New socks, catch[up|all] and some general plans

It seems that every time I move continents, I have to try out all the new colds the next winter. That and work have stopped me from doing my usual projects. Besides that, recently, I've been focusing somewhat more on knitting than on sewing. Here's what I have to show for it:

These are based on Cat Bordhi's Upstream master pattern, with the stitch pattern from Anna Zilboorg's Gemma (which in turn came from someplace else, IIRC, but I'd have to look up where exactly). They aren't blocked; generally I let wearing and washing do that for me, for socks anyway. I'm noticing Cat Bordhi's default arches come out very high, which is even more noticeable if the socks are oversized and have short cuffs, as in this case (they're oversized because they're meant as layering rain boot socks, and they're short because I couldn't make them any taller with the 100g yarn I had). She does tell you how to customize that, and I may look into it next time I'm making biggish socks like this. On closer-fitting socks I'd say the high arches are an advantage, though they can look odd when they're not being worn.

The long-suffering rayon crepe georgette dress is finally done, but it's already been worn once and washed, and needs ironing before it'll be ready to photograph.

I've cut and started McCall's 6996, which is shaping up nicely. It might make a good test for my coverstitch machine.

Finally, I've been thinking over what kinds of projects I want to do in the near future and over the course of the year. Current ideas:

• I'm not sure I will do many (any?) Patternreview contests. At any given time, chances are good they won't match what I really want or need to sew just then, and it's too easy for me to get off track and disappointed with something I wasn't all that excited about doing in the first place. I'm certainly appreciative of and impressed by the people who plan and manage the contests, but they may just not be for me.
• I'm not planning on posting about my stash every month (whew). I still do keep track, but it's not too interesting to write about, and must be very dull to read about.
• The temperature range here is far more limited than it was in southwest Germany, not to mention any of the East Coast/Midwest cities I've lived in. I'm finding I have too many too-warm clothes and not enough middling ones. Some long-sleeved tops/shirts may be up next.
• I have a large collection of lingerie fabrics I stocked up on in Germany and Holland, plus a few newly acquired here. Anything made from that might or might not make it here; we'll see.
• Last year, I've decided, I was trying to control too much of my sewing. While I think some wardrobe planning is worthwhile, this should be a hobby, and I shouldn't get too caught up in sewing the ideal thing at the ideal time.
• I do want to continue with my pattern-drafting nerdfest to some extent, but I'm a little desperate for finished clothes right now, so it may be a while before I get back to it.

That's all for now. I'm off to the Fabrics Etc. meetup early (for me) tomorrow; Tasia from Sewaholic will be there!