Tag: A. Catherine Noon

  • Requiem for a World-Changer

    I\’ve started to write this post several times since I received the news of Stephen R. Covey\’s death.  I don\’t handle death well for my intimates, how can I handle it for someone whom I\’ve never met but who changed my life?  I suppose I shall just go with my thoughts and feelings, top of mind.

    Mr. Covey, you changed my life.  I know it sounds trite, but the Seven Habits helped me to see that I have the power to determine my own future in accordance with my will and that of the Universe, rather than my culture or family of origin.  Your ideas of the Emotional Bank Account, Seek First to Understand, and Be Proactive are things which I use everyday as mantras as I wind my way through the thickets of interpersonal relationships.  I have your book The Eighth Habit and have not finished it, because I\’m taking it slow and digesting it.

    I remember when I first read your biography about your doctoral thesis, how you set about to discover how men lived and thought about success and personal accountability.  I never knew that one could write such a relevant doctoral dissertation.  I thought it had to be something untouchable, abstruse, not something so useful to everyday people.  Further, your syntopical reading list intrigued me and I wandered around some of the books you mentioned reading, awed by your decision to study them and by what you gleaned from their wisdom.

    I\’ve taught your material, defended it from others of my generation who felt it ten years out of date and laughed at my usage of your jargon.  I\’ve worked for your company, even, over a decade ago and in another state.  I\’ve used the Franklin Planner since 1995 and watched as you and Mr. Smith battled it out for understanding as you merged the two philosophies of time and life management.

    Mr. Covey, I never met you, but as I read of your bicycle accident and death I want to cry.  I want to cry because it feels like I know you, like you are a mentor for me.  I want to cry because the world has lost one of its luminaries today, one of those rare souls who touched the lives of those around them and made them better for it.

    Requiescat in pace, Mr. Covey.  Go with God.

  • Greetings From Vacation – The Attack of the Deer

    We\’re still on our vacation and enjoying our time in the Pocono Mountains.

    Except… for the deer that attacked my husband…

    He looks so innocent, doesn\’t he?  But the monster approaches… 
    He sees the first monster, but the second catches his scent.

    Drawing closer, the monster cannot believe its luck!

    Oh dear!  The monster\’s mother intervenes.

    And nearly eats my husband!

    These vicious animals are thwarted by my husband\’s strength of character.

    They confer, no doubt planning some dastardly deed.
    What\’s this?  They decide to separate, the better to regroup…

    My husband magnanimously lets them go.

    They decide to retreat, hiding behind their personas as leaf-eaters. 
    They check behind themselves to see if they still have his attention.

  • Humpday Update – Bryce Canyon Shawl and Prayer Shawl

    I finished the Bryce Canyon Shawl today. The last step was to add a 6 row garter stitch border to match the edges of the shawl and the bottom of the triangle. Then I used a knit one, purl one bind-off to make sure it would be elastic enough. The edge took a while to finish but I’m pleased with the results. I’ll share the bind-off here since I’ve used it a couple other times and really like it.

    1. Cut the yarn 3 times the width of the edge and thread a yarn needle. Insert the yarn needle purlwise into the first stitch. Pull the yarn through. With the yarn needle behind the next stitch, insert it knitwise into the purl stitch and pull the yarn through.

    2. *Slip the first knit stitch knitwise and insert the yarn needle into the second stitch on the needle purlwise. Pull the yarn through.

    3. Slip the first stitch purlwise. Go behind the next stitch and insert the needle knitwise into the next stitch. Pull the yarn through. Repeat from the * in step 2 until all the stitches are bound off.

    The next step is to block the shawl. It is stretched out of the way because of the lace. It needs to be stretched to allow the lace to lay flat. I’ll post pictures of that, but here are the images of the finished shawl (below).

    In addition, I finished the prayer shawl for a friend of a friend who has colon cancer. It’s a triangle shawl like the Bryce Canyon Shawl, but with an allover lace pattern that’s K1, *YO, K2T. The edges are a 3-stitch garter stitch border with a YO, which is where the shape comes from. I used a picot bind-off which is quite pretty, along with 3 tassels.

    This is an overall view of the shawl that shows the 3 lace diamonds and the lace outline, which is a vertical lace trellis stitch from Barbara Walker.

    This is the bottom, center, medallion, also from Barbara Walker.

    This is the medallion on the left.  When worn, this appears over the left shoulder and down the arm.

    This is the right medallion and, like the left, appears on the arm.

    This shows the bound-off edge with the garter stitch edge and the sewing needle bind-off.
    This is the first comprehensive picture of the Prayer Shawl.  I used Lion Brand Homespun, in Harvest colorway.  The shawl is too large to show flat (it\’s on a Full bed), so I folded the edges.  I used tassels on each of the 3 corners.

    I stepped back to show the shawl again.  I love the way the yarn stripes.

    This is a detail of the picot bind-off, on the inside left; ont he inside right you can see the garter edge with yarn-over increase.  The bind-off takes a while, but as you can see the results are worth it.

    The preparation of the Prayer Shawl will simply be to wash and dry it.  It doesn\’t require blocking, since the yarn doesn\’t pull out of shape.

  • Tue Cent Twosday

    We are driving up to the Pocono Mountains today to visit with family.  In the meantime, I wanted to share some marketing tips from fellow author, Mandy Roth.  Here is her article, \”Author Marketing Tips and Tricks.\”

  • Organizing Tips for Crafters

    Greetings from Vacation Land!  We went to see Brave, which is well worth it, and I finished the Bryce Canyon Shawl!  I\’ll post pictures and a design update, but first just a quick note on organizing.

    I came across a picture today that totally excited me.  One can use a desk organizer for knitting and sewing supplies!  The manufacturers probably think it\’s for pens, pencils, and staplers, but we know better, don\’t we?  Here\’s an idea to get your juices flowing:

    What a great idea, no?  How do you organize your tools?

  • On Vacation This Week

    Happy Summer Vacation!

    I\’m in Phili this week, so stay tuned for more of Noony\’s Nuggets.  I might find something for you hiding around the corners whilst on vacation.  Lessee… nope, that\’s a hot dog bun.  For today, just a comic.  But tomorrow?  Hmm.

    Summertime.  It does a body good.

  • The Noonhour

    Welcome to The Noonhour, a new Podcast featuring essays, children\’s stories, and other items I find interesting.  It\’s an experiment that I\’m enjoying, so sit back, relax, and listen to

    The Noonhour


  • Saturday Showcase – A Conversation with ID Locke

    I recently had the opportunity to hear from ID Locke about her process of art and writing and how they go together.  I\’m excited to share her interview with you!

    KK: Tell me a little more about what crafts you do. What do you like to make?

    IDL: Generally, I do a lot of knitting and hand sewing. Knitting is whatever strikes my fancy at the moment or something that I \”need\” to do. Currently, my \”need\” project is a baby blanket for my soon-to-arrive grandbaby #2. I have another project that I\’ve only gotten as far as casting on the required stitches before I realized that I had a month to knit said baby blanket.

    I have a collection of BJD\’s (ball-jointed dolls) that are physical representations of the characters in several of my stories. I mostly sew clothes for them, but also knit sweaters and travel blankets to provide additional protection when I take them out somewhere. Doll sweaters are fairly quick to knit even if you need to use baby/fingerling yarn and 2.5mm needles.

    I typically knit and sew while watching TV as I can\’t just sit there and do nothing. Long car rides are a challenge as I\’ve found I can\’t knit while in a car because it makes me feel queasy.

    One of my favourite things to do is pick up random balls of yarn at second-hand shops and see what I can make with them. I like the challenge of taking a ball of one colour/texture/weight and mixing it with something else to see what happens. Quite a few of the things I knit are one of a kind as I often have no idea where the yarn came from and can\’t get more of it.

    KK: When did you learn to do crafts?

    IDL: My mom got me started on sewing. She\’s a wonderful seamstress and had me using a sewing machine by the time I was 6. I saw a friend knitting when I was about 8 or 9 and thought it looked neat so I decided to try it.

    KK: Have you ever given a craft to a character? How did you go about it? What research did it require?

    IDL: I have. I have one that actually knits and another who is a face-up artist for BJD\’s on the side. The knitting aspect… well, I already do quite a bit of that so it was easy. The details about face-up work I asked face-up artists some basic information and browsed through a doll forum for info. I have a character that is a glass blower as his job and I researched that as well as spent some time watching some local glass blowers at work.

    KK: What effect does your writing have on your crafting and vice-versa? Does one fall off when the other is stronger, or do they synergize?

    IDL: I have to make time for each thing since they can\’t be done at the same time. Generally, I\’ll knit/sew after supper for an hour or two then switch to writing. On the weekends, depending on what is most pressing for me to get done is what gets worked on the most. For a while I focused exclusively on writing and learned the hard way that wasn\’t a smart thing to do. I try to be more balanced now. I also find that if I\’m working a simple pattern, my mind will go off on little day trips and either take a WIP into new territory or give me something completely new to work on.

    KK: What do you dream of making when you have the time or skills?

    IDL: I\’d love to make a tree of life sweater but the idea of following a chart pattern to that degree turns me off. If I had the money, I\’d love to make a sweater out of quivik yarn but at nearly $100/1 oz ball (and it\’s a lace weight yarn)… yeah, not gonna happen unless I win the lotto.

    KK: Where do you get ideas for your crafts?

    IDL: I usually see something I like and want to make that for myself or somebody I know who\’d really like it. When it comes to doll things, I generally need to make the various clothes as they\’re typically created species of mine and their cultural clothes doesn\’t really exist outside of my head.

    Gallery

    2 wigs for Jolen and a pair of boots I made. The outfit he\’s wearing I also made out of a pair of dress socks.

    I sewed Dakvir\’s outfit and modded his wig to add the silver-white hair

    Kysmirhea\’s wig was made out of dyed fox fur and I sewed his cat ears to it. The white top he\’s wearing is made out of a mesh glove and I also sewed the quasi military jacket, too.

    Biography

    ID Locke is an obsessive/compulsive writer who often ignores things like the need to eat and the fact she’ll be even later for work if that document isn’t closed right this minute. Writing has been a life-long obsession for her, and people have commented that she appears to get twitchy if she doesn’t do it on a regular basis.

    ID Locke has been married for more than twenty years, has a grown son and is now a grandma. She has an exceptionally dirty mind filled with kinky possibilities and enjoys writing hot man-on-man sex (with Plot no less) for her own amusement and the entertainment of others. She works, writes, and knits, squeezing reading and some anime/TV watching in there somewhere. She also enjoys creating clothes and jewellery for the ball-jointed-dolls she has turned into many of the characters from her novels. She’s blunt, sarcastic, and not afraid to speak her mind. Music is one of her loves, and she often listens to her rather eclectic collection while writing to help the creative juices flow.

  • Technology. I.Love.It.

    This is a story about a writer who wanted to have some fun.  She wanted to use her spiffy new-to-her iMac to create a Podcast to the world and play with the M-Audio keyboard (piano keyboard, folks, not typing keyboard) that she\’d bought mumble-something years ago and actually make some music, like, man.

    Therein lies the story, see, because technology, well, technology is an ugly bitch that never got picked at the high school dance and now wants to take it out on anyone walking by whether or not they were at the dance dancing or wallflowers too.  So our writer, who will remain silent on the whole dancer/wallflower thing, decided to do the simple task of taking a microphone and speaking some words into it and doing a podcast.  Simple, right?  Even a monkey can do it.

    Apparently, our writer is not a monkey.

    Four DAYS later, the software update started is done and installed and all the new whizbang instrument sounds are available, she has recorded her first (cheesy and corny but fun) podcast – but then couldn\’t figure out how to post it to Blogger because apparently Blogger doesn\’t yet host podcasts – dude, Blogger, get with it, will ya? – and posted it to YouTube and…

    Therein lies the story, see, because you can\’t upload an audio-only file to YouTube.

    Sigh.

    So, Google search revealed the secret – that one must first make a movie on iMovie.

    You with me on this?  Our poor writer, who JUST WANTED TO HAVE SOME FUN, decided to record herself in GarageBand, which then uploaded to iTunes, which then uploaded to YouTube but wouldn\’t work, now is in iMovie to add the audio to a still image, and then upload that back onto YouTube…

    For a four second clip.

    Huh?  IT\’S SUPPOSED TO BE 10 MINUTES LONG!

    Turns out, iMovie defaults four seconds of audio when you have an image.  You have to change the duration of the image from four seconds to the duration of your audio.  Still with me?  Come on, drink some coffee, you can do it…  I know it\’s confusing, but it\’s almost done.

    So.  GarageBand-to-iTunes-to-YouTube-to-iMovie-to-YouTube and FINALLY success.

    I just looked and…

    My image is too wide for the space alotted for YouTube and cuts off the words in the bottom right of the frame.

    I officially give up and call it…

    MY FIRST DRAFT.

    The others being… well… firster.

    G\’night.

  • Friday Funnies

  • Chuck the Sheep

    When I went to Wisconsin\’s Sheep and Wool Festival a couple years ago, there was a highly peculiar sheep.

  • Walking In This World

    One of the most obvious ways to ground is to work IN the ground, by gardening.  What I\’ve discovered about gardening is that weeding is like laundry – it never ends.  As you keep working in your garden, the weeds keep growing.


    The best part about gardening is the results of the growth.  I love seeing tomatoes turn red, and peppers finish growing.  We have chard that is getting huge and beautiful.  It\’s almost a shame to eat, since they\’re so pretty.  My lilies are opening and my curry plants have lots of yellow seeds that scent the air.


    Weeds remind me that daily maintenance yields positive results and that there is serenity in the everyday. 


    Do you garden?  What do you like to grow?