What Am I Designing Now!

A Catherine Noon

I have an AlphaSmart 2000 portable keyboard that I use to write while I’m on the train or the bus. I got to thinking, it needs a cover! I knit!

These two things taste great together!

So. Here’s what I did:
I knit a gauge swatch on size 7 dpn (double point needles, the kind used for making socks). I got a good gauge from them, but realized when I started to cast on that 100 stitches wouldn’t fit on them.

I knit a gauge swatch on size 9 circulars, 24″, without really thinking about the length of the circular part. I realized, though, that if my circumference wasn’t 24″, I was toasted when I wanted to cast on since I wanted to knit in the round.

The third time’s the charm. I found my size 7 circulars with I think 8″ or 12″, and knit a gauge swatch. Then I figured, 9″ x 2, plus 1.5″ is 19.5. Make it an even 20.

Just a smidge too small to make it around the circular part. The unit is 12″ wide, though, and even though I originally wanted the stitches to face the other way, 12″ x 2 + 1.5″ works on circulars that are the length I have, but only just barely.

I did a knitted cast on and realized two things: I should have cast on one needle size up, since it’s a pretty tight cast on, and that the knitted cast on curls just like stockinette fabric does, even if you use a straight weave for the fabric itself. This isn’t a bad thing, exactly, it’s just a thing – but I got to thinking: next, I want to try a ribbed knit cast on, and see if purl stitches work as well as knit stitches, to eliminate the curl.

I have about 4.5″ on the needles now, and today decided to make sure it “fit.” That’s what this picture is:

I like the fit quite well, actually. I think I’ll do two rows of reverse stockinette, then another 9″ of plain stockinette, for a lining; finished with a 3 needle bind off. The closure will be picked up and knitted into a triangle, with a button closure. I need some sort of window cover for privacy, but I haven’t worked out yet how I want to do that.

The stitch for the body is a garter rib stitch: 1 row of rib, 1 row of knit. That gives a purl bump in the rib columns that’s pretty but retains the elasticity of a true rib.

Thursday 13 – 13 Sewing Truths

A Catherine Noon

It’s my birthday Saturday, and so I bought myself some new sewing patterns since Vogue Patterns is having a sale today and tomorrow. In the process of playing with the images, inspiring myself, I thought of my post for today.

1. Sewing, like any craft, has its share of work. Stuff one doesn’t necessarily like doing, or things that are necessary for the final product. These are part of the process.

2. You know how they say ‘enjoy the ride,’ like you’re supposed to enjoy the process of doing something and not really focus on the product?

Yeah, that’s really hard.

3. I sew slow.

4. #3 is okay, because #2 is true.

5. #1 is also true.

6. Even so, I love to look at patterns and imagine what I can do to design things. I like to design.

7. I’ve been a designer my whole life. It started in calligraphy, and branched out into needlepoint, music, writing, and knitting.

8. It’s not really a surprise that I’d like to sew; it’s tactile, it’s like sculpting with fabric, AND I get to wear what I design.

9. I’m scared of #8.

10. #1 is still true. And because of that, I’m reminded of another truth: the verb is “to sew,” not “to have no fear.”

11. Sometimes, I’d like to run over whoever came up with the idea of Zen. And flow. And process over product. And all that crap.

With a hummer.

12. It’s my birthday Saturday, and I’m excited about the patterns I just purchased.

13. COME TO MY WRITING CONFERENCE! (This is not a non-sequitur!)

Fabricloff!

A Catherine Noon

So, I took an artist date yesterday. I decided to check out a new fabric store in Bucktown. Back in the day, Bucktown was NOT a neighborhood you wanted to be caught dead in.

Well, I guess if you wanted to be caught dead, you would want to go there…
Anyway, you get the point. So I decide to check out this new place, and it’s pretty darned cool! They don’t even bill themselves as a store first; it’s a DIY Sewing School and Fabric Store. My kinda place! It’s called the Needle Shop, http://www.theneedleshop.net/ , and it’s in a little storefront in amongst brownstones and houses and puppies and yuppies.

I wandered through the front room, which is filled with bolts of pretty designer fabrics, and then to the back room which has their books and patterns. The clearance rack caught my eye and I found some pretty Aboriginal print fabric. And I did something I don’t usually do – I passed up on a book, which I’ve realized I have a LOT of, and bought the fabric! It was on sale for $7 a yard, and is a lovely Kaffe Fassett print that I found, after looking it up, came all the way from Westminster Fabrics in London!

Wowsers.

Here’s a pic of it, not yet prewashed. I have about 3 yards and 4 inches, so I think I’ll at least make a pair of pants and either a top or a jacket, depending on how much I can squeeze out of it. I’m also going to take it to the knitting shop and see if I can find some yarn to match, and make a sweater with a square neck and short sleeves.

Stay tuned!

Thursday 13 – 13 Things On My Mind

A Catherine Noon

1. When I type that phrase, “On My Mind,” I always thinks of David Eddings’ books. “Mind? Mind? Islena doesn’t have a mind!”

2. My upcoming writing conference that my writing group is hosting. It’s in two weeks! ~faints~

3. I finally updated my craft blog! I hadn’t touched the poor thing since February. I made a Spring Bag!

4. And a Camera Bag! I’m really proud of the camera bag, because I designed it myself!

5. I just posted Chapter 11 of New World Order on Taurus and Taurus. The story is fully plotted out into a three book arc, and we’ll keep this first trilogy on the public (free) blog.

6. I attended Spring Fling from Chicago North’s chapter of the RWA.

7. At the Spring Fling, I pitched Burning Bright to Managing Editor Lindsey Faber of Samhain Publishing.

8. She wants to see it! ~faints~

9. ~gets up~ She wants to see it! ~faints~

10. Pitching isn’t NEARLY as intimidating as I thought it was. ~faints again~

11. Fainting hurts if you miss the floor and hit the desk instead.

12. One does not die for pitching to an editor for the first time. Who knew?

13. I’M SENDING A MANUSCRIPT OF A FULL LENGTH NOVEL TO A PUBLISHER! FOR REALS!

~faints~

New Stuff!

A Catherine Noon

Here is Chapter 11 of New World Order, for your reading pleasure.

And I’m blogging about two new knitting projects at Knoontime Knitting today! One is a Spring Bag and the second is a Camera Bag. Enjoy!

Camera Bag

A Catherine Noon

So, I sez to my friend, Friend, what kind of a bag would you like? And she sez to me, she sez, Well, I’d like a camera bag.

In camo.

…

Have I mentioned before that I HATE camo?

I must have mentioned this.

In fact, my friend, she started giggling because we had talked, at length, on just this very topic the day before while hiking. I sez to my friend, Friend, do you have a hat I could borrow for this here desert hiking in the sun? And she sez to me, she sez, sure! Here you go!

It’s camo.

…

Have I mentioned before that I HATE camo?

So this bag. Well, it’s a camera bag, for a wee little bitty camera of a thing. So I knitted a swatch, and I knitted a sock, and I closed the sock with the three needle bind off, and I picked up the gusset for the lid, and I knitted the lid.

I even did some lace, but you can’t really see. The end is sort of diagonal, which I don’t like much, so I think I’ll do another one. And I want to add a strap. But I finished the bag. Poof!

In camo.

…

Have I mentioned before that I HATE camo?

It’s quite roomy inside. I showed this picture to my friend, and she said it looks like a little mouth. Which of course makes me want to make a version of the bag with ears and teeth…

This is the inside of the cover. There’s actually a small lace pattern in the triangle that forms the flap, but you can’t see it since the yarn is so dark.

This is with the flap closed. The line of the flap at the point of the triangle is angled down and to the right, which I don’t like; I want it to be square. What I think I’ll do is start the next bag from this point, rather than end here, and then cast on the extra stitches for the body and go from there.

Even with white in the background, you can’t see the lace. It’s a pity, but a good lesson: on dark yarn, use a textural pattern and not lace to see it – or use bigger needles (or block the heck out of it).

This is how it looks when I hold it straight, but I’m still not really happy with the closure. I do want to find a cool wooden button to use for the clasp, and I may make a prototype with a button since it will be used in the field on the fly.

And here is the back in all its glory. I did the top part in a garter rib pattern that actually looks quite nice in this yarn; I may do the whole thing next time in that stitch for added padding against the camera body.

Another thought I have is to do a lining, so that there’s extra padding to protect the camera – I just don’t want the bag to be too bulky. We shall see.

Spring Bag

A Catherine Noon

I’m on a kick to make more gift bags. I found a cool overdye at Michael’s, and I like the colors. I think it looks like Spring or Ostara.

I did the top as straight knitting, but I used a knitted cast on instead of long tail. I like the way it comes out, since you can’t really see the edge and it looks very neat and clean. It’s looser than long tail, too, which is nice; although when working that first row off the cast on row it sometimes is tight.

I used a slip-stitch pattern from Barbara Walker’s stitch dictionary, A First Treasury of Knitting Patterns which has been re-released by Schoolhouse Press. I actually didn’t like the way it looked with this yarn, which surprised me. I have found it to be pretty on some overdyes, whereas on others it looks flat and muddy – which I thought it did, here.

I switched back to plain knitting for the next segment, and then experimented with a Garter Rib. I tried doing the plain rows by switching between knit and purl by row for the first segment, then doing purl every straight row for the final segment.

It wasn’t until I finished and turned the bag inside out to seam it that I realized my error – I did the stitch inside-out!

I like the way it turned out, but for the next bag with this yarn I’ll do the garter rib for the whole thing and see how that looks. I used the three needle bind of for the end and made a 3-stitch i-cord for the cord. On the whole, I like how it looked.

The yarn is worsted-weight, and I used a size 7 needle, which is much smaller than I’d usually use for this yarn thickness. The resultant fabric is quite dense, which I like for the purpose of the gift bag.

Thursday 13 – 13 Reasons to Attend Our Conference

A Catherine Noon

My local writing group, Evanston Writers Workshop, is having our First Annual Conference! I’m so excited. Here are thirteen reasons by YOU should attend the conference, if you’re anywhere near the Chicagoland area (and being on planet Earth counts as ‘near’…)

1. It’s my writing group! (Duh…)

2. MaryJanice Davidson is our Keynote Speaker! She’s a multiple best-selling author on BOTH the coveted New York Times AND USA Today lists, and has written a whopping 66 books to date! I cannot wait to see this woman speak. She’s funny, down-to-earth, and incredibly knowledgeable.

3. It’s at the Winnetka Community House, one of the most gorgeous venues in the area. Check out their website for pictures and more information. I almost fainted when Debbie said we are having the event there. I’d go just to see the place!

4. Author Sherrill Bodine. She knows fashion (heck, she IS fashionable!!), she’s funny, and she knows a heckuvalot!

5. Crime novelist and short story author, Libby Hellmann. Past national president of Sisters in Crime, this lady knows a LOT about mystery and crime writing, as well as public speaking and video production.

6. Author Jamie Freveletti, published with Harper Collins. Her debut thriller, Running from the Devil (HarperCollins/ William Morrow), was released in May, 2009, was chosen as a “Notable Book” by the Independent Booksellers of America and has been nominated as a “Best First Novel” by the International Thriller Writers. It has been translated into three languages and was an international bestseller. Her second novel, Running Dark, will be released in June, 2010.

7. Cuz I said so! (Just had ta slip that in there…)

8. Me! No, really! I’ll be giving a couple presentations, including Sustaining the Creative Process, How to Critique Effectively, and How to Set Up a Blog. I even have a spiffy bio on the conference website! (I feel all official!!)

9. It’s $100 for sixteen hours of panels, workshops, The Prompt Pit, and face-time with our guest speakers! Saturday and Sunday, 9-5 both days, May 15 and 16, 2010. BE THERE!

10. Our panels will include: Agent and Editor panel; Genre author panels (several); Creatures, supernatural and sci-fi; and a Children’s author panel.

11. Our conference website is awesome! Designed by our very own Debbie Cairo, it’s got all sorts of cool stuff. Check it out!

12. Publicist Dana Kaye. Learn about the art of publicity from Chicago’s very own expert! Look out, she’s a writer too, so this fine lady understands your pain!

13. Did I mention, this is our writing group? The Evanston Writers Workshop started in 2007 and is now over 300 strong – and growing! We meet weekly on Wednesdays at the Evanston Barnes and Noble at 7:00 P.M., and we have workshops and conferences and will be the next force to stop Global Warming!

Hmm. Maybe I should look up “hyperbole?”

Nah.

Our First Ever Writing Conference!

A Catherine Noon

My in-person writing group, the Evanston Writers Workshop, is holding our first-ever writing conference! I’m so excited, I can’t see straight. Here’s some more information:

We want YOU!

…to attend our First Annual Writing Conference, of course! You asked for it, and we listened. We have a plethora of panels (and found our thesaurus to boot!), but today I want to highlight our Keynote Speaker: Ms. MaryJanice Davidson. You NEED to hear her speak!

Here’s why:

She’s more fun than a barrel of monkeys! A multiple best-selling author on both the prestigious (and coveted) New York Times AND USA Today Bestseller lists, she really knows the business of publishing from the inside. From the trenches, say! (And our conference theme IS: In the Trenches with the Writer!)

Prolific, funny, and down-to-earth, we have asked MaryJanice to talk to us about the publishing business, keeping the momentum going once you finish one or two novels and are trying to figure out “what next,” and her in-general thoughts she would have loved to have someone like her share back when she was first starting out.

She has written a prodigious 66 books so far! Here’s the list, from her website:
1. By Any Other Name (1998)
2. Adventures of the Teen Furies (1998)
3. Dying for Ice Cream (1999) (ebook)
4. Secrets 6 (2000) (Love’s Prisoner)
5. Reunions (Too Good To Be True) (2000) (under the name Janice Pohl)
6. Escape The Slush Pile (non-fiction self-help) ebook 2001
7. Thief of Hearts (2001)
8. Naughty or Nice (2001) (Santa Claws, a Wyndham Werewolf Story)
Was originally released as “Nicely Naughty” as an e-book that is no longer available
9. Chicken Soup for the Teacher’s Soul (What I Learned in Spite of Myself)
10. Undead & Unwed (2002)
11. Canis Royal: Bridefight (2002)(e-book)
12. Love Lies (2002) (e-book)
13. Secrets 8 (2002) (Jared’s Wolf)
14. Lighthearted Lust (2003) (There’s No Such Thing as a Werewolf) (e-book)
15. Under Cover (2003)
16. Beggarman, Thief (2004)(e-book)
17. Cravings (2004) (Dead Girls Don’t Dance)
18. Forgotten Wishes (2004) (Love’s Tender Fury)(e-book)
19. Perfect for the Beach (2004) (My Thief)
20. How to Be a Wicked Woman (2004) (The Wicked Witch of the West Side)
21. Merry Christmas, Baby (2004) (Undercover Claus)
22. Men at Work (2004) (The Fixer-Upper)
23. Undead & Unemployed (2004)
24. The Royal Treatment (2004)
25. Bad Boys with Expensive Toys (2004) (The World is Too Darned Big)
26. Bewitched, Bothered, and BeVampyred (2005) (Night Mares)
27. Derik’s Bane (2005)
28. Hello, Gorgeous! (2005)
29. The Royal Pain (2005)
30. Undead & Unappreciated (2005)
31. Undead & Unreturnable (2005)
32. Betsy the Vampire Queen (2005) (first 4 Betsy books combined)
33. Jennifer Scales and the Ancient Furnace (2005)
34. Romance at the Edge: In Other Worlds (2005) (Beggarman, Thief)
35. Charming the Snake (2005) (Savage Scavenge)
36. Kick Ass (2005) (the Incredible Misadventures of Boo & the Boy Blunder)
37. Bite (2005) (Biting in Plain Sight)
38. Really Unusual Bad Boys (2005) (Bridefight, Mating Season, & Groomfight)
39. Wicked Women Whodunit (2005) (Ten Little Idiots)
40. Sleeping with the Fishes (2006)
41. Jennifer Scales and the Messenger of Light (2006)
42. Undead & Unpopular (2006)
43. Drop Dead Gorgeous (2006)
44. Mysteria (2006) (Alone Wolf)
a. Fangs Again (2006) never got published
45. Surf’s Up (2006) (Paradise Bossed)
46. Valentine’s Day is Killing Me (2006) (Cuffs and Coffee Breaks)
47. Dead & Loving It (2006) (Santa Claws, Monster Love, There’s No Such Thing as a Werewolf, & A Fiend in Need)
48. Swimming Without a Net (2007)
49. The Silver Moon Elm (2007)
50. The Royal Mess (2007)
51. Undead & Uneasy (2007)
52. Doing It Right (2007)
53. Demon’s Delight (2007) (Witch Way)
54. No Rest for the Witches (2007) (Majicka)
55. Over the Moon (2007) (Driftwood)
56. Mysteria Lane (2007) (Disdaining Trouble)
57. Fish Out of Water (2008)
58. Undead & Unworthy (2008)
59. Dead Over Heels (2008) (Undead & Wed: A Honeymoon Story, Survivors, & Speed Dating, Werewolf Style Or, Ow, I Think You Broke The Bone
60. Betsy: Bride of the Vampire (Undead 5-7; Dead & Loving It) (2008)
61. Seraph of Sorrow (2009)
62. Undead & Unwelcome (2009)
63. Faeries Gone Wild (2009) (Tall, Dark and Not So Faery)
64. Undead & Unfinished – to be released July 6, 2010
65. Rise of the Poison Moon – to be released July 27, 2010
66. Me, Myself, and Why – to be released September 2010

For more information on MaryJanice, check out her awesome website.

And to meet MaryJanice in person, and hear all about her writing process, sign up for the conference! What are you waiting for? Space is limited. Come visit the conference website today! 10% discount for EWW members.