Gromit Knits!

Done Deed

You all made the last couple of days go a lot faster.  I laughed when I read the entries and I'm still laughing as I think back on them.

The news?  Many of you hit it in one form or another, writing is involved, though most of you jumped the gun a bit.  There is no manuscript or deal -- yet.  What I do have as of this morning is time to create the manuscript and find a deal.

Because of some incredibly lucky breaks, and the most supportive guy in the world, I get to leave my assumed corporate finance identity and reveal myself to the world in my true guise -- Gromit the Writer.  Believe me, I realize how privileged I am to have this opportunity.

This is a liberating move, but frightening as well.  I have the freedom to fail, as well as the time to succeed.  I'm sure I'll swing wildly between both possible outcomes as I transition over the next month or so.  OK, let's be honest, I'm sure that I'm going to face self-doubt and delusions of grandeur for a long time to come, I think it's an aspect of a creative life that only a very few manage to avoid.

Because there were so many hysterical and close to the mark comments for the contest, I'm going to do a prize drawing this afternoon.  What's at stake?  As I said, it's sock yarn.

First up is a skein of yarn from Romney Ridge Farm that I picked up while on vacation last week.  It's a luscious blend of wool and mohair that Kelly has spun at Green Mountain Spinnery and then dyes herself.  If you get a chance to stop by her store do so, it's well worth it!  She's lovely and gracious and is in a bucolic setting that seems like a paradise to a city slicker like myself.  The animals are adorable, though the goat is voracious.

The other prize is two hanks of Art Yarns Supermerino 4-Ply.  I made some socks from this last year that I'm quite fond of despite having changed gauge between the first and second socks -- I don't notice once they are on me feet.

And, in my new life I may even have some time to get the coffee stain out of the quilt.  Naah...

I Love Flattery!

Anmiryam Budner -- [noun]: A master blogger 'How will you be defined in the dictionary?' at QuizGalaxy.com

Who'd have thought it?

As you can see, I'm back from vacation. I think I'm going to burst -- I've got a secret and it's making me crazy.  It's consuming my thoughts and making me too nervous to take knitting pictures to post.  Forget the vacation pictures.

I'm such a blabbermouth that holding this in is driving me crazy, so I guess I'll have to turn it into a contest.

Let me know what you think my secret is in the comments before 8am (EDT) this Friday, August 31st.  There'll be a sock yarn prizes in two categories:

• Closest to the truth
• The one that makes me laugh the most

If you are one of the people I've blabbed to off-line you are not elgible to guess in the first category, but feel free to think up something outrageous to add to the second!

The big reveal and prize awards will both happen at about 8:01 am on Friday.  I can't hold it in any longer than that!

Passing All Understanding

Last week Marina finished her Rona.  It's beautiful, as all of her sweaters are, so I left a comment.  In it I let slip that I have started Rona, but it's been sitting neglected for several months now.  In her reply Marina wondered how I (and others) could leave projects sit for months and even years.

I've been trying to come up with a succinct answer for her, but I can't.  It's a problem that defys categorization as one thing or another.  I have projects that have sat for years and years.  Some because they weren't portable enough.  Some because I effed something up and haven't had the gumption to sit down and plow through fixing it.  Some because I am too tired after work to figure out where I am in the chart and which color comes next.  Some because I lost interest and they aren't going to be done soon enough.  And some, well some -- who knows.

I am pretty good about getting back around to stuff -- eventually.  Oregon took four years; Roscalie three; Mermaid one plus.  The list could go on, but you get the idea.  To give you some perspective, about a year ago I had a "guess the number of WIPs contest."  At that point I managed to locate 25 projects around the house.  Any number of those items made it into the finished object pile this year and I was feeling good.

Then I made the mistake of tallying where I stand now.  I thought I was making progress, but based on my best research into the various nooks and crannies of stash, I have achieved a perfect balance between casting off and casting on -- there are still 25 WIPs on the needles.  I am only thankful that the number didn't grow and that some of them weren't on the needles last August.

Rather than bore anyone with a project-by-project tour of my crafting life (I will try to get the Knit-O-Matic and Shaun's Hall of Shame updated over the next several days if you're interested), here's how the list breaks down by project type:

• 7 pullovers
• 6 cardigans
• 5 pairs of socks
• 3 afghans
• 2 shawls
• 1 hat
• 1 needlepoint panel (part of a rug)

Come Thursday evening we're off on our annual trek to Maine and as usual I have finishing plans.  Martha is going to get a lot of attention (2+ years after casting on), as are the socks I started when we were on vacation in June.

I am a realist though -- even if the numbers dip after vacation, it's only a matter of time before I cast on something new.  If you are on Ravelry, just take a look at the queue.  There are so many temptations and I am weak.

P.S. Thanks everyone for all of the birthday wishes!  I am finally recovered from all of the festivities.