Stashing, destashing, yarn diets, new projects, and oh yeah maybe even some writing

The thing is it's easy to forget that there is life beyond the needles. Last year I was so crazed with getting my Christmas presents finished in time for the big day that my husband had to remind me that I didn't have a two-scarf contract from Berkley . . . somewhere in there I needed to find time to write.

Which is why I've been quiet lately.

And which is also why I haven't touched my knitting.

As I've said before here and elsewhere, I'm an all-or-nothing kind of gal. When I love something I throw myself at it head-first and give it everything I've got. Great when it comes to love and writing. Not so great (maybe) when it comes to knitting.

Now don't get me wrong. I love knitting. (I love all needlecrafts.) Knitting holds a piece of my heart and soul that nothing else ever could. But knitting doesn't pay the bills. If I'm going to be able to afford to grow my already embarrassingly large stash, I need to write first, knit later.

(Doesn't that sound virtuous? Hey, you never know who might be reading this . . . )

But that doesn't mean I haven't been bitten by the same bug that snuck down to TX and bit our Jean: the uncontrollable urge to begin Another New Project.

For me it's the Log Cabin blanket. I made the terrible mistake of looking at Mason-Dixon Knitting and their hot-and-cool multi-color Log Cabin completely rocked my world. (Do people still say "rock my world"?) Tahki Cotton Classic? Check. Lotsa great juicy colors? Check. Addi Turbos ready to go? Check. I'm sitting here up to my elbows in gorgeousness but until I finish my pages for today I'm not going to touch any of it. (Well, maybe I'll touch it . . . fondle it a little . . . but I Will Not Cast On. I WILL NOT.)

To make matters worse, I'm still not finished with the Fixation Bulky socks for my husband. (Black. Endless black. Bigfoot socks in unrelieved black. That, my friends, is True Love.) So many yarns, so many patterns, so little self-control.

I WANT TO KNIT. I want to knit for a living. I really do want a two-scarf contract with a sock option.

Barbara