Creative Overload: Knitting and NaNo!

I woke with a head full of fuzz this morning.  I want to be working on my novel, but thought I would write a blog post first, to flush out the circuits a bit.

Knit-Wit Update

The past few days have been filled with creative fun.  I finished that second scarf, to start with, on November first.  It was supposed to be for my daughter, I thought, but turns out she really wanted it for her boyfriend.  That’s fine — I like him, he’s a nice guy, and I’m pleased to know the scarf is needed and appreciated.

I’m working on my hubby’s brown one now — though it’s not going to turn out as even and well-crafted.  I’ve been practicing continental knitting, where you hold the yarn in your left hand.  It’s faster than “English” style, and I was impressed by the YouTube videos I watched.  I’m not so sure I’ll get the hang of it, though.  It’s, to be honest, a bit of a mess.  I can’t seem to control the tension.  The videos warn that your stitches will be looser with continental — but I don’t think they meant half-inch wide holes showing up in it here and there.  I’m committed to it on this scarf now.  Perhaps by the time I reach the end of the scarf, I’ll have mastered keeping my tension even.

Any continental knitters reading this who might have some tips for me?

NaNo Is Awesome

The big story, however, is that I passed 8,000 words the second day of NaNoWriMo.  My novel is just crankin’ along, and I’m really having fun with it.  It’s been so long since I sat down and really focused on my fiction writing that I didn’t realize how much I missed it.  I’m getting to know the kids from the first book again, getting back into their personalities, and the story is coming through from the Powers of Muse in a pretty nice flow.

I’m hopeful that I can keep up the pace, and pleasantly surprised at how many words I can get typed into the file in an hour’s time.  The first night, between the midnight starting gun and a little after 1-a.m., I’d already passed two thousand words.  I was over 4400 by the time I shut down the file the morning of the first.  Yesterday, I just wrote away, and was quite surprised at the end of the session that I’d almost doubled what I had written on the first.

Fun!  And believe me, there are plenty of writers out there who have topped my total by far!

Are you a writer?  Have you tried NaNoWriMo?  It’s a bit late, I believe, to sign up this year, but visit the site, look over the details, and make plans for 2010.

Links of Interest:

• NaNoWriMo
• Ravelry.com (A Fiber-Lovers Community)

Related posts:

1. Daylilies, Knitting, and Stuff
2. Six Days To NaNo, and a Goal Achieved
3. Recent Knitting Projects