In the queue...

Here's a summary of what I'm working on and thinking about:

-Recycled sari silk hobo bag: I've finished a second piece. Making the same piece again is a little boring, so I've got to break it up by working on other things at the same time.

-Secret project: I started a secret project last weekend. It seems to be going okay so far; I'm using a row counter to keep track of where I am in the pattern. I won't show you the pattern yet, but I can whet your appetites by showing you the yarn. I'm using Cascade 220 in this awesome pink tweed.

-Panta: I'm making a panta, which is a wide headband that's kind of a cross between a headband and a hat. Someone posted pictures of hers on this craftster thread. It looks great on her, so someone else translated the pattern from Portuguese, and lots of people have been knitting it. There's a knit-along at this site. From looking at the pictures, it seems to look different on everyone; I'm a bit worried that I may not have a great head/face shape to pull off the panta, but I guess I'll find out. If it doesn't work on my head, I can try it as an armband or some sort of weird hanging decoration...
I've actually started the panta a few times and ripped it out. Someone suggested doing a slip-stitch edge to prevent it from curling. I read everything I could find about the technique, but I don't think I quite understood it. I tried it a few times on my panta, but it looked wrong, so I decided to do without that edge.
So then I thought I would try this other technique I read for ribbing. I've noticed that with my ribbing, the knits before the purls look funny (too loose). I read that a lot of people have this problem, due to the fact that most people knit more tightly than they purl. The proposed solution is to wrap the yarn around clockwise on the purls, then to always knit through the back. I tried this for a few rows, but I don't think it helped my ribbing (and it might have looked weird), so I ripped it out and started again just doing everything normal.
I know, it seems like I'm making too many weird little winter accessories that I don't need. The thing is that I think my stitches still look kind of uneven, and I need the practice. So I'm making these things to get my technique better before I move on to more interesting bigger projects.
The yarn for my panta is this green Debbie Bliss Alpaca Silk DK. It's really soft.

-Banana silk yarn belt: I want to play with this yarn, so I think I'll try to make a belt....a narrow belt, I think, since there's not much yarn.

-Long(er) term goal: I want to make this tank top. But I don't want to make it until I feel more confident about my knitting, and until I think my stitches look better. It will be a challenge for me because it's done on circular needles and it requires some short-row shaping. I hope to be able to make it out of soy silk (made from waste created in tofu production !!!) or bamboo yarn.

-Another long-term goal: I really want to recycle yarn. I want to be able to buy sweaters at thrift stores, unravel them, and reuse the yarn. It's a little tricky, though, so I don't think I'm ready for it yet. Also, I'd like to over-dye some of them, so I really think I need to wait until I have more time to devote to this.