Randomness

I've been starting and stopping projects for the last two weeks and can't say that I have anything to show for it. I'm nearly finished on two projects inspired by some wonderful items I saw at Madrona, but not quite done.

With so much going on around here--I've had five books I had to read for my working life, two test knit projects I'm working on, a book due next month, two books coming out in the next two months, and more travel over a three month period than I have done in like the last three years. I've been to Madrona, then last weekend went to a romance reader's conference in Portland, Or. Next weekend I am off to Chicago to sign books at the warehouse. Which means NO KNITTING for like three or four days. I need my wrist in top form to sign about 8,000 copies of my next book, CONFESSIONS OF A LITTLE BLACK GOWN and be able to keep typing on the book that is due. Yes, you read that correctly. 8K. Sigh. The glamorous life. Two days in a warehouse signing books. Actually, it is kinda fun, a sort of marathon adventure but the no knitting part stinks.

Then off to Wichita for the Midwest Plains Librarian Association conference, where I speak and do a booksigning at Barnes & Noble. Then it is off to Disneyland for spring break -- which neither of the kids have on the same week, so we are going the week in between when they both have school. We figured two wrongs make it all right. Then I get a breather for like three weeks and then I am off to Orlando for the Florida Librarians Association where I speak again and sign again, this time at the Borders in Clearwater, FL.

I was invited to another conference the week after, back again in Orlando, but twice across the country in two weeks? Uh, no. Because in July I go to Washington DC for a week for a big writer's conference. Then the Sock Summit is lurking on the horizon. I actually have a hotel scoped out, and my escape plans for that one in sort of a sketchy, hazy outline. Really, honey, I know I've been gone a lot, but this is a very important knitting event . . .

So with all this on the horizon I can't really get excited about knitting something big, like I did in February with the Vest-uary KAL. I got my Veste Everest done, which I've been wearing daily. But right now, I don't have the bandwidth to cast on a big project. So it is small, packable, easy on the wrists projects for the foreseeable future. And hopefully I can get some of my UFOs out of the stash and into the world being useful before some new wonderful can't resist, time-consuming project hits the radar.

So here is the critical question for all of you. Because when you travel you need one key piece of advice: What are the good knit shops in Wichita, Orlando, or Washington DC? Anyone?