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Posts Tagged ‘knitting’
Wednesday, December 22nd, 2010
Solstice is behind us, and the days are once again stretching out towards summer (even if it doesn’t particularly feel like it yet.) In that spirit, I’ve gone a little Holiday Mad around the electronic homestead, and all three posts this week will be in the spirit of the holidays. But I’m trying to remain faithful to the spirit of the planned days as well: Writing on Monday, Gaming and Knitting on Wednesday and the Friday Grab-bag I like to call Potpourri.
I could talk a bit about my holiday knitting – in fact, my original plan was to discuss one of my proudest knitting gifts. Watching a now-adult brother still wear his Hogwarts House Scarf in the winter because he’s so proud of it never fails to bring me a smile and a little feeling of awesomeness in my chest for coming up with the exact right gift. I could say a lot about it.
Then I saw Raw Exports: A Christmas Tale, and I threw that idea out the window.
Let me be clear – I love horror gaming. It’s hard to do well, and I’ve been blessed to have a string of groups that came together for those magical moments of genuine terror. Most of those came around some variant of Call of Cthulhu (or more recently, the superlative re-imagining “Trail of Cthulhu”) and it is that sense of digging too deep into things Man Was Not Meant To Know that really made Rare Exports come alive.
For those not in the know, the plot of Rare Exports is this – An American Mining Company breaks open the ancient tomb where the Laplanders managed to imprison Santa Claus, and all hell breaks loose. Because this isn’t the friendly Santa that Coca Cola sold you on. This is Joulupukki, the Yule Goat, and he’s come to punish the wicked children, rather than reward the good. The Lovecraftian weirdness pervades the movie (beyond the rendering of Santa as an ancient evil), and there’s even the requisite Tome of Forbidden Knowledge (appropriately The Truth About Santa).
I came up with a half-dozen ways to ransack Rare Exports for a one-off scenario –telling the story from other points of view, or letting other Holiday symbols run amuck (The Krampus / Zwarte Piet occupies a place of honor on my holiday tree, right below Gordie Howe). I suspect I’ll put my friends through the holiday wringer sooner rather than later.
As for Rare Exports – the film is in limited US release (I am fortunate to have a very good art theatre locally) but if you get the chance, go see it. It may not dethrone the Holiday classics (like Die Hard and National Lamppon’s Christmas Vacation), but it’s earned a place alongside them.
Tags: Ancient and Unspeakable Horrors, Cthulhu, gaming, Holiday Havoc, knitting, Movie Views
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Wednesday, December 1st, 2010
In the wake of the upheavals the last month has given me, I would have expected more progress being made on my knitting, rather than less. Unfortunately, no such progress was made. Instead I have watched a lot of television (mostly old movies on Turner Classics and Ice Hockey) and did precious little stitching.
As a result, the Clapotis still sits on my needles, though it is at least in its final stages. Once completed, I’ll be certain to post a picture of it. It’s begun moving forward now, as things slowly fall back onto their prescribed tracks, and I am chugging along towards completion (albeit later than I had ever intended.
I haven’t let my lack of progress stop me from thinking about what I’ll be working on next, however. Likely, there will be a pair of socks in my future, as I can work on those without a lot of counting or brainpower on my part. Though I admit, for a year I’ve had a lovely bit of yarn that would be just perfect for the Venus de Merino. Everyone needs a little knit Goddess figure to keep the hearth happy and safe. With luck, the dark part of the year will see faster work for the old hands.
Tags: Archaeology, Knitter Pride, knitting, obsession
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Wednesday, September 1st, 2010
Welcome back to another thrilling discussion of my knitting, and the trails and frustrations involved there. This week, we’re going to talk about what I’ve been working on for oh, too damn long now.
I’m knitting a Clapotis scarf – referred to as ‘the Clap’ in my local knitter’s circle. If you’ve never had the pleasure, I can’t recommend them enough. It’s an easy pattern, and the end result is a nice beginner lacework, on the bias to make it extra flowy and soft. The pattern recommends a silk-wool blend, but as I can never follow a pattern 100%, I’ve been working mine in a lovely bamboo. The resulting red-orange-gold scarf is rather pretty, and has the added bonus of being earth-friendly as well as cuddly.
There’s only one problem – if you saw me knitting at RWA this year? It was the same scarf. I’m not this slow, normally. And yes, I’ve lost some of my normal knitting time to other events that weren’t entirely expected. But some of the time, I’ve just not picked up my needles even though my hands were free. I don’t hate the pattern. Quite the opposite in fact. But I finally am beginning to understand my friend who called it ‘tedious’. It’s a long row of knits or purls, with a few twisted stitched to force you to count (or, if you’re like me, employ everything from washers to twist ties as stitch markers). Every twelve rows you get to do something different, drop a stitch and rip it down. That’s it. The Clap in a nutshell.
So I haven’t finished it yet (though I am close to the end now – it’s narrowing back down so I can finish the far side.) It’s Hockey Season in another month, and ideally, I will have it done by then. It’s a reasonable goal to set for myself. Even if I have trouble early, as the pre-season games start I’ll be able to get a lot more done. Yes, I knit while I watch hockey. It’s the perfect combination for an evening, really.
Well, unless you’ve got the Clap – in which case you need the hockey to distract you.
Tags: boredboredbored, Clapotis, Hockey-Knitter, Knitter Pride, knitting, On The Needles
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Wednesday, August 18th, 2010
With my apologies to Robert Burns, it’s time for another knitting post. Today I need to talk about my terrible addiction to that most notorious drug of sweater and sock knitters – the cable.
I love cables. They are fun to knit, they look really impressive when you’ve done a long chain of them, and most importantly, they aren’t half as tricky as the rest of the knitting world would have you believe. (Actually that last secret is true of knitting as a whole. I shall have to do a post on breaking the great secret of knitting – that’s it’s all easy – open for all of you.) It’s not even math, like some elements of knitting, it’s just counting. I don’t even do the counting in my head – I have a stitch counter on my iPhone that I can set to count for me. I color code my cables on the needle, then label a row on my counter for each cable. When I increment the whole project one row, each of the cables increments on their own counting system, so I always know where I am. Easy Peasy, Lemon Squeezy.
There’s a problem to loving cables, though. Once you realize how easy they are, the tendency is to start putting them on everything. Like a flame paint-job on a car, cables work best with a little restraint. A thin line down the side of a kilt stocking is okay. A twenty-stitch wide knotwork probably doesn’t belong on a footie-slipper. It’s the knitting equivalent of getting a sweet flame paint scheme on your ’82 Omni. You can do it, but even ironically it looks a little off.
Okay, back to trying to figure out how to put triangular knotwork on the earflaps of a hat.
Tags: I can stop cabling any time I want, Knitter Pride, knitting, my methods, obsession
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Wednesday, August 4th, 2010
This past weekend, Debbie Macomber received the Nora Roberts lifetime achievement award for her contributions to the Romance genre. In addition to her wonderful stories, Ms. Macomber also has a number of knit-along books where the patterns from her Blossom Street stories come to life in exciting new dimensions. I have always loved the idea of people inspired to craft by their connection to a story, whether it’s dedicated propmakers replicating Dr. Jones’ Grail Diary or items from the ill-fated Dyer expedition to Antarctica to the wide assortment of musicians and makers that flocked to Catherynne Valente’s Palimpsest and added their own touches to its wonder and magic.
It taught me why I continue to knit whenever I get the chance – as I’ve said, it keeps me calm in difficult situations (like surrounding an introvert with 2500 new people). Even better, it provides an instant connection with other people who knit or do other crafts. No matter where we may be with our projects, there we suddenly had a common ground as Makers of Things discussing our passions.
These thoughts spawned an unusual thought in my head – for too long, my knitting has been the unwinding act that I use to step back from my job or my writing and immerse myself in something else for a while. Instead, I wonder if I should use it to draw myself deeper into my craft. I’ve new ideas in the wake of RWA, and plenty of things that make me more excited about my craft (and my crafting) than I’ve been in ages.
Tags: Knitter Pride, knitting, my methods, RWA
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Monday, July 26th, 2010
A very wise friend of mine once said that it was difficult to tell the difference between a writing conference and a support circle for Asperger Syndrome sufferers. I try to remember that when I go to conferences because, theoretically, it should help to know that everyone else is just as introverted and uncomfortable as I am.
Note that I say should.
To be honest, I don’t do the conference thing well. Like a lot of writers, I suffer from terrible Imposter Syndrome when I meet other people who practice my craft. It doesn’t matter that I have a full shelf over my desk with all my works on it, I still feel like the kid who’s snuck into the party and will be thrown out as soon as they figure out I don’t belong. This is why I started taking my knitting to conferences, it helped keep my relaxed. As an added bonus, it provided a safe neutral topic I could talk about without seeming nervous.
Writing is a solitary business – it’s a profession that is, for most of the year, carried out in semi-vacuum. It’s you, your beta readers, your editor, your agent and occasional forays into media-marketing. There’s not a lot of face time for most writers, even the ones who are lucky enough to have a local support group with whom they can share the trial and triumphs. The great majority of us are introverts, and the idea of being in a social situation leaves us uncomfortable. We get together anyway, and eventually we either build up our courage (or have a drink to settle our nerves) and we say hi to somebody. Because as much as it can be a rough road to walk alone, it’s also pretty cool to meet someone on the same road and be able to catch a few pointers, or warn them away from a few pitfalls. Some of my dearest friends are people who I met at writers’ conferences.
I say all of this because this week is RWA – that the National event for Romance Writers of America (of which I am a member). It’s a big deal, sells out early, and is generally awesome. Take all those things I just said about having issues at a regular conference, and triple them. Then add in the discomfort that this will be my first RWA, and you can imagine the sort of stomach churning terror I am dealing with.
Seriously. I eat Tums like they’re a fifth food group.
That said, I try to think of myself, despite all evidence to the contrary, as a friendly sort. So if you’re at RWA, and you see me (I’ll be knitting, probably a red-orange clapotis scarf, I haven’t decided yet), please come say hello. We can always talk about knitting.
Tags: Conferences, Knitter Pride, knitting, my methods, RWA, Samhain, SF Romance, writing
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Wednesday, July 21st, 2010
Or more precisely, Ravelry and Me. We’ve talked about my knitting before. A lot. If you’re not interested in more about my knitting, then run and hide, because this post is for all my stitches. Today I want to talk about Ravelry.
For those who aren’t in the know, ravelry.com is a social media site for knitters and crocheters – a place to knitwork – I mean network – with other fiber-friendly folks who will understand your addictions. It’s got a lot of knitter specific stuff, like places to show off which books you own, or post pictures of yarn in your stash. It’s also got a place to talk about what you’re currently working on, as well as a way to track projects you’re thinking about for the future. For a slow knitter like myself, (I crawl at anything that’s not socks) such a site could be invaluable.
Of course, it’s a social media site, so I am terrible at it. This is why you don’t find me on facebook, and my Goodreads account is tired to this blog. I understand my limitations, and this is simply one of them.
That’s not to indicate that I don’t just adore Ravelry. It’s more a highlight of my own failings. Still I try to get out there once a month and poke around, update my Works-In-Progress, post some new pictures. All the things that a good member ought to do to look busy.
I don’t e-mail terribly often. And I don’t always respond as well (or as quickly) as I could, but I’m out there. I do (mostly) post pictures of my knitting out there. And I’m pretty easy to find (jchay). If you’re wandering about in Ravelry, go ahead and say high. I will even say hi back.
Sometime next month. Probably.
Tags: Knitter Pride, knitting, Ravelry, Social Media, Why Someone should start an anti-social media
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Wednesday, July 7th, 2010
Knitting, it’s safe to say, is a pretty significant part of my writing procedure on any given day. I’ve heard that it causes the same sort of alpha waves as transcendental meditation, but I can’t respond to that. I do know that after 30 minutes to an hour with the relaxing tik-tik-tik of the needles, I am much better able to focus on my writing that day.
Obviously, I can’t recommend it to everyone – I’ve seen other people for whom the miracle of two-stick magic is an exercise in profanity and frustration. For me, it’s a mental time-out that helps break up my day between the writing I have to do for my day job, and the writing I do in the evenings.
Beyond just serving as a transition, the time I spend knitting helps me hone in and focus on what I have to write each evening. While I’m plugging away on a row, working through the iterations of pattern that are required, my sub-conscious strips down and digests what I have to do next in the story, or helps winnow out unusual problems that the plot had been having, and devising creative solutions for them.
Strange, I suppose, that I haven’t included a knitter in any of my stories so far. Then again, despite the write what you know adage, I’ve only ever included one writer in my stories as well. Maybe my next hero or heroine needs a little needle-based me-time.
Tags: knitting, my methods, writing
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Wednesday, June 23rd, 2010
I knit. I am a knitter. I’ve read before that you shouldn’t define yourself by what you do, but rather by who you are. Even so, I’m comfortable announcing that I am “someone who knits.” This gives me certain things in common with other knitters: I lie – constantly – about my stash of yarn, to myself and everyone else. “It’s not that big.” “Sock yarn doesn’t count.” “I’m not as bad as (insert other knitter’s name, whose stash you feel is out of control).”
Of course, all those lies go the other direction as soon as you’re around someone who appreciates yarn. “16 ounces of first-shear baby alpaca and mohair goat, dyed and then handspun.” “I had to repurpose the master closet to hold it all.” “And that’s not counting sock yarn…” It is, in some respects, the knitter equivalent of dominance displays – the wool-pack has to know its own pecking order, and stash is as good a measure of “cred” as any.
In that respect, and taking the above into consideration, I’d like to think my stash is pretty middle-of-the-road. After all, it doesn’t require its own room, or a special cedar inset closet. But it’s also well past the “store it in a basket by the easy chair” phase as well. Not that I don’t have a basket of stash yarn out there, but that’s the showoff yarn – like the special guests china – there for other people to notice, but never to use.
I suppose the root of any collection of things is a desire to, as Hunter Thompson famously said, “Take it as far as you can.” For me, the stash has become a statement of places I’ve been and people whom I love. This handspun wool is from North Carolina, that hand-dyed was a gift from one of my first-readers. In theory, I assign hoped-for projects to my stash yarn, but strangely enough, when the time comes to start something new on the needles, I’m back in the store buying yarn for it specifically rather than raiding the stash.
Except for socks, of course. But then sock yarn doesn’t count as stash.
Tags: Knitter Pride, knitting, nerdPride, obsession, stash
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