Progress on a Few Fronts

I am getting within sight of the finish line on my Alison Bag pattern (and thanks, Alison, for letting me use your name).:-}
I am loving it. I think it is my favorite design so far. I have to only knit on it in fits and starts, or my hands hurt the next day. (The fabric needs to be firm.) I have plenty of other projects to intersperse with Alison Bag sessions.
I am also working on a submission to The Anticraft, due September 1st.
And waiting to hear if the 1,000 Fabulous Knit and Crochet Hats wants either or both of my submissions.
And then the hat that began as itself but became Dragon Butt. (Oscar suggests maybe Dragon Berry would be easier to market) wants to exist, too.
And the Winged Cropped Cardigan (you haven't seen it yet) is being pattern tested right now, almost done after some resizing and a little math.
Today, I was able to pay my Ravelry Advertising bill with money I earned from the patterns. Not in the black (yarn does cost money, too) but a definite step forward :-}
Also, Mom and Dad have paid me the supreme compliment of saying the socks I knit for Dad a few years back are his favorite. He only started wearing them after his stroke last year.
After pummeling my brain I remembered I used Debbie Bliss Rialto in DK. Mom offered to pay for the yarn if I knit some more. I want to have at least the first of three pairs done before the weather gets cold. Dad's feet are about the same size as Oscar's, so no problems with sizing. Rae's Yarn Boutique still carries the yarn, so I called her this morning, and she helped me choose which colors would make him happy (he's not a pink and orange kind of guy LOL).
Even though her shop is 90 minutes away, and I rarely travel that far, it is such a wonderful shop (and Rae is such a considerate shopkeeper) that I choose Rae's as my local yarn shop. if you are anywhere near the Lansing, Michigan area, I recommend a visit.