I write stuff. Sometimes. Not very often. Also: knitting and bunnies and books. Random tangents are likely.

Wednesday, November 30, 2011

WIP Wednesday - The Basket

I'm taking a page out of my friend Tiffany's book and starting some regular weekly blog posts, the first being WIP Wednesday. I don't have anything majorly exciting on the needles at the moment, except the Christmas present that I can't talk about yet even though I'm pretty sure my sister doesn't read my blog, but that doesn't mean I don't have all kinds of WIP craziness.

My stepmom gave me this huge basket for Christmas a couple years ago. It's become the metaphorical cave for all my hibernating WIPs. And it's stuffed to the brim.

As a much needed reality check, for my first WIP Wednesday, I'm going to list everything in that basket. As a bonus, it also becomes the Stuff I Need to Get Done list. (I would add "Before I Start Any New Projects" to that title, but, really, who am I kidding?)

WIP aka Stuff I Need to Get Done:
  • Daddy & Me Field Cap - For my nephew, Kurt, but going to be frogged since I made him something else.
  • Asymmetric Cardi - Knit-along with Tiffany and Deb. Back piece, which is the biggest piece, is nearly finished but I haven't touched it in a couple months.
  • KidLin Shawl - This isn't coming out like I thought it would. I may just finish it, and either frog it or keep it depending on how much I like the finished shawl.
  • Throw Rug - Started this because I figured the best way to make my stash look smaller was to knit up all my bulky yarn. Still really love this rug, so this will get finished.
  • Newfoundland Mittens - I like these mittens, but I may frog them and use the yarn for something else. I got about six more balls of this yarn from my friend Melanie recently, so I'm thinking bigger.
  • Shaelyn - I love this shawl so much, but I got to the point where I couldn't complete a repeat in one sitting so I abandoned it in favor of instant gratification. This will be finished.
  • Loopy Lace Scarf - This is only a couple inches in. It's meant to be for my grandma, so I should probably finish it, though I kind of think she'd like a baby doll instead.
  • Ninja Bun - He's so close to being finished! I just need to suck it up and do it.
  • Clementine Shawlette - This was part of that 11 shawls in 2011 delusion I had earlier this year. Going to finish at least this one, but it so won't be before the end of the year.
  • Best Bunny - All I have left to do are the arms and legs and seam everything together. That's actually kind of a tall order. Seaming is the worst.
  • Fetching - Ran out of yarn with only a few rows left, so these just need to be frogged. :(
  • Breast Cancer Awareness Scarf - I really like this scarf so still want to do it, but given that I started it in February 2008 and haven't touched it since, I'm going to have to rip it back and start over.
  • Brr Baby Beanies - Making two of these for my nephews as birthday gifts. Almost done. I feel really bad about how late they are. :<
  • Magic Loop Two-at-a-Time Socks - Knit-along with my knitting group. Grr. But dammit, I will finish them.
  • Purple Flames Scarf - Based on a stitch pattern in the Vogue Stitchionary. I've only done a few inches, but I still like it after a year or so so I think I'll finish it.
  • Dustifur - Dust Bunny snuggly that I'm just making up as I go along. He needs ears and a tail.
And that is my WIP list. I may have a few other WIPs floating around that haven't made it into the basket. Since I don't have proper links, here are a couple pics of the purple scarf and an earless Dustifur:


And speaking of Tiffany, she supplied the basil Goose is munching in this video:



Peace, Knitting & Bunnies,
~ Meg

Friday, November 25, 2011

'Tis the Season - Holiday Movie List

'Tis the season for curling up on the couch with a blanket and hot cocoa! Add knitting for bonus points.

My must-watch list of Christmas movies:
1. Miracle on 34th Street
2. Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas
3. The Muppet Christmas Carol
4. Scrooged
5. Elf
6. Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas
7. Polar Express
8. Santa Claus: The Movie
9. It's A Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie

Movies that are not "Christmas" movies but I always watch them at Christmas anyway:

10. Pride & Prejudice (BBC)
11. Sleepless in Seattle
12. When Harry Met Sally
13. Bridget Jones' Diary
14. You've Got Mail
15. Love Actually
16. Serendipity
17. Untamed Heart
18. Harry Potter Movie Marathon!

And, you can't forget to catch A Charlie Brown Christmas, Frosty the Snowman, and A Garfield Christmas!

As you can see, my December is largely spent wallowing in manufactured emotion. What's on your holiday must-watch list?

~ Meg

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

A Story...

...published. I haven't mentioned this before but I had a wee story published in an online literary magazine. It's a 100 word story, because that's their gimmick. Fair warning, the story starts a little something like this: "Kitty. Kitty Cat. Cat. Meow!" So... yeah. Don't go into it expecting much. ;)

Anywho, if you're so inclined, you can read it here.

Speaking of writing, I'm pitifully behind on NaNoWriMo. Current word count is 8,811 with eight days left. But, because I apparently can't sleep when normal people sleep, I'm attempting to reset my whacked internal clock by staying up all night and all day so I can go to bed at a normal time like normal people. That gives me about five middle-of-the-night hours to write deliriously on my "novel" given that I'm not really coherent enough to do anything else. Here's hoping my word count grows by leaps and bounds in the next 24 hours.

More than anything, I really just want to finish and "win" so I can get the 50% off coupon for Scrivener, because it's awesome.

~ Meg

On the Needles:
Just finished the Cover Cowl from Knit Simple Holiday 2011. Knit very quickly and happily out of Moda Dea Tweedle Dee, which is sadly discontinued. Opted to forgo the buttons in favor of pretties to hold it closed. The only pretty I have at the moment is an owl clasp my sister made for me. Note to self: must find more pretties.

Friday, November 4, 2011

A Little Something Special

Looking for something unique for the special guy on your holiday shopping list? Look no further! (View at your own risk. You have been warned.)

As far as my holiday shopping goes, the fam has decided to do the drawing names thing since cash is tight these days for everyone. This year I have my sister Becky and a $50 limit. I've collected a few little things, and I am knitting something, but can't say what for sneakiness purposes.

~ Meg

NaNoWriMo Word Count: 4014

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

The Balcony Files - EP11022011

I wander out on my balcony at odd times in the wee hours of the night when I can't sleep, and sometimes I see things. Last night, maybe around 3am (I don't usually check the time, and instead wander around like a sleepy little zombie owl), I was standing out on my balcony and saw something...really strange.

Are you ready for it?

Okay...

I thought I might have seen something sort of like a...ghost.

Now, I'm not entirely sure I believe in ghosts, and why one was wandering outside my apartment complex, I have no idea, but hear me out. Here is the view from my balcony:


See that area I boxed in red? There's a street light nearby that highlights the whole area and it's clear through to the street. It's fuzzier in the picture than if you were looking at it in person. Anyway, I was just standing there looking in that direction, when I saw a semi-transparent shadow move from the tree that's kind of alone there in the middle and drift toward the trees on the right. It was raised off the ground, and I could still see the street through it, but it was definitely some kind of darkish smear. If I had to guess, it was maybe about two feet in length but positioned at around chest height if I was standing down there with it.

After I freaked out a little bit and found my cool again, I tried standing in different places, and squinting my eyes, and all sorts of things to see if I could recreate it. But I couldn't. So it remains a mystery.

Went back to bed, only to get up about an hour later since then I couldn't sleep because I kept thinking about the ghost that lives in the Charlie Brown trees outside my building, and wondering if it would just drift inside if I opened the door. This time, no repeats of ghostly apparitions, but I did see a deer wandering in that same place. He was just walking along the roadside all alone. I've seen bunnies, the occasional fox or two, and a possum walking along the top of the tennis court fence, but that's the first time I've seen a deer. I suppose hunting season drives them out, which makes me sad. Be careful driving and keep an eye out for them, won't you?

So...anybody have any explanations to offer up for the possible ghostly thing that lives a handful of feet from my apartment? 'Cause any logical explanation would be welcome.

~ Meg


On the Needles:
One Row Lace Scarf knitted with Rozetti Polaris in the Leonids colorway. Quick, mindless knit that looks much more complicated than it is. Really digging the sparkles.


NaNoWriMo Word Count: 3397

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

My favorite mug is broken.

In true you-never-really-grow-out-of-being-a-clutz fashion, I cracked my favorite mug today. For the second time. The first time, it was just a hairline crack, and so I kept using it because it was my favorite. This time, pieces have chipped off, and in true you-never-really-grow-out-of-being-a-hyponchondriac fashion, part of my brain has concocted all sorts of disasters that could befall hapless coffee drinkers from ingesting miniscule coffee mug chips, and is not allowing me to use it any longer.

The Sad Truth
 (Irrelevant yet absolutely essential tangent: I prefer the book to the musical. Unpopular opinion, I know, but there you have it.)

So, today's goal: find a new favorite coffee mug. It turns out I don't have many to choose from, which is probably why I have a few on my Christmas wishlist this year (here, here, and a NaNoWriMo mug, which no longer seems to be available - oh no!). I ultimately decided on this one:


I bought it for a buck at Michaels. But...it is rather fitting since I am embarking on my first ever National Novel Writing Month adventure! NaNoWriMo started at 12:01am today, and I managed to pound out 1700 words before going to bed last night. Only 29 days and 48,300 words to go!

I'll try to remember to let you know how it's going. My blog and I aren't often on the same page, but I'll keep trying to open the lines of communication.

~ Meg

P.S. For those of you exceedingly lazy coffee drinkers out there who can't be bothered with filling up a pot with water, and then putting in a filter, and then putting in the coffee grinds, and then pressing the on button, and then waiting for it to turn it into coffee, and then putting it all in mug, and then having to undo all that work you just did, I had an amazing discovery. That coffee-like substance in my new favorite (at least for November) mug, is Cafe Bustelo Instant Expresso, and it pretty much tastes better than anything I've ever brewed. If you add Peppermint Mocha creamer, it's as near to perfection as I have the motivation to obtain.