Tag: afghan

Midsummer – Longest Day of the Year

by eileentroemel, posted in Life, Writing
Yesterday was the longest day of the year.  This is a day of celebrating the movement of the sun and the life it gives us.  For Ken and I it was about getting stuff done.
Ken worked is so hard yesterday that his t-shirt was drenched every time he came in the house.  He has been working on the yard and wood splitting.  He was very productive. 
In a different way, I was productive as well.  I worked up eleven cover samples which I have to narrow down to just one.  Suzanne and Vicki have made it difficult by providing me with some beautiful photos. 
I also started the next afghan.  As is normal for me, when I’m done with a long and time consuming project, I like to do a quicker pattern for the next one.  I am using a larger hook and a larger pattern so I can maximize the yarn I’m using and minimize the amount of time I’m spending on it.  At this point I’m about a third done with it. 
Today is all about the business of writing so far.  I’ve been downloading reports and setting up a spreadsheet to track information.  It has been about gathering the information I need to keep track of what I’m making and also about expenses. 
Plus I talked to Suzanne and Vicki about the covers they preferred.  They really helped me narrow down the number of covers as well as critiqued one where we liked the picture but not the other elements.  The two of them help me clarify my vision for the book and how the cover will represent the thoughts within the book.
Once I’m done with all the business side of writing today, I’ll be going back to crocheting on the afghan I’ve got started.  I’m hoping to get it mostly done today as quick as it was working up.  If I could finish it this week, I would only have two left to do.  
Moon Affirmations  Daily Meditations Using the Moon Phase to Focus Your Energy
Moments in Nature

It Is Done

by eileentroemel, posted in Crochet and crafting, Writing
This morning at 2:15 I finished the afghan!  After work, I had a headache so came home to a dark room.  It felt good to just have quiet and dark.  I was a bit annoyed because I thought I wouldn’t be able to work on the afghan. 
 
However, after supper my head felt better so I picked up the afghan.  I only intended to work a bit and then go to bed early as I’ve had a couple of nights with crappy sleep.  Instead, I watched Torchwood and crocheted until the afghan was done. 
I’ve made a late start today but I’m okay with that because the afghan is done and I can move on to the next crochet project.  Before I start the next crochet project, I’m going to spend some time on the computer working on production for some of my books. 
Suzanne got me pictures for the next poetry book cover.  I have to take some time to see if they will work.  She sent me multiple pictures.  This means I have to pick the ones I think will make the best cover and play with it to see if it will fit the requirements and work up into a good cover.  I generally make four or five and email them off to people for opinions.  Once people let me know what they like and don’t like, I eliminate until I’m down to THE cover for the book. 
This all takes time and is one of the most time consuming.  It is also one of the most difficult decisions I make when it comes to my books.  Suzanne provides me with some amazing photos and I have a hard time narrowing it down to just one.  There are a multitude of decisions like font style and color, placement, size, and so on that all affect how the book looks.  Since there are almost limitless options for these decisions I try to be consistent but it still helps me to have other people’s opinions. 
Don’t think I’m indecisive.  I have a good eye for color combinations and other stylistic features but too often I’m just too close to it all.  This is where other people’s opinions help me.  It isn’t just a matter of them choosing cover A or B.  It is a matter of telling me what works and what doesn’t work in the covers. 
Suzanne and my daughters are the four people I trust most but I’ve also asked other people to.  The interesting thing from this is generally one cover stands out as getting a consensus of being the front runner.  For Secret Past, I had opinions from at least a dozen people and they all liked the one cover – the one I went with – the best.
This means my day will consist of cover design, errands, and starting a new crochet project.  It will be a full day but hopefully a productive one.  Finally – the neverending afghan – is DONE!!!

Determined to Finish

by eileentroemel, posted in Crochet and crafting
View outside my office window

The weather in Wisconsin has been a series of rainstorms washing through on a daily basis.  I love thunderstorms – the thunder, the lightning, the sound of the rain on the roof – all in trance me.  Watching a storm roll over the land is amazing. 

What isn’t so amazing is how my body has been reacting to these storms.  I’ve got arthritis so generally everything aches when we are going to have a storm.  Mostly, I manage with the pain as it comes and goes with the weather issues.  This last week though, I’ve had throbbing sinus issues every time a storm comes.  Essentially the left side of my face feels like the pressure is going to make my head explode. 

This makes it difficult to do anything – edit, crochet, talk, breath.  I’ve been doing all the right things – eucalyptus, heating pad, tylenol, extra allergy meds.  Still the pain is there and I deal. 

What frustrates me most is I’ve still got four and a half rows on the afghan to finish.  I’ve got all the yarn I need (finally) and all I need to do is sit and crochet.  The problem is I can’t because my head is going to explode. 

I’m determined that this weekend those last rows will get done.  I will have the afghan off my to do list and on my DONE (finally freaking done) list.  It is gorgeous but I’m tired of working on it.  I want to work on something else – anything else at this point. 

Once that one is done I’ll be able to look at the other three I have piled up behind it and start on one of them.  I’ll also be able to look at smaller projects to get done for holiday gifts.  I have several things I want to experiment with – stitch sequences I want to try, patterns I want to try and there is always the colors and texture to consider too. 

Before any of that fun can start, I have to just finish this one freaking afghan!  It will be this weekend. 

Neverending Afghan

by eileentroemel, posted in Crochet and crafting

Yesterday was a full day of making things.  Ken and I made fruit salad, repackaged chicken for the freezer, and made turkey burgers.  After that we watched Longmire and I crocheted.  Believe it or not I only got a couple of rows done on Vicki’s afghan. 

I am halfway through row 47.  The afghan has 53 rows in total and I can’t wait to be done.  After this afghan I have three more in line.  Each of the rows takes about an hour and half to complete at this point.  Also because it is so big, the room needs to be cool enough for me to work on it or I get too hot.  It is time consuming but in the end it will be gorgeous.  I change colors every row so there is that goal.  Also it helps to see where the beginning of the row is with the color change. 

I had to stop crocheting last night as I had a sinus headache edging towards a migraine.  I pulled out the eucalyptus, heating pad, and tylenol.  They all helped eventually but by the time I was feeling better it was too late to do more crocheting. 

My goal at this point is to finish a row a night.  If that is the case it will take me six days to finish the afghan.  If I’m lucky I’ll be able to do more than a row a night but I’ll have to see how the week goes. 

After I’m finally done with this afghan, I’ll probably plunge into another one.  I like to have a big project going along with a bunch of little projects.  I need to finish making some crocheted lace that I started.  It is made with a steel crochet hook which is very small.  This means I have to pay more attention to it when I’m crocheting and I have to have a strong light on it so I can more easily see it.  It is beautiful but hard on my eyes. 

Crafting Projects

by eileentroemel, posted in Crochet and crafting
I’ve been very productive with crocheting lately.  I finished a kitchen set for my nephew, which included dish towels, dish cloths, sponges, and potholders.  I finished a sort of similar set for one of my nieces.  Vicki asked me to make bibs for one of her student workers who was becoming a first time dad.  I asked if she wanted a small blanket and she said YES (of course) so those are done. 
Now I’m down to the octagonal blanket for Vicki I’m working on.  I’ve worked on it the last two nights.  Last night I did two and a half rows.  That is because it is circular (sort of) and I’m working my way around the outside edge.  It gets bigger with every row.  I’m about half done with it. 

When I work bigger projects like this I like to have little projects I can intersperse so I feel like I’m making progress.  It also keeps me from feeling like I’m in a rut with my crocheting.  I’ve got three more kitchen sets to do and two pairs of slippers to do for smaller projects.  I was going to give it a few days before I picked up another little project but my niece Cristi stopped in to my work yesterday. 
She totally threw her cousins under the bus and said she should be the next one to get her kitchen set.  I like to find out what sort of options they want – more pot holders or sponges vs dishcloths or whatever.  I have her very specific order so I guess I’ll pull out her colors and switch baskets.
Vicki got me this lovely basket with handles last summer.  It holds a LOT of crocheting.  She recently picked me up another one.  I have small projects in the one and large projects in the other. 
After I finish all the stuff I’ve mentioned here, in the lineup for definite projects I have an afghan for my oldest daughter, a faculty member, and one niece, kitchen sets for three nieces, graduation gifts for three students workers, a wrap for me, and berets for two of my faculty members.  Off the top of my head I need to get that all done fairly soon because I need to start thinking about what I’ll be making for gifts for the holidays and get to work on them.  I have some beautiful fleece that I want to use for shawls or scarves or – well I’m always open to suggestions.

Stacation

by eileentroemel, posted in Uncategorized

This week I’m on a stacation as everyone is calling it now.  I’m not going in to work but hanging out at home.  Over the weekend I got some more of Stephanie’s afghan done.  I’m down to about two and a half rows.  One of my goals this week is to finish it. 

I’ve already written one article and found another that I want to revise for submission to a publication.  Plus I’ve been working on editing my manuscript.  I’m very close to where I think the second book will end.  I think just a few more chapters. 

Last night (I guess I should say this morning) I went to bed just before two because I was working on the editing.  I set my alarm for six hours.  When it went off I reset it for an hour later because I woke up with a headache and it was raining.  I love to sleep in the rain, it is very soothing and calming for me.

Sasha started whining and meowing outside my door after the alarm went off the second time.  Apparently she thought I’d slept enough.  When I finally got up she joined me in the bathroom for her morning pet (the second time as I was up at 6:30).  She is spoiled. 

Today I was going to work on my books but I think instead I’m going to work on writing.  I need a shower at some point- probably after Vicki is up.  I’ll make the most of the quiet time I get until she gets up. 

The exciting events of the day will be writing and maybe movie watching in order to work on Stephanie’s afghan.  It may sound boring to a lot of people but I’m quite excited to have the down time to do what I want, to sleep as I please, and to just be without demands on me.