Happy Friday!

I need your input.
The pastor's son enlisted in the Marines and will be off to basic training next month - almost one month to the day. We, OK I, cannot let him go without an afghan blessed by the congregation. His favorite color is purple and I have two skeins of Caron By The Pound in Deep Purple (because that's the manly purple. Can't send a Marine pleb into basic with lavender. I thought I would do squares and so pulled out my knit stitches book (one of many) and cast on and, well, I ain't feeling it.

But I don't have a lot time to let feelings get in the way, the lad needs an afghan!
So, off I went to my Ravelry cue (blbochenek for those that want to be a friend) and I looked over what I had in my cue and selected the following: Give me your input and I will do the one with the most votes:

Here's this one. I would do it in one solid color or add aubergine to the deep purple.
Then there's this one that also could be done in a solid color for texture.
And the final one that could also be done in a solid color.

The good thing is I think I've done all of these patterns before so the learning curve should be short and once I get going it should roll trippingly off the needles - to paraphrase Shakespeare.
Please give me your thoughts - I need to get going on the afghan and I have to put the green Epais one to bed and it would be easier if I knew where I was headed.

You think about it - I'm on my way to the yarn store.

Wait..where?

Stop Me!...I Think

The wonderful Melissa takes delight in tormenting me. (I so look forward to the comment that's coming from that opening salvo.)

The wonderful Melissa has said on several occasions: "Why aren't you publishing your patterns?" or even more Mom-like: "I just don't understand why you're not publishing your patterns?" Yes, she makes it into a question. Melissa is Jewish (insert stereotype here) and the guilt has plagued me. Because one of my patterns is published on Ravelry and has even sold and because there are others playing around in my head. I've taken a look at a photo and then decided just to cast on and knit what I think I see. "Who," says the person with 50 knitting books that she knows of, "needs a pattern?" Sometimes I do. I like patterns - they give me someone to blame. I don't have to take responsibility for a pattern if someone else makes it. I just have to follow it and admire my ability to read or fail at it and say someone else doesn't know how to write a pattern.

SIGH. But the wonderful Melissa is playing over and over in my head because she was working on a cute bag and progressing very well and as I was watching her knit it my mind was saying how I would change this or that and make it something different and then when I went to church, Joyce had the cutest bag made out of leather and I thought 'I could knit something like that.' Oh that Melissa!

Do you know Hill Harper? He's on CSI:NY. He has a degree from Brown, a law and master's degree from Harvard is the author of several books along with being a lecturer and actor. He says you should follow your heart even if it takes you all over the place. (And let us admit the man is creamy! Wanna spread him on a cracker and eat him right up!)
His voice is nearly as loud as the wonderful Melissa's. He sets a great example of moving. You can't get anywhere without moving so if you think you're stuck start at your feet.

Of course, I will put the patterns on the long list of things to do because the truth, Melissa, is that I have thought about publishing them I just haven't gotten to it and then I know from the example of Hill Harper that time is something we made up and something we have some control over and can accomplish whatever we set our minds to doing. I believe that. I sincerely do.

I appreciate Melissa being in my head because I appreciate Melissa being in my life. She's someone I love hanging out with even as she leads me on the path of breaking my stash resolution (you should have heard her last Friday!!) Stay in my head, Melissa, I could use the noise.

It is Fini - shed!

There is nothing like a self argument to show yourself just how mature/immature you really are.
The Conflict:
The wedding afghan is finished. The wedding afghan is a present for my nephew and his fiancee who will be united in what I hope is wedded bliss next Saturday.

So far, nothing to argue about.

They should really be the one to 'open' the present. Therefore, I should not post a photo of the afghan here until after the wedding. Which means you guys would just have to wait until Saturday morning to see it.

But my niece to be and current nephew don't read my blog so they won't see it before they get to open it.

But still they should be the one to open it first.

They're registered at Target and some other place and everyone on the planet can pull up their Club Wed list and see what they want so it won't be such a big surprise cuz they know what they're getting, so why not post the photo here cuz they still get to open it in person and it always looks different in person than in the photo - and it always looks better in person.

But they should be the one to open it first.

Oh shut up.
No, You shut up.

Instant war.
What's the reason I want to post it now?
Cuz I want the instant gratification of seeing it on the blog and letting you see it!

Yea, that's mature.

It would be really nice if the photo was of Jeremy and Lily together with the afghan.

But then that depends on Jeremy and Lily taking a photo and getting it on line and getting it to me so I can get it on the blog. That's too many what if's for a couple that's getting married, going on a honeymoon then coming back straight to work. That's a lot to expect.

Gees, I wish I'd stop.

So, I do what I always do when I can't decide. It's one of the reason you marry - to have somebody to give you an opinion you can always ignore. Mr. Honey is sitting in his chair eating ice cream waiting for the Cubs (sigh) game to start and I ask him: should I post a photo of the afghan on the blog before they get it?

He shrugged. "Why not?"

Indeed.




030104

Mission Name: Operation Stash Bust

This has been under the dining room table for - heck, I don't how long. Yes, I have too much yarn. There, I've said it again. I have too much yarn. I am also itching to try Epais Yarn and it's on sale at Hobby Lobby this week but I am not even going to get behind the wheel of the car in case some yarn spirit takes over and forces the car to go to the Hobby Lobby where it will be met by the fiber fairy who will then force me to purchase aforementioned Epais Yarn and I couldn't very well use the excuse that the devil made me to do since it would be spirits and angels.

So, for some strange reason instead of just putting the box down in the basement with the rest of the stash, I decided I needed to start yet another project and thus Operation Stashbust is now in effect. I say again, Operation Stashbust is now in effect.
Now, I am still working on the wedding present afghan (8 squares down!) and the time crunch is on. I don't want to start sewing the squares together because I don't yet know what the other squares will look like or what color, or rather shade of blue, they will be. But I am compelled to get some of the yarn into something marketable. (It occurs to me, I could put together those mystery bags of yarn and sell them - nah!)

I decided to look in my Ravelry queue and the first thing there was the Falling Leaves afghan
Perfecto! This definitely a stash buster and since I can pull off one those puppies in about 20 mins. I can start off each knitting season with two leaves and then start on the blue afghan. Which is just what I did. There are six leaves pinned onto the press board (if I don't tell you the two big squares are two of the blue afghan, then you won't know it's part of the wedding present afghan, will you? I'm not saying they are, mind you, I'm just asking a question.)

I have to make the blue afghan the priority because of the time crunch so the Falling Leaves will keep me from getting A.A.D.D. (Afghan Attention Deficit Disorder.) I have to make 276 of the full leaves and 30 something of the half leaves. That stash should be well and truly busted.

Who-rah!

021604

Midnight Motion

Bored. That's right. I'm bored. I have five hours free...well now, it's a little less than one. I watched 'Chronicles of Narnia - Prince Caspian' and I worked on not one, but two, blankets on my needles, I read a chapter of a book and I ate sandwiches. I will have to clean up the kitchen in a little while - but for the moment, I was bored. So, I decided it was time to take photos of the afghan I was working on - you know, the black and white one I started about two weeks ago. I thought I would take the photos and share at least one of them with you - cuz you're family and family should help you become unbored.

So, here it is. I decided to free form the stripes, which is a good thing cuz I didn't always count the rows they way I should have if it were going to be an exact pattern. But I do like how it came out. Cream and black are such contrasts. It looks white I know, but trust me, it's cream. Or Ivory. Or ecru. Or whatever you want to call an off-white color without calling it off-white.

In any case, I rather like it!

When He Shines

Read my latest Squidoo lens about reading in the bathroom!


You will so need a cup of coffee for this:

So, let me tell you what the dog did last night. He was lying on the floor next to the surge protector that holds the plugs to the cable and DVR. He sneezed, his paw lifted up and when it came down, it turned off the surge protector.

Sigh.

I turned it back on - cuz I was watching the t and v and when I turned it back on, my DVR was blitzed. My cable did not recognize it's own DVR box. So I called Comcast and they reset it - still didn't recognize it.

Sigh. Sigh.

So, while they were trying to reset it, I asked them to let me know what specials they were running cuz I was looking to lower the cable bill. The very nice Comcast lady told me the cable I have now (standard cable package) was going away with the new digital revolution. (Still think that's a government conspiracy) so I would need to switch packages anyway and gave me three options: one for $49, one for $89, one for only Oprah could afford it. These fees would all be locked in for one year after which they would sky rocket like you wouldn't believe. I chose the middle package because it would be less than what we pay now and because after a year, I could threaten to go to a lower price one and lock in the price again.
I asked when it would be effective and she said immediately so I told her to wipe out everything I had that was extra on the service I have and just put in the new one.

You still with me?

So, the DVR never reset. All the movies I had saved...gone. All the episodes of Knitty Gritty...gone. Some of the season ending episodes..gone.

Dog was fine, though.

So, she set up an order for the technician to come out and see what was what. I also asked her if I could get a new remote because we've worn out one of the buttons and she told me where I could go to pick one up and that would save me $10 in a mailing fee. No problem. I would pick it up. I said good-bye to the nice Comcast lady and I was now wired so I wasn't going to bed - but hey, the new cable package includes all the movie channels so I was going to watch a movie - turned to HBO.

Nothing.

Shotime.

Nope.

Starz.

Nada.

She said the package also included the premium sports channels so I thought I'd watch some baseball.

Yeah, right.

OK, so maybe it would take until the morning. I would go get the new remote and all would be right with the world.

Getting the new remote was the easiest part of the experience. No problems with that. Came back home.

Remote won't sync with the t and v so now I have to use the remote for the cable and the remote for the t and v.

And the DVR is still out.

And I still don't have the new package - but all my old add on stuff has been wiped out just like I asked.

I've already apologized to God for whatever it was that I did - but honestly, I just think he's having some fun.

This is my latest work in progress. I didn't know how stunning it was until I saw the picture. It's going to be an afghan, of course, cuz I am in an afghan phase and probably will be until I go through all the patterns that are calling my name. I am in danger of running out of the ivory yarn so I have to make a mad dash to the basement to see if I have any in one of the five boxes down there - hey, it used to be six but I consolidated! I'm winging the stripes, but now that I see the photo, I think I will probably do one more round of the baby stripes, but then do the solid stripes the rest of the way. I think the thicker stripes make a better statement!

Oh, the cable guy is coming tomorrow between 1-4.

It's So Easy

NOT!

I know, it's been more than a week. And what a week it's been. I started the new writing gig and truth to tell, it was more of a rough start than I'm used to - mainly because Handmade News is big news and I didn't map out the internal resources I needed to in order to do it all justice. So, I spent several restless, sleepless nights causing myself stress before beginning to calm myself down and put it all back into perspective.

Add to that, my online knitting group StitchCraft on meetup.com is growing! The last time I really looked, we had about 40 or so members - we are now over 70! So somewhere between stressing out over the new job and making myself crazy are plans to get that group together for a fun night. It has to be at night and it has to be planned right so I'm thinking somewhere in September when folks are done with summer and will want to pick up the needles to do the holiday knitting that will be just around the corner. This is a good problem to have but sometimes it's hard to balance the bad stress with the good stress. At some point, it's just stress.

But wait...there's more.

I think I told you our bazaar was successful. We had over $400 in sales. That's the good part. The not really bad but has to be dealt with part is that our supply of prayer shawls and afghans were seriously depleted. Baby blankets we have, but afghans and prayer shawls are practically sold out. Which means the group (of which I am a leader) has to have one or the other on their needles for the foreseeable future. And I do have one on my needles, but it's going into the shop. There's an afghan that's an expired listing that's going to the group.

There's good news...

My office is 95% organized. I can step into it and not have to step over a clutter bomb. The only boxes left are my stash boxes (now down to two!!) and the boxes of craft goodies I inherited from my mother in law. Not much left to do but vacuum the carpet, put the new speaker wires into the speakers and let Joe clean the carpet. Alas, it looks like an office instead of a craft room - but I smile every time I walk into it. Yes, when it's all done, I'll take a photo.

I will also take a photo of the beautiful afghan on my needles. It should be done sometime this weekend - I'm hoping for tomorrow. I would take a pic now, but it's 2 in the morning and the light isn't good. Besides, if I finish it tomorrow, I can take the shop photos and blog photo during the same session.

Forgive me for being away so long - I have missed you - but sometimes you have to ride the breakdown so you know when to get off.

We're In This Love Together

Let me say how much I appreciate all you guys. I woke up this morning and went to my email and Twitter box and there were such lovely private tweets and emails that it just me smile with tears of joy. Earlier, I was talking with one of my very best friends on this planet and he said to me he was in the dumps and talking to me lifted him up.

You have no idea how much you've lifted my spirits especially after yesterday when someone tried to bring them down. (Don't worry, they didn't succeed too much.)

These forums have been such a great way to get to know some truly splendid people and I'm so honored you are part of my life.

Want to see what I've finished?


I'm in love with this bag! I searched and searched for the paillettes and finally found them at Hobby Lobby (that is going to be my new #1 craft store.) Come on, admit it, it's cute.
And I blocked out the cable afghan. I love my little steamer, I think I gave myself a facial when I was steaming the afghan. If someone can tell me how to make the deep purple photograph true in digital photography, I'd appreciate it.

This afghan is so soft and it blocked out to a very generous 54x64. That's a nice size afghan for anybody. It isn't something I would be placing in the shop now because it's more of a fall thing, but I'm thinking it might make a nice present for a graduate going off to school in the fall. And who doesn't love purple?

These will be both go on sale in the shop.

At Last

Read my lastest article on Squidoo!

I don't even remember when I started this afghan. I am certain it was some time this year and if I go looking through the blog I will find some reference to it. But I put it aside because - frankly - it was getting a little tedious doing all the cables. I didn't think too much about the design, I just started making cable strips and I'd say to myself "Oh, I know, I make this one with three cables, and the another strip with just one...oh, then I'll need one with two..and..."

You get the idea. My knitting eye is sometimes way bigger than my knitting stomach.

I was getting a little whacked out and so I put it in a trusty tote bag and put it aside while I worked on other things.

Well, a funny thing happened on the way to cleaning the living room.
I was organizing boxes of yarn and placing some project filled and some empty tote bags in the boxes all to be carted down to the great yarn stash in the basement when I ran across this one and said. "I should really finish this." So I picked up the needles and started working on it.

Yes, some would say I was stalling in finishing the living room and if I had a good argument that disputed this claim I would use it now - but I was stalling. But then I did put down the project and move the boxes downstairs.

Here's the thing about putting away an project that's getting on your nerves: your nerves will get over it and then one day you will be able to pick it up - finish the last strip, sew it all together and try and take pictures of it before you hurry out the door to choir rehearsal. (OK, that last part was just me.)

It is now hanging on the blocking wires in the bathroom where it has been steamed. It will be incredibly soft because of the steaming and it will be cuddly because of the yarn and the cables. I have to take outdoor pictures of it because it will go on sale in the shop.

While I was going through the boxes, I ran across another wip. It was going to be a bag. It still is going to be a bag, but I'm going to change it up a little - a lot. It should turn out cute and if it does, you will be the first to know!

Today blogout! - Have you seen The Gift Hutch on Etsy? There are some very lovely pillows on her site. If you have a couple of minutes, go pay a visit.

Man Cave Wrap

This is how it started.

then it turned into this..
Neither one of those really worked for me. It was supposed to be a simple blanket but the first two yarns just weren't making me happy. So, I started again and I didn't have enough yarn to do it all in one color so this is how it ended up.

I love it! It's warm and it's inviting (Even if I say so myself!) It is a very generous 50 x 50. (Pre-blocking!) The HB, who is very supportive, let out a spontaneous 'wow' when he saw it.
It's made with three skeins of "I Love This Yarn" and part of a skein of (what else?) Caron by the Pound. It's soft and warm and I think would look great on a chair in a man cave or a student's room.
I love it when a plan comes together...even if it takes three tries.

I'd Like to Thank the Academy...

This message appeared in my Ravelry mailbox:

"1:23 PM
Request to feature your photo: Very Thick - Not So Quick Afghan
Sent at 8:20 AM Yesterday

We’d like to feature your photo on the Ravelry page for Triple Wave Afghan by Martingale & Company."

I'm so farklemt. That would be 'choked up' for those who do not speak Yiddish. One of my favorite afghans will be the poster child for the Triple Wave afghan on Ravelry. This is enough to make one proud and humble all at the same time. I don't know if it's really a big deal but it feels like a big deal. I went over to Ravelry and did a search on Triple Wave and there she is...my baby!

Excuse me while I get a little misty...

It's Christmas Week

Ok, so there won't be hats for everyone this Christmas. I forgot just what a hectic schedule I have this week. But that doesn't mean there weren't hats made.
I did manage to get a few knit up, but since they aren't going to anyone in particular, I actually started playing with the idea of doing an Esty shop.
I went onto the site and looked it up, and by cracky, I think I will do it. I've set up another blog to load up some product (of which these two hats will be part) and I've registered my shop on the site. I talked to God about it and other than reminding me of how I get these ideas and then lose my attention, He seemed to think this was something I could do if I managed to deal with the aforementioned attention problem. And I think I can do that since I'm always knitting and I head up the sales we do and since it requires writing, it pulls all my stuff into one place. But hats aren't the only things that will be in store. There will be afghans, blankets, pillows, etc. like this feather an fan afghan I just finished.

Other than that, getting ready for Christmas meant singing rehearsals. I've done a solo on Christmas Eve every year for the past six years. This year I will be returning to my mother's favorite, 'O Holy Night' I'm a first soprano and that means hitting the B flat. It's a really beautiful song and our music director, Michael, plays it wonderfully. It's very majestic. If I can remember to grab the recording, I'll try and put it up - cuz, of course, you'll all want to hear it!!

I'll be spending Christmas morning in bed while the HB goes to his church for his service, then he'll come back home and we will open presents (He bought me five knitting related books and 1 CD. I bought him some baguette pans and a stand mixer - well, it's what he wanted!) and then we are heading off to my church to help serve lunch to some of the homeless.

In case I don't get to the computer - let me say to you all how happy I am to know you. It is a blessing to share the love of our craft with you and I enjoy reading your blogs as well. I wish you all a safe, blessed and fulfilling Christmas season and a wonderful New Year.

The Great Yarn Debate

I picked up knitting again after decades of not thinking about it because a friend and I decided we 'needed' to have a knitting group at church. There was no mission component or selling component; we were just knitting.

Then we had all this stuff and had to decide what to do with it - so the selling and the mission parts came in. This, of course, required the need to purchase more yarn.

I cannot wrap my mind around paying $12 for a skein of yarn. I've seen it. I've even touched it. I have trouble getting my mind around $10 for a skein of yarn. It could be because most of the knitting I do is for sale or to give away and the more expensive the yarn, the more care it requires. The items we give away need to have a wash and wear care tag because a lot of them are given to the homeless, who don't carry Wool-Lite with them and may not be able to launder it for a while.

Or they are given to people who are shut in who also don't have the inclination to 'lay it flat to dry'.

We price our items according to the yarn we use. (I have the task of pricing items for our sales) and we do not charge for the labor because that's the fun part and the reason we come together. The gathering is the mission - the items we create are an extension and the fruits of the mission. So we don't charge for the coming together or knitting when we're alone because we are connected through the group. So, I charge by finding out what yarn people have used and calculating from there the cost to make another blanket, hat, etc. plus and additional cost to help pay it forward and donate items to others.

A couple of things happen: some really labor intensive item can sell for a really inexpensive price because though the pattern was complicated, the knitter used yarn that was only $2.50 a skein. (Believe me, I've had this discussion with knitters who've said: "But it was a complicated pattern!" to which I have responded: "And that's your reward!")

We also get some rather expensive items. Use 12 skeins of Lion Brand Wool-Ease Thick and Quick and the lowest price charged for an afghan is $110. We have items like that and they are beautiful and we can display them as high end items. Whether they will sell at the last show of the year remains to be seen. If they do not sell, we will have to reduce the price, of course, so someone will want to walk away with it by the end of the week. You can see the $110 afghan here.

I was in Hobby Lobby the other day and was looking for a yarn that had slubs and bumps and I found one. It was so soft and so pretty and had about 90 yarns to the skein and I figured I would need maybe 8 or so to do a shawl. I looked at the price -$11.95. Put it back. Sigh.

Is there something wrong with me? I just can't see it.

At Long Last - Cai!!

It's finally done! That's the hubby-bubby holding it in the second pic! I can't believe how huge it is and the HB says it's very warm as well. I can't believe I thought I could get that done in seventeen days. But, hey, there's nothing wrong with optimism.
I can't even begin to tell all the yarns that went into this. There's some very old Sayelle yarn, some Caron By the Pound, Caron Natura, some "I Love This Yarn" and I don't know what all. It was a good use for the stash, though you couldn't tell I even touched the yarn load. I still don't need to buy any yarn, though I am going to by the end of the month because Herschnerr's is running the free shipment and I can stock up on their chunky weight yarn which I like.

I used size nine needles and the whole thing is taller than I am - not that that's much of a stretch.

So, it's done and I am onto the baby blanket. I am almost certain to start another project really soon and I look forward to that as well. In the meantime, I took a really long walk this morning and I am sore. I am going to take that same long walk again tomorrow. The HB gave me my birthday present early - a trip to Florida in 10 weeks and I need to get into walking shape for it. With Cai out of the way, I am better mentally to get the legs in shape!

Cai - In Progress

It bugged me that I had nothing to show - boy, if I were in therapy that's a beginning of a session!

So, I took photos of Cai, my afghan that I have been working on since 8/8/08. This is 3 of the 5 strips that will go into the afghan. The fourth strip is done, but constructed in such a way that it cannot be added. So, I have to do the last one before I can add the next to the last one. What possessed me, you may ponder, to believe I could finish a 25 square afghan in a mere two weeks. Especially with squares like this one in the mix. I have no idea what I was thinking! So the final strip has begun and it will be finished some time soon and then the real fun begins of sewing them together. I am thinking of just doing a cross stitch in the darkest color or a simple mattress stitch. The sewing part is not my best event, but I will persevere. And I will post the final pics when all is said and done!

I Got Nuthin

Happy September!

I love firsts and I love first days of months that start on Monday. It's a quirk. Anyway, I have uploaded all the projects I've done. I've gone through all the photos and I got nuthin left. I do have some projects on my needles. Cai, my earthtone afghan is closer to the finished line. There are five strips in total and I am about to complete the 4th one. The baby blanket for the nephew arriving in a few weeks is on the needles. I have not touched it since the day I cast it on and worked on it because I will start a new project about every ten days or so (it's on my schedule) but I only work on one project at a time. So, when Cai is done, I will pick up the baby blanket and work on it. I have the second Travis Wrap to work on as well but that is still in my mind and I haven't even selected the yarn for it and according to my schedule, a new (as yet unknown) project, will come to life within about a week.

So, it's the start of a new month...and I got nuthin'. I am working on Cai to the tune of about a square a day so it should be done in about six days. That will depend upon the work schedule, of course, and the times of the Cubs games because time stands still for the Cubs. (Die hard since 1969!)

I need to stop blogging and go the store to get bathroom cleaning supplies - don't envy me my glamourous life-you, too can live this way if you choose!

The Purple Afghan

I finished this afghan last month. It took a few weeks to knit and I was having a problem because there had to be a crochet slip stitch done along the 'cross section' of the afghan and it took me a little while to figure it out. But I did figure it out and now Billie (my maid of honor) owns the afghan because she loves the purple. So, while it was probably headed towards the sale - it is in a happy home.
It was made with...oh, you know, Caron by the Pound in lavender, orchid and dark violet. Double strands of each. The pattern is from Classic Quick Knit Throws. It is the autumn one and I have to say though it was relatively quick, it wasn't easy. I think they rate it as intermediate level and I would have to agree.

Alas, I did not finish my afghan in time to medal for Ravelympics. I would have received two more medals had I finished, but it just wasn't to be. I picked up some new clients instead and I've had to put down all things knitting and....work!

In fact, I must leave here and go back to my desk for a few hours of work before I can turn in. Hopefully, I will be in bed by 2!

Knitting One Project at a Time

Here's the thing: I used to have up to seven knitting projects going at one time. I would alternate them every day. Then one day, I thought I was driving myself crazy. So I changed my chaotic way and went down to one project at a time and I think I've probably been that way for the better part of a year.

Every once in a while I would put down a project to whip off a quick prayer shawl because we needed one at church or a hospital would contact us saying they needed more preemie hats, but as a rule, I was doing just one project at a time.

At the moment, I am working on some squares for an afghan I designed and I have the itch to begin another project. I find there may be several reasons for this:

1. We have a sale coming in November and I am always worried about not having enough items to sell.

2. My next 10 projects are full sized afghans (I don't work on more than one, but I know what they are) and I am a bit afraid of never leaving the afghan world if I don't get through these next ten projects.

3. I have a ton of yarn but I always have the urge to buy more. However, my house already resembles a LYS so I have to use it up before I can satisfy the gnawing urge to order more.

4. I'm stalling because the colors I chose for my design is not as stunning as I thought, but I have to carry it through. (None of the photos in this post is the square - under wraps it is.)

5. The squares will take a bit of time to complete and I have the attention span the size of a newborn gnat.

Now, I personally believe there's a little bit of all those reasons in the itch I have, but the last two are probably the most true with reason three a strong next in line.
So, will I start a new project? Not today. But I have solved the problem by putting a new item in my schedule: "New project" Yep, it's an actual part of my schedule like my workout and cleaning the kitchen. My weekly schedule takes about 10 days to get through so I suspect I will start the next afghan around Tuesday or so. I believe I can happily alternate between two projects and by the time I get around to that entry in my schedule again, one of them will probably be very close to completion and I will be ready to begin again - because hope springs eternal.

The Knitter as a Writer

I had to change my profile and I've changed my schedule. I use an Excel spreadsheet to hold my weekly schedule and the days are broken down into hours.

This is the hour I am to be a writer. I have two clients, I have the blog, I have to source new clients (because I freelance) and I have my own projects I would like to work on. So, this writing session (which includes this blog) will take about five hours and I work five days a week. Doing the basic math, that means I work about 25 hours a week.

Not bad.

I understand how blessed I am. I understand how many talents gifts I have been given - and I really understand how long it has taken me to acknowledge the creativity I have because I was so scared people would call me arrogant.

And they have. But I don't believe I am - I believe I have a great capacity for it - but I do believe I fall short of it. (Thank God!)

I am coming to believe how incredibly important it is to recognize what God and the universe has given each of us in the way of lights to shine. I think we need to tell what gift we have that we can offer to others and learn what they can offer to us. We share that knowledge and share the gifts because we share the planet.

It just makes sense.

So, I have several hours to go on my job. I have some hours ahead of me. I am going to look for some new clients. Then work on the projects of the clients I have and end the session with working on my next project - I think I know what it is - but I'm not letting the cat out of the bag just yet. And I will knit. I was knitting right before I started working. I am working on a nice afghan that I designed. I am eager to see it finished and placed on line - I am eager to see if anyone finds it.

Smooches.

What's New

OK, so it's been about eleven days since my last entry. I actually have completed two more projects in that time. I've done a prayer shawl and I just completed a hat and scarf project. I've taken the pics of them and they are on the laptop computer. I just haven't gotten around to writing and posting.

I suppose life has been in the way...which really isn't an excuse at all. I haven't thought about the postings and when I have; i haven't thought enough to get up and write about the knitting I've been doing.

And I've been doing the knitting. The truth is, I had begun to design my own afghan making my first pattern and I didn't like how it turned out. That's when I moved on to the prayer shawl and the hat and scarf. But, I looked in my books, 200 Knitted Blocks and Knitting Out of Africa and I came up with something.

I didn't think I was ready to tackle the sweater in the Africa book, but it did include the pattern for a square I could make and I was thinking about how to do the design. I know that same square is the 200 book so I leafed through it and came up with a design I really liked. I looked all through the book again to make sure I wasn't stealing a design and I wasn't. I started work on the afghan last night using the yarn I have left over from the Sit & Knit. It will take a total of 56 squares. Of course, if it comes out right, I will have made a major breakthrough.

Wish me luck!