Cabled Mug Cozy @ Ravelry

I made this mug cozy as part of the package I put together for my partner in the Outlandish Swap on Ravelry. She has since received her goodies, so now I can post this pic. It’s a quick but satisfying knit–these are four-stitch cables, so they are easily knit without a cable needle. I used Knit Picks Swish Superwash in Squirrel Heather on size US 8 needles. I’d like to make another cozy for myself, or possibly as more future gifts. The cozy is secured at the top with crochet chain ties–basically the only crochet I know is the single chain and I think it turned out ok. I keep telling myself I need to learn crochet properly but every time I say that, I pick up another knitting pattern! Also, you can’t tell from my photo but the cozy has a bottom–basically the mug slips into it, and is tightened with the ties at the top. The pattern photo doesn’t really show this either, but it’s a nice, snug fit.

If you read the text of my handwriting in that photo, you can probably deduce what I wrote. I suppose now is a good time to confess that I’ve dipped my toes in the fan fiction pool, and it’s Twilight fanfic, as if that’s any surprise! (Is that right, is fanfic one word? fan fic? I don’t even know.) On the one hand, it’s wonderful to be writing again, but on the other hand…good grief, can I be any more assimilated into the Twilight universe? I’m pretty far gone, really. I probably require an intervention but I’ll go kicking and screaming. No really, it’s fun and I’m not taking it too seriously. There is some…interesting Twilight fanfic out there (TwiPr0n, more like, haha) but some of it is ok.

Elsewhere in the TwiWorld, last night M and I went to our local Hot Topic store for the Twilight soundtrack listening party. It lasted a little less than an hour, and our store played all the songs except for two. But they played Rob Pattinson’s “Never Think” and I LOVE it. It’s acoustic and Jeff Buckley-esque and made of wonderful. (There are several versions posted on YouTube and they all have excessive talking over them but I’ll deal with it until the CD arrives from Amazon because you know I totally pre-ordered it and everything.) I didn’t like the lullaby as much as I thought I would–it is accompanied by strings so that kind of threw me off. I’m looking forward to hearing it in the film, just the piano version. I had already heard most of the other songs before since they’re not new releases…I was basically there for the aforementioned songs.

This weekend I plan on blocking Clapotis the Fifth within an inch of its life to get as much length out of it as possible. It’s shorter than I intended because I was worried I would run out of yarn, and of course I ended up with plenty left over after I cast off. Figures. It will work out, I’m pretty sure. Also I need to block a Secret Project. I found some interlocking foam playmats at Target which I’ll use as blocking boards. I don’t block things often, so this should be interesting. oh and I chose my next sweater, A Cardigan for Arwen in Peace Fleece, so I think I’ll cast that on this weekend too.

Who’d have thought that was even possible? I guess it’s mainly because we’re in the dead of summer and I haven’t worn socks in months. So I’m more interested in knitting my latest Clapotis, even though I won’t be able to wear that even further in the future than I’ll be able to wear socks, but who said my tactics ever made *sense?*

Earlier this afternoon, I bought a couple books on Amazon (thanks, Annie!) and was pleasantly surprised to find a new novel by Anita Shreve. She used to be my absolute favorite author, until Diana Gabaldon surpassed her in my mind. So I ordered Anita’s new novel, Body Surfing, even though her novels tend to make me feel very pensive and sometimes even depressed. But as much as I love Diana’s books, it’s Anita’s writing style that I feel most inspired by.

Which reminds me, I haven’t written anything (creatively speaking) in a very long time. That makes me sad. I used to feel inspired and would stop whatever I was doing (literally) to jot down a phrase or potential plot, an idea for a character, anything. Seriously. Sometimes I would pull over while DRIVING and jot down an idea because I knew if I didn’t, I would probably lose it and never remember it. Where did my writing mojo go?

I wonder if it has been absorbed into my knitting. Knitting, after all, is still creativity in action. I just miss the writer in me. It’s kind of like an actual person that I used to know, but lost touch with and now I’m trying to track them down through Google and can’t find anything, or something. You know?

I wonder what would happen if I didn’t knit for one week–would my brain spit out a short story? Why can’t I knit AND write? It’s weird. Maybe my poor brain can only handle one creative expression at a time. Not very genius, that. At this point in my life, I can’t imagine NOT knitting. I really believe it keeps me sane and has gotten me through some of the toughest times I’ve ever been through in recent months.

Then again, I used to think that I could never imagine not writing either, and that’s exactly what I’m doing. Or not doing, as the case may be.

sigh. I hate the feeling that something which used to be so important is now missing, but it’s one of those things that you can’t just snap your fingers and manifest, get back that easily. It’s a huge bummer!

Someone help me track down my writing mojo!!

Hi, your writing sucks! Have a nice day!

My first rejection letter. sigh.

What would Stephen King do…

This is my grandmother and me. I would have had no clue when this was taken if the photo hadn’t been date-stamped on the back–1986. I was 6, she was…65, give or take a year.

I’ve been thinking about her a lot lately.

I owe my Narrative Writing teacher a nonfiction narrative piece but I’ve been utterly clueless about what to write. Some great writer I am.

I forgot I had this photo. I dug it out of a photo album, out of a drawer today. And now I think I know. I think I’m supposed to write about her.

It’s been five years since she died.

Then I waited all week to continue working on my story because, as I like to word it, I need to “marinate” my ideas before setting them down right. I know, I know, all the writing advice is to “write everyday, about everything” but that just feels forced to me. Because let’s face it, sometimes you just aren’t inspired and if the most you’re going to write about creatively is the dishwasher, you should probably just not write. Wait a day or two, and true inspiration will come. That’s what I think.

Anyway, so last night my creativity finished marinating and I sat down to continue my story. I’m supposed to have at least five pages but no more than ten for this assignment, keep in mind. Last night I wrote straight for three hours and did not finish until 3 AM. Brilliant!! It was the creative zone–sucked me right in. I *loved* it. loveloveloved it.

I’ve always heard writers say that their characters “wrote themselves,” or something to the effect of, “I just let her talk, and I wrote it all down.” That always struck me as slightly schizo, until now. Now I understand. (Or I’m schizo too.)

I had the basic plot, characters, and story in my head. Somewhere between the marinating and writing, the characters literally transformed themselves and, well, I just wrote it down. (Really helpful and explanatory, that.) Again, I can only describe it as being in the creative zone; things just clicked, and flowed.

Tonight I’ve been working on the story–finishing it, actually–for another couple of hours. Remember how I said that it had to be at least five but no longer than ten pages long? Right. Well, I just copied the entire text of my story into Word (I compose in Copywrite, the freeware version), and my story is THIRTEEN pages long. oy. oy! What to do? And I was even wanting to add more to it tomorrow before it’s due to turn in! egads.

The main reason it’s so long is all my crazy character development. I had to explain, after all, why my characters are about to do what I know they’re going to do and it took me a considerable amount of deliberation to figure out the ending. (I decided not to kill someone off after all; that just didn’t work out.) I simply can’t imagine cutting out anything. Everything I put in the beginning was for a purpose; I didn’t want to just dive into the action without any logic or reason why.

I’m wondering if my professor will understand why I wrote the story so long, and maybe I should just leave it as is? But I know in the morning I’ll end up re-re-re-editing it, and changing some things as I always do, and certainly adding some things, and it will possibly end up being 16 pages instead of 13. But hey, if they’re a good 16 pages, then surely he won’t deduct for my going over the limit, right? Hopefully?

It’s late. Even possibly schizo crazy writers need sleep.

[tags]writing, college[/tags]

I also think that I overslept A) because I stayed up till midnight last night watching the latest Project Runway, but mainly B) because I am sick of my job and just don’t want to go anymore. I just looked at the Help Wanted ads, again, for the third time this week, with no luck.

“Every being has a purpose.” That’s one of the lines in Lady in the Water, the latest M. Night Shyamalan film that is getting extremely poor reviews, but which the husband and I both liked overall. Well, assuming that is true, and my being a…being, I sure wish I would find my purpose.

Right now in my creative writing class, we’re doing short stories. I am SO nervous about this assignment. It is worth 20% of our overall grade. On both poetry and creative non-fiction, I got Bs, and I really want an A on my short story. To prove to myself that I really am an excellent writer, I guess. Though, if I get a B, that will tell me I’m a good writer, and that will be okay too. But I really would like an A! (I place far too much value on my grades, I know. It is the perfectionist syndrome.)

I’m really excited about my story, though. If it goes well, I might even post it here (as a protected entry). I’ve emailed my professor about it, though, because I’m not sure if it’s going in the direction it should be:

• My characters don’t have names. At all. I kind of like the idea that they’re anonymous because I want to focus on the character development and plot anyway. But I’m not sure if all the “he, she, him, and her”s are getting tedious.
• The subject matter–it’s a relationship story, and I’m not sure if it’s a bit too Oprah’s Book Club or chick-lit for this class. I’m nervous that my teacher (a man) won’t really “get” the story.
• Most important is the ending. I’ve got at least three possible endings, two of which aren’t exactly “happy” (I’m thinking of killing off a character). The one “happy” ending isn’t 100% happy, but it might be the most realistic. gah! I need more time to figure out this story, but it is due on Sunday night, so I don’t have any clue what to do with it! Make it work!

I also had a fleeting thought the other day, that if this whole writer thing doesn’t work out, and the whole “I want to open a yarn shop” thing doesn’t work out either, maybe someday I can write for a knitting magazine, or something. Interweave Knits, anyone? I could write about yarn!

As always, I am constantly in need of guidance. (Ironically, my academic advisor at my college is leaving, so I guess I’ll be reassigned to someone new. She is leaving to pursue “new career opportunities.” Good for her, I guess!)

[tags]work, lady in the water, college, writing[/tags]

- My creative writing class is going really well so far. I’m going to kick butt in it, seriously! (I hope…)

- The Writer’s Book of Matches is brilliant! I have somehow rediscovered my creative spark, after not writing anything creative for…a couple years? Has it been that long? Crazy.

- Strangely, I feel like my life is beginning to fall into a sense of order. Not that everything is defined right now, but since I’ve started writing again, I feel like everything is a little less random. Work is pretty much the same, but even yesterday, when it almost went badly (e.g., people trying to imply that I didn’t do my job correctly), I fixed the situation myself (i.e., I showed them the actual proof that I had done my job, so there, dorks).

I find myself lately in a rather good mood, and I’m not sure how much of it has to do with my creative writing, my resolve to be healthier, or what, but I am taking it and saying thanks at any rate.

[tags]life, good things, random[/tags]

In efforts not to feel stressed about my classes during the summer, and to become more organized on a daily basis, I’ve sort of psyched myself up about things. School especially; I’m looking at my creative writing class with enthusiasm and as an opportunity to refine my writing skills.

I’ve always scribbled stories and poetry, ever since I was a child. The farthest back I can remember is age six. I used to write short stories and type them up on our typewriter. I am pretty sure I still have those stories…somewhere. I remember distinctly that one was called “The Circus.” My parents never took my sisters and I to the circus. Ever! Hence, I had to make up a story about it.

Anyhow, one of my first assignments for creative writing is writing poetry. I think that will be the easiest part of the class for me. Next is short stories; I’ve written those, but I’m a bit nervous about my professor analyzing them. I’ll also have to write some “creative nonfiction” and a short screenplay! That will be a first for me. Everything about this class is kind of nerve-wracking, but really exciting at the same time.

My other class is an elective, Intro to Women’s Studies, and I’m not too worried about it. I only have a few papers and projects…I think it will be a cinch.

If I weren’t an English major, I think I would be either a Psychology major or a Women’s Studies major. Though I’m sure the husband would just DIE if I majored in Women’s Studies. I can hear him now: “You want to be a professional feminist?!?!” hahaha. (He is the stereotypical Southern good ol’ Republican boy. How did we ever end up together.)

So, back to getting organized. Before classes started today, I printed out all my syllabi, etcetera, and organized all the paperwork in my homework binder. I made up labels and tabs and I am determined to take a better approach to my homework than I did last semester! (Though I did well last time, I still had a bad habit of procrastinating.) So today, the first day of classes, I did some reading and one of my assignments that isn’t due till the weekend. I’ve also planned my homework for tomorrow. Hopefully I can keep this steady pace going!

As for knitting, I have begun Green Gable! (In blue, btw.) I thought I didn’t have any stash yarn to use…I even tried subbing some yarns, but I could not get the correct gauge. I actually swatched a bit, something I never do! I thought I was going to have to buy new yarn…then I remembered that I have had this Rowan Calmer yarn (four balls) in my stash for ages, seriously. I’ve never found the right project to use it on. Until now! I got gauge perfectly and cast on for GG. I’m about to start the fourth lace repeat. It’s really easy so far; the directions are clear and easy to follow. I just hope it fits!

Today is a pretty good day…I think I will go exercise my writing skills some more!

[tags]college, writing, knitting, greengable[/tags]