29th day, twelfth month

It’s hard to know what to title a post when I don’t really know what the post is going to be about yet. I find that the best posts, or the best bits of posts, are those which are unplanned. If I just let myself write, I find that my fingers have things to say! If I give myself a topic a day or so beforehand, then I over-think things, and my writing feels stilted somehow.

Let’s see what my fingers come up with today…

One thing I’ve learned from writing these posts

Jack Frost blogs on our window

I’m really glad so many folks are getting so much out of these posts. Writing every day has been an interesting exercise, and I’ve learned some things. Here’s one:

Having One Thing that I have to do daily (like write a post) gives my day some much-needed structure, and helps me to be more productive overall.

I’m not a disorganized person. No one who has worked as the managing editor of a major craft magazine (or several of them at once; I managed Knits, Knitscene, Crochet, and a couple of the special issues all at the same time) can afford to be disorganized!

Coffee in my sheep mug totally helps, of course

Back then, I had a G I A N T spreadsheet calendar of all the important deadlines and press dates; I had to print it out in pieces and tape it together. It hung on the closet doors in my Interweave office where I could see it from my desk. It was colour-coded. There were Post-Its. I had coloured markers and matching coloured folders for the different magazines. I’ve never worked so hard in all my life. (Everyone bow in the general direction of the current Knits’ managing editor, Laura Rintala, who is so organized she makes me look like a chaos demon. She is AWE-INSPIRING.)

But left to my own devices…dude. Ravelry. Twitter. Reading knitting books and blogs. Toodling about with stitch dictionaries and designs. Actually MAKING things would be shoved into the couple of evening hours I spend with Nicholas and the TV after dinner.

Now I have a rhythm going: Breakfast, strength training, coffee, Ravelry/Twitter. Then chores, then crafting time or other freelance work (like editing) if needed. Blog writing in the afternoon/early evening, followed by dinner and Nicholas time and knitting.

Structure is good. Also: I’m getting sooo much more done. All that from a wee daily blog post? Good stuff.

Thus, I’m a bit interested to see how things go if I cut back to blogging three times a week. I have other work things I need to put in the blogging spot, that’s one reason I’m cutting back. But the blogging was consistent, and that really helped. I just don’t want to burn out, as so many of you mentioned…We’ll see how it goes.

Studio progress: Books

I spent a chunk of today going through my craft books. When I’m researching something, like the qiviut spinning project or the WiseSweater, I tend to want my books in piles All. Over. The. Entire. House. When I come to the end of a big project, however, I’m bad at putting the books back so I can find them again. Today, I started gathering all the books from all their various hidey-holes and putting them on shelves. In alphabetical-by-author order. According to subject.

Not even half the craft books.

Top shelf still needs work; that’s spinning, dyeing, and stitch dictionaries. I probably have another shelf-full for those categories, so I’ll have to move things around a bit.

Second and third shelves are knitting books. I probably have at least two more shelves’ worth to go. More moving about.

Bottom shelf is Interweave Knits, just IK, from the very first edition to current. I have magazine holders, but it’s easier to get them in chronological order first. (And if it looks like there are a lot of them: There are. I have two complete sets. Obsessive much.)

I haven’t even unpacked the weaving books yet, nor the beading books. The crochet books are on the other side of the room.

I also have quilting books, sewing books, books on Native American stuff; spirituality books; women’s fiction; and a huge collection of science fiction, horror, and fantasy books. And an equally huge collection of thriller/mystery/suspense books.

I like books.

Crafty progress

Weaving: I’m stuck. After Barbara’s great feedback and the great video she posted, plus some photos I studied of inkle bands, I know the band I’ve done so far is too loosely woven.

It’s supposed to be warp-faced; meaning that the vertical threads, the ones with all the colours, are supposed to be dominant, and the little cross-threads, the weft, aren’t supposed to show at all.

Do I just stop the band I am doing now, do a short sample to practice until I get it right, and then do another band? Trouble is, this warp was meant to be two straps; at this point, there will only be length left to do one properly. I could unweave the entire thing (groan); I suppose I could do another warp if I have enough yarn. Hm. Opinions?

Knitting: I’ve gotten quite a bit done on the lining for the first mitten.

It’s slow going; 64 sts each round and fingering-weight yarn. The first good news is that I have the body of the second one done. The other good news is that the lining is just positively sinful. (The lining yarn is Bollicina by Baruffa, 65% cashmere, 35% silk. It’s from my stash so I have no idea if you can still get it or not.)

Today’s Random Good

Since so many of you said you were LEGO fans, I thought you would like to know that the little Molly Weasley LEGO figure (included with some of the Harry Potter sets) has a pocket-full of knitting (click to embiggen):

I like it when big corporations get crafty things right. (Photo from Brickipedia, the wiki of all things LEGO.)

And because there’s no cat photo in this post, Dusty insists on the following:

Because kitty photos are ALWAYS good.