Some Tips for Yarners

I'm not very good at making up my own patterns.  Like, at all.  Part of it is the math, you know I'm mathily challenged, but part of it is that what's in my head doesn't translate well in practicality.  I even those people that can just play with stitches and make something beautiful.  I am good at changing and rearranging other peoples patterns: substituting a different stitch or changing a repeat or something.  Making it more like what I want.  But starting from scratch?  Nope, that's a fail.

I've tried.  God knows I've tried.  I have managed, a few times, to put together some stitch patterns that worked.  Like the background on this page?  My Dex in Blue scarf, inspired Amy Lane's book of the same name.  But I've always want to do something really original and different and, if I'm being honest, impressive.  Cause really, I like that moment when people are amazed and they think it was all complicated and hard but it really wasn't, it just looks like it was.  What can I say?  Is there any one of us that doesn't, on occasion, like to have their ego stroked?  To have that shining moment of pride in a job well done?  

So for me, I have a couple of fall backs that I pull out when making something for someone who appreciates yarn things but doesn't yarn themselves.

The Ripple: this crochet pattern never fails to impress.  I'm not entirely sure why.  Perhaps it's just because people who don't understand how yarn works can't figure out how you get the yarn to make the valleys and peak?  It's a really simple pattern.  When you start your beginning chain, you can make it any size you want as long as you have the right multiple. (Sounds like math, I know, but really, it just a wee bit of addition)  Me?  I usually work in double crochet (dc) because it goes a bit faster.  For some reason I like odd numbers, which is strange because I'm really an evens sort of girl.  I like nine a lot, and use it the most, but five also makes very cool ripple.  When you begin your chain, you have to have nine stitches up the peak, nine down and then three more; one for the top of the peak and two to skip to make the valley.  21 in total.  So, you keep chaining sets of 21 until you have the length that you want.  You work 9 dc's, *1 dc, chain 2, 1 dc* all in the next stitch (the peak stitch), 9 dc's, skip two (the valley).  Repeat.  The only other thing you have to remember it to work a decrease at the beginning and end of row two and each row so that you have the same number of stitches every time.  Simple right?

It can be varied immensely as well: single crochet or double, working through the back loop only, stripes, using variegated yarn...seriously, if there's one pattern to learn in crochet, it's the ripple.  

Cables:  If you're a knitter, this one really amazes people.  All it is, really, is knitting the stitches out of order.  But it seriously impresses.  I like cables that look more complicated than they are.  Three of my favorites? The XO cable, the Staghorn cable, and the Wheateater cable.  They are very simple to actually work but elegant looking and have a nice wow factor.  I'm not going to write out the patterns for these, but if you want them, let me know and I will.

Knitting or crocheting on the diagonal looks seriously impressive but is easy peasy simple. I did that with my coworker's baby blanket. For which there are pictures and the pattern here.  

And my last trick for making things seem impressive?  Working with a hook or needles that are too large for the yarn. This gives the whole fabric a completely different look and feel.  It helps that it makes things go faster too.  When I made my cousin's wrap and I had to do it in one night, I knitted it using worsted (medium) weight yarn but I used size 13 needles.  The needles were about five sizes larger than what was needed for the weight of the yarn.  This made a very lofty fabric.  I just knitted stockinette (knit a row, purl a row) but after I stretched and blocked it, it looked completely different. 

Here are a few pics to show you what I mean.  Except for my cousin's wrap, they've all be up before, but I wanted you to be able to see what I was talking about.  

The wrap, blocked out.

 Three different versions of ripples.  The top one actually has a whole bunch of different "peaks and valleys," and done in single crochet.  The second one is a multiple of five, I believe (meaning five on each side of the peak) and the third one is my favorite, standard nine.

Staghorn cable

XO cable

Wheateater cable

Baby Shower

Off to work where we're having a food day and a baby shower.  My coworker only has a couple of more weeks before her daughter makes her appearance in the world.  So we're celebrating.  It's going to be fun.

At least this time, I've got the present finished.  Has been for a while actually.  Hey look at me!  No mad rush to get something completed!  

And then, long weekend.  Looking forward to that as well!

Another Birthday!

No matter how old I get, Brub is always older.  Just about 19 months, actually.  Though he would get specific and say 18 months and 19 days older.  I like to point out that, for the next six months and 19 days, he's two years older than me.  

Happy birthday Brubby!

I was going to make him a dead chicken.  Which, actually, is not as morbid as it sounds.  Okay, it is, but there's a point.  See, there's this German folk song, Mein hahn ist tot, that, with enough goading, he'll sing to us.  It's about how the rooster is dead.  And there's this running joke with him, where he puts the word chicken into songs.  So those two things combined make a dead chicken.  But I couldn't find a free pattern for a chicken I actually liked or that didn't look ridiculous, and when I tried it on my own...well...It looked wrong.  Just wrong.  So I went shopping instead.  And when the box from  ThinkGeek arrives, he'll open it and that will be his wrapping, too.

Let me tell you about my Brub. He's super, wicked smart.  His brain is an amazing place.  He's fluent in German and Spanish.  He's the grammar police.  He is a Fullbright scholar and spent the year after he graduated from college in Germany.  Then he went to grad school and got his Master's in public policy.  Then he worked for the State legislature for a few years.  Then he quit his job to go to Law school.  He'll graduate in May, take the Bar Exam in July, and find out in October that he passed (which I have no doubt he'll do).  He's been my best friend since I was born.  He's a bit absentminded and a little selfish, but he never means to be.  He's hysterical and frequently makes me laugh so hard my face hurts.  He talks really fast.  He's going to become a father in December and I am absolutely certain that he will be amazing at that as well.  I call him Brub (obviously) and he calls me kiddo.  I'm very lucky to have him in my life.

Happy birthday again, Brub!  Love you like pancakes.      

Old Dog, New Tricks

Let me tell you a story about my mom.

Mom was raised in a farm family in the North Country.  A devout Catholic family.  Small town and the mentality to go with it.  Especially given the years during which it happened.  

As I was growing up, my mom had expanded her horizons some.  She put us in public school so that we would be exposed to diversity and differences of opinions and she said she never once regretted it.  But my siblings and I are pretty damn liberal (if Tato got anymore left leaning, he'd fall off the wing) and my mom could probably be considered a moderate with left leanings.  She was proud of us for having our own well thought out opinions, even if she didn't agree.  

Given the way she was raised, I'm sure you won't be surprised that she thought homosexuals were disgusting.  As we grew older, we tried to have frank discussions with her about it.  She eased up some, I think, even though she flat out told us that if any of us were gay we'd "better stay in the closet."  She didn't want to know.

Don't worry, though.  This story has a happy ending.

My mom has changed her outlook quite considerably over the last several years.  It became more of a "live and let live" attitude.  She still didn't necessarily agree with it but she felt that everyone had the right to live and love as they chose.  I was proud of her for the progress she had made in her way of thinking, even if she'd occasionally make statements like "I don't announce to the world that I'm straight, why do they have to announce that they are gay."  We'd have more discussions and I'd try to explain where "they" were coming from, as well as I understood it.  She'd listen even if she didn't fully understand.  When our state passed marriage equality laws a couple of years ago, she thought it was nice, but she wasn't jumping up and down like the rest of us were.  I think it helped that a couple of her nieces are lesbians and finally were in a place where they could share that.  She loves them and accepts them and I really think it helped to open her mind.  She also adores Toby, an out and proud gay man.  

My mom has known that I read gay romances since pretty much when I started.  She knew I was writing a gay romance.  She's always been very proud of my writing, even if she didn't want to read it.  

She was thrilled when I finally submitted my story.  But when I got the contract?  She was over the moon.  And ran around telling people, and didn't hesitate to say that it was a gay romance.  To be honest, I was a bit shocked.  But the other day, as she and I were leaving my cousin's birthday party, we were talking about it.  The discussion was about a lot of things and one of the things that I said was that love is love, no matter who the people are that are in love.  The discussion continued to where we were talking about how there are a few people in my family that I don't want to know.  Not because I'm ashamed of it, but because they are mean, they'll spread gossip, and they will say very unkind things.  Why would I put myself in the position to be ridiculed if I could avoid it?  It would just make me angry.  Eventually our talk wound down and she said, after a moments pause, "I think you've got it right.  Love is love."

Might not seem like a big deal to you, but I was blown away.  For her to say that, when only a few years ago she thought it was fine as long as it didn't effect her life, made my heart just burst with pride.  My mom finally gets it.  She understands.  Love is love, whether it be between a man and a woman, two men, or two women, it doesn't diminish it.  It doesn't make it less if the two people are in the relationship are the same gender.  

She may or may not read my story.  Mostly because of the explicit sex, but that's okay.  I know the sex isn't for everyone.  And I don't fault her for that.  But I told her the story and she thought it was nice and she didn't roll her eyes or sigh.  She gets it.  And I'm so very proud of her.

(On a somewhat related note: when I told my Auntie, who's eight years older than Mom, that it was getting published and that it was gay romance, she immediately said she was going to buy it.  I paused a second and said, "there's a pretty graphic scene."  She just gave me a little smile and a half shrug and said, "there's nothing that I haven't at least heard of before.  I'm buying it."  And that, folks, is just how cool my Auntie is.)  

All The News That's Fit to Print

All right, let's see.

I spent the bulk of Saturday babysitting and wishing for a nap...and wishing the kids would fall asleep too because they were so tired but they were fighting it.  Eventually, they did fall asleep for the last three or so hours, it was all quite on the western front. Sometimes, that's my favorite part of babysitting.  I enjoy adorable children doing adorable things and I always have fun playing.  But when sweet little babies are taking sweet little naps and they are quiet and cute at the same time?  Yeah, that's good.

After they left, I decided I couldn't give my cousin the shawlette.  I'd been hemming and hawing about it since i finished it.  Because it was so much smaller than I thought it was going to be.  So, I decided at about five o'clock I had to do something else.  For the next seven hours, I unraveled the shawlette, working off of that as it unraveled, and made it into a long rectangular wrap instead.  It can be used as a scarf or wrap 'round the shoulders and fastened with the shawl pin.  At midnight on the dot, I finished it, washed it, and blocked it out on the floor.  It was dry in just enough time for me to unpin it, fold it up, stick it in a bag and walk out the door.  The party, though filled with people, was a lot of fun!

Soul Bond is finished!  So there's that.  The next one will be start...at some point in the near future.  I'm not exactly sure when.  And I haven't settled on a title yet.  So you don't even get that as a teaser.  I will say that Kelly's mysterious packet plays a roll.  As does Daniel.  

And now for my big huge news!  It's had a week to settle so I feel a little more solid and less like it's a dream.  Dreamspinner Press has picked up the short story that I submitted to them and it will be a part of this year's Advent Calendar Anthology.  I couldn't believe it when I got the email.  There's a part of me that still can't.  I don't have any big details yet, other than that it will be available December 1st with all the other stories.  When I have them, I'll post them up.  Deal?

So that's what's going on in my world.  What's going on in yours? 

Soul Bond: Part 15

This is it...the very last episode of Soul Bond!

I'm going to miss these boys.  They have a special place in my heart.  Fortunately, we have another story in the works so I'm certain we'll see them again.

There's no epilogue for this story which shocked the shit out of me.  Because, I really love epilogues.  But nope, this one ends here.  And I think it's a good place to end, if I do say so myself.

At some point today, a tab will go up at the top if you want to read the whole story in it's entirety.

Hope you enjoy this last installment of Jared and Liam's story.  

Soul Bond: Part 14

Okay, so I thought this was going to be the last episode.  But it turns out there's actually one more!  Tune in tomorrow for the very last episode of Soul Bond

Enjoy!

Soul Bond: Part 13

Oh look!  Another episode.  Hey that's two in a row!  And we're not done yet.

You know how to catch up.

Enjoy!

Soul Bond: Part 12

Finally, right?  The next episode in our continuing saga! 

We're getting close to the end, folks.  And tomorrow's post will be the next episode.  

Catch up by clicking the label in the side bar, right?

Enjoy!  I hope it was worth the wait.  

Shawlette

All right.  Here it is.  It actually turned out smaller than I thought it was going to be so it's really more of a shawlette.  But it's enough to go 'round her shoulders and it is warm.  And check out that shawl pin!  Sweet right?  It's actually reversible...there's a different design on each side of the circle.  So that's a fun thing, she can pick which side, the flowers or the leaves, she likes better.

So, yeah, I definitely know now that I don't want to make Auntie's shawl this way.  I will find a different technique.

It was a fun experiment and I'm glad that I tried it, but the big problem was, because it was worked top down, I couldn't really see the whole shape of it and measure it for size because the long sides were always scrunched up on the needles.  It made things difficult.  So I know that next time, I will not be working it that way.  And I'm thinking that I'm going to make hers a different shape.  I can understand why others like to make shawls with this sort of pattern.  But it's not for me.

Aw shucks, I guess I'm going to have to spend a bunch of time looking at patterns.  :)  

And The Good Keeps Happening

Seriously. It does.  Monday was pretty damn awesome.

I didn't have to go to work because I took a couple of days off.

I indulged with a bacon, egg, and cheese biscuit, hash browns, and a coffee from McDonald's for breakfast.

Read Rhys Ford's newest release Whiskey and Wry.  It was amazing, as per usual.  Loved it a lot.  Can't wait to see what she comes up with next.

The shawl pin arrived and it's even better in real life than I thought from the picture.

I took a nap.

I nearly completed my cousin's shawl!  I intend to finish it today and post up a pic (or two) tomorrow.

And I finished Soul Bond!  That will go up in a couple of consecutive posts starting Thursday.

One other pretty damn amazing thing happened.  But I'm not quite ready to talk about it yet.  Soon, I promise.

All in all, right now, I'm riding pretty high.  

I Survived!

Well.  I survived the weekend.  But I'll tell you, it was a struggle at times.  Its hard for someone like me to have their routine interrupted and have to be social.  So, yeah, I had to escape occasionally and just decompress.  And you can tell, by my post yesterday, that I had some issues.  

But then I got some completely amazing, totally wonderful, and unexpected (at least timing wise) news and...well, my brain kind of shut down on all other things and it was only about what I found out.  And I couldn't contain myself.  And I had no words.  (Yes, I will talk about it in a few days)

So, as you can see, no Soul Bond post today.  I'm not quite done.  But later this week, they will start going up.  I promise.  I have today and tomorrow off from work, thank goodness, and aside from knitting like crazy and hoping desperately I have enough yarn to finish what my cousin's present, I will finish Soul Bond and post it up.  

Oh and in other good news?  The shawl pin I ordered should arrive either today or tomorrow, so that will definitely be in time.  Yay!

Leftovers

Would y'all mind terribly if I whined like a spoiled little brat for a minute?

See, here's the thing.  I try really hard to be a good person.  I've been told I'm very sweet on numerous occasions.  I'm giving, I'm compassionate, I'm kind.  And I'm not trying to brag, it's just how I'm made and I try really hard to do good things.  I like being a good person and doing nice things.  

Sis is...not so much.  Now, don't get me wrong, she does nice things.  But overall, she's...well, she can be a bitch.  And she can be snarky and she can be mean and she can be very, very selfish.  I love her to bits and she's a good person deep down but it doesn't always show.

Her first thought is how whatever the situation is is going to affect her.  I think of others first most of the time.

But, for some reason, everybody loves Sis.  Just loves her.  She can be mean and bitchy and they still love her.  And I don't get the same love.  Or, rather, I don't feel the same love.  I suddenly become second best, the consolation prize, the left over.

Now, see how whiny and selfish this makes me sound?

But I can't help but feel this way and if I don't get it out it's going to become a darkness in my chest and then I'll get mean and I don't want to be that way.  So I need to rant it out of my head so I can let it go.  

I was Daddy's little girl until she was born.  And even though I was only three, I knew the dynamic had changed.  I knew things were different and I remember how that felt. And children flock to her like she's some kind of pied piper.  And, my cousin and her kids are here and I know she lived with them for four years, but it's like she's some miracle come to life and I'm just an after thought.  And you'd think that since it's been this way practically my entire life that I'd be used it by now and able to let it go.  But I'm human and I have issues.  And I get jealous.  And yeah, I know that's what it is.  I'm jealous that she gets all the love and attention and I just get the leftovers.  And it's petty of me and I don't know how to make it stop.

I've talked to her about it and she just gives me a cheeky grin and says that's how it should be.  And she's mostly joking.  But she also, like a queen, expects to be adored and basks in that adoration.  

Now, I know I have people in my life that love me best.  And she should have them, too.  But when I feel like a second class citizen around her it hurts.  I don't understand what makes her that special, what makes everyone adore her so.  Though I probably should because I adore her as well.  But we have that sister relationship and that's how it should be. 

You know what it is?  It's that when I was young and still developing emotionally, I was pushed aside for her.  There were people that did it deliberately, making it obvious that they were choosing her over me.  And so when it happens now, the old hurts, that deep hurt, comes to the forefront.  I'm grown now and I know how to keep my emotions in check.  But that doesn't mean that it doesn't hurt like a son of a bitch.

I feel guilty as hell for putting this out there but I also feel a lot better for getting it off my chest.  I love her and she does do nice things sometimes and she's done them for me.  And she's freaking hysterical and sometimes she makes me laugh so hard my face hurts.  I really do understand why people love her.  I just wish that I felt like I got equal love instead of second place.  And that's on me, not her.  So I need to let it go and not blame her.

I'm going to try really hard, at least.  

We're Going to The Zoo

Today's agenda: take a houseful of children to the zoo.

We've got a 14 year old who's too smart for her own good but a really lovely human being.

A 10 year old who thinks it's amusing to act like a spazz.  When we tell him to calm down he says okay with a gleeful smile on his face.  Then counts to ten in his head and decides that he's been calm long enough. 

A 9 year old we affectionately call Sis's barnacle.  I swear if that girl could permanently attach herself to Sis she would.  She also has an amazing sense of imagination and whimsy and is often off in her own world.  

A 21 month old who is a complete and total angel...for everyone except his mother.

And a 7 month old who is an absolute love bug.

Now, I love the zoo.  And we've got a good one that has exceptional exhibits and does a lot of enrichment.  And we've often gone as a group of adults and enjoyed ourselves immensely.  But there is something about going with kids and seeing it through their eyes that makes the enjoyment so much greater.  So I'm very much looking forward to it.

And afterwards, I have no doubt I'm going to be in great need of a nap.

Knit Like the Wind!

After careful consideration, and some discussion with Sis, I made a decision about what to make for my cousin.

Remember last week when I showed off pics of my works in progress?  And there was that shawl I had started, just to play with the yarn and the pattern?  I wasn't making it with anyone in mind so I figured I'd keep it for myself once I completed it.  Yeah, nope.  I'm going to work my ass off and get it finished by next weekend to give to my cousin.  

Now, it's all done in garter.  And I can be pretty fast doing just that.  But still, there's a lot to be done so there's no lolly gagging for me.  The only thing I'm worried about is no having enough yarn to finish it off once I'm done.  So I have to pay close attention when I get towards the end of the last ball so that I'm certain I have enough to bind off all the stitches.  

I even ordered a shawl pin!  I just hope it arrives in time.  I can always gift it to her later of course, but I'd really like to have the whole thing before I wrap it up, you know?

Anyway, I'll be knitting like crazy.  And with the weekend I'm going to have, I'm sad to say that might mean I don't finish Soul Bond before Monday.  But don't fret!  The remaining episodes will all still go up next week, and I will endeavor to get the first one up Monday, but if that doesn't happen, check back later in the week.  Worst case scenario is they go up Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday.  Okay?

I have my time budget and it should all be okay.  I think.  

  

With a Pencil and a Pad

I sat down with my trust yellow legal pad and favorite pen last night and made a list.  Several lists actually.  There's the list of projects that I need to complete and deadlines by which I need to complete them.  There's a list of yarn I need to buy in order to complete said projects.  There's the list of things I want to need to write.  And there's a list of blurbs of plot bunnies running 'round my brain.

I like lists.  I like the satisfaction of cross things out.  But more than that, sometimes it helps me when I have a tangible representation of all the things I need to accomplish.  Of course, when I looked at all I had written down, I had a brief moment of panic.  But I'm feeling better about things now.  I let the panic pass and now everything is much clearer.  Yes, I have a lot to do over the coming months.  And I know things will change; new things will crop up and other things will not be as important.  

The first thing I have to accomplish is a present for my cousin who's 50th birthday has totally sneak attacked me.  I don't know why I didn't realize it was the big 5-0, I should have as her parents celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary last summer and I knew she was born a year later, but suddenly, in a week and half, it's birthday.  So, I must make something quickly for her present.  I shake my head at my own foolishness.  I just have to decide what.  I had already scheduled yarn time into the coming weeks to work on Sis's blanket, but instead of working on that, I'll put in my cousin's present.  I have two viable options and by the time I get home from work today, I'll have to have made up my mind.  Then raiding the yarn stash and getting to work as soon as I walk in the door.

And before you ask; No, I don't have to make her something.  But that's my thing.  That's what I do.  And even though I'll probably stress myself out about it, I want to.  So...

Stay tuned for updates and pics!    

Making A Small Sacrifice

I try not to be fickle.  I really do. But sometimes, I can't help it.  Especially when it comes to the yarn projects.  It's a bad trait, I know it.  But my brain jumps in and starts making plans for something else when I start to get the tiniest bit bored.

I'm working on Sis's blanket.  Slowly, but I am.  And I'm not going to complain again about how boring it is because I don't want to be annoying (it's one of my greatest fears, being annoying.  It keeps me from saying, writing, doing things I want or think I should because I'm afraid that people out there will find me annoying, irritating, bothersome.  A pest.  I really don't want to be a pest!)  But I'm committed to it and I'm working on it slowly and it is, little by little, getting closer to done.  But while I'm doing that, my brain is wanting to move on.

The BFF's birthday is in a few months.  And I know exactly what she's getting.  So my brain has been designing that, though I haven't yet settled on the final design so it's good that I don't have the yarn yet.  Though I know what yarn I'm going to get to make them. And that's making me anxious to figure it out and get started.  Because, let's face it, that how I always am.

I also know her Christmas present.  And I'm going to have to order both that and the birthday yarn.  And I'm nervous if I don't do it soon there might not be what I need.  So half of my brain is all "buy it now!" and the other half is "you don't need it now, if it's not there when you're ready, then it wasn't meant to be." So there's quite a war going on in my head around that.  I have yet to decide what to do.

So, all of a sudden, there are all these projects that I need to get started on.  Because it's already the middle of August, and I only have a certain amount of time to get things completed.  But, in order to make time for these things, I'm going to have to give something up.  It either has to be the writing or the reading, because, unfortunately, I can't give up work and there's no way in hell I'm giving up sleep.  The thought of shelving either, even if it's just cutting back, makes my heart hurt.  But there is really not enough time in the day to do it all.

I can't see how I can give up writing for a while.  Not while the muse is talking to me.  Not while Jared and Liam's tale is almost finished and the next one is already taking shape.  Not when I even know the premise of the one after that.  How do I just leave these boys?  I couldn't do it.  

So that means that reading will have to take a backseat.  While my wallet is happy about that, I'm going into mourning just thinking about it.  But I must be strong.  For the foreseeable, reading will be a treat, it will be a reward if I accomplish a goal.  It will not be anything else.  At least until I can make some serious headway on what needs to get done.  

Send me strength.  I'm going to need it. 

Oh Bother

Incoming family alert!

Okay, so it's not really a bad thing.  Remember a couple of months ago when I complained about the family that didn't show up until 11 o'clock at night?  Part of the reason for that, if I didn't say before, was that they were moving here from near across the country and we were the last stop before they finished their journey.  So, they've been settled here for a couple of months, my cousin and her three kids.

Y'all know I'm close to my mom and siblings.  There are a few members of my extended family that I'm close to as well.  This cousin is one of them, as when I was just a wee babe, she spent the summer watching me and my brother (she's 13 years older than I am).  We've always said I was her first baby.  And she lived with us on and off over the years as she was getting out of college and her first job.  Now she's got three children of her own, ages 14, 10, and 9.  Sis lived with them for four years out in Colorado, helping my cousin raise them.  So we are all a very tight knit group.

They are coming to visit for the weekend.  It's going to be fun but also stressful.  Because the younger two have quite a bit of energy and while they are hysterical, it's not something I'm used to on a daily basis so it's sort of exhausting.

And I know damn well I'm not going to get everything accomplished that I want to this weekend, but what am I going to do?  Family time trumps everything else and that is how it should be.  Thankfully, I'll be able to escape to my sanctuary when it all gets too much.  And have a little decompression time.  And when I have to be in the mass of it all, I can knit while I'm hanging out and that will keep my brain occupied.

Oh, and I have next Monday and Tuesday off from work, because my concentration will be shot those two days anyway, so that'll be extra decompression time.  I'll need it after all the family happy crazy.  It is serendipitous that it worked out that way, isn't it?    

Soul Bond Announcement

There is a reason that there is no episode of Soul Bond today.

As I was writing the next episode, I realized that some things weren't lining up right.  After careful contemplation, I realized what I need to do is finish it before I can post it up.  As I'm writing, I'm having to go back an edit as I'm going along.  Nothing changes in the chapters that have gone up before.  It's just that this last section needs to be written as a whole or else there are pieces missing.  I'm working on it now, but I'm not done yet.  My hope is that next week, I'll be able to finish the story out. It looks, right now, to be three episodes worth of words, so my intent is to finish it out on three days next week.

We'll see how the muse cooperates, right?

I'm liking what I'm writing, but I want to get it right before I put it out there.  I don't think I can be blamed for that, right?

I am sorry if there is any disappointment.  But I hope I can make it up to you by finishing out our tale next week.  After that, we'll start the third story.  I'm really looking forward to that one.  I love Kelly and Jason.  I absolutely adore Jared and Liam. But this next one?  Yeah, this next one already has a special place in my heart.  

Post Festival Report

Sis and I had such a good time yesterday!  The weather was perfect and we meandered around the entire place, looking at what we wanted to, spending as much or as little time in each of the little shops as we pleased.  We ate too much and had excellent wine slushies and walked some more.  We caught a couple of the shows and laughed and smiled.  I dressed up because I love it.  Sis did not because she doesn't.  She, actually, wore a t-shirt that says "I have two needles.  You have two eyes.  Don't mess with a woman who knits."  She got four compliments on the shirt.  Since I was the one that bought it for her for her birthday several years ago, I was feeling pretty pleased with myself.  And the guy at the shop where they carve staffs and wands said he was a knitter which I think is awesome.

We were watching a few performers dance to bagpipe (love bagpipes!) and drum music.  Sis leaned close and said softly in my ear, "You're writing in your head right now, aren't you?"  I blinked in shock.  She just gave me a knowing smirk, "I know what that look on your face means."  And she was right.  Because there were four men and two women doing this dance and so two of the men were partnered up and you know what that means in my brain...in the three minutes we were watching them dance, I had created a whole short about the interaction.  

I was, of course, exhausted by the time we got home.  But after I took care of the things I needed and wanted to take care of, it was too late for a nap.  Which was vexing because you know I love naps but I couldn't see going to sleep, to wake up in a couple hours, only to go back to bed a few hours after that. So, instead, I vegged out in front of the TV, watched a few episodes of Tanked and then popped Star Trek in (because someone has got me having Star Trek constantly on the brain!) and once that was over, it was late enough that I could allow myself to sleep.  

And sleep I did.  My dreams, by the way, were fucking awesome!  

Time Travel

Sis and I are headed off to the (fictional) village of Warwick, England circa 1585, at the Sterling Renaissance Festival

It's going to be a good time.  I always have a splendid visit.  It'll be nice to see some of the acts that I love to watch, and meander around the hillside, looking at all the wares for sale.  Queen Elizabeth will grace us with her presence for the parade.  It's Fantasy Weekend, which means anything goes, and that's always fun and interesting.  Oh, plus, you know, I get to wear a pretty dress.  Sometimes, I'm a girl like that.

See you when I return to the present!

Huzzah!

Okay, lots of reasons.

It's Friday, and that's always a good thing.  It's the last day of working for the week and you don't have to wear work clothes, which is always more comfortable.  

Tato had an excellent birthday.  He loved all his prezzies, in particular the tribble (though, admittedly, there's a slight chance I'm biased).  All the minions at his work made a big deal out of it, breaking into shouts, or song, or dance when he walked by.  (Tato has what I call "emperor complex" as in he wants to rule the world and everyone shall bow to him)  We all went out to a restaurant he loves for dinner.  We laughed a lot.  It was good.  And I'm very happy he had such a good day.

Renaissance Festival!  Sis and I are going tomorrow. There's one in a town not too far from here and it's a long standing faire, I think this is it's 37th year.  I've been going every year for a while now. Usually, there's a group of us but this year it's just me and Sis. I'm very excited.  There are certain things that I love to see every year.  And even though it can get pretty crowded, I think the fact that it's outside, with lots of trees and little spaces where you can step aside, breathe in peace, so I'm usually okay.  But it's a lot of fun and then when we get tired or overwhelmed, we can get in the car and go home.  I have a dress I love, and I do my hair, and, at the end of the day, I'm very relieved to open the stays because after eight hours of being confined by the boning in my dress, it's nice to be able to breathe.  And the weather is supposed to be absolutely lovely, which will be a nice change, because I think five out of the last six years it rained all day when we were there.

So, yeah, it's been a good week and there is still much to look forward to.  I'm a little nervous, because, you know, plans have been made.  But this is the kind of thing that requires plans to be made.  It can't be all willy nilly.  But thus far, knock on wood, it seems to be all working out in my favor.  Cross your fingers for me, okay?    

Three Deep Breaths

I consider myself to be fairly intelligent.  I know a lot of things, some useless, most not.  But, for some reason, I never thought about taking a moment, when the stress level gets high, to make my shoulders relax, to straighten my posture, to take three deep, silent breaths.

A few weeks ago, when I was having a bad day and totally stressed out, a dear friend was sympathizing and also made the suggestion that when it's getting crazy in my life and in my head, to take that moment.  To take those three deep breaths.

It's made all the difference in the world.

Some days, yeah, I have to keep doing it, over and over again.  Some days, it's a near constant thing.  But just that moment...lowering my shoulders, straightening my spine, taking those breaths...in those few seconds, everything calms within me.  The act of centering myself stops the chaos for a bit.  The more I do it, the better I feel.

Now, I'm better able to handle myself when it's getting a little crazy in my brain.  When I'm getting stressed, or obsessed, or worked up.  I know what to do.  I conciously bring my shoulders down.  I straighten my posture.

And I take those three deep breaths.  

Happy Birthday!

My honorary brother kicked off the month of birthdays when he had his on Sunday.  But today?  Today is Tato's birthday!  My wee baby brother is all grown up.  Okay, he has been for quite a while but still.  

There are five years between us.  But he and I are the most alike, personality wise.  We have a saying in my family, "1 and 3, 2 and 4."  1 and 3 (Brub and Sis) act the same way, react the same way to certain situations, have similar personalities.  And 2 and 4 (me and Tato) are the exact same way.  We tend toward the more compassionate, the more giving.  We both appreciate the arts and music.  I have to show him everything I make and he has to grab it and say "Mine!" or else the project isn't officially completed.  He's also awesomely creepy.  By that I mean, he just knows things; things he shouldn't, things he couldn't.  And I can't ever lie to him.  Not that I approve of lying, but I can't hardly even keep a secret from him.  Even the good kind.  He's one of the five people that know about this blog.  He supports me, no matter what, even if he has some strong opinions about things.  And even though the words seem cruel, when I say "Shut up!  I hate you! Die!" it's a joke just between us and he knows I never say those words to anyone else.  They are reserved just for him and because of the connotation that we give them, they are words of affection.  (Hey, don't judge us, it amuses us both ☺)

Tato is an all around awesome person.  He has his flaws, of course, but I definitely lucked out when I got him for a younger brother.

He'll get his tribble tonight.  And I know he'll be thrilled.  It will join his Cthulu and his alien walrus and his afghan and his hats in the place of honor that goes to the things I've made him.  And sometime in the future, we'll have a dinner out and hit the movies, just us two.  It'll be fun.

Happy Birthday, Tato!  Love you!

Sorting out the Troubles

Okay, first off?  The trouble with blogger this weekend was, of course, with me and not with blogger at all. Turns out my browser was being ridiculous, but it seems we have that sorted now.

I totally had a monster fail.  I really don't have the right kind of yarn for it.  Try as I might, I couldn't make it work like it was supposed to.  That's my bad and the fault lies solely with me.  I may try him again some day when I get a different sort of yarn.

But happy accident!

 Look!  It's a tribble!  Thank all the gods and goddesses in the heavens, I only have one right?!  Or then I'd really have trouble!

Okay, yes, I did give the tribble eyes that you can actually see, but he was too cute not to have a bit of a face.  He'll be going to his new home with Tato tomorrow.  My brother will be well pleased with his birthday present.  And seriously, y'all, if there was a way to make this blog touch interactive, I would do it because this yarn?  It's like the softest, best feeling yarn in the world.  I'm gonna have to get me some more and make me a neck warmer or something for the winter. Because it's awesome times a billionty.  Anyway, he's getting that and a movie of his choice.  Pretty good gift, right?  

Now it's back to Sis's blanket again.  My newest goal where that is concerned is to get it done before I have to start working on the BFF's birthday present.  I've got a couple months.  I should be okay.  

Right?

Soul Bond: Part 11

NSFW!  Just so you're aware.

Another episode for your consumption.  These boys...sometimes I'm not sure where they're going to take us until they lead us there.  And I said before that they were naughtier than Kelly and Jason.  So here it is, another NSFW episode.  There is a purpose though, to their naughtiness.  You'll have to tune in next episode.  Oh, look, a teaser!

Also, it may actually only be 14 episodes long.  I have to see how the muse actually writes out what's left in my head.  Either way, we have at least three more eps.  Maybe four if it works out with a lot of words.  We shall see, hm?

Click the label if you need to catch up, right?

Enjoy!

Monster Progress Report

When I started this thing, I really thought it would be no big deal.  Good Lord, was I wrong.  I've run into multiple issues, issues that shouldn't even be a factor.  I solved one problem only to run into another...and another...and another.

When I figured out the answer to the first issue, I really thought I'd be able to knock it out in a couple of hours.  But nope.  I ran out of one yarn.  Or rather, was on the way to running out of it before I called it a night.  The other yarn is hard to work with.  I mostly had to put it all away for the night last night or I was going to start screaming and crying.  I will try again today now that I have a clearer head.  So hopefully, pictures on Tuesday.  Or, you know, Wednesday at the latest because Wednesday is his actual birthday so I have until Tuesday night to complete the damn thing.  I'm almost ready to give up, I really am, but it's just so freaking cute and he actually asked for it months and months ago.  So, I want to get it done for him.

At any rate, I'm working on it today.  And then I need to finish writing tomorrow's episode. And by the time I'm done with both, I'll probably be ready for a Valium and a margarita.

Monster troubles.

So, there's something going on with blogger.  Or, really, it's probably my computer.  And the BFF is trying to figure out how to fix it so I can do what I want to do.  She is, of course, trying to do this by asking me questions over text while I painfully try to explain.  I'm fairly computer savvy, I grew up with 'em, right?  But yeah, I don't understand some stuff and she has to explain to me how the computer world works sometimes.  But while that's all going on, the monster is giving me fits.

"What monster?" you ask, politely inquisitive.  The monster I'm attempting to make for Tato's birthday present of course.  But the yarn is problematic in that I can't freaking see the stitches in order to work the damn project!!  Which is a bid ol' cryin' shame because it's super awesome soft furry yarn and I want to make the damn monster!  

But oh!  As I'm sitting here whinging about it, a solution just came to me!  Maybe.  I'm going to scramble off and see if it works.  Tune in tomorrow to see if it worked!

What I'm Working On

Let's start with Sis's afghan, shall we?  

Seriously, this pic does not do it justice.  We can see the pretty color, so that's nice.  But the size?  Totally masked.  Since I'm working it on circular needles, you're only seeing half the length.  Remember, I'm working it side to side, not top to bottom.  And its loose garter stitch, so there's some stretch and...anyway, it's almost, but not quite, half done.  When I do finish it, I'll stretch it out to it's massive length and show it off that way.  I don't know if it really comes off in the picture just how thick it is.  You can, of course, click it to embiggen.  What do you think?  Looks warm and cozy right?  And I put the skein in there so you can see how the yarn is nubbly.  I think they technically call this a boucle, but I personally not regard it as such.  I'm picky that way.  But it's very big and very warm, and I hate working on it during these hot days because it makes my lap uncomfortable.  The only thing that keeps me going at all is I know how much Sis is going to love it when it's done. 

Now, this?  This is my fun side project.  I started this, to play with the top down shawl pattern and this is how far I've gotten.  It starts with five stitches.  And you grow it with yarn overs, you can see them there where there are holes, and you just keep adding yarn overs so every other row gets four extra stitches.  And that's how you get the triangle shape.  You see there in the middle where all the holes meet?  That's the starting point.  and I'm working down the long sides, back and forth.  It's garter, too, because I didn't want to have to block it when I was done.  The one thing I've learned from this is that I don't want it to be garter based when I make Auntie's shawl.  Even though that makes it totally reversible.  If I do it stockinette, though, I'll have to block.  And I don't know how well that's going to work out.  I'm still exploring my options.  I came across a pattern booklet that claims you can take any pattern stitch, plug it into her equation, and you can get a shawl.  Any pattern stitch.  I'm still debating on whether or not I want to spend the money on it.  Because the one thing I know for certain is that I do not want to do Auntie's in garter.  Do.  Not.  Thus far though, I have yet to find a free pattern that I really want to do.  If anyone out there has any suggestions, please shoot 'em my way.  Cause pretty soon, I'm going to be desperate.

Once again though, I really need to get cracking on Sis's blanket.  Because soon, The BFF has a birthday, and she's getting something awesome, though if push comes to shove, I can knock that out in a week or two.  I just really don't want to leave it to the last minute.  That would suck.  And make me a bad friend.

Anyway, that's all I'm working on at the moment. But I have so much more planned.  Because people have birthdays.  And don't even get me started on Christmas!  Good gracious, now I'm starting to panic!  It's August already!  Why have I been such a slacker?!  

Soul Bond: Part 10

Happy August!  Where the heck have the last seven months gone? I'm not entirely sure.  But it's August now, known in my world as "the month of a million birthdays" so I thought we'd celebrate with an early episode of Soul Bond.  We haven't had any extra episodes of this season yet, so I thought we'd have one today.  The next one will still go up on Monday.

It's a bit of a long one, folks.  Hope you enjoy. Label on the side bar if you need to catch up, right?  Hope you enjoy.

And hey, tune in tomorrow for some pics and discussion of my current yarn WIPs!