Moved

Okay guys, update your bookmarks. Knotmagick is now located here. Starting Wednesday that's where you'll find all future posts.

It's That Time of Year Again

I'm back!

Did you miss me?

And guess what: It's that time of year again.

The weather is getting cooler. The leaves are changing, if they haven't vanished already. Even though the Halloween decor hasn't been put up yet, the crazy's are already coming out, making their lists and planning how they will spend the last few days after Thanksgiving.

No, I'm not talking about Christmas. Nanowrimo, of course!

Around the time my Blog Break started, I began outlining a training schedule for myself. I kept saying that I wasn't going to do Nano this year, because with a book under contract, I doubt I'll have time. But...

I might as well give it a go, eh?

Once again, I'll be joining the Typewriter Brigade on the Nano forums. I'm not committing to doing an entire novel on the typewriter, just because my time is so limited and I'm faster on the computer than on the typewriter, but I did do my entire outline on the Sterling, and I'll probably work at least in part on the typewriter, now that I have two portables. If you're part of the Columbus region, you might see me at the occasional meetup with a typewriter. I'll be the one with the blue hair, if the typewriter isn't enough of a giveaway.

The Annual Blog Break

It seems that around this time of year I seem to have trouble sitting down to blog. I don't know why this is. It seems that in late summer/early fall I just can't concentrate. So I'm going to take my annual vacation from blogging. I'll be back on October 2, just in time to kick off the Halloween season (although anyone who works retail knows that it started ages ago).

See you then!

Broken Break

If you've been following my Twitter at all, then by now you've probably gathered that the laptop is still out sick. My tech has been dropping like flies lately; just this afternoon my wireless keyboard and mouse died on me, so I had to walk down to Office Max to get a replacement.

I still don't have any word on what is wrong with the laptop (according to the shop, nothing is wrong with it and there's absolutely no reason for it to keep giving me the blue screen and shutting down, let alone doing it three or four times a day and doing a full system restore without any prompting or error messages).

I have managed to cobble together a workable connection on the desktop, but it tends to go in and out. Mostly I've been using it to get on Ravelry and check my email. Honestly, it's been nice to take a mini-break from blogging. It seems I have to take one 2-3 times a year to recharge the batteries. Since I have no idea when (or if) the laptop is coming back, I figure I better use my meager signal to put together a few blog posts. I'll try to get back to a normal schedule next week. I've got a couple of events coming up this weekend that you'll get to hear about (or see, or read, or however you choose to interpret it). 

I'll also have a couple of announcements next week--namely a contest. :) Details on Monday. Hint: It involves a pattern and some yarn.

SHHH!!!

*stage whisper*

Okay, so you know that book I've been working on?

It's been accepted.

No details yet. I will share them as soon as I get them. But people! I'm publishing a book!!

In Case You Missed It

Lots going on this week, so I just wanted to do a quick recap for anyone who might have missed out.

• I'm entering a contest to win $5,000 for my business. To see what exactly that would mean for me, click here. Please vote for me and share the link, since the person with the most votes wins and at last count I only had 18! (By comparison, the person I discovered the contest through has 400+.)
  
• After many years, I've finally given Yahoo! the boot. My new email is KnotMagickKnitter AT gmail DOT com. I'll be phasing out the old address over the next several months. 
  
• If you've been paying attention to the top of the page, you might have noticed a new tab--classes. I'm now offering a selection of knitting classes. For more info, you can email me at my new address
  
• Another tab up there has changed as well: If you click on the "Patterns" tab you'll see that I've got a new pattern for sale! Charlotte is an entrelac cowl pattern, suitable for those new to the technique or those with more experience. The pattern is available both through my blog and through Ravelry.
  
• Lastly, that same old poll is still going in the sidebar. I'd really like to hear from more than two people, so take a moment to click a box!

I think that's everything. See you Monday!

What I Did on my Summer Vacation Part 2

Words written: Not nearly enough
Stories finished: 1
Books read: 10
Projects knit: 3
Projects crocheted: 2
Projects sewn: 1
Reviews received: 3
Typewriters spotted: 6
Miles biked: 23.5

I'm back!

I had a lovely time off, and I really missed this blog. There were so many times when I actually had to refrain myself from writing, but part of the time away was just seeing if I even wanted to continue with this blog as is, or if I wanted to clear the decks and begin again.

In the end, I've decided to keep KM running, but with some minor changes since while I was away, I discovered something: I love schedules. I need a routine. That's something that this blog has never had. Sure, I try to write 3 times a week, but I was never particular about the days or the content.

In working on my nail blog, I learned that if I try to restrain myself (to say, 3 posts a week) then I want to do more. I wound up blogging almost every day of the week over there, sometimes twice, and sometimes on weekends. Yes, part of it is that it was new and exciting and I was discovering new stuff every single day. But you also have to give credit to having a routine. Scheduling posts forces me to set time aside to blog, and to consider specific topics. It creates a deadline (albeit a loose one). (Hm. Maybe I should apply this to my regular writing.)

So, moving forward, I'm shooting for two posts a week. Mondays, it'll be books/writing/typewriters. Fridays are all about knitting, spinning, and general craftiness. That way, if you're here for the books/typewriters, you can skip the knitting content if you so choose, and vice versa, but I might drop in a few other random posts in between.

When I started this blog (all the way back in 2007!), it was supposed to be about my knitting. I was looking at sites like Crazy Aunt Purl, the Yarn Harlot, and others and loving what I saw. I wanted to create something like that. But along the way I got derailed by life, school, and other pursuits.

As time has passed, I've changed and so have some of my interests. I still love knitting. I'm a Knitter now, whereas before I was merely a girl who knit. I'm a published author and a semi-independent adult, not a college student living in a dorm (though I still have the same roommate...).

I want this blog to reflect those changes, to show who I am now and who I want to be in the future, while still maintaining my ties to the past, and showing where I came from. I can't separate writing and knitting, but I've been struggling to find a way to blend them together more cohesively in this format. Maybe someday I'll get it right, but for now I'm going to keep on keeping on, and let the stitches and the keys fall where they may. I hope you all will stick around for the journey.

I'll be posting more pictures of stuff I've been working on later this week, so stick around. If you're in the US, enjoy your labor day and if you aren't, then I hope Monday treats you well.

Cheers.

Best Laid Plans of Mice and Me

I was supposed to have a finished pattern up this week. Instead, I seem to be doing everything but knitting, including writing, researching, and spending way too much time on nail art than is probably healthy. I wasn't intending it, but somehow my nail blog turned into a daily thing, and I'm having a lot of fun playing around with it. It came at the right time, because I've been finding it increasingly difficult to find new content for this blog.

So here is what I'm going to do: I'm taking a time out from KnotMagick. I'll still be posting updates regarding the status of Birds of a Feather, and maybe some announcements, but otherwise it'll be radio silence from now until September 1. I will still be maintaining Girl on a Shoestring, for those interested.

I'm hoping that this will give me time to recharge the batteries and come up with some new content so that I'm not in this continual holding pattern. The end result may be that the blog splinters into a couple of different blogs, or perhaps moves over to a website, I don't know. I know that my attitude about writing it has to change, and that the way I'm currently doing things isn't working. It's not inspiring to write, and I know it can't be all that interesting to read. So I'll take some time, do some drafting and hopefully put together a few posts (maybe even with pictures!) and we'll see what happens.

Watch this space, and I'll be back at the end of the summer.

Housekeeping

A little renovating has been going on here at Casa del KM.

•The link to the Japan Relief Giveaway is now in the header. From now on, that is where all open contests will go.
•I added my blogroll to the sidebar.
•That means there's no room for the 52/52 Book Challenge, so that can now be found in the site pages, linked below my profile.

Over the next couple of weeks, I'll be adding:
•A page for all former 52/52 Challenges, with links to all of my book reviews.
•A more in-depth bio page.
•A page with summaries of my ebooks, as well as photos of my knitting patterns as well as information on how you can purchase them.
•Updated photos (as in, with proper lighting and staging, rather than *click* "I'm done! Lookie here!") of all of my knitting and handspun (those pictures will actually go on my Devart/Ravelry pages, but some might end up here, as well).

I think that's it for the remodel, though I would like some opinions. I've had some complaints about the background on the blog (the turquoise and blue flowers) making it hard to read. Thoughts? Opinions? (Please include your OS and browser, since I know the parchment backdrop doesn't appear to load on older computers).

P.S. Are you following Jason Kelly, the sock guy's blog? You should read Wednesday's post. It made me cry.

Points

1. I've submitted my final Nerd Wars project for the month. I'll spare you my pathetic attempts at photography. You can see the Ravelry project page here.

2. I've been going through the blog trying to figure out a way to update it, and I'm actually thinking of clearing the decks and starting fresh--over on Wordpress. I've been using the side for the Nerd Wars blog (I'm the blogger for Team Enterprise; you can keep up with our progress here, as well as all of the other teams). I think the layouts just look a little fresher and cleaner, and I like the program for the posts themselves. I think the site in general just gives more options for customization.

3. I'm hesitant about moving because I've been on blogger since 2007, so you all know where to find me here. Also, I don't want to loose my posts. Anyone know of a way I could archive the blogger site into the wordpress one?

4. All of the typeblogs I follow are here, which again makes me hesitant. Not that I don't already have them in my favorites on Firefox, but still. It's community. A network. And I don't like to break the chain.

5. Also, the CFM is here, which makes the linking and updating easier, and makes the magazine more streamlined.

6. So, thoughts? Anyone want to weigh in one way or another?