Knitty stuff; my slow progress

Patterns from the new Knitty that caught my eye in a good way:

• Tubey - It's a bit hipper than I'd generally go with my knitting, but I think it's a really clever and really cute design. The colors she used are wonderful, and really suit the design. Plus, I have a soft spot for Brooklynites. I know I'd look good in this sweater, but whether I'll have the fashion bravery to knit it for myself is another question.
• Bristow might as well be renamed for me. I don't think I could pull of the jeans and high heels look, but the sweater is me, almost exactly. The color, the fit, the texture. This is a design I'd expect to see in Interweave Knits. Not to put down Knitty, but it tends to have less fancy looking stuff. This sweater may be a reason for me to eventually order from Knitpicks. I'll have to do some research into how Andean Silk wears, though. I hope it's not pilly.
• Chaos is a cute sweater, using a cute idea. Though maybe a bit contrived. I'd be happy knitting the sweater as-is in the photos. It's a neat effect, and as I've heard that toddlers tend to leave paths of chaos and destruction wherever they go, quite appropriate.
  
• Pomatomus - I can't decide whether I like the sock or the disembodied leg better. I like them both, though mannequins always creep me out a bit. I'm going to knit those socks, and I also really want the model's dress.
  
• Toasty Pocket Creatures - I love them to death. I see many of them in my future. I think they'll be a more fun use of my leftover yarns than felted clogs, though I'll make the clogs eventually. I really need something fun to fill in the time before my Ingeborg yarn arrives. If I find the time and motivation, which shouldn't be too hard, I can see many of these making their way to mailboxes of friends across the country. I still miss the days in college when I would do random silly things like put chestnuts in the mailboxes of my friends, for a little surprise. Sending people little knitted monsters might fill that random silly gift craving that I get from time to time. I think I'll also make one or two for A.
  

And as a bonus, while it's not my style, I think Tempting II is a vast improvement over the original Tempting. I've never been a huge Tempting fan, and thought the ribbon on top looked silly on just about every finished Tempting I saw. I think the smaller ribbing and buckle are a great improvement to the general design of the sweater. I have a feeling there will be knitalongs popping up all over the place.

I hear the new Interweave Knits is out, too, but I haven't picked it up yet. I've actually heard a bit of whining about the quality of the patterns, which surprises me, as there were a few that I really liked in the preview pictures. And it sounds like there will be one or two interesting articles in there, too. Which reminds me that I should check out the new Knitty articles. It's so easy to forget about them while obsessing over the new patterns.

Wondering about how my actual knitting is going? Well, I'm not too far from starting the armhole shaping on the back of the vest. It's not the most exciting looking project, so I'm going to hold off on pictures until I really have something to show. I also worked a bit more on the second retro rib sock, and realized that the heel flap, and thus number of gusset stitches picked up, is shorter than on the first sock. I also wasn't exactly even in my gusset decreases. I blame all of this on the fact that I did all of the above stuff while hanging out and chatting with other knitters, which can be quite distracting. I think the sock will fit fine, though.

I picked up some new yarn at the knitter's lunch I went to yesterday, since we did a stash exchange. I got some cool stuff, and might post about that tomorrow, as I probably won't have significant progress on actual projects to report on.