Right now, I am knitting the most luscious fabric out of one strand of Alchemy Haiku (Mohair/Silk) and one of Alchemy Silk Purse (100% Silk). It’s drapey and shiny and subtle and is in many ways, the perfect antidote to the subzero weather around here lately. I’m designing a neckdown pullover, fitted and sensual, with a contrasting band at the neck, hem, and cuffs. I’m done with the body and half done with the first sleeve.

The hard part is going to be figuring out what I want to do for the bands. I like a woven slip stitch pattern, and it looks awesome in the silk, but I’m not positive that I want to do it in the same color as the silk in the body. I think a deep blue, almost aubergine, would be really sharp. However, I don’t think we have any colors in the store that will work. So I will wait and just enjoy the feel of the piece.

It may not fit me, anyhow.

Hmph.

Before you ask about my NaNo word count, I have indeed stopped writing for now. I’m almost half done, and probably also half done with the novel. Like Rachael, I’m going to keep working on it. The thing is, I’m exceptionally happy with what I’ve written so far. It’s not perfect, but I like the story, I like the characters, even their unlikeable parts, and I want to see it through. I also want to do something with it, try to finish it, edit it, maybe try to get it published.

Yes, I am that happy with it.

It has just been a wonderful exercise to get started writing fiction again. I’ve missed it dearly over the past few years. Coming back to it is like finding a treasured sweater in the bottom of your cedar chest at the beginning of winter.

Ha! Take that, oh you dreaded writer’s block.

I’ll be happier once I pass the halfway point. Much happier.

I was home sick today with what suspiciously feels like the flu. Not the stomach flu, just the flu. Everything hurts, especially my head and my throat. I couldn’t even knit, but I did take the laptop into bed and write a little.

Thus the progress.

And I think I’m actually starting to be pretty happy with my little story.

What’s worrying me is that the story is going really quickly. I may have to throw in a big twist or two, or finish the story and then go back and add more content throughout. We’ll see.

It’s been a horribly busy week and the weekend will be busier. We have something like 5 classes running on Saturday. I’m teaching none of them, but it still tends to feel like chaos with that many people running around.

Today, I’m hanging out with Mandy in the afternoon for a few hours. She goes back to Vancouver on Sunday and I feel like we’ve had so little time. But then, I know how it is when you have to visit your old home for a short period of time; so many friends to see, so little time.

Today is my friend Melissa’s birthday. If I remember correctly, she’s 29. I haven’t spoken much to Mel in the last year. Life got so strange and we sort of drifted and I have no clue what’s going on in her life now. This thought makes me so sad every time I think of it; how the closest of friends can drift without provocation. The way to fix things is to make more time, which is something I’ve struggled with since we opened the store. I’m no longer online for the working day, so it’s been impossible to carve out time to email the people I love who I never get to see, much less try to phone them at reasonable times. There’s no excuse, not really.

I just keep thinking that maybe soon, it’ll get under control at the shop. That we’ll have enough parts of our day organized well enough to be able to live a more normal life, and stop running around playing catch up.

At first, it was the thought that we just had to make it through the summer. Now, in our busiest season, I’m putting things off until after Christmas, when things should slow down a little. Part of the problem is that no one anticipated how busy the shop would be, how many classes would be running successfully, how much inventory we’d need to stay on top of, and how much time this all would take.

Don’t get me wrong… I’m thrilled that we’ve been so well received in Calgary and from our beloved mail order customers. I’m just continually a little puzzled by it, and a little scared that I won’t live up to the expectations already built.

I guess that’s a common worry in any walk of life. And it’s the time of the year where I find myself reconsidering so much of the past year, trying to pull out what I’ve learned, trying to evaluate what went well, what could go better next time. One year ends and another will begin soon.

Happy birthday, dear Melissa!

I couldn’t have less time to blog right now, but here are a few photos from the weekend retreat at Emerald Lake Lodge. (The one of me is a rather silly test of the self-timer on my camera.) And yes, those are indeed Bison cozies, knit by Trish and installed by Sandra.

As you can see by my Nano count on the right, I haven’t touched the novel for about a week. Am I giving up? PSHAW! I’ll just have to work hard to get caught up. And, I’m remembering my plan for this Nanowrimo… do as much as I can without feeling stressed about it. Any amount of writing for me is a success.

The felting book is trucking along. I’m through all but 2 chapters for author review, most finished off yesterday and today. I have two big ones left, and a few stray patterns. Hopefully the pgress is keeping the publisher happy. I’m at the point where I’m working as hard as I can, and I can’t possibly do anything more or anything faster. I’ll just be relieved when it’s all out of my hands. The end is in sight!

I may just be able to do this thing. How are you doing?

The orange yarn is appropos of nothing. I just liked the photo.

When do you blog?

I find that I’m most likely to post a real blog entry if I do it first thing in the morning, while I’m still enjoying my coffee (or diet coke…ahem). If I wait too long in the day, all my thoughts get jumbled and lost in the stupid little stress of life.

But first thing? I seem to have a lot to say.

So let’s recap the last few weeks, shall we?

I finished the Manos cardigan, and it turned out very very cute. I’m hoping to use it for a design submission, so this little hint of it is about all I can let you see for now. Alas, it fits Sandra much better than it does me, so she is now the proud owner of a new handknit sweater. And I am sad without a new sweater. Life is hard.

I’m still pondering that fair isle sleeved beauty from a few entries back. I had been planning on using Phildar’s Pure Laine yarn in shades of aubergine and lime… but… we haven’t received the latest shipment at the store yet, and I’m hesitant to do all that work on the body with the main colour without being able to see how it works with the remaining shades.

So, I’ve started a toe-up ribbed sock in Lorna’s Laces Tuscany. I do love my Lorna’s. Even for colourways that aren’t exactly my style, I’m constantly thrilled by the way the shades work together.

At least one person out there may remember my little alpaca striped fingerless gloves that were a permanent accessory for the past several years. I loved those babies and they were deceptively warm, while still allowing for photography, metro pass finding, and other fiddly stuff. So, they were ideal for travel. And of course, I brought them along on the Trans-Mongolian Railway in 2005. And, of course, they got lost in the mail on the way back to Canada.

So, consider these the replacement pair. This time, I’m knitting in RYC’s new Baby Alpaca DK yarn, and the lighter shade is actually a pale grey-blue. I’m nearly done with the first – they knit up quickly. Four more rows, then ribbing, then cast off and do the same for the thumb. I should be able to get both out of two balls of alpaca, which isn’t bad. If it works out, I’ll likely provide the pattern as a free one online. (That’s one of my indiKnits goals for last year.)

The Pseudo-Kimono had been my favorite WIP until last week when it stopped being so straightforward. I had the pattern nicely memorized, but have just started doing shaping for the front of the sweater, and every row is just slightly different than the pattern. Of course, I didn’t read closely enough and ended up working 6 rows completely wrong. Rippage ensued, and now I’m feeling too stubborn to pick it up again. At least for now. I’m teaching a course on the sweater, and the second class is tonight. My justification for not crocheting more on it is that the homework was only to be ready to start the sleeves tonight. I’m way ahead of the homework, so it wouldn’t do to get even further ahead, right?

And, of course, NaNo is my other big WIP this week. The above is a photo of some of the plot notes that I scribbled down a few weeks ago when on a coffee break. This is the first time that I’ve written with a basic plan of what the story is, who the characters are, and where they’re going. This is also the first time I’ve attempted to write fiction since about 2001. And yes, my undergrad degree is a Bachelor’s in fiction writing.

Instead, I’ve spent much of the past five years trying to ignore that niggling voice in the back of my head prompting me to write.

Writing is hard.

Writing is scary.

Writing is frought with failure around every corner.

And while many writers are most terrified by the blank page, I am most terrified by that horrible point about a third of the way in where the plot runs away and leaves you with nowhere to go next.

I hope that by having a vague plan this time, I’ll have more of a roadmap. I expect to deviate from it. I’ve already made several large changes to the initial concept. But, maybe, just maybe, having a few notes will help me get unstuck if I need to.

I still have quite a bit more work to do on the Felting book. And some semi-annoying organizational tasks to finish up for NYM Crochet (revised contracts?)… so… basically, I shouldn’t be taking the time to blog.

Right.

This is me going and getting ready to start the day.

It sounds much worse when you count backwards, doesn’t it?

Oh, and my username on the nanowrimo site is “indigirl”. Go figure. Let me know yours, if you’re kooky enough to be doing this too!