"Spring Skunk Cabbage" is more like it

Spring Flowers is going stinkily. Very, very stinkily. Mind you this is all my own fault; I'm sure the pattern is just fine. After that annoying couple of hours on the hem, I had a minor problem with a stitch appearing out of nowhere. I had to count a few times to make sure that I actually had an extra stitch and was not short one. Then it went well again. For about one row. Then, the most major mistake of them all... I have a twist. AAARRRGGGHHH!!!!!! I KNOW it was right at first so I must have accidentally twisted it on the first round somewhere. So now I have to rip the whole thing out and start over.

I no longer aspire to finish by next Sunday. It's been in knitting time out for three days now and I still feel a major pang every time I walk by it.

Any suggestions?

I want to knit a baby gift for my nephew who was born in February, plus I have a new cousin-once-removed (a girl) that I want to knit something for as well. Since it's nearly summer and they both live in warm climates, I'm not sure what to make. My Ever Helpful husband suggested open-toed booties ("Just knit a tube"). I may just make little sweaters for the fall, but I'm worried about them fitting properly if I knit them so far in advance.

Anybody have any better ideas?

The current sock

Dark photo, but you get the idea. It's just a plain army green sock (for my husband).

Spring Flowers

This is the Spring Flowers dress from Fiber Trends that I started for my daughter. I decided to do yellow as a nod toward Project Spectrum, which I am not signed up for but I think it's a great idea and I am somewhat trying to follow along. I had a great deal of trouble with the hem - purely because I didn't follow the instruction to cast on invisibly - but now that I am past that it's going swimmingly, if slowly. I've never worked with mercerized cotton before - I'm using Tahki Cotton Classic - and man, is it slippery! Hopefully I'll get used to it and it will go a little faster - though I am a slow knitter in the first place. My current goal is to finish it by the first Sunday in May. Hey, I did a sweater - with steeks, no less, in sixteen days. I just have to make myself concentrate on this project and not on socks.... Besides, my on-the-needles sock is green and that's May's color so I can work on it then.

Balls, unfinished.

Ball, finished.