Sarchix Finds

In the last few weeks, I have taken to entering a few small writing contests.  The first one is to the Interweave Knitting Labs Conference in October up in New Hampshire.  It was a series of small essays that I had to write about both myself and knitting.  I really hope I win.  The winners are to be announced by the 30th of this month and I’m getting very nervous.

The second one, I found via Facebook and its for $500 of yarn from Lion Brand.  (I’m drooling just thinking about it.)  The essay had to be about a handmade gift, either given or received.  I wrote about a very special scarf I made my Dad.    There will be much more about this contest soon because its a contest where people have to vote for the winner.  So far I have not seen any limitations about publicizing the voting aspect of the contest.

Here’s the essay about the scarf:

I really enjoy knitting gifts but only for those who would appreciate the work and love that goes into making one of them. Seeing them wear something I created specifically for them makes me very happy and encourages me to find the perfect project for the special people in my life.

A few years ago, I decided to finally make my Dad the scarf he always wanted. This was not your normal scarf but a Doctor Who Scarf (season 14 – the “original” Tom Baker scarf). I ordered the yarn, much of it Vanna’s Choice, and started it in August. I just barely finished it in time for the holiday, all 14 feet of it.

 Normally knitting in garter stitch for 14 feet would be quite boring but not here. I was able to knit while doing other things until it got too long to stand and knit without it dragging on the ground or getting caught in things. Then the scarf kept my lap and the rest of my lower body warm as we got into the cooler fall and winter as I knit row after row after row. The hard part was hiding it when he came over. It was easy to hide the balls and balls of yarn but not the work in progress.

 That Christmas morning as we opened presents under the tree, I was so worried that he wouldn’t love it as much I hoped he would. Dad opened the bag, because I didn’t have a box big enough for it, and pulled it out like it was a magic scarf up a magician’s sleeve. It kept going and going as his smile grew and grew. It still warms my heart to think about the moment when he realized exactly what I had made for him. I had never seen my Dad so happy over a present before as he wrapped and wrapped and wrapped the scarf around his neck with glee.

 To this day, we both still take pride in that scarf and he wears it for most of the winter, once he remembers how to wrap it so it doesn’t drag on the floor.

Hope you enjoyed it!

Internal conflict is never a good thing.  My attention is torn in two.  My dilemma is that I want to knit and I want to write.  It is impossible to do both at the same time.  I can usually knit or write while doing something else but I have not found a way to do both, two of my favorite things to do, at the same time.

Sure I could use something like Dragon to capture my thoughts but I’ve tried some of them and it just feels weird and I don’t have the patience to learn it properly.  In addition, it would be impossible to have the quiet needed for something like.

Knitting, depending on the pattern can be a somewhat mindless activity to keep the hands busy.  With that said, unless it is all knit with nothing else going on in the pattern, there is always some attention needed.  Currently, the pattern of the scarf (for myself and no one else) is knit 2 rows, purl 1 row and then a series of k2tog and yo’s (knitters speak for knit two together and yarn over).  It’s a very basic feather and fan pattern but I wanted something somewhat simple so I could show off the beautiful Montana Alpaca yarn my brother and sister in law got me for Christmas.  (By the way guys, I’m holding you responsible for getting me hooked on the stuff.  Can you start raising them in your backyard so we can make our own?)

So what am I going to do this quiet Sunday afternoon?  I really have no idea.  I should go grocery shopping since the kids have told me there is NO food in the house.  Which really means there is no good food in the house.  Laundry is something else that should be done, in multiple loads.  But alas, I still sit here, trying to figure out what to do with my few precious hours of weekend that are left.

One good thing about knitting a relatively simple pattern is that I can do it while the kids are running around.  They know that if they need something that they have to wait until the end of the row.  I can hold a conversation or listen to what is going on or mediate whatever feud has developed in the house.  If the pattern is more complex, then I usually wait for a quieter time to do so.

Writing is something that I do need extended periods of quite time.  Not something that is really kid friendly.  Having a six year old who seems to always be board does not, usually, give me much quite time.  Right now he’s telling me its time for lunch and what kinds of bread he doesn’t want.

So what to do on this Sunday afternoon?  I guess I’ll get the little guy his lunch, make a grocery list, do a load of laundry or six, do the shopping, think of what to do for dinner and maybe knit a few rows before things quite down for the night.  (I know, I live the life in the fast lane.)

Well, not really.

A few days ago I was at work.  I had a lovely client (but aren’t all my clients lovely?) that came to me for a deep tissue massage.

She was young, blond, athletic but sadly not a hockey player.

As I was working on her, my mind wandered a bit to keep me entertained, like it usually does.  I looked at this young woman and realized that with minor differences, this was a character I wrote about and who I am still “working” with.

For those who don’t know, Bobbie is a character from my novel Fire and Ice that I published a few years ago and about to make into an ebook.  (I know a bit late in the game but its still a good story.)  I’m sure I will be writing more about this as it feels like the creative dam is about to burst with story ideas that are coming back up to the surface.  And meeting someone who really resembles a character I created has really lit the fire and made things even worse/better.  I just need to get the ideas out of my head and onto paper or the computer.

I did not tell my client about her resemblance to Bobbie but it was a really cool moment for a writer.

But right now, I’m enjoying a quiet Sunday, trying to motivate myself to get the errands I need to do while I watch Michael Keaton kick the Penguin’s butt as Batman.