General Update: Writing and Crafty Goodness

Writing

Hello all!  It's been a few months since I posted here. I was updating my blog-only story on four women who's paths cross at various points on their journeys across the USA. I haven't updated that in a while. Partly that is due to getting a freelance writing gig that pays, and therefore must have dibs on my attention. I haven't written anything for myself recently unfortunately, though I have been swapping chapters of my "Box of Buried Secrets" novel with someone for copy editing.   I hope to get back to writing for myself, or at least carve out time here and there to do so.

My freelance writing gig has been novellas; romance genre of about 25k words each. Recently they asked for a 50k novel, so I'm working on that now. Not sure when or if they will end up publishing them; and when they do, my name won't be on them as they are ghost-written. But it can go on my writing portfolio for when I try to get my own work published, so it's a plus.


Crafty Goodness

In craftiness I've been going to back to a lot of crochet. I'm working on the Storm Weather Vest which was published in the August 2014 issue of Crochet World Magazine. It's on my ravelry page of course. I'm using a lovely Red Heart Soft yarn which is not at all like their "Super Saver" acrylic, and for that I am thankful. 

It is a drape front vest, which is basically a long rectangle with two arm holes in it. I may develop a pattern for one of my own at some point, though I haven't focused on writing a pattern in some time. There is a new yarn shop (new as of Oct 2015) near me and I am developing a beginning crochet and beginning Tunisian class for her. I am hoping to teach those in May or June. I am thinking that I'll come up with a couple of classes for crochet and a couple for Tunisian and then alternate them from month to month.  That way students are encouraged to come back and learn something new.

I'm still working on my coat, and am nearly done with the first sleeve. Then I'll just have to work my way through the second sleeve and make the ties and belt loops.  Either that or I may finagle a method of buttoning it instead. Depends on how much yarn I have left over and how difficult it looks like it will be. 

I have another cardigan that I am planning to make for this upcoming winter as well. This time, however, I am not going to try to be clever and use multiple colorways. I chose a purple/burgundy yarn with texture and slight heathering to it, so that it doesn't look like a solid color, but really is. That pattern is called Bulky Neck Down Caridgan for Women. 

I will do my very best to get another chapter of the story posted soon, although to be honest, I have no way to know who is reading it, if anybody, and what they think of it. Perhaps I should look into moving to a more interactive blogging site?  I don't know.  I don't want to keep posting it if nobody is reading it basically. I'll have to do some thinking on how to make this more interactive.

Stay shiny!
 

Craftiness, Patterns, and Work!

Good afternoon everyone.  I just realized it's been almost two months since I have posted to my blog. I'm a slacker, I know!

I have been working on three new patterns, which I am hoping to get to the finished stage sooner rather than later. 

I'm working on a crocheted scarf pattern featuring a diamond shaped motif which looks beautiful when made with two different colors of yarn.

There is also a color-charted (not sure of the correct term for this) knitting pattern which I am getting ready to test  knit. I posted about this one last November, but I got caught up knitting my "That Damn Coat" and haven't had a chance to get back to the charted pattern yet. It will be my first knitting pattern with stranded colorwork so I am hoping it turns out well.

The third one is going to be a revamp of my Super Simple FIngerless Gloves on Ravelry. And On This Blog The finished product turns out to be a bit too big, and not snug enough to keep from moving around on the hands. It was my first attempt at fingerless gloves, and I should have tested the pattern more before throwing it up there.

So at some point some errata will be posted, or I'll revise the document and reupload the PDF to the site. I will also post the revamped version here on the blog for those who prefer to get it from this site or don't have a Ravelry account.

I am making some contacts to see about teaching various crochet classes in the near future. There is a semi-annual fiber festival organized by one of my fellow guild members and I may commit to a morning and/or afternoon there teaching a class on one of my patterns. 

Fingers crossed!

My First (Volunteer) Crafty Teaching, Guild, NaNo

My cousin decided that she wants to learn how to crochet. Her schedule and current situation (living 45 min from town), prohibit her from being able to pay to go to a class at a specific time of day each week. 
Soooo, guess who volunteered to teach her. This girl.

For starters I have been wanting to teach crochet and other crafty good times, but have been shy about it. I have been training people at work however, since March of this year so I have gotten over much of the shyness.

Secondly, I need the experience before I go advertising myself all over hell and asking for students.
Thirdly, I like a good challenge:
Since she is 45 min away and has a crazy work schedule, I may have to learn how to use some video editing software and make some youtube tutorials.

I have been wanting to do some other artsy stuff on youtube anyway, so this might be a good intro to that.

- - -

My guild had officer elections on November 13. I went from being Secretary to being Vice President. Woot. I and one of the co-Presidents have been splitting some of the VP jobs because we didn't have a VP for a year or so. So basically I'm dropping the Secretary duties and keeping the VP stuff so it shouldn't be very overwhelming.

- - -

NaNo is going okay. I'm a few thousand words behind, but shouldn't have too much trouble catching up if I focus a bit harder. Which is easier said than done lol. Considering how busy I have made myself this month. 

I started a huge knitting project (A coat!) and that on top of overtime at work (8hrs a week plus Saturdays) and NaNo (1667 words a day plus Saturdays ;-) ) and I'm pretty damn busy.

On the up side I am learning to manage my time better.

Have a great night, everyone!

NaNoWriMo, Spark People, Crafty Good Times

Good morning all.

It's been a while since I posted, I know. I got excited about being back on Spark People and thought it would be a breeze to keep up with the extra blog and just copy/paste everything between all my sites. But it's not. Heh. Each time I copy and paste I have to reformat some of the text and images, plus I have stopped using the site every single day like I used to. Too many things get in the way, so I have been doing more offline on my own. 

So you will be seeing less Spark People related posts and hopefully more crafty related posts since this is after all, a crafty blog.

National Novel Writing Month is upon us again and I am participating, of course. I managed to get my first day's word count done and then some. I like to keep ahead a little bit. This year's story is going to be Part 2 of the one I wrote for NaNo 2012, and will hopefully be the conclusion of that story. I don't think I've ever completed a book during NaNo. I most always get my 50k words in, but the story is generally not finished at that point. 

So, On to the Crafty Post.

I have been working on a new pattern. I am in the swatch stage at the moment to see how the colors I picked work together, and if the pattern can be seen clearly when knitted as I've written it. It's going to be a little bit different than my previous patterns in that this one will be a color chart. No symbols to read, just a grid with color-coding on it. 

I recently made a handbag using a pattern written in this way and it was very easy to follow. It will all be knit/purl (Stockinette), and the knitter should be comfortable with stranded color work (Fair Isle Style). 

Once I have finished the swatch, I will make a prototype  and post pictures along with the full pattern both here and on Ravelry.

In other crafty news I have taken on the sizable project of making a "Neck Down Long Cardigan" by Knitting Pure & Simple. This is partly for me and partly for my November Stash Bust Challenge on Spark People. I have never made a garment other than a tank top I tried once. And this is certainly much much larger than a tank top!  

Currently I have 34 rows, and since it's a top down, I'm still on the hood section of the pattern. I need the finished product to be about 4 inches bigger than what the pattern sizing calls for, and I am making it shorter than what the pattern calls for. I have started with 1700(est) yards of yarn, and am hoping that will be sufficient.

Neck Down Long Cardigan on Knitting Pure & Simple
And for those of you on Ravelry: Cardigan Project Page on Ravelry

I am alternating colors every two rows to give it a more striped and variegated effect overall .So far I like the way it's coming out.

Another project I finished recently was a Fair Isle Style handbag and a pattern called "Nordstrom Crocheted Hobo Bag". Both just need their linings sewn in and straps attached at this point. Pictures of finished projects will be forth coming within the week! 

So, I should get back to writing since this blog post doesn't count towards my 50k words for the month, and my characters are calling me...

Hiatus: Over. September Challenges, Stashbusting, and Weight Loss

Good afternoon everyone!

It's been a little while since I last posted :-\  I am terribly lax, I apologize. 
I've been working on some personal goals, and haven't had much time for designing or being crafty.

I re-joined sparkpeople.com which is an online weight loss/healthy living support network. I was there a few years ago, and decided to go back. I like the social aspect of it; lots of message boards, teams, and things to challenge myself and keep me motivated.

One of the teams I joined is a crafty team called United Stitches, and they are doing a September Stashbuster Challenge. The object is to see how many yards of our stashes we can get through over the 30 day period. I picked two projects to work on this month and set up Ravelry pages for them so I can keep track of the progress.

GoT-Inspired Dragon Egg Wristlet
I guestimated based on the pattern page that I will use about 200 yards of yarn for this one. 
I chose a Madeline Tosh Vintage Worsted in Ember and Blue Hosta

The First Egg I Made in Brown and Green

Open Work Knit Shrug
I'm going to start with the amount of yarn used in the pattern (320 yds), but may use another 80 yards if the original size doesn't fit properly.

(This is a picture from the pattern's site. I haven't made this one before)

So my yardage total is 520 minimum.

In other knitting/crochet news, not related to the stash bust challenge,

I am also taking a shot at my first knitting Fair Isle-Style piece (stranded color work). I have never knit in this manner before, but it doesn't look like it will be too difficult, since I asked someone how to read the chart. I've never had to read a chart before, so I'll be learning something new!

The pattern is called Knitted Sea Waves, and I found this pic on the Joann's Fabric site. It was a knitting class I was going to take. Since I already paid and bought the stuff for it, they gave me the pattern even though the class was canceled. Nice of them :-) 

I may attempt to design something in this style in the future. The concept is basic: graph paper and color coding instead of symbols. I'll have to play around with it a bit though. Bust out my colored pencils and stuff lol.

So, I have my needles ready and just need to get my yarn wound off the skein and into a ball, and I will be ready to start the needles clicking and clacking tomorrow when the stash bust challenge begins.

Stay shiny and keep crafting!

Happy New Year!

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!!

 DID YOU SEE THE SHERLOCK PREMIER?!?!?! I had nearly forgotten it was airing in the US last night. I was squeeeee beyond belief. So many theories about how he did it; and he's not telling which is correct.  I can't wait to see where the storyline goes.

In other news...

We are 20 days into the new year, and I hope that 2014 has been treating you all well thus far.

I have been lax in making any blog posts, and you have my apologies for that. (My apple-ogies as Hugh Laurie would say in Blackadder.)

After the Glacial Melt Scarf, I took a break from pattern designing to do some knitting and crocheting of other people's patterns for a change. After doing several beginner-level patterns I want to try and expand to something a little more complex than one stitch. It's a learning process to be sure!  

In fact, I purchased a book from my local used book store (Half-Price Books for those of you in the Cedar Rapids area) called Crochet Master Class. It contains a plethora of crochet techniques. I tried the Double Ended Crochet, using a Tunisian/Afghan hook and it came out quite nice.  I just made a very small swatch of about 8 or 9 rows using some light purple baby yarn and some Tatamy Tweed. 

Basically, double-ended crochet creates a reversible fabric rather than the one-sided fabric that Tunisian crochet usually makes. With a double-ended hook you can also to Tunisian In the Round, which I hope to explore at some point in the future as well. 

I am considering making some tutorials at some point, but they will probably only be for patterns I design. There are so many tutorials out there already for basic crochet stitches that I think mine would just be lost in the crowd. However, when I design a pattern that is a little more complex than my past patterns, I will try to include text tutorials for the stitches I use.  

Let's see, what have I been working on lately...In my downtime I made the Autumn Splendor Wrap by Darlissa Riggs. It is in the bin of Things That Need Blocking at the moment, waiting on me to purchase a blocking board. I created mine with JoJoLand Tonic in colorway 252AW (light green).

I also made my first ripple blanket! I am very proud of that one. I always thought they looked so complicated, it took me forever to get around to trying it. But it's really so easy. I am thinking about making another one.  I used the Swatch Guide pattern from a small book called Learn to Crochet Ripple Afghans. I believe I purchased it in the yarn section at Wal-Mart. I created it from 3 colors of Caron Simply Soft: Dark Country Blue, Light Country Blue, and Ocean.

I made my first cowl also! It's been a month of firsts. Frosty Night Cowl by Deborah E. Burger. This is not only my first real cowl, but also my first Mobius. It was difficult to get started, for me, because I was unfamiliar with the concept of stitching around both sides of the foundation in a figure 8 pattern. But I am glad I persisted, because it came out really nice in the Ella Rae Lace Merino Worsted, Colorway number 4.

And for my fellow fans of the Hitchhiker series, there is an e-book of 4 knitting patterns available, written by Martina Behm. Hitchhiker: A Trilogy of Four Patterns.

Worth every penny :-)  I made the Hitchhiker pattern from Zitron Trekking XXL, Colorway 463 (orange). It's a very fiery yarn. Hitchhiker  . 

In other news, I have been fairly productive in my writing endeavors. I am 8 chapters into a nifty tale about a woman who finds a time capsule in her back yard. I am also planning to submit a portion of my YA Romance manuscript in the hopes that they will find it worthy enough to warrant a publishing contract.  So I have been keeping fairly busy.

To Do List: Buy a stitch dictionary. Upload pictures of finished projects.

 

Glacial Melt

Glacial Melt Scarf

Developed by NCC-1701 for V Studios

Level: Intermediate Beginner / Knitting

Stitches Used:

YO = Yarn Over

K2tog = Knit 2 sts together

Materials

Size US9 knitting needles

Approx 170 yds Bernat Baby Softee in Blue Denim Marl (or other soft DK weight yarn)

Gauge

Not important to this project.

Finished Dimensions

5.5 inches wide up to 10.5 inches, depending on how blocked you want it

52 inches long, unblocked

Blocking opens the pattern nicely, but leaving the FO unblocked makes for a more textured piece. If you choose not to block, at least block the corners as they will curl in on themselves.

Blocked

 

Unblocked

 

CO any even number.

I used CO 30

Row 1: K all stitches (30 sts)

Row 2: K1, *YO, K2tog* repeat from * until there is 1 st remaining. K1. (30 sts)

Repeat Row 2 until scarf is desired length.

(I did 255 rows not counting the first and last knitted rows.)

Repeat Row 1 one more time, then BO in whatever manner you prefer.

Questions? E-Mail,or leave a comment on this post :-)
You can also find me at Ravelry.com NCC-1701

(you may sell any items made from this pattern, but please link back to me either on ravelry or my blog and give credit where due. You may not reprint and distribute this pattern for profit without written permission. Easily obtainable with an email.)

Fiber Arting Again & Yarn Bombing My House

Hello, everyone. 

It's been about 6 months since I last posted!  I took a break from the fiber artistry for a while; other things had to occupy my time. The move, setting up house, starting a new job. 

The house is fantastic. There is a black wrought iron railing on the upper of the split levels that is just begging to be yarn bombed. The paint scheme is very neutral, so it's a case of anything goes color-wise. I am dragging my crafty friends into the mix, as well. My crochet guru/mentor made a beautiful, bright pink wrap for one post. She added tons of neat geometric shapes and bright colors. It's going to be spectacular when it's finished!

Oh yes, and since I am now a home owner, I have decided to start a small garden. The former owners already have some beautiful flowers planted along the back of the house so I won't be touching those. I am going to add Hostas to the front beds in the spring. 

But yesterday I planted bulbs for Tulips (Queen of Night and Rainbow Mix), Snow Crocus, and Grape Hyacinth. There is a half barrel planter on our back concrete patio, and it seemed like the perfect place to put some flowers. I also found two pots and planted some bulbs in those as well. I am hoping to have some beautiful flowers next spring. I started a gardening journal to keep track of what I plant and where, and will be adding pictures as soon as something blooms. 

In other news: I started a new job. I am contracting at an insurance agency doing data entry, which is something I'm really good at. Eventually I am hoping to become a permanent employee, but I am happy with my current situation.  I am able to listen to my mp3 player while I work, since I don't do any phone work, and I have been listening to Sue Grafton's Kinsey series, and Lilan Jackson Braun's "The Cat Who..." series. Great books!

Last but not least :)  I am working on designing my first knitting pattern!  I am really excited about it.  It all started because I wanted a really simple shrug that I could throw on over a tank top for work, or a strapless top for evening wear. The problem is, there just aren't that many super simple patterns for shrugs; at least none that caught my eye.  

Sooooo, I decided to wing it and write down my notes to make a pattern.  I am hoping to be finished with it in a week or two and have it blocked out so I can take pictures and finish writing the pattern.

I am hoping that it comes out as nifty and what I have envisioned. And hopefully it will be popular enough that others find it easy to work with and fun to make. 

For now, I bid you all adieu, and I promise I will try not to be such a stranger :)  I am considering expanding my craftiness, and hopefully that will lend some fodder for my blog as well :)

Have a wonderful week!

WingSpan - We Are 3 of 8

I have been working on the Wingspan pattern off and on for a couple of weeks. I recently re-learned basic knitting and discovered that although this pattern looks complicated, it is really very, very easy. It's my first knitting project, aside from sampler squares to practice stitches. So it's my first real project I should say.

The pattern can be found here (You will need to sign up for a free Ravelry account to access the patterns I share from that site). It is a knitted pattern. Yarn and Needle info to follow pics. 

At one triangle complete:

 

Three triangles completed:

 

Lesson one: COUNT YOUR STITCHES!!! I made this rookie mistake and though the pattern is still coming out beautifully, since I failed to count my stitches every so often, I have to make up for it consistently so the finished project looks right. 

Yarn:

Nordlys by Viking - 75% Superwash / 25% Nylon - Color No. 934

Needles:

Size 4 interchangeable circulars by KnitPicks.

If you are interested in learning a handy cast on method needed for the 2nd and subsequent triangles, I learned the Cable Cast On and it works like a dream. Here is a youtube video showing how to do this cast on: Cable Cast On.

I do not own this video, I am simply offering it as a tutorial and learning device.