In which I knit a lot, and FO one item

I finished the imminently-gifted scarf. I didn't want to blog about it in case the recipient reads this (but I think not). It's the Hearts of Oak pattern from Barbara Walker, knit in bamboo/cotton blend yarn. It was way fun to knit--the pattern is a perfect balance between complicated yet not. Easy to memorize but interesting enough to keep the attention, but not so "interesting" that I can't watch TV while I knit. The yarn is very heavy and I'm worried it won't be able to bear it's own weight. I also had a panic that giving black scarves was some taboo I'd never heard of (European chic, or just funereal?) but the Ravelers convinced me otherwise. I then went on to worry about the yarn (Cotton kills! What are you doing knitting a winter scarf out of cotton! Oh wait, we're going to London, not mountaineering...) and now I've moved on to worrying about it being so heavy it might inadvertently strangle it's wearer. Onto the pictures:









My favorite hoodie developed a hole in the underarm. You can see where I attempted to "patch" an earlier hole (That snarling knot) and the new stitch that's running. I don't know how to darn, so I've been avoiding this repair, but it's reached a point of urgency:





I've been slogging away on Mystic Waters. I love the pattern, but I can't knit more than 2 or 3 rows at a time because I have to concentrate so hard. I'm halfway through the 2nd (of 8) clues. Here's a reasonable representation of the color:





And a blurry one of the pattern:







And I cast on the first sleeve for my church sweater. I really drag my heels on this project, I think because I'm designing it myself and every time I sit down to knit I have to make some calculations and decisions, and it just robs me of my motivation. I guess I knit more for the meditative aspects, not for the stressful designing and project management experience...