Update #10 - Will I ever cast on anything else?

 

Well, again this week it was all about 'the blanket'.  I finished the third row last night. 

Last night before bed I had to fiddle with my printer to get the colours correct on the next set of patterns.  

Other than that I did manage five ocean swims last week.  Each one at least 30 minutes.  A new friend joined me, on Friday and it was nice to have the company as I usually swim alone. 

I am in the throes of proof reading the galley for White Rabbit to be available in paperback which is an interesting process.  The novel is, in part, autobiographical - written in 2016 - and it is quite the experience to read and resonant with the words on the page.  

My sock pattern sales are coming in and that is very exciting.  It is so rewarding to see the pattern knit up with different yarns and colours. 

Speaking of sock patterns, I have committed to testing a pattern, and I really must get it cast on - I am sure once I do that I will be quick to work through the pattern.  I am testing the small, 56 stitches, so it will likely be a gift for my daughter when it is done. 

I hope all the Year of Project participants are doing well on their to-do lists.  I will visit their posts in the coming days.  

Today?  Today I will swim.  And knit.  and probably do the dishes and sweep the floor.  Probably. 

Year of Projects #9 - I can see progress

 

As I continue with my monogamous knitting I have been working steadily on my 54 pickup blanket. 

It is very rewarding to see the second row of cards.  There have been a few 'oopsies' when I see an error and have to ladder down a few rows to correct a colour, or an errand thread that has landed on the outside of the work rather than being hidden on the inside.  It is slow knitting because with double-knitting every other stitch is a purl and I have to make sure that the two colours I am not knitting with stay hidden inside the work.  I have finally perfected a way to knit without the colours getting all tangled.  I have the white yarn always on my left and I pick it European style, and the red and blank I hold in my right hand with my index finger always in between them so they don't have a chance to tangle.  This makes each row much faster and I don't have to untangle the three colours at the end of each row like I had to when I first started the blanket. 

I have been thinking that it would have been better to have made the blanket 9 x 6, rather than 6 x 9, but I am definitely not going to go back and change that now!

I did start on Jemima Puddleduck (she is a commission) but I have been enjoying the blanket knitting so much that poor Jemima is only a 'twinkle in my eye' as my mother would say. 

I did four ocean swims this past week, and plan another for today.  The water temperature is heading down, but I still managed thirty minute swims.  

I got the galley copy of my novel 'White Rabbit' and I am heading towards being able to have it published in paperback very soon. 

I start back to work tomorrow.  I volunteer at a mental health centre every Tuesday.  I lead a mindful journaling hour.  I have been also hired to work with peers in mental health recovery for ten hours a month.  I haven't been assigned anyone yet, but I expect to now that September is here. 

And speaking of September, today, September 1st, is the day my father died - fifty-two years ago.  I miss him terribly.  Yesterday I was remembering dancing with him at my sister's rehearsal dinner.  He is never far from my mind, and I know he is watching over me from that great beyond.  

I always think of September as my 'new year'.  Time to turn the page.  Start anew.  Make a plan.

Or?

Or maybe just keep going.  Swim.  Write.  Study.  Be. 

Just Be. 

Hmm. Now there is an idea. 

Blessings to all who look upon this time of year as a new beginning.  

And Blessing to all you are just going forward one day at a time. 

Oh, and one more thing.  My sock design, Me Too! Me Too! that was used in Supersock World Championship is now for sale on Ravelry.