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.
