Where has the year gone?

December already, so much to do, so little time.

The problem with December is that it feels cut in half. I have stuff that needs doing by the end of the month (a commission). I would like toget it to them by Christmas, which means that I've got to get it finished in the next week. I don't honestly know how realistic that is (time is a strange master), but I know I'll feel a sense of personal failure if it doesn't happen.

On top of that I've got a bit of Christmas knitting to get finished. A friend of mine wants some mini stockings in white and silver (2 done, 10 to go). They don't take long, but they are part of a list. In addition to that, she's newly in love (aaahhh!), so I'm also trying to knit some "lovers' mitts" (one glove each, and then a giant mitt that they can both wear and hold hands). It's for a bit of a gag, so not the end of the world, if it doesn't get done, but I'd rather it did!

On the plus side, however, another commission which was due to be with the magazine by 16th December was sent off last week, so felt good about that.

Not much writing getting done though!

Atlantis

There aren't many downsides to having your patterns published (I'm really rather pleased it's happening!). But the one that I can think of, is the wait between completing my latest pride and joy, and it actually appearing in the world, so that I can put it on display.

Not sure when I finished this bathmat, but it's now in Let's Knit, so I can show it to the blogosphere.

I'm well aware that this is not of interest to anyone but me, but that's what blogs are all about, aren't they?

Getting things finished

Knitting

This has been a weekend for getting things finished, and some of them have been going on a ridiculously long time.

Firstly, there's a pair of gloves which are a commissioned pattern, so I'll post a pic when they're published.

Secondly, there's a sweater that has taken me a year to make. Not because it's particularly complicated, just because I kept putting it down and picking it up again.

My mate Mandy wanted a sweater like the Vicar of Dibley's. She tried to describe it to me and the best we could come up with (from descriptions such as - "it was in the episode when...") was this:

As you can see - not much to go on.

So I went to Ann Budd for the basic shape (of course - she is goddess), and created the folowing:

I just hope she likes it, but if I see it in the local Oxfam shop, then I'll know the answer!

Writing

Nothing new to report, although I did send off a short story comp entry a couple of weeks ago. Don't expect to win, but it felt good to enter!

Life

Not much work in (hence my crisis of confidence the other day), so I did my favourite thing; I threw stuff away. We had a bureau in our dining room (very1950s and not in a good way, but a serviceable piece of furniture, none the less) which was filled with all sorts of nonsense. It had become a bit of a "dumping ground" for everything - bits of wrapping paper, batteries, you know the type of stuff.

So I decided to sort it out and then had a thought. The desk in what we laughingly call "the office" was falling apart. This wasn't helped by an incident when I got it stuck over a banister and ended up taking a saw to it, but that's another story.

So it occurred to me that the bureau could go into the office and the desk could go into the tip. Sorry, not very environmentally friendly, but it was so rubbish I didn't feel I could offer it on Freecyle or similar - it was a bit of a health hazard.

So this is what we have done. We now have more room in the dining room, more room in the office (the bureau is slightly smaller than the old desk) and have got rid of an unsightly bit of crap. There's nothing like a bit of de-cluttering to lift the spirits, is there?

Obsessions

We all have the ability to develop obsessive habits.

For some of us, it's collecting yarn. For example, why did I buy a large ball of pompom yarn yesterday? Because I want to see what it's like to knit with. Despite those who have tried it saying "they no like" - no, I can't miss out. It's not like I'm short of yarn!

I have recently realised that I have an obsessive habit. Every day, I have to log on to www.suite101.com, to see if more or fewer people have been reading my articles.

If it's any help, I do know that it's pathetic. I mean, what's wrong with me, that I can't just put it on there, and wait for comments.

Mmm - I wonder if there's an article in that.......

Sometimes the darkness comes

Isn't it funny how we can turn on a sixpence?

I've not had a bad day - been busy - earned some money, had a nice dinner with a friend.

And then the evening comes and the darkness descends, actually and metaphorically.

Probably I'm just tired, but right now I'm feeling vulnerable, scared and tearful.

I've been full of doubt recently; my life has gone through some changes, so this is probably a natural reaction. Often it's fine, my pride in my own courage is just one of the things keeping me buoyed up.

But then there are the times like now. Have a made the right choice at the right time? What happens if it all goes wrong? Will I recover from disaster?

I know, this is self-indulgence. My biggest fears are growing in the darkness. Perhaps I should try to sleep before they take me over.

May confidence find me by morning.

Whimsical Memories

Yesterday, I happed to drive past my old school at finishing time. For many people this may be an everyday occurrence, but I live approx 50 miles away from where I grew up, and although my Dad is still near, I'm not usually around on a week day at a quarter to four.

It's funny the memories and feelings that went through my mind.

The building is still the same, but the uniform has changed (I would have killed for a v-neck sweater when I had to wear a crew-neck). As I watched the kids walking along in groups, waiting for their buses and trying desperately to be "alternative" and nonchalant. I couldn't help but smile. I was one of those girls, with band names written all over my school bag, books covered in wallpaper and a desperate desire to fit in by being different.

When I went around the corner, I saw another sight that was different from my schooldays, but yet the same. On a streetcorner (coincidentally the street where I used to go for piano lessons). was a crowd of about 15 girls from my old school, and about the same number of boys from our brother school. (This corner is approximately equidistant from those two august institutions). Some of the kids/teens were chatting, and flirting. On the edges of the group the other kids, the ones more like me, were hanging around. Perhaps jealous, perhaps bored, but unwilling to leave without their more popular mates.

For most of the way home, this song was in my head.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zPPi58K6wZs



Perhaps, it should have been "I'm glad I'm not young anymore"!

Oh, the shame

So, I'm putting together some Christmas Patterns (yes, I know it's only October, but this is for promotion and therefore needs to be early).


I wanted some find some dark green yarn for some holly leaves.

I couldn't find it anywhere. In the end, I got all of my stash and stacked it up on the bed.

I had to leave the room for a moment. I suggested to best beloved that if he wanted to see something horrible, he should look in the bedroom. He gave me a puzzled look, to which I could only reply "my name is Lahlah, and I have an addiction problem".

Here's the proof.

So - this is why I'm NOT going to Ally Pally this year.


I managed to find some dark green. In all of the above, I had two small balls of it - about 15 - 20g each. Unreal!


Still enough to make what I wanted though.










Happy Holidays!

Sleepy

strikes me that bourbon creams have soporific qualities. Even with the caffeine in the accompanying cup of tea, after two biscuits, I could happily push my keyboard to one side, put my head on my desk (storytime at primary school style) and have a little sleep.

This was worrying me greatly – I even went to my local Lloyds pharmacy and got myself tested for diabetes, but that was all absolutely fine (thankfully).

I’ve always had the problem that ridiculously coloured and sugared sweets at lunchtime leave me catatonic (no, not literally, obviously), but a couple of biggies with a 10 o’clock cuppa shouldn’t be doing this, should they?

Of course, it doesn’t help that I’m at work and automatically bored. This is what has led me biscuit-ward in the first place.

Teaching and....stuff

It's been pointed out to me that it is many weeks since my last post. I cannot deny it or disagree. However, I have been a very busy girl.

In the last few months, I appear to have developed what I like to call my "bo££ocks of steel" as I now seem to be much less fearless than I used to be. Okay, that's not much, and by most people's standards I'm still a big girl's blouse, but in comparison with a couple of years ago, I have developed a new attitude. Or, as my friend Bea said to me "so what you mean is, you're motto is now "oh **** it"?".

I apologise for the strong use of pound signs and asterisks, but this is no time for weakness!

Basically, Bea is right. I've taken the view that, for example, my book won't get published sitting on my hard drive. Nor will my knitting patterns, or anything else for that matter.

Thus, in this frame of mind, some months ago, I went to a lovely new yarn shop in Eastbourne, run by the equally lovely Kirsty and George.

Despite supposedly going "cold sheep" and not buying any yarn this year, I treated myself. To be honest, an Addi 4mm in bamboo and a ball of sock yarn (not for the same project.... although......) is hardly reckless spending, but I still shouldn't have.

However, I'm digressing. While paying for my new bits of gorgeousness and chatting to the lovely Kirsty, my wotsits of steel made an appearance, as I asked if they would be running any workshops and then I said something along the lines of "I'm thinking more teaching than learning". I mentioned my Let's Knit successes, and Kirsty was very keen on the idea.

To be honest, my wotsits then disappeared, because despite the fact that I've been knitting for 37 years, and have trained probably hundreds of people to do loads of things over my working life, I've never actually taught anyone to knit before. I did explain this, but they were still up for it.

So between then and now we've been putting together workshops and the last Sunday in June was our first one. We were hoping to run two; "Introduction to Fair Isle Knitting" and "Introduction to Crochet" but we only had takers for the second one (hey, it's new, it's summer, we're not going to worry, yet).




The good folks came along, and were of mixed abilities, but all went away knowing how to do a chain stitch and a treble stitch (we were making granny squares).

It was fun!

Bizarrely, at Knitting Group this week, someone else wanted to learn to crochet, so, full of my usual cockiness, I tried to show them.

Maybe it was them, maybe it was me, but it was certainly less successful. We're going to have another go next time, but I was so glad that this was after the workshop and not before - I'd have been a wreck!

That's enough drivel for now. I'm still only about 2,000 words in on the next novel, and haven't written anything (except lots of patterns for the workshop pieces) for weeks, but I hope to be back "in the saddle" soon. (Bad choice of phrase - there can't be a worse place to write!)

I have put together a couple of stitch samples (one knit, one crochet) which I've emailed to a couple of editors - we'll see if anything comes of it. That'll make three things out at the moment. It would be great if they were all go-ers, although I don't want to have to make them all at once!

Keep those needles and hooks clicking and those pages turning.

Home Knitting - amusing update

So, my best beloved came home from playing golf, and asked how my day had gone.


"I've run out of yarn". I said, guessing that he meant the home knitting, as he knew that I wanted to get it finished today.

The look on his face was something between terror and disbelief. I had to reassure him that I was only talking about the leaking cashmere, not my stash. Man, I will never run out of yarn from that, having reach SABLE (Stash Acqured Beyond Life Expectancy).

Made me smile.

Home knitting - just say no

Unless you are a champion speed knitter, don't do any home knitting - it's just not worth it!

• They pay £37 for a sweater - it's intarsia - it took me 1 1/2 hours just to sew the ends in.


• It's, quite possibly, the ugliest sweater in the world (but in cashmere and mohair - who pays hundreds for this stuff?)


• The yarn is leaving its dye all over my hands - I look like a negative of the black and white minstrel show


• They didn't send enough bloody yarn! So I was thinking I'd get this finished today (and was doing my usual trick of knitting faster because I was running out of yarn), but couldn't do it. I've got about 35 rows of a sleeve to do, so it won't take a huge amount of time, but man am I p-d off!

Pattern published

My second published pattern appeared this week.

(picture as it appears in Let's Knit! Magazine)

This has caused some hilarity, as my original idea was for the buttons to go at the back but still, I know about knitting, not children.

Writing

I've started work on the next book (working title Scattering). Not much written yet, but positive responses from my writing group on reading the first 1500 words, so that's all good.

Life

Tired - too much bloody knitting! Let me qualify that - too much unsatisfactory knitting of horrible patterns for no reward. There, that's better.

Bits of news

Knitting

I've done a few small projects.

1) I made a tea cosy for a lady at work. My mate Brenda saw it, and commented on how her sister in law likes sheep, so the below is for her...

2) While at knitting group a couple of weeks ago, a lady was wanting help with a circular blanket, which a couple of us were happy to give.

I tried to memorise the pattern and use up some scraps for the RSPCA. It obviously went wrong somewhere, as my blanket had too many stitches to lay flat. However, the mighty Spud seems to like it, so it's hers.

(Please note that this is the only time that the psychotic creature looks cute - don't be fooled).

My next pattern will be in Let's Knit next month. This month, it's in the promo picture for the next issue. "How lovely, I thought, but why is the little girl wearing the dress back to front?"

Writing

Big news!

I've got an agent!!!!!!!

(And I realise that she would probably chastise me for that many exclamation marks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

I'm still in shock about it. After twenty years plus of scribbling, someone finally has enough faith in my book to take it on.

I will love her forever! (If she reads this, she's probably a bit scared now).

We had a good phone conversation and will meet up in a few weeks time, but she's already passed my synopsis and three chapters to a commissioning editor for perusal.

I'm off for a lie down.

Some good some bad

Knitting

I've not got any pics (sorry, bad blogger), but I'm in the throes of making a sheep teacosy for a colleague. A friend saw the pattern and may also want one to give as a gift to a sheep fan, so that's keeping me busy.

Writing.

This is the reason for the blog title.

I've had two responses to my synopsis and three chapters.

1) "Thanks, it's fun but not for us". Well, fair enough. Much better than "well, that was crap", or "are you having a laugh" or similar.
2) "Thanks. Could I see the rest of the book?"
Well of course you can!!!

That was sent off last week, and a stony silence has ensued. I like to think it's because the agent is avidly reading it, pitching it to eager publishers, and negotiating my multi-million pound advance in the bidding war.

That's what I like to think. Realistically, it's probably stuck in the Mount Pleasant sorting office.

A magpie landed on my roof this morning (one for sorrow), and if I were superstitious, I would take it as a sign that the novel will never be published. Good job I don't believe in such nonsense then, isn't it?

Wish me luck.

The elements are against me

I can't get on my googlepage anymore!

Not the biggest issue in the world, I know, but some of my patterns were there!

Curses!

But now I have a googlesite.

http://sites.google.com/site/knittingandcrochetwithwords/

My cup floweth over.

Another commission!

Sometimes having more front than blackpool works. I've got another commissioned pattern. I am currently knitting frantically to get it back with the mag by next Friday.

What fun!

Felicitations and limitations

Happy New Year to one and all. May 2009 bring us all peace, health and prosperity.

The turkey has all been eaten (or frozen), the decorations have come down and tomorrow I'm back at work, so normal life is being resumed but with the hope and optimism that only comes on 1st January.

It was quiet new year in the Lah Lah household (apart from my snoring, that is). As time wore on and the heating switched itself off, I pulled out an old granny square blanket that I made many years ago.

Most of the yarn for the blanket came from my paternal grandmother. I remember she offered me the contents of her yarn stash. My Nan used to make a lot of toys and novelties for church sales and village fetes. The yarns in the bag were all tangled with each other, and I remember spending an afternoon with my Grandad. He was watching television while I untangled these balls and made myself a collection. Nan and Grandad are both long dead now, but as I sat there under the blanket last night, a thought occurred to me - all her stash in a bin bag? Amateur.

I'm not one for new year's resolutions - life's depressing enough without promising yourself something that you're bound to fail. However, I am planning to leave my job this year, so I've decided that the money I would spend on yarn will go onto my "escape fund", thus building up the kitty and reducing my stash. We have now gone beyond the scope of the cupboard. Enough is enough.

Knitting for cash.

I've decided to try my hand at being a pattern writer. I'm beginning to regret the decision. The stitch pattern I'm being asked to work out has some origins in brioche stitch and on attempt no 7 or 8 I'm very nearly there. I've got one more thing to try, but if I don't improve the version I've got, I'll simply email them a picture and ask them if they want their stuff back. I realise that sounds defeatist, and I don't like to be beaten, but I also don't like to waste my time, and I've spent a lot of hours on this already. Not that it's necessarily worth it. Is it a good hourly rate? No, not at the speed I knit. Does it devalue the craft? Possibly. Will it be money to go straight into the escape fund? You betcha.

Writing.

Oh yeah, that's really funny. But hope springs eternal.