Well,  things are winding down here at work. The silk sweater is finished, blocked and has already been worn. The herbs have been planted in my sister’s yard. Rabbit’s about to be transported to the rabbit sitter. Can’t order anything else for the trip because it won’t get to me in time (nor can I fit a single additional item in my suitcase). What’s a girl to do with herself while waiting to head out on THE BIG TRIP?

I suppose I could relax. Read a book or two. Finish up a knitting project. Or five. Lay in the back yard on the hammock and stare at the clouds. I could pet the dogs until even they are sick of attention. But none of those options really appeal to me. I need a distraction from just sitting around, whiling away the hours before I leave. I need something engaging. I need something invigorating. Obviously, I need a new project. Better yet, I need a new project with a deadline.

So here’s what I’m gonna do. I’m going to design and submit a pattern to Knitty, an online knitting magazine, for their fall issue.

“Fall issue?” you might ask. “But Suzie, isn’t it the beginning of May? How is this going to distract you right now?”

“Well,” I would answer, “Submissions for articles and patterns to be published for the fall issue are due in June. Yes, June. That’s just a few weeks from now. Two and a half weeks, in fact. So if I want to submit a pattern for the fall issue, I have to design it, knit a few versions to make sure the pattern works, take stunning photographs, write up the pattern according to a strict set of standards, and then submit it by the deadline of June 1st. Today is May 11th. I leave on the 17th. That’s six days left in Santa Fe and two days on the road/in the air and then 12 more days of intermittent knitting time just in case I need it. Oh, and the opportunity to take some pictures of the project with THE COTSWOLDS AS THE BACKDROP. And my fellow knitting hikers as the models. (Look out, ladies!)”

“Who’s crazy idea was this?” you might interject.

“Um, mine. At 5 am this morning,” I would answer.

BTW, Knitty only considers pattern submissions that have not been published previously or shown publicly in any way  — even just pictures. So I can’t show you what I’m working on.

Isn’t that a bummer?

Note #1: It’s NOT a complicated pattern. I mean, it’s not a sweater or anything.

Note #2: Yes, I had to look up the correct placement of all that punctuation. And I’m still not sure it’s correct. However, I’m too impatient to check it again before posting. Grammar folks, please forgive me!

Note #3: Find the glorious magazine to which I refer above at Knitty.com.