Rabbit Hole

Well, as I am sure you can tell by now. Relocating cities (from Cincy to Pittsburgh), while still working full time and taking care of CJ and Faye, took up all my time. Moving cities definitely feels like we just fell down a rabbit hole and came out the other side. Nothing much has changed in terms of our schedule, just the view. (as demonstrated by babe who was "helping" mommy block a sweater.)

We spent a week in the new house without furniture. Just air mattresses, camp chairs, a bucket of toys, and a bit of yarn. All was great, except in the craze of packing all my hooks and tools went to storage and we brought christmas ornaments instead. Oops! But it gave me the opportunity to check out the local stores. I found that JoAnns, of all places, has my hooks I use (clover soft touch in 4.5mm). And I just treated myself to some new hooks and tools, calling it a welcome present to myself. Speaking of hooks, 4.5mm is my new fav size, but it stinks b/c not all brands of hooks carry it. It is the perfect size, in my opinion of course, for sportweight when you are a tight crocheter like I am.

We are getting settled in. Boxes are our furniture now. They take up every square inch of the floor to babe and Faye's dismay. The new house actually has a room that will be my studio, which is very exciting to have a room to myself. It is in the attic, which is a very cool feature of a lot of homes in Pittsburgh, but until the weather breaks I will be downstairs in front of the fans. It will be fantastic in the long PA winters though, esp with our pretty awesome view of downtown.

In the middle of the moving craze, I was working on a couple of projects. I finally got smart and asked for help on crocheting the majority of the projects. In my delusion, I thought I could crochet 2 adult winter projects in 2 weeks while packing and moving. Well, that was just silly. I asked help from both Diane and Ginny who are amazingly talented to do the heavy lifting for me. They both did awesome jobs, then I got to crochet the finishing touches. (Mainly b/c I wanted to have some fun too!)

Both are for the same magazine (of course I will tell you which when I can). One is a cabled project in merino wool. One of my favorites. The cabling came out great. I had nothing to do with that. It was all Diane. She is the BEST at cables. I want her to teach me her secrets because her cables beat the pants off of mine. The other project is a dreamy cluster stitch pattern project with my classic wide ribbing. I got about half way through the back when I called "uncle" and asked for Ginny's help. In a week, she crocheted everything but a few inches of the ribbing. She is awesome! So hard to keep crocheting in the exact same gauge right where another left off.

Both came out to be quite stunning, and the editors loved them. Which makes me happy, since I stressed so much over them.

Now that they are out the door, I have been working on the next book. Yup, I have another book or two up my sleeve. This one I am pretty jazzed about. I can't tell you the premise, but I can tell you that it will have a few of my designs and a lot of other great designers. I love the new title of project editor, which is technically my position on the book. I got to decide on the concept; pick out the projects and yarn; then I will be drawing the stitch diagrams, and writing all the fun tips and such in the book. I am so excited it is silly. I just have LOVED the collaboration between the designers. It is so awesome to get to talk crochet and design everyday. I will fill you in as I can, but since it is in the early days that is all I can tell you.

But speaking of books, Baby Blueprint is in my hot little hands right now! The galley looks amazing! Interweave really did a great job. I am reading line by line every number and symbol to double check that it is as correct as it can be before they go to press. I really hope that you guys like it. I think the projects are great, and I can't wait to share them with you.

Well, speaking of editing. I better get at it before babe wakes up from her nap and I get no more time. Deadline for the edits are tomorrow, so I better hop!