no knitting was done in the making of this post . . .

So, I haven't been doing any actual knitting lately, except for a few rows here and there on a leftover scarf. But I've been doing a lot of thinking about knitting, and planning to knit, and finding new patterns to knit, and buying materials to knit. I hope that counts for something.
I ordered 2 knitting items from Barnes and Noble. It was supposed to be 3, but the Stitch 'N Bitch calendar was on backorder--hoping to find it somewhere else at a clearance price later this month. So for now, I'm now the proud owner of the Knitting Pattern a Day calendar, and Fitted Knits.
First, the calendar: so far, no outstanding patterns and one particularly bizarre one--the string bikini gloves. I can't fathom what the designer was thinking--what possible use could there be for a pair of "gloves" that encircle your wrist, crawl up your hand in the form of three strands, and then keep the base of three of your five fingers toasty?? I could see this as a sort of 80s-throwback bracelet, except, um, it's knitted. Totally bizarre. Sadly, no photo, as I promptly threw that page in the recycling bin.
But Fitted Knits I love. I want to knit at least half of the patterns, and I think that's a more than reasonable showing.
I also checked 3 knitting books out of the library, all of which were pretty disappointing, so I'm glad I shelled out $0 for them. Both Party Knits and Glamour Knits had a lot of beaded, sequined, fun fur items that, while they look nice (well, except for the fun fur), don't seem like they would be fun to knit. As a reviewer on Amazon pointed out, they're just impractical. Hip Knits, well, I think the publisher (which--and this should've been a clue--is Better Homes and Gardens) might consider a different name--I wouldn't use the word "hip" to describe any of the items in this book. I might use the word "lumpy."
And, I know everyone will be thrilled to hear, I've picked out my cardigan! I'm going to go with the adorable Mrs. Darcy Cardigan. I'm terrified of setting in the sleeves, but it's just one more thing to learn. I ordered a bunch of yarn from WEBS year-end closeout, including some Elsebeth Lavold Classic AL, a worsted baby alpaca/merino blend, for this sweater. I'm trying to branch out from Knit Picks, so I ordered a few balls of 2 other closeout yarns as well, although at the moment I don't remember what they were.
In other news, I worked out today, took a multivitamin, and applied for a new job. That's about all the progress on that lengthy to-do list I rambled about in my last post. ;o)
**Edited to add: I forgot the single most important detail about Party Knits! The model featured most often throughout the book is clearly not wearing a bra. Some of the garments she is modeling are quite close fitting, and so it is difficult to envision how a normal person--i.e. a person who would wear a bra to a party or other social occasion--would look in these garments, given that her breasts would likely not be at her waist. **