Busy

Got one or two things on my plate at the moment, all of which seem to have competing due dates.  First was Campbell's 7th birthday, which we spent the whole weekend celebrating:
 

Too bad he doesn't much like his new bike. 

Then I worked on this Knit Picks project, which is going to appear in the February 09 catalog:

And of course, there are book projects, which are always expanding to fit the time I have alloted for them...

This one is only 3 days behind schedule, so it's possible I may be gaining momentum, but just as likely that I am delusional from cold medicine. 

Did I mention that school has started?  That means that between my job at the hospital (germ pit) Phillip's teaching at the high school (bacterial cesspool + teenagers = gross), and the smallies at elementary school (only marginally more sanitary than landfill) our house becomes a miniature Calcutta every fall.  I can't believe any of us ever sees a well day, if exposure has anything to do with sickness.

So that's all the news that's fit to print, and some that really isn't.  I gotta buy more tissue.
 

In A Haystack

One of the things I wasn't going to buy at TKGA was this sterling silver tapestry needle.  It comes from Crown Mountain Farms of Yelm, WA.  Yelm, WA is one of those wide spots on I-5 between Portland and Seattle that I thought didn't have anything I needed.  Boy have I been wrong.  Once I saw that Carson had one of these, I lost all my resolute determination and just about knocked down the cash register in the rush to get my own.  I'm so glad I lost my resolve and buckled under the weight of Knitting Tool Lust.  Using this needle is like putting on your great-grandmother's string of pearls in anticipation of the party of the year.  It's heavy, smooth, and trusty.  Not to mention easy to thread.  If you are looking for a special gift for yourself or anyone else you love, this is the ticket.  It's the needle equivalent of continental-size sterling hotel flatware.  Do not delay; succumb to the Lust.

In other news, my limited math skills have alerted me that I have four (4) weeks till deadline for all my patterns and samples.  This is the same thing emotionally as falling off a high ledge is physically:  Not really enough time to change anything; only enough to realize what's about to happen.

It leads me to reflect on the nature of needles and haystacks, and things that are either lost, or thought to be.  I seem to have misplaced my self-assurance.  It isn't that I can't give up sleeping, (I've already done away with housework, social interaction and basic hygiene), or that I don't know how to pace myself.  It's more a matter of cumulative fatigue.  I have been on this completely unrealistic production schedule for so long that I have no memory of what I used to do with my time before there was a book to write.  I think there may have been something to do with children, but memory simply fails.

However, it seems to me that the more beautiful the needle, the more worthwhile it is to dive into the haystack.  I just have to remember how much I like my designs, and how much I want to share them.  Where theres' a will, there's a way, no?

Birds Of A Feather

Last Thursday, the TKGA Knit and Crochet show rolled into town, and I was there to greet it.

Anybody know where I could get some YARN around here?  Of course, there was Full-Contact Shopping:

Schmoozing with the Knitteratti:

This is the lovely and talented Joan McGowan Michael, whose Ruby sweater is next in line for me to knit, as soon as I'm allowed to work on anything that isn't for the book...I have fond hopes of wearing Ruby with my kilt for Christmas.  Anybody wanna KAL?

Here's my new pal Carson, who is also working on the Master Knitter Program, and is at roughly the same point as I am.  Carson is on temporary Master Knitter sabbatical so he can write his book (I won't spoil the surprise, but you will LOVE it, and the knitters of the world need it BADLY).  Check back here for updates until his website is up.

Lindsay and I were in a fashion show, I acquired lite-up needles, and there was hardly any bloodshed (unless you count Continental Knitting, which I do not).

I took classes with Joyce Renee Wyatt, Melissa Leapman, Nancie Wiseman, Arenda Holladay, Janet Szabo, Candace Eisner-Strick, and Annie Modesitt.  Whew!  I am way smarter now, although I don't look any different.

I have never had so much fun, and I can't wait to do it again.