Hyon doesn't make Blu for Clint, I am probably going to. (I sent her the link to the pattern, and she is seriously considering making them) I finally broke the 100-miles-to-go barrier the other day on my biking challenge. I haven't missed a day since the Tuesday after Thanksgiving. I really think I might make it! Drew is figuring that if I haven't completed the 500 miles by New Year's Eve, we might be turning it into a drinking game, with people betting on either what time I will finish, or what mile I will be on at the end of a particular song. I don't know that I need to be the center of that much attention, so I'm going to try VERY hard to finish before then. If I really crank the next week or so, I might even be able to finish before we head to Pittsburgh for Christmas, but we'll see.