Sad, but true. I just realized that everything I'm working on this week has an autumnal/ Halloween theme. It kind of threw me a bit given that it's January and there's snow on the ground. Sigh.
My main project, the Little Pumpkins socks, is finally moving along after spending a good portion of the Fall in the knitting bag. I'm a good way through the foot of the first sock so I should be able to get through the toe decreases and the finishing within the next few days (please disregard the recent post on my Ravelry project page where I boldly state that the first sock will be done by the end of the weekend -- by this time I should know better!).

I was initially worried about the fit of this sock, but so far so good. I did eliminate one of the pattern repeats in the leg because 1) I don't generally like wearing socks that are too long, and 2) I was seriously worried about cutting off the circulation in my legs. The springy nature of the yarn is helping with the overall elasticity of the sock, but it doesn't really show off the seed stitch portions of the pattern to advantage. Ultimately, though, this project is really more about the color than anything else. It was a no brainer that these socks had to be knit in orange -- hey, we're dealing with pumpkins here -- but it really did take a while to find the 'right' orange. I still absolutely love the color of this Creatively Dyed yarn. I tend to prefer colors that are subtle and slightly muted, so this is a significant departure from my comfort zone. There's just something about the vibrancy of this color and the slightly heathered undertones that draws me in. Now, I probably wouldn't ever knit a large project in a color this vibrant, but it's kind of fun to experiment with color in smaller projects. I'll have to do more of that in 2010.
The next project in the works is Boo the Bat by Anna Hrachovec (aka mochimochiland on Ravelry). I guess I should come clean and say that I've been stalking this pattern for weeks. I wish I could say that I have a fascination with rodents, and flying ones at that, or that I was desperately trying to use up some of the yarn remnants from past projects that are scattered all over my desk. In truth, Boo is just too darn cute not to be knitted up several times over. I see him and his friends adorning my cube at work -- that should be interesting. If you're not familiar with Anna's knitted toy designs I recommend checking her out because her work is amazing. Don't be surprised if you find yourself sucked into the world that is Mochimochi Land.