Wednesday, May 30, 2012

WIP Wednesday: Head and Feet


Writing:
Magic Balance (Working Title) - Rewrites
Previous Word Count: 21,391
Current Word Count: 21,391 (Up 0)

Two weeks in a row ... the brain is just not having it. I think I'm going to take a break from this and do some of the suggested edits on Fey Led instead. Perhaps then my mind will be more willing to go back to this world.

Reading:

From Dead To Worse by Charlaine Harris Over halfway on this one and still enjoying it. I love her writing style and it's nice to see Sookie again. I'm gleefully looking forward to the return of True Blood soon. I also managed to catch the Q&A Panel with Kristin Bauer at Comicpalooza this past weekend. It was a very ... amusing time as she shared what she could with us about story lines and antics on set.

Knitting:
Not a Decepticon Scarf!!! I almost finished it at Comicpalooza but had left half of it at home (no sense in carrying it around after all). So earlier today I finished that up and grafted it together (would have 'never' been able to do that at con). Final pictures of it soon! However ... that meant I needed something to work on. Naturally I'd planned ahead and grabbed the yarn and stuff for Fi's beret that she's ordered. Except I didn't have her measurements. Doh! Ever the over planner I also had sock yarn and I happily cast on a pair of socks.

Caprica Circles


I think they're incredible! I'm in serious love with them. They'll be moved to my travel project since I managed to get Fi's measurement today and started on her beret.

Fi's Beret


Such a simple looking thing .. and yet it took me 2.5 hours to cast on and knit the first row. Insanity I tell you. I'd started with a circular like the pattern called for but all of my stitches fit easily on one needle because my needles are far too long. I love my interchangeable set but the tips are quite long and not at all suited to smaller projects. Good thing I had DPN's on hand.

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

WIP Wednesday: More Decepticons

Writing:
Magic Balance (Working Title) - Rewrites
Previous Word Count: 21,391
Current Word Count: 21,391 (Up 0)

My mind has really not been able to get into this lately, just way too much stress in other areas.

Reading:

From Dead to Worse by Charlaine Harris. I love the Sookie Stackhouse books and simply eat them up. They're like brain candy. I'm also a fan of True Blood, though it's interesting to see where they diverge. I haven't forgotten about the book I was reading last week, I just have no comfortable way to read it at the moment.

Knitting:
So much progress! The hardest part of these types of projects for me is to Knit for X Inches. I need a goal, an expected # of rows. When I don't have that it feels a little endless and seems to drag on forever. But! I have the number I need for the second half of the scarf now and I'm almost halfway there after just one night of chatting with friends. 

Wednesday, May 16, 2012

WIP Wednesday: Decepticons & Not Much Else


Writing:
Magic Balance (Working Title) - Rewrites
Previous Word Count: 20,390
Current Word Count: 21,391 (Up 1,001)

Honestly I'm surprised it's that high. I wrote some Wednesday after updating and some on Thursday but I was having a really hard time focusing. There was no writing on Friday due to driving to Austin and Saturday and Sunday were spent being 'very' Dragon Distracted.

Reading:
 
Fall From Grace By Matthew Munson I'm really not far enough into this yet to say much. My problem at the moment is it's a PDF version and I primarily read at dinner or in the bathroom. I 'could' use my phone but that's a really small screen. I am working on it though.

Knitting:
Because of the previously mentioned travel and reasons for not writing .. I've also not had a ton of knitting time. But there has been progress, I should have plenty of time to work on it tomorrow as I'll be spending a good chunk of time in a waiting room.





Friday, May 11, 2012

Let Your Geek Flag Fly

I've called it fearless knitting before. Somebody will ask me if I can knit something for them and I reply with an enthusiastic YES! ... and then my brain kicks in and reminds me that I have no clue how to do such a thing.



It doesn't seem to stop me though. Oh it slows me down a bit as I poke around at things and see what I can find instruction wise to do what I need. But my determination never changes. I end up with some of the most amazing things because of that determination to get what I want.



The scarf is just one of them. *wink* Many thanks to my wonderful husband for playing model for me.

The pattern is now live and available for purchase, either through Ravelry or Shadow's Knit Knacks. It includes detailed instructions on double knitting, binding off one color while continuing in the other, and grafting knits to purls.

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

WIP Wednesday: So Many Things

Writing:
Magic Balance (Working Title) - Rewrites
Previous Word Count: 18,474
Current Word Count: 20,390 (Up 1,916)

It's the calm before the storm. 

Reading:

Let's Pretend This Never Happened by Jenny Lawson. Fans of the Bloggess will know why this is an awesome and hilarious book. A huge thank you to Dusti for letting me read through the book before mailing it off to her. 


Knitting: 
A new scarf!! It's more double knitting but this time it's for Decepticons, not Autobots. So far it's working up a lot faster. I'm not sure if it's because I've had more practice or because it's a little less fiddly at this stage than the other design was. It's most likely a bit of both.



Dreamcatcher:
I've had a couple of commissions for dreamcatchers so I'm trying to keep those moving along as well. Particularly when I'm out and can't work on a complicated chart that I have to check every row. I managed to get this whole ring wrapped Monday night while we were out doing some of the con planning with the director.



Space City Con:
We're still in the planning stages but things are really ramping up for the first year of Space City Con. Lynn and I are in charge of the volunteers and I'm really glad we've had this chance to help out. The committee planning all this is awesome and the guests that we are bringing in are simply incredible. If you're a geek of any sort you should check it out. We're adding guests, dealers, and entertainment on a regular basis. This is going to be spectacular.

Friday, May 4, 2012

Piano Scarf Pattern


The pattern is now up! It can be purchased for $1.99 (US) at either Ravelry or Shadow's Knit Knacks. Thank you so much for all your encouragement!

I'm hoping to have the Autobots Scarf finished in time for next FO Friday. I just need to figure out how to graft knits to purls.

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

WIP Wednesday: Autobots x2 & Magic Balance

Writing:
Magic Balance (Working Title) - Rewrites
Previous Word Count: 17,196
Current Word Count: 18,474 (Up 1,278)

The problems the group will have to deal with are cropping up more and more, the ripples of their existence is spreading, and action will have to be taken soon. Some are looking to ignore it ... but how long will that work?

Reading:

Boneshaker by Cherie Priest I'm closing in on the end of this one. I happened to pick up another book from this series this weekend so I'm looking forward to reading through them and seeing what happens to a lot of the big characters in here. The world created in these stories is interesting.

Knitting:
A respite for my overworked brain! I really struggled through the double knit portion of the scarf simply because I'm used to being able to keep track of knitting while watching a tv show and chatting online and reading various blogs. This? Not a chance. I had to hyper focus on each row that had pattern. The non pattern rows were really easy though, as long as you remember to knit with one color and purl with the other. I do think the next one will go a lot easier both for simplicity of design and for practice.



That's the second pattern I've had on the neck portion. The other one was ripped out after about 8 rows because I really didn't like it. I think I somewhat worried the guy next to me at the theatre when I did that since I slipped the needles out and simply yanked all the progress out. He didn't realize I'd put in a lifeline after finishing the logo portion so that any ripping I did would stop there. The look on is his face was rather amusing when I got to my lifeline and slid the needles back in before winding up the excess yarn.