Knitting Setup

I guess I have a few things to mention that are relevant to a crafting/publishing blog. First, winter's come early and the knitting is out. I had a fire going last night, but I'm out of the mulch-logs and this summer's experiences have left my confidence shattered. Sure I can start a fire with real wood, but where there's fire there's smoke, you know.

In publishing news, I paid a visit to Wolsak & Wynn to conduct an interview for a paper I was writing. Came home bubbling with industry gossip and free copies of some of the books I worked on. I could have sworn I took another one, but I can't for the life of me remember what it was. And, as a rookie publicity mistake, I've covered David Collier's name on Hamilton Illustrated. I guess I shouldn't take ALL the credit.

And, a little late, this year's pumpkin features a smarmy snot-nosed pirate who's lost his eyepatch.

Stormy Weather

 A little jaunt to this year's Beer and Ribs Festival showed what damage can be done in just ten minutes of a bad storm. This is the storm. Pictures could never do it justice, but I was fearful for my life as I often am during storms in this area. They're not hurricanes, that's for sure, but they're sudden and they're brutal. Also tornados, sometimes (this time, but not here)

But that was last week. This weekend I'm in a weird philosophical funk, thanks to putting on "Brave Neuro World" TEDTalks as I was falling asleep. Not weird in bad way, but just weird enough to influence this stupid choice in footwear for my tour around the muddy garden. Stickin' it to society the best way I know how.

As an update, this it not the SAME cucumber that I showed before, but this is how they're generally doing. There was a bigger one that we have since cut off and lost track of. They kind of look like sea slugs which is awesome, but apparently they don't taste great.

On the other hand, zucchinis. Gon' make a zucchini cake, maybe.

And oh my goodness the both of them. are. huge. MomBlom and I have just agreed to grow another huge prize zucchini this year. There's no actual prize: it's just big.

Perfection, non?

The robins thought so. Unfortunately this nest is right under the floor of the deck, so I think they've since moved on. That's fine. Nothing ruins an al fresco meal quite like an anxious robin leering at you from various vantage points.

This is my latest knitting project. It's so complicated it needs a crochet hook. It doesn't look like much of anything yet. Granted, I did accidentally photograph the wrong side of it, but the fact that I couldn't tell probably just proves my point. ALSO ALSO That yarn is a beautiful silk/cashmere blend that MomBlom got me for my birthday. In my favourite colour (greener than it appears here)! She's awesome.

Basketweave

I had some yarn left over from the laptop case that I made, so I decided to try my hand at a basketweave pattern, as this is something I've been wanting to figure out for a while. It's SO easy, so I finished up this neckwarmer in a few days. I think it would be really fun to use a bunch of different colours, and I tested a row to see if it was possible... theoretically I guess it is, but I'd have to buy a bunch of yarn that I don't have space for.

I was going to give this to someone else but I think I'll keep it for myself. It's MY favourite colour after all, and my old one's getting a little ratty. Or at least full of food-crumbs which is essentially the same thing.

In other news, I finished my Frasier marathon and I feel a little lost...

New Sleeve for a New Laptop

I've been knitting for years now, and I did teach myself how. But until recently, knitting patterns of any kind had me stumped. I think, generally, it's because I don't have the patience to figure out the gauge of the yarn and needles, but once I've got some projects done, maybe I should do some gauge-knitting. Then I could make sweaters and things! But I had to get the terminology down. I figured I'd start with some lacy patterns, so I could learn some tricks, and still work on projects where I could judge the size of the finished product just by looking at it. So I made myself a laptop sleeve!

It's problematic. I love the colour, and the cathedral-like lace turned out perfectly, but... It's too big. And not only that, it's also stretchy. And the laptop slips around in the case so much that I can't hold it without feeling like the whole computer is just going to slip out and break when I haven't even had it for a month. I feel like this even when the closed part is on the bottom. So now, I've got the sleeve lining my otherwise unlined laptop pocket in my knapsack. A complete waste, if you ask me.

Perhaps if I block it, it'll shrink and lose some of its give? I don't know. I'm on to bigger things now anyway.

And another thing: All day I've been wondering what's so special about January 23rd. Just realized: isn't today the statistically worst day of the year? Sigh. Sounds about right. At least my dragonfly earrings make me cool friends on the Skytrain, and there's nothing wrong with having an unwatched episode of Downton Abbey kicking around one's computer either. If only I wasn't so... tired...

Knitting Detail

 Knitting photos are hard. But I tried, which is the important thing. This is my new neckwarmer in the making. I have, of course, begun a new knitting project, as I do, so I've had to opt into wearing my ornate Indian shawl as a scarf for the last few days. It's pretty and I love using it, but my clumsiness with caffeinated beverages has made me nervous about having and using nice things. In any case! I started this neckwarmer as I usually do, which is to cast on whatever looks right and to continue without any sort of written pattern. I don't know how many stitches there are, but for this you need to cast on a multiple of four. So I began, and I got bored, and decided to make it ribbed: knitting four and purling four. That also got boring quickly, even with the addition of the light green, so I decided to switch the ribs up a bit. Looks like technical fabric or whatever you call it. 

 But it's still super easy, and I knit it when I get tired of following the crazy pattern I'm doing for my other project. All you need is a double pointed needle. Knit two, then slip the next two knit stitches onto the double pointed needle.

 Now ignore the double pointed needle and purl two.

Slip the next two purl stitches onto your double pointed needle. Ignore it and knit two, then purl the stitches on your double pointed needle. Continue in this vein all along the row. Once finished, you can continue knitting four and purling four for a few rows before getting your DPN out again. Should look like this, eventually:

Thinking about this too much just makes me want to do different things with it, like making subtly obscene little openings, or making the exes cross or naughty things like that.

So instead I'll think about pumpkins like I did for much of management class, and about my future as a legislative assembly transcription editor.

In all honesty though, I'm getting feelings about the possibilities of visual aesthetics in literary publications that I just can't ignore. I wish I'd been able to pay more attention to the guest speaker (Haig Armen) last week about interaction design, but alas. Life and other homework, huh? But really, this thinking as well as the new Wrinkle in Time graphic novel that's out are making my mind buzz, and I realize that as much as I was brought up to (appear to) think that graphic novels were inferior, I loves me some fantastic illustration. I know everyone probably does, but I just can't stress enough how important the visual experience of a story can be. So I have three branches that I would love to follow from this degree: the first is Taschen, which started out as a comic book shop and is now, of course, well known for its prolific output of art books and other such things. Plus they're based in Cologne which would be super convenient for me. Second, I'd absolutely love to go to Drawn & Quarterly, because holy heck how awesome would that be?! And third, maybe I'll just go into cookbooks and crafting magazine editorial. But that's so 'me' that it's boring, you know?

I keep thinking that these sorts of places should be reserved for the more design-minded folks, but my fumbling technological skills are all that are holding me back. I did do some of the preliminary work on David Collier's book of Hamilton-themed drawings. I don't even know what the official title or release date is though. And I probably would feel more a part of it if I hadn't been going into W&W only once a week by that point. Ah, well. I think it's time for some wine. Yes.

Progress as promised

 Apparently the girl whose room I took over made great cushion covers, but then took them with her when she left. So Diane and I whipped these up to some reality TV one night. By HAND!

 But mostly what I'm working on is this. I realized when I stepped out of the house one morning that not only had I forgotten my favourite cowl, I'd forgotten to bring ANY of them. So I'm making a new one from scratch. And of course I'm doing it in my version of a waffle texture, because I loves me some waffles.

 And yay my bed frame finally came! I'm going to be very upset to part with it now. Special bonus: what better way to keep a quilt-in-progress laid out nicely? Why, on the bed of course!

 I hardly thought this project would stay interesting to the internet at this stage, but I figure I might as well let you know it's going. This part here? That's done. You'll notice some faint lines in the points of the stars.

 A close-up of the centre, where you can actually see the stitching

 And another star, which is unfinished.

This bit probably shows it best. The right half is finished, you can see some basting stitches in the middle, and the left side has yet to be dealt with.