Saturday 9 January 2016

Thank you by Luanna Stewart



Rather than thanking my parents for giving me life (they had no choice, I was destined), or thanking my husband for marrying me (again, there was no choice involved, I’m that irresistible), or thanking my fabulous boys for being such tremendous children (how could they be otherwise with me as a parent?), I’m writing this thank you note to my knitting needles.

Knitting maintains my sanity and my health. When life becomes chaotic, I grab my current knitting project, sit in a corner, and count stitches. When I’m bored, I knit. Rather than using my hands to shovel salty snacks into my mouth whilst watching TV, I knit. This also works for sweet snacks. When I feel the gut-wrenching desire to procrastinate, I turn on Netflix and knit. (Knitting whilst watching TV also reduces my feeling of guilt for “doing nothing”, because I’m not doing nothing, I’m creating a hat, or a scarf, or a pair of socks/mitts/gloves, or a sweater. I just happen to be doing it whilst binging on Foyles War.) Long car rides are enjoyable with knitting to occupy my thoughts.  And when I’m stuck in my current writing project, rather than stare at the computer screen waiting for something brilliant to appear, I pick up my knitting and let my mind wander. Plot holes and sagging middles are usually fixed after a few rows of knits and purls.

So thank you, dearest, most precious knitting needles, from size 0 to 17, circular, straight, and double-pointed, metal, plastic and wood. Thank you for giving me hours of enjoyment, moments of frustration, the thrill of mastering a new technique, and the satisfaction of making something beautiful with my two hands.

Smooches,
Luanna 

 

 ***To thank you, dear reader, one commenter (name chosen at random by my husband) will win a $5 Starbucks gift card***

 

When her wealthy art dealer father died, Heather James was expecting a fortune. Instead, his bank account was empty and Heather’s working in a bakery, wondering exactly what happened to her father's millions...until someone tries to kill her.

Tony Simons is on the trail of an art theft cold case that's practically giving him frostbite. He's hoping that by sticking close to Heather—the daughter of his deceased prime suspect—he'll find the answers he needs. Instead, he's finding himself distracted by a gorgeous woman who drives him crazy in every way imaginable…

Now Tony's in serious trouble. Even if Heather can't—or won't—tell him where the stolen paintings and money are, she may well have stolen his heart.

And now someone wants her dead…


  
Luanna’s bio:

Luanna Stewart has been creating adventures for her imaginary friends since childhood. As soon as she discovered her grandmother's stash of romance novels, all plots had to lead to a happily-ever-after.

Born and raised in Nova Scotia, Luanna now lives in Maine with her dear husband, two college boys, and two cats. When she's not torturing her heroes and heroines, she’s in her kitchen baking something delicious.

Writing under the pen name Grace Hood, she has two novellas published with The Wild Rose Press. She is excited to have a book published under her own name with Entangled Publishing.

Amazon Author Page:  amazon.com/author/luanna_stewart


 

19 comments:

  1. Thank you so much for being my guest! And I too thank my knitting needles!

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  2. Thank YOU, Louise, for inviting me today. I was appreciating my knitting needles just last evening, hehe.

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  3. Very clever post. I'm sure knitting gives you opportunity to plot more stories. Love that gorgeous headband, too.

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    1. Thank you, Susan. Yes, knitting can really free the mind to work on other problems. I'm working on a headband for myself now, same pattern but different yarn.

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    2. Thanks for stopping by, Susan.

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  5. Great post. I love to knit and never thought to use it as a way to help with my stories. Something I will have to try.

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    1. Thanks for stopping by, Emily. It's amazing what my brain will come up with while my hands are busy knitting and purling.

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    2. And knitting is so relaxing! Thanks for stopping by, Emily.

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  6. This gave me incentive to pick up knitting needles again. Been a long time ... and way too many salty snacks ... since I knit anything. Wonderful ode to knitting.

    Deb

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    1. I'm so glad I inspired a return to knitting, Delsora!

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    2. Wahoo Delsora. I'm glad to hear you're getting out your knitting needles again. Thanks for stopping by.

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  7. It's amazing how therapeutic knitting can be! Excellent point about knitting while watching tv... you're still doing something productive. Great blog!

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    1. Thank you for stopping by, Anonymous. (you're not THAT Anonymous, are you? hehe) Are you a knitter too? I also knit whilst visiting with folks, I can still be engaged in the conversation but I"m not just sitting there twiddling my thumbs, or reaching for the delicious appetizers, or emptying my wine glass a tad too quickly, hehe.

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  8. I do not knit, but I used to do embroidery during faculty meetings in a private school I worked at. It kept me busy and it looked like I was paying attention, which I was not, LOL. All the female teachers did this subversive thing!

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    1. Better to embroider or knit than to nod off, right? And if I interpose a word now and then, no one discovers I'm off in my own little world.

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  9. According to my scientific method of drawing a winner (names scribbled on scraps of paper, shaken in my hands, one scrap plucked at random) the winner of the $5 Starbucks gift card is...Susan Vaughan!!!! Congratulations and I'll be in touch.

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