My Bad

After a year of considerable restraint,

I went mad,

Well, it was half price, and I know that I shouldn't have but

PRETTY!

Forgive me all for I have sinned.

It's a marshmallow world in the winter...

...which means that it's bliddy cold and impossible to get anywhere.

Sorry to be a misery about it, but not being a labrador puppy, the appeal of snow is somewhat lost on me.

This is the view from my window.






Bleak, huh?

So, it strikes me that it's hat weather.

As we're hoping to run an "introduction to crochet" workshop at the end of this month, in which we will learn different stitches, it seemed sensible to use them in a pattern.

By using a combination of dc, htr and tr, a "wave" pattern" is produced.

There, ain't that perty?

Tried to deliver said hat to the shop but they weren't around (don't blame them), so I popped it through the door. On my way, I'd fallen over on the damned ice, so now have aches and pains, but we must all suffer for our art!

In the unlikely event that any of your kind folks would like the pattern, it's here.

Stay upright folks, unless you're with someone gorgeous!

Happy New Year

Happy New Year to whoever is kind enough to read this.

Another year gone, eh? No point in looking backwards; I've done some things well (sold a few designs, not bought too much yarn) and other things not so well (have read far fewer books than I would have liked, and my time management occasionally went to pot).

So what does 2010 hold? Who knows. I'm not a fan of new year's resolutions - if you're going to change something, do it NOW, don't wait for a point on a calendar and give it a significance it doesn't deserve. So I'm not going to say "I'll knit X items, or I'll stop biting my nails".

Instead, I prefer to have plans. I would like to finish Scattering (the working title of book two). I will try to update this blog more often (hope springs eternal). I will try to keep my accounts up to date, and not assume that I'll remember stuff.

However, I don't believe in planning too closely. This time last year I hadn't had the ideas for designs that I've sold. So who knows what my little brain will come up with this year? Will I come up with the idea for a novel that I must write, putting book two on the back burner? Will I crack some knitting or crochet holy grail and be hailed as a yarn genius? Or will I be sitting here in a year's time thinking "well, that was pants"?

I've just discovered the predictions that I don't even remember writing! How did we do?

1) Will forget to add to the blog. - So yes.
2) Won't read as much as I would like - Absolutely
3) Will finish second draft and send it out - Actually, did it! Got an agent! Have been rejected by some of the finest publishing houses in the country!
4) Will make more knitted items and not buy yarn. Okay, did the latter, pretty much and also the former. Beginning to feel quite smug!
5) Will probably not lose weight - largely correct. (Largely being the best word, here)
6) Must save money - didn't do too badly (see not buying yarn, above)
7) Train for new job and be self employed. - I did it - and that is still scary.


We can't predict the future (although it looks as though I know myself better than I realised...), so I'm just going to work hard, treat others with respect, and keep an open mind.

Peace out.

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.......