I love being a designer, but I also want to make sure I have a good balance of knitting for pleasure and knitting for work. Aside from taking weekends off from my designs, I also try to take a "sabbatical" every fourth month, as well as taking the last six weeks of the year off for the Indie Designer Gift-a-Long. Sometimes this is easier to do than others. Right now, I am hustling to get my designs off my needles so I can have my April free for knitting that doesn't require pattern writing or editing or promotion.

The sample for Vespers isn't due to the photographer until June, so I am getting what I can finish done now, and then putting it away for a little while I work on Saint Nicholas stockings for Mariam and Nejat, convertible gloves for Alexander, and some mittens for Yasmina. I'm ahead of schedule on the pattern writing for this, so it is ready for editing, and I even have two and a half other patterns ready, too! You are welcome future Ranée! The problem is that I mixed up which pattern was due when, so I am now actually in a rush to get another one written that is the one actually due soon. Which means my sabbatical is going to have some fast swatching and writing that has to be done. My swatches just weren't working, so I need to find another plan.

I want to keep working on my Sock Madness socks, but I am worried I will run out of the brown yarn, so I am debating pressing on with the first one and deciding then versus ripping them out now and trying two other yarns. What do you think?

I have made almost no progress on Kristin Lavransdatter, but we should finish On the Banks of Plum Creek before the end of the week. Babel is still a fascinating read, and I am hoping I can have it finished by next week. Anyone who loves language, or even people who want to learn other languages, will find something valuable in this book.



Linking to Yarn Along and Keep Calm and Craft On.

Labels: Books, Design, Homemaking, Knitting, Quarantine, Sock Madness, WIP, Yarn Along