I even knitted some stuff.

Really, I did. To wit:

Betty's new clothes -- a tea cozy for Betty. The stitches are a bit loose, yes, but the fabric of a cozy doesn't need to be absolutely solid. That is especially true for this one, as it's made of pure wool. It works well, I've made three pots of tea and kept them warm in the time since I made this cozy.

Now I'm planning a second and a third cozy for her -- I think I'll do a traditional welted model out of some of the great masses of Knit Picks Palette yarn I have, maybe these colors:

and then maybe use my leftover Mochi Plus to make her a woven-looking one with an i-cord bow on top. I have a pattern for a tea cozy where the fabric looks woven, although it's just garter stitch that's had leftover yarn run up and down through the stitches. I like the effect, and I think the colors and thick-and-thin nature of the Mochi will work well with the pattern.

Also, I've made progress on my shawl.

This is a macro view, stockinette and lace pattern section. I tried to get a picture of the lace pattern, but I had the camera too close to the shawl so all the pictures turned out blurry. This is the best one I could get:

I really need to work on my photographic skills.

My allergies have been working overtime this month, so I've gotten little enough done on everything: Writing, reading, knitting. My face feels swollen (that's actually just my sinuses beneath) and one of my eyes is so bloodshot it looks like I haven't slept in months. Tonight before bed I intend to use the anti-mold spray (ok, ok, Lysol makes a stink-spray for the purpose, although I wonder if vinegar won't work just as well) so that, hopefully, my allergies won't be as big of a problem tomorrow.

Actually, I did some work on my big 2012 writing project today. I've started on my research and have found about seven books to work through initially, a few places I need to actually visit for further research using items that are only in those locations and some basic plotting I need to do, but at least I got started on my research. I'm getting the shape of the knowledge I'm going to need to pull this off, and I'm fully aware of how much I don't know, which is a little daunting. But at least I know how much work I'm going to have to put into this. I've got two full weeks and two week days before my day gig starts. That's quite a bit of work I can get done.

If nothing else, it should keep me quiet.