I have been a bad blogger. Unfortunately, I have found that when my home is under construction (which it still is at the moment) I’m hardly able to knit, let alone come up with coherent blog entries. In fact, for the first two weeks of heavy construction I did nothing but start new projects, knit two rows, and then leave the house because I was going mad. Although I am not a tidy person by nature (I’m trying to learn, I swear), disorder upsets me greatly.

I have, however, actually finished the Mystery Stole. There are to be no pictures in this post because due to construction I can’t find my frigging camera charger and my camera is, of course, dead. Instead, because I finished the mystery stole in what can only be described as a marathon knitting session, I shall attempt to amuse you – dear reader – with my tips for marathon knitting.

1. Planning is Key: Plot out your marathon date and project ahead of time. I was lucky and got a 3-day weekend because of Labor Day. If you’re going to finish your project (see point 4), know ahead of time how you want to block – if you’re going to need a clean carpet, vacuum ahead of time. You won’t have the energy when you’re done with the knitting.
2. Turn off your Cell-Phone: People will try to call you and actually talk to you. This takes away from your knitting time. Rather than make excuses (“I’m sorry, I’ve really got to go… my hair just caught on fire”), just don’t be available. As a corollary to this, make sure you set your instant messenger to away.
3. Live Alone, and, Wear out your cats the day before: Once again, I got lucky – my SO was in Chicago. Obviously, SOs and children will need care and attention. You won’t be providing it. Cats are devils in disguise when it comes to knitting. Knit for too many hours and they NEED ATTENTION RIGHTNOWYOUSTUPIDHUMAN. Enough catnip and string toys the day before will take care of this. Stoned cats are happy cats.
4. Know what you want to accomplish: In my case, I knew I wanted to finish my mystery stole. Pay attention to how long it takes you to complete a particular milestone. I had 3 clues to go, and a clue a day was reasonable (if not a little obsessive). If you’ve got two days to knit a sweater and a row takes you 10 minutes… you’re doomed. Have some gin and forget you ever had a deadline.
5. Remember to eat something: It can be tempting to knit like a fiend without stopping for such mundane things as bathing and eating.  This will only hurt you in the end, especially if your marathon project is lace. Not eating will only slow you down, and you WILL end up with mistakes. Protein-loading is your friend. DO NOT make the mistake of calling out for pizza. It’s greasy, always ends up on the knitting somehow even if it’s rooms away, and will make you feel queasy.
6. DO NOT be distracted by multiple projects: It just bloody well defeats the whole purpose.
7. Line up your entertainment ahead of time: This is a great time to get through a whole season of a TV show you’ve wanted to catch up on. This is NOT a great time to go “Oh crap, what should I watch?” – again, it takes time away from the knitting. In my case, I finished 2 seasons of QI, and the entire first season of Kingdom (I have a mad crush on Stephen Fry). Also, make sure your choice is appropriate to your knitting. Lace charts and subtitles do not mix well.
8. Stop after twelve hours straight: You need to sleep. Like not eating, not sleeping will lead to horrendous errors.
9. Make sure you have a comfy knitting spot: If you’re going to be mostly sitting for several hours at a time, you want somewhere that doesn’t mean you have to shift constantly. Again – takes away from the knitting.
10. Stock up on Painkillers: Your hands WILL hurt. I like Arnica for relief – it hits quickly and doesn’t make holes in your stomach.
11. Finally, stock up on booze: You’ll need it when you’re done. A good gin & tonic cures all that ails you.

Hope that’s helpful to someone, at least! I’ll try to be back a little more regularly, but until the house is done, I’m afraid I can’t make any promises.