Knitting

Working on a baby bunting this evening. We returned from Dayton on Friday, after having a wonderful time with family. Lots of laughter and good food, plenty of book shopping. We spent the weekend putting up the tree and going to a hockey game. Hard to believe Christmas is just around the corner. There isn't any snow on the ground yet, which is very odd considering last year at this time we had been shoveling for weeks already.

Handspun on the line!

Yards and yards of glorious, soft, handspun yarn. I have been waiting to soak it and hang it to dry and today was the day. It is very hot out, so I am thinking it will not take long for it to dry. Now I have to decide what to make with it!

Done and done

Two pair of socks finished. The first pair are for my friend and co-worker Michelle. She was excited, this is her first pair of handknit socks. She is learning to knit herself, so she will be able to make her own soon. The second pair are shortie socks for me. They worked up very quickly, only 5 rounds of K2P2, one plain round and right into the heel flap. I used 2 balls of the 25 gram Regia, it is a line put out to make baby things actually called "My First Regia." I used almost all off the 2 balls but now I know I can get a pair of shortie socks for myself out of 50 grams of sock yarn. Now to knit the 2 pair of mittens for American Girl dolls that I promised a special young lady I had the pleasure of meeting a couple of weekends ago. Then I really need to finish up some other projects I have started!

Winter has turned to spring.

The last few days have been the kind of days that remind me why I live where I do. After months of tredging through snow to get to work, pushing a grocery cart through slush and muck in the parking lot, the snow has gone and the air is fresh. Ok, the snow has gone for the most part, there are still random piles where snow was piled. The Locks still have chunks of ice and it looks like a slushy, but the shipping season is well underway and things are moving again. Neighbors we have not seen all winter are outside, happy to have the fresh air too. There is movement. Winter here has a stillness to it, things come to a stop, businesses close for the winter. Spring comes and things are moving again. I can't imagine living somewhere without seasons, without this rhythm of life.

It is difficult to believe that I am in the last two weeks of my degree program at SNHU. I have the day off from work and am spending the day organizing and gearing up for the final sprint to the finish. I am looking forward to finishing, and yet I know there is a part of me that is going to miss my classes very much. I will no longer be tied to such a strict schedule yet I need to have the discipline to continue writing on a daily basis so I can get my novel completed and begin submitting it to agents. 

This week's discussion prompt led to to ponder about my revision process. Not editing, but revision. I pulled one of the books from my reading list for this term, and found a wonderful quote. 

"Submitting a novel without rewriting is like playing ice hockey naked. You’re just not equipped to put your best, um, face on things. And sooner rather than later a well-placed puck is going to hit you where it hurts most” (192).

Bell, James Scott. Revision and Self-Editing: Techniques for transforming your first draft into a

            finished novel. Cincinnatti: Writer’s Digest Books, 2008. Print.

 

Sharpies

I have recently discovered the joy of journaling with Sharpies. I would recommend the Ultra Fine if you are going to buy some for this purpose. It is nice to grab something with a bit of color to write with after working on a computer all day and using black ink on paperwork. You can also pick a color to match your mood. One is never too old to have color!