writing – Behind the Smile

November 30, 2011

Oops, Radio Silence

Well, I didn't MEAN to not write in here all month, but hey, it's November – at least I had a good excuse. It was budget season at work, and I've been participating in National Novel Writing Month (Nanowrimo)… and I successfully finished my novel! This was the tenth year I've participated and the seventh finish. This year I wrote a straight up science fiction story, which I'd never done before, and man let me tell you, it is pretty ridiculous. It needs a massive overhaul – plot threads, characters, etc. were dropped willy nilly in favor of others, there's a kidnapping and a space kraken, telepathy and a cliffhanger. With no explanation. It's terrible. I kind of love it. If I ever go back to it and am able to fix its many, many problems, it could actually be pretty cool!

Anyway, expect to see more posts in December. Well, you know me, always thinking I'll update and then being too busy. But budget season is over as of today (the office consumed SEVERAL bottles of champagne after work this afternoon) and I'm not writing a terrible novel with space kraken so you just never know. Plus! I'm finally sitting down and making some stuff from all those bead show hauls I've managed over the past few months.

I hope you all had a nice Thanksgiving; ours was particularly delicious for some reason.

And in four minutes it's December! Where on EARTH has this year gone?

November 8, 2008June 24, 2010

I am a capitalist

Big surprise: I BOUGHT YARN (post election pick-me-up):

Why yes, that is Malabrigo sock! And it is just as luscious and edible as you would think! It is awesome. The gray one on the right is actually a little more purple than my monitor shows.

With this purchase (from The Loopy Ewe), I finally joined the Loopy Groupies, as this was my sixth time buying from them. I got a tote bag, a very lovely sock pattern, and a skein of Araucania Ranco Multy (!). I knew you got the tote bag and I wasn’t really expecting anything else, so that was a nice surprise, especially since I love love love Araucania.

See? It’s so pretty!:

Anyway, last but not least, here is the yarn I have bought recently but didn’t show because… Well, I have a lot of yarn, and God knows I don’t need any more, and sometimes it seems all I do is BUY YARN and not do anything with it.

1. Mirasol Hacho, 2. Cascade Heritage Sock Yarn, 3. Perfect Day Sock Yarn, 4. Shibui Sock, 5. Scarlet Fleece Tubular x2, 6. Fleece Artist Trail

The thing is, I will shortly be ending my stay in Geezerville, and my income will be focused on paying a mortgage (!) so I guess I am kind of storing up for being poor again. Next year will definitely be year of the stash! I won’t have quite as money to spend willy nilly on the wants, since I’ll have to, like, buy groceries and pay for cable*.

I’m excited, though – the place I’m buying has enough room for a crafting/art studio. I’m really looking forward to getting all my stuff out of storage and my big drawing pads and getting all my furniture back, and buying a washer and dryer (!)… In short I will finally have my own place!

Now I need to get back to writing on my Nanowrimo story – the election really stressed me out and now I’m behind. But! it’s still going strong – I wrote over 4,000 words yesterday, and plan to do the same today.

*not a want, that’s a need.

November 2, 2008June 24, 2010

ARGH

When did it become November?

And OMG it’s election time.

I cannot wait for this shit to be over. And I’ve been having these horrible daymares wherein we have a repeat of the 2000 election where the counting goes on and on and on and oh my god, I am surprised I haven’t given myself a migraine.

***

To counteract my nerves, which are all over the place, I’ve been crocheting on Babette, which soothes all ills. I’ve been working on this project since March, but never blogged about it, but since then I’ve finished more squares:

I’m using leftover sock yarn, and I think you will probably recognize many of the yarns used. The yellow is from the Swallowtail shawl, the purple from Sarah’s waving lace socks, etc. I didn’t show the really ass-ugly squares, but they do exist. Variegated yarn is kinda iffy when you crochet it.

This project moves pretty slowly, as I add in new yarns when I finish a pair of socks. I want the old yarn to be interspersed with the new yarn, so I can’t really use everything up all at once. But, it’s moving along.

I’m also working on a pair of Popsicle Socks (rav link).

I really like this pattern. It’s written incredibly well, and it’s very clever! I like how the pattern moves across the instep, and it’s my first Eye of Partidge heel. Much like the Lizzy socks, there is something to pay attention to in every part of the sock, which doesn’t make it boring at all. You can also see how the gusset decreases move along the bottom of the foot, which is new and different, at least for me. Very a la Cat Bordhi, I’m thinking. I’m knitting it out of Dream in Color Smooshy (yes, I finally got into one of my six or so skeins :P) and it’s moving along nicely. I started this sock before I even made the Lizzy socks, so it’s actually been around for awhile.

***

And finally, I am working on another Nanowrimo novel. I didn’t finish last years, due to work stress and vacations and whatnot, so I’m giving it another go this year. I’m 5 for 6 years, so I think I can make it work (in the wise words of Tim Gunn) this year, though it’s a totally different story. So far, here’s my word count:

3470 / 50000 words. 7% done!

Hopefully I will be successful this year!