Frustration... and some progress

I've been sewing up the Striped Baby Jumper for a baby that is due on Friday. Jill at the Wool Baa taught me the wonderful mattress stitch technique for knitteds, but I've come to realise why my knitted items are either plain shapes, or knitted in the round. I had to set one sleeve SIX times before I was happy with it (perfectionist? moi?). I know being striped should have made it easier but ... Anyway, it is done, and will be mailed to Switzerland when I know baby has arrived safe and well and I'll share pictures then.

I still need to darn in the ends of my Clapotis, but you can see the yarn here. Yes, using autumn shades - again! I'm going to wear it for a month or so and then decide if I want to continue using it or if I will rip it back. It's hanging on a couple of pegs here, so you can see the lovely drape, but I'm still wishing I'd done it in a less plain yarn.

Although possibly nothing as bright and mottled as this - this is the current state of play of my Big Knit Hats for the Innocent charity campaign. I've been experimenting with stitch patterns from my knitting encyclopaedias, not that you can really tell from this picture, and it's been very interesting and has triggered some ideas for larger projects.

Two Bookcrossing friends of mine were having babies this month. The stripey sweater wearer-to-be is not yet born, but the other has arrived. And is a baby boy. I'd rather hoped it would be a girl, as I had cast on this cardigan:

If Swiss baby is a Swiss miss, all will be well... If not, I will have to think of something, or just rip it back, as I haven't got very far.

(Honestly, I don't really mind that my friend's had a boy. She had a tough journey to conceive, I'm just so thrilled there's been a happy result!)

I'm on the last square of Neat Country Stuff! And if you are thinking it's not looking like the chart, you'd be right. I really don't like the 'sheep' as charted on the original design. However, I also have in my stash the same designer's Sheep Button Sampler. The sheep as charted on this however was a little big, so out came the graph paper and pencils and after a session with those (and an eraser) I think it's going to work - fingers crossed! I'm hoping for a happy dance by the weekend, and then I can get cracking on my By The Sea exchange piece. The squashed stitches you can see will fluff out as I'm going to wash and press the piece - it's all DMC so will be safe. It's been hanging around so long it needs refreshing!

Finally, this is my Poetry Society letter. It's curling like nobody's business because it's plain stocking stitch. I hope the PS people are planning on putting a border on it, or displaying it stretched in some way. We still don't know what the actual poem is going to be yet ... Can you guess which letter I'm knitting? I'm hoping this will be finished in the next day or so too. It will be great to have some WIPs finished!

Edited to add - forgot to list my socks here, but I think I've left them at the office!