And what I'm knitting is (are).....

I thought I was so done with gift knitting.  Whatever I cast on next, it (they) were to be for me. Me, me, me.

And, I suddenly remembered two of my friends are having babies this March.  One in Japan, one in the USA.  I had a long session of browsing through Ravelry pattern search, and got confused a bit, hit Yoshikawa (the craft store with the most yarn selection) along the way home from Mom's hospital and got two bags (5 balls each, green and white) and a ball of blue yarn "for baby".  They are wool-acrylic mix and machine washable.  I agree with the ideology that a baby should be dressed only in inflammable fiber, but I don't want to force the new moms-of-two (they both are having their second child) to handwash something.  "Machine Washable" means "Hey, it's just an everyday wear, wear it out, there's plenty like this one" and make the baby dressed in it more.

So, I'm knitting these;

I'm planning to add a blue i-cord border on the sweater above.  These are for a boy.

Another is a baby of gender-unknown, so next set would be all in green (gender neutral color in my opinion).  I am sure I got the yardage. 

And I started a pair of socks for my daughter with this yarn;

I think this is the only sock yarn available to me on go-and-get basis.  I can buy this yarn at a store in 20-min subway ride distance.  

I could buy beautiful sock yarns online, I could even ask my friends in the USA to receive my order of KnitPicks yarn for me, but, I think I should at least try and figure out what's available easily is good enough or not.

So far, the sock is knitting up OK.  Just OK.  Not heart striking lovely, but lovely enough to save the rest for my pair.  I hope this yarn could substitute Lion Brand Sock-Ease (jojoba oil? Aloe vela? what was in that yarn?  It's nice, but not essential for me) for a no-brainer stockinette stitch sock.  I don't expect it to substitute Opal.  Color repeat is much shorter on this one and black/white part doesn't make up that lovely pattern.  Much busier, so to speak.

So, my pullover is pulled down on my list.  And looks like a Startitis has sneakingly hit me. Well, OK.  I'm in that phase of a life, apparently.