Archives for February 2008

I’m reading a book.

The main character is remembering cuddling with her grandmother in Scotland as she learned to knit:

In the afternoon, they’d rake up the coals and get the heat going in the small stove, sitting in just their socks on the two-seater sofa.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Naked grandmother. Naked six-year old learning to knit in the cold Scottish winter. Just socks. That might not be what the author intended.

Maybe I’m just super-hyper-conscious about what I want to avoid in my own writing. I think I’m an okay writer. It’s definitely what I want to do; it’s my passion. While I know most of the rules, I know that I tend to ignore them or just steamroll right over them sometimes out of laziness — you see that all the time on this little blog.

I’m hip-deep in this novel rewrite. No, more like neck-deep, and OHMYGOD I’m such a bad, horrible, shockingly terrible writer sometimes. Truly. Many of my sentences are much, much worse than the one quoted above. Adverbs just fly. I was writing a romance! I let myself break those kinds of rules, and now I’m slightly horrified. I dunno. Some parts I like. Other parts I think don’t deserve the recycled paper they’re printed upon. Upon which they’re printed. Sigh.

So I’m just about done with the rewrite of the novel, but now the hard part happens — I’ve made all the line-edits and written most of the additional material by hand, but starting this weekend, I’ll be putting those all into the computer. That might take just about forever. I think I’ll make myself work three hours every day off until it’s done. And then I’m going to kiss it and send it off and get to finishing the next one.

Yep. And I’ll wear just socks while doing it.

1. Going to San Francisco and meeting my wife for a burrito.
2. That burrito having half an avocado in it.
3. Discovering that the Salted Caramel ice cream at Bi-Rite Creamery has no soy-lecithin.
4. Walking the city on a cool sunny day.
5. Listing to This American Life on BART, sitting in the sunshine while the world goes by outside.
6. Taking the dogs on a hike in the canyon.
7. Watching in both horror and joy as Clara splashes in the creek.
8. Getting ready to cast on for something that Will Not Suck.

    Miss Idaho is very tall.

Why is there a fruit fly in my yarn room? It’s not a moth; that much is okay. OH GOD, what if it IS a moth, and I just don’t know what one looks like? Need more cedar in here.

I am a little angsty today. Still haven’t sold the condo, NEED to sell it, though, and we have an HOA meeting coming up on Wednesday, and that alone is enough to jangle my nerves. I hate the meetings. I really do. With every fiber of my being (and my yarn room), I hate the meetings. I feel like a very grown-up girl for having been the one to schedule this one, and I have to do some things for it today. Sigh.

Also, while Stitches was fantastic and all that, I’ve been having some awkward knitting mojo. I must have used all my mojo up with Jeanie.

I bought a pattern at Stitches which was so badly written I ended up making myself a frilled collar yesterday instead of a sleeve. Dude, since when is 200 be divisable by 7? That was the first instruction — I should have given up then. Reading further on, it told me pick up stitches around the neck, back and fronts. IT GAVE NO INSTRUCTIONS FOR FRONTS. I don’t think it actually HAS fronts, as the collar is kind of the front of it, hard to explain, but don’t write it like that, please. Pity, because I really want to make the pattern, but now I won’t. Might futz with my own version of it, though…. (Don’t  worry, it’s not an available pattern yet, and I’ll email the designer. You are in no danger.)

I started to wind the yarn for that Shelridge Farm kit. The two black skeins almost kilt me, I swear. Lala came home from her comic-book convention to find me on the floor in the kitchen (the best light), trying to untangle the Skein That Would Not Be Untangled. I was swearing at all the animals who thought it was THE BEST GAME EVAR and trying not to cry. I wanted to cast on right that moment and I wouldn’t be denied. (Damn Claritin. I always have a Claritin meltdown on the days I give in and take it.)

I said, "I hate all the animals! None of them are helping! And it’s so dirty down here on the floor!"

She said, "Why don’t you try dealing with it on the table, then?"

Me: Dumb silence. Hadn’t thought of that.

Returned the black skeins the next day at Stitches and paid a nice charity to wind them for me. Taking no chances. I felt like a dumb-ass, though. I even brought the other skeins, the not-black skeins, to show the Shelridge Farm people that I *do* know how to wind a damn skein, really. They were very nice, and their yarn is delicious, and I recommend them, I really do. But I think they might have more problems with that batch of black.

I fell in LOVE with a new pattern from Article Pract which I MUST start now. Thinking about handspun, but not quite sure yet. Have to start it, have to start it. And I’m sure I’ll eff it up somehow.

I will try not screw anything else up today. No guarantees, though. Perhaps I will take the dogs for a nice walk. That will help. As did the big nose-kiss Waylon just gave me.

I wore Jeanie to Stitches today. She was very, very popular. My favorite "what pattern is THAT?" question came from a masseuse in a booth across from the booth I was in. The masseuse was busy doing her thang and just kind of jumped up and down and wagged her head until she caught my eye, and then mouthed over the heads of all the shopper, "WHAT PATTERN IS THAT?" I ran over to tell her. Free pattern, people! (I used the yarn specified in the pattern, about 2.75 skeins.)

Love, love, love it. It sat well, felt great, and it was just the right weight for the convention center.

Oh, pictures? Well, okay.

It blocked out WAY longer and bigger than it had been. This suits me fine, since the only reason I really stopped knitting was because I wanted to get it done in time for Stitches, and I’m so glad I did or I might have been making a bedspread instead.

From the back. (Bonus Where’s Lala? shot.)

My dress has pockets! (Bonus Where’s Lala? shot.)

And for your viewing pleasure, Willie says hello:

Yes, Stitches was great. Jill, your Grommet knits tattoo was AWESOME. It was wonderful meeting everyone I met. I’m not sure if I’ll be back tomorrow — Wondercon, the comic book convention is on at the same time, and while I’m not a comic-book person (sorry), I do support my wife in her comic-book lovin’. She supports me in the yarn, after all. Good stuff.

She’s actually still out at her convention right now, so I’m going to pour a glass of wine and turn up the heat (brrr!) and cast on for a new sweater right NOW. I bought a Shelridge Farm Kit that was so cute in person, the Haida Pullover. The picture on their site doesn’t do it justice. Very cool. And BRAINLESS. I need brainless.

Yeehaw!

Jeanie is finished!

Blocking pictures:

Note two things here:
1. Yes, it goes on forever, doesn’t it? I stopped knitting because I wanted a shorter, hit-you-at-hip kind of shawl. Not sure I’m going to get that.
2. I’m a terrible blocker. I actually know how to do it better, and someday I would like blocking wires. But for now I’m just lazy. At least I’m blocking it at all. Lala called the design "subtle" when she saw it unblocked, when I was deciding whether to block it or not. When she called my two-month project "subtle," I ripped it off my body and into the drink for a good dunk. SEE the pattern. WORSHIP the design. And honestly, there is not much that is as fun as dropping six miles of stitches, right at the very end.

I loved this project, enough that I never got bored or angsty. Sure, I’ve wanted it to be done, but I still enjoyed it every time I worked on it.

This is truer to the color. (Yarn and color specified in pattern, linked above.)

And see:

Those two-by-two crosses? Are FOUR-BY-FOUR. Therefore, it’s reversible — looks just like this on the other side. O, joy divine.

And I will wear this to Stitches this weekend, so there will be modeled pictures. Just couldn’t keep my doneness to myself tonight, though. Yeehaw!

I am at the coffee-shop, and it feels wonderful. I haven’t been here in a long time, and this is where my brain says, Yes. Okay. I will work now. I’m sitting in the window, something I can’t usually do because of the glare, but it’s lovely and overcast, so I can today. I’m smack-dab in the middle of the novel rewrite, and I’m going to work for a couple of hours on it here. Then I’m going to go home and knit and watch TV and look at the rain in the justified manner of a writer who has Done Something. I’m determined that I will wear the Jeanie shawl at Stitches this weekend, and I reckon I have at least twelve more hours of work. Luckily, I have the next two days off, so I will chain myself to the couch and knit my little paws off.

I am devastated about one thing, though. I have been dying to watch Project Runway Canada but have had no time. Now I have the time, and IT’S NOT AVAILABLE ONLINE ANYMORE. I sat down yesterday to pull it up on the Tubes, but it’s been removed. I know, pirating is bad, blah blah blah, but I wanted to see it! And I can’t buy it, which I would! But it’s not on iTunes! Not on Netflix! Very sad indeed.

I will have to make do with catching up with Lost. Which will be fun, I’m sure. Whatever. I wanted Iman.

Harumph. Now to get down to work so I can goof off sooner rather than later.

Your Cat Digit reminds you that:

   

    Yoga. I has it.

Click to embiggen. I think I shall make this shot my desktop.