Time Flies .....

Wow, I can't believe three weeks have past since my last post. So much going on it really should feel like it's been three months. We mailed out postcards to shops in most of the states covered in the book to solicit participation and now we're in the process of choosing shops to feature in the book. If you own a shop in Georgia, Virginia, North or South Carolina, Tennessee, Mississippi, Louisiana, Kentucky or Alabama, there's a link at the top of this blog to submit your shop to be featured -- it's not too late. So back to the book....

My poor little brain has been working in overdrive as I keep coming up with ideas for patterns. I've knit more swatches in the last month than I have in the last year. And the UPS guy and I are getting to be really good friends, he's visiting so often with boxes of yarn.

My personal stash fills a large walk-in closet and is nicely (obsessively) sorted and stored in clear bins with a miniature picture of the project on the front and the pattern in the box with the yarn. Don't judge me until you've visited and seen the majesty of my yarn closet, please. So I just can't bring myself to raid the stash except for those skeins and balls that weren't already assigned to projects. Hence, the almost daily yarn deliveries.

Since my personal stash is already floor-to-ceiling, the new yarn is creating some storage issues. So I broke down and bought a 7 foot high stack of clear bins in two sizes, cleared out an area in my bedroom and loaded up the project boxes. It's testing my discipline not to just open every box and leave them in a circle around the coffee table and just pull out stuff as I get the urge. One box at a time is my new mantra. I can do this! The real test is next week while Mr. PurlQueen is visiting family. I guess I'm going to find out how much knowing he's coming home in the evening helps me keep the yarn in check. I should probably ask my friends to check on me during the week to make sure I haven't been buried under a mountain of yarn in my family room.

I've been so busy designing and knitting, that I haven't been baking for the book. I did actually leave the house for an hour this morning to go to the grocery store and picked up supplies for an idea I have for a pecan pie recipe, using mini dark chocolate chips and toffee bits. If I get it in the oven by 9, it can bake while I watch Lost on TV and work on my Magnolia Tea Cozy project. I'm at the point where I'm just knitting a big sheet of stockinette to felt later, so it's a great project to knit during a movie or TV show where you actually have to watch the screen. Hmmm, I think maybe a glass of reisling might be possible as well. To help the creative juices for the book, of course.

Hmmm, the evening's sounding better all the time -- Chocolate Toffee Pecan Pie, a nice glass of wine, knitting and Lost. Thanks for the idea!