It's hard to believe it's the end of August. Summer 2005 has just flown by in a hot and humid haze -- you got to love the alliteration there! I hate to say it, but it's time to start planning for the holidays, especially if I'm going to be knitting gifts for friends and family. Things got a little out of control towards the end of the holiday season last year, so I didn't really get to enjoy the lead up to Christmas as much as I should have. I'm one of those people who always likes to learn from their mistakes, and if planning ahead requires ordering my Christmas cards in August and writing them in September, so be it. My goal is just to enjoy the season a little more, and not get so stressed out about everything that (I feel) needs to be done.

As far as the knitted gifts go, I think bags and scarves are my best bet as they knit up relatively quickly. The Booga Bag is always a good choice and I can see one or two people getting a kick out of that. I'm considering the Marakesh Shoulder Bag as a gift for my step-mother-in-law but I'll have to wait and see if I like the look of the finished project. As annoying as it is to knit, I do like the look of the Eros Eyelet Scarf. It's just a really trendy piece, something that I can see my female friends incorporating into their wardrobes. We'll see.