Tag: crocheting

New Project

by eileentroemel, posted in Crochet and crafting

Finished the second afghan I was working on. It was a quick one with a large hook and large lacy pattern. I think it turned out nicely with the pattern featuring the beautiful yarn. Next I’m moving on to the afghan for my oldest daughter.

I started it last night but may have to tear it out as I think the hook is not large enough to meet the gauge. The two rows I did are only about three feet wide. This will make it more shawl like than afghan.

I’m using Patton Metallic yarn which I had a hard time getting and cost a fortune. However, it is worth it because the yarn works up beautifully.  It is a silver color and looks like spun silver.  It is soft and beautiful. 

Every time I start a new project I’m excited to try something new.  I think this is why I don’t often do the same pattern twice for the larger projects.  I do for smaller projects because they just work up nicely and multiples are more likely to be needed (like for dishtowels and other household stuff).

There is an anticipation and excitement of whether I’ll like the project, be able to do it, and how it will turn out.  It is exciting to see it develop.  It is generally only the projects that take forever that I end up getting annoyed with.

After this afghan I have one more to do and when they are both done I’m going to work on a project I’ve been wanting to do for myself (hopefully) as well as the smaller projects I need to start for gifts. 

The Frustration of the Neverending Afghan

by eileentroemel, posted in Crochet and crafting, Writing

Last night I worked on Vicki’s afghan.  I made good progress with getting a row and a half done.  I went to start the next row and discovered that I didn’t have enough yarn to complete the row.  This is the one variegated skein I didn’t get over the weekend.  I was all set to keep crocheting but unfortunately I didn’t have the yarn to do it.  I was very annoyed. 

Tonight after work I’ll be stopping to get the skein of yarn.  Hopefully they have the variegated I need to do this one freaking row.  I grumbled at Vicki about it and she said to just skip the color.  However, it would look odd if I just skipped it – it would ruin the whole pattern. 

There I was last night in the mood to work on it and I couldn’t.  The yarn failed me.  In most cases I typically buy extra yarn so I don’t have this problem but with this afghan we didn’t buy extra – probably because the yarn was sort of pricey.  It is beautiful yarn but a little pricey.

Once I have the yarn, I’m hoping to get that row done and start on another of the rows.  I’m to the point in the afghan where I just want it done.  For most normal rectangular afghans if I had five rows left, I would just finish it.  I’m frustrated because I can’t just rush through the end of it to have it done and because I ran out of yarn. 

I’ll have to be patient because there is nothing I can do about it – that doesn’t mean I have to be happy about it.

On the writing front, I’ve been working on editing.  I finished editing a fantasy novel.  I need to get the changes into the computer now.  I also have a poetry book edited.  I’m going to work on production of both of these so I can work on getting them out soon.  Then I will look at the third poetry book and the second fantasy novel.  They both have a lot of editing to go on them. 

With all of these I have to work on artwork / covers as part of the production.  I have wonderful people who help me create beautiful covers.  I’m looking forward to working on these covers and other artwork for the fantasy novels. 

Secret Past

Moon Affirmations  Daily Meditations Using the Moon Phase to Focus Your Energy

Moments in Nature

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. 

Poetry

by eileentroemel, posted in Writing

A good chunk of my day yesterday was spent trying to figure out the order the poems for my next poetry book should go in.  It sounds like a simple task – just choose what order seems to make the most sense.

It isn’t that simple.  For one thing, I’m not always the best judge of my poems.  I tend to be very critical of my own work.  One thing that helps is to hear them out loud.  It helps me hear whether they flow well or not.  That is completely subjective on my part.

I spent a lot of time trying to figure out categories.  Once I separated them into categories, then I had to figure out what order they had to in.  I have favorites.  I always have favorites so it is hard for me to let go of one even if it doesn’t fit.  I like it so much I want to share.  But I have to look at the overall book.  Is this favorite poem of mine going to enhance the book?  If it isn’t then I shouldn’t include it.

I called Vicki to grumble my way through a few decisions.  She is much more objective and being a librarian she can give me a perspective of other books.  Plus she isn’t afraid to tell me I’m wrong.

The order for the next poetry book is set for now.  Sometimes when I’m working with the electronic file I find that oh hey this one actually goes really well with this group rather than the one I’d stuck it in.

In addition to working on the poetry book, I worked on one of my crochet experiments.  I also started a crochet spreadsheet.  I’ve always wanted to have a record of what I’ve crocheted plus Vicki was nagging at me about it so I started a spreadsheet.  She wants me to write a crochet book but I don’t feel I’m in a place where I can do that.  The spreadsheet will help me see how many of my own patterns I’m creating and also get me taking pictures of my projects (hopefully better ones than I normally do).  If I find that I’m making up more of my own projects then I might work on a book.

I could try doing the afghan contest that Herrschner’s has every year.  I’ve thought about it in the past but I don’t like that they get to copyright on the pattern.  However, if I were going to go into writing craft books, it would be a good credit to add to my portfolio, especially if I won.

It is summer and if you are looking for some good books to read check out mine:

Secret Past – a romance novel full of adventure, mystery, and romance
Available on Barnes and Nobles:
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/secret-past-eileen-troemel/1119169953?ean=9781499159868
Available for sale at:https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/426548
Available on Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Secret-Past-Eileen-Troemel-ebook/dp/B00JL38Z7C/ref=la_B00JL4PEJ8_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1398097355&sr=1-1

Moon Affirmations – Daily Meditations Using the Moon Phase to Focus Your Energy
Available for sale at:
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/432900
Available on Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Moon-Affirmations-Daily-Meditations-Energy-ebook/dp/B00K08TF3K/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1398791925&sr=8-5&keywords=moon+affirmations
Available on Barnes and Nobles:http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/moon-affirmations-eileen-troemel/1119387496?ean=2940045859738

Moments in Nature – poems inspired by the power and awe of the nature around us
Available at Barnes & Nobles:http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/moments-in-nature-eileen-troemel/1119566668?ean=2940045940085
Available at:
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/437602
Available on Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Moments-Nature-Eileen-Troemel-ebook/dp/B00KBFOWSK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1400077630&sr=8-1&keywords=moments+in+nature

A Fresh New Day

by eileentroemel, posted in Life, Writing

My husband is a morning person.  This is wonderful in that by 10 am in the morning he accomplishes more than most people all day.  However, as a night person it means I’m often woken earlier than I want to be.  This was the case today.

Now that I’m up though, I’m noticing the beautiful day.  The temp is reasonable and the humidity low.  The house is opened up and the birds are singing.  If it weren’t for the traffic noise, I could almost go back to sleep just listening to the birds.

I’m up though and I have too much to do to waste time when I could be working.  I didn’t accomplish anything yesterday except to get rid of a nasty headache.  After work, I made a phone call about getting books in a chain bookstore.  I’m not holding my breath but it would be really nice.  Today I’m prepping my books to send to the chain for review.  That is top of my priority list.

Once I was done with that phone call and typing up the letter, I pretty much did nothing the rest of the afternoon and evening.  I’m watching Flashpoint on Netflix so I watched that and then crashed.  My head was hurting so no crocheting.

Today will be more productive I hope.  Prepping the books for mailing, organizing my poems for the next Moments in book, and fixing two spots in my fantasy novel.  I have to decide if one area needs more description or not and if the other section could do without a transitional paragraph.  After that it is one more read through and then I begin the production part.  For the poetry book, I have to make final cuts and arrange the poems before starting the production part.

My two crochet projects are calling to me so when my brain is about to explode from the writing stuff I will work on the afghan and the experiment.  Yes I am experimenting with a new stitch and yarn.  I like how it is working up so I just need to finish it.  I also want to try another pattern in this book before I review it because the one pattern I am working with had errors in it and I had to fix it.  Before I review it and add in that bit of information, I want to see if the error is consistent.

If I get to working on Vicki’s afghan, it will be a good time to have a couple of movies to watch.  Each row takes so long it is good to have a distraction while I work on it.  I was talking about Kevin Costner movies to someone so maybe I will see what Netflix has in the way of his movies and do a Costner weekend.

Weekend Looms

by eileentroemel, posted in Crochet and crafting, Life, Writing

With it being a non-pay week, I have absolutely NO plans for the weekend.  This may sound like an abysmal weekend but for me, it is heaven.  It means that I can work on writing, crocheting, or whatever else comes to mind. 

The difficulty will be in narrowing down what I do from all my options.  I’m working on production of another poetry book, editing a fantasy novel, and looking at short stories for submission to a contest.  In addition, I’m also working on the third book in the fantasy series.  I’d like to finish writing the story. 

On the marketing end, I’ve been sending emails announcing my book coming out.  I’ve hit several local papers, bookstores across the country, and sent out review copies.  Now all I have to do is hope that someone pays attention and purchases or the newspapers do an article.  Marketing is not my strong suit though I do know about it as I worked in it for a small amount of time for one of my jobs.  I do know I can send out hundreds or even thousands of emails and only get a few hits on it. 

This is also one of my more difficult things to do because marketing tends to be over the top for claims and I don’t believe in doing that.  However, it doesn’t grab people’s attention if I just say – hey here are three good books try them out.  This makes marketing difficult for me. 

On the crocheting side of my life, I’m working on Vicki’s afghan.  It is slow going because it is octagonal and each row takes a long time to finish.  I started a different project with some of my new yarn as a short project but I have a logger jam of afghan requests right now.  I have four in my queue. 

It is time for me to start thinking about what I want to do for gifts for winter so I have them done in time.  I have an idea of what I’d like to do but it is a matter of time. 

This means the weekend is an open book.  It will be nice to have a quiet and hopefully productive weekend at home. 

Coupons, Crocheting, and Book Sales

by eileentroemel, posted in Life, Writing
Ken did the grocery shopping this morning and saved over $9.  We went through yesterday and made the list partially based on the coupons I had.  Every little bit helps when it comes to the budget.  Today I have to get envelopes ready for the people I’ve clipped coupons for and get them out in the mail tomorrow. 
I got a start on Moon Affirmations yesterday.  I’m now working with the images and trying to figure out the best way to get them into the document.  It is a challenge.  I am also looking at how they look in the manuscript and if that is what I want.  It is time consuming and complicated.
When I had to give up working on the computer, I worked on graduation gifts.  I have one nearly done.  I have one more small thing to make and then I’ll move on to the next person’s gift.  I also have to go through my lovely stash and find material to create a baby gift.  These are always fun to make and give as it helps the new parents celebrate the coming of new life! 
Today I’m planning to watch tv and crochet.  I woke up tired so I’m going to take it easy and now do very much other than crochet.  It will be a very peaceful day I hope.

Book sales are steady.  I’ve sold 17 books since I published.  I’m ridiculously happy about it.  It seems sort of silly after all it is most likely just people who I know.  However, it is the accomplishment of a lifelong dream to have a book out there.  I’m proud of finally getting it done and grateful for all the support I’ve had from friends and family. 

Secret Past
Available for sale at:
*  https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/426548
*  http://www.amazon.com/Secret-Past-Eileen-Troemel-ebook/dp/B00JL38Z7C/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1397101326&sr=8-1&keywords=secret+past+by+eileen+troemel
*  Paperback version both large print and regular print:  http://www.amazon.com/Secret-Past-Eileen-Troemel/dp/1499123965/ref=tmm_pap_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1397535584&sr=8-1 

Progress

by eileentroemel, posted in Life, Writing
Yesterday was exceedingly productive.  Secret Past is now available in e-book, large print paperback, and paperback.  I’m very proud of it and am thrilled that I’ve sold to people other than my family. 
In addition to getting the final version of Secret Past out into the world yesterday, I worked on budget and paid bills, clipped coupons, crocheted on a graduation gift, and read another fun book.  It was a full and busy day.  I got home from work early and was able to organize a bunch of stuff.  I do have a sloppy pile of paperwork that needs to be filed.  I hate filing but I will try to get that done today. 
Today I’ll be working on a grocery list and putting coupons together.  Ken is going to do the shopping this week.  I will be working on production of my next book.  This one is more complicated because it has amazing drawings to be included by TJ Jahns.  The drawings are simple but beautiful, reminiscent of Shel Silverstein. 
Unfortunately I woke up aching so I’m probably not going to be able to sit on the computer for long today.  I’ll be making the most of my time here.  Then it will be back to crocheting.  Last night while I crocheted, I watched Mansfield Park and Elementary.  Both were good and different.  I’ll probably do something like that today. 
One of the things I did yesterday was to put all my guides for self-publishing into a binder so today while I work I’ll be able to easily pull out the binder and follow each step.  It’s nice to have a handy reference right there.  I know what needs to be done for most of it but I can do a quick read just to make sure.  I’ve also got my project spreadsheet which helps me keep track of where I’m at with each project. 
It is the weekend and I’m supposed to be relaxing. In a lot of ways this is me relaxing.  Those who know me can stop laughing, I like to be busy and I like to make progress.  I don’t have to have a perfect house or fancy clothes or stuff like that.  I do have to write and crochet.  It seems along with the writing I also have to keep moving forward with projects which means production of books.  I think I’d lose my mind if I didn’t have these two things.  Crocheting keeps my hands busy and writing keeps my mind busy – or maybe it focuses my busy mind.  Either way, I’m a better person – happier, more content, and easier to live with – if I’m busy with these projects.
Secret Past Available in e-book and paperback:

Another Weekend

by eileentroemel, posted in Crochet and crafting, Life, Writing
Tomorrow is Friday.  I’m so relieved this week is over.  It isn’t that work is bad.  It is just that it has been busy and demanding.  The weekend promises to be almost as busy, though.  My todo list is very long right now.
In the writing realm – I’m working on a paperback copy in normal size print.  Hopefully by the weekend it will be reviewed and ready for me to do the next step.  After that I’m working on production for my Moon Affirmations Meditations manuscript.  Back to square one for epubbing and figuring out how to do the pictures I want to have in there.  I also have edits to do on my fantasy novel.  If I manage to get through all of that – I have quite the long list of other tasks. 
In the crocheting realm – I have three graduation gifts to work on.  This involves me sitting still and focusing on creating wonderful items for the student workers I’ve enjoyed having work in my office. 
In the life realm – there are bills to pay, errands to run, and so much more.  I almost feel like I need a weekend after my weekend. 
I just finished reading my first “fun” book since finishing school.  I read a non-fiction Quiet which was quite good but I wouldn’t classify that as fun.  I just finished Thankless in Death and I’ve moved on to Mirror Mirror.  I think I’ve read two chapters in the new book and would like nothing more than to spend the night reading that but I have coupons to clip and a few other things to get done. 
Here I am with so much to do and not enough time.  I guess I will be working on prioritizing and balancing all these different things that I want to get done.  Reading, writing, crocheting, and life – I know there is a balance in there.  I’m just not sure how well I will balance it all out.  I’ll probably fall more than once but in the process I’m having a hell of a lot of fun.

Secret Past available on Smashwords https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/426548

What I did over spring break….

by eileentroemel, posted in Crochet and crafting

This is of course the variation on what I did over the summer.  I didn’t even wait for the actual spring break to start.  Friday the week before I left work at 10:30 and headed for home.  Alex met me at my house and I finished getting packed.  He loaded the van.  We hit the road about noon I think.

Our drive down was long.  With Alex driving, we went through Chicago – downtown Chicago.  I don’t like to go that way but as passenger I don’t get to pick.  Alex thought it would be shorter and mileage wise it was.  Time wise it ended up taking us like seven hours to get there.

Vicki fed us on arrival and Alex unloaded the car.  Everyone has made fun of my craft bag that I took but I did get to a good bit of my crocheting.

I’ve been playing with lace patterns.  I’m not big on working with thread so I’ve been using different threads to make lace projects.  One of them was a lace purple sparkle scarf which I gave to Vicki on Friday:

Friday and Saturday I worked on scarves.  Here are a couple of pictures of the different ones I made:

 

Vicki and I went to JoAnn Fabrics on Saturday and got some great deals.  They had yarn on sale and I tried out two new ones that I discovered I loved – Red Heart Shimmer which is a smaller yarn and soft.  It is easy to work with and sparkly which is always fun.  The other yarn was Deborah Norville Serenity Chunky – crayon box.  It is a heavy yarn and the colors were stunning – bright and fun.

Now in case you haven’t heard this before when I get new yarn I want to dive in and start creating with that new yarn.  I had new yarn from the shopping trip and I had new yarn that Vicki had sent to me (but wouldn’t let me touch – it was TORTURE!).  Friday and Saturday I worked on ruffle scarves.  These are quick and easy projects.  Of the haul of yarn, Vicki picked out the ones she wanted so I just sat and worked on scarves.

I could not resist the new yarn I’d purchased and started with the Crayon Box to make a hat, scarf and wristers.  The array of colors were just stunning and both Vicki and I loved how these turned out.

 

After the crayon box yarn, I picked up the shimmer yarn.  Oh that turned out BEAUTIFULLY!  Vicki’s favorite stitch is the crocodile stitch and I had that book with me so I handed it to Vicki and told her to pick out a hat pattern.  The crocodile stitch is a yarn eater and she picked two patterns.  I ended up making her one of the hats in the book.  I also made a scarf and added the flower from the hat pattern to the scarf.  I also made her wristers using crocodile stitches and the stitch from the scarf.

  
I’ve also been putting off making slippers for her.  I’ve had the pattern for months but the yarn she wanted me to use was thicker and heavier than the pattern called for so I had to make adjustments.  I stayed up until three in the morning one night and finished her slippers.

 

In addition to all of Vicki’s stuff, I worked on kitchen sets for two of my nieces.  Dish towels, dish clothes, sponges, and pot holders for both sets.

 

When I left Vicki’s, my craft bag was significantly lighter – mostly because Vicki kept a lot of the items I made.  This last Friday on the drive home I worked on mesh bags and make up pads for myself.  I got those done on the drive.  Saturday Ken and I helped a friend move.  I drove and he packed the van.  While sitting in the van, I worked on potholders.  I got four of them done yesterday and today.

I also worked on Vicki’s afghan.  It is octagonal and takes a long time to do one row.  However, I did work on it and got several rows completed.

Today I worked on a solution for Vicki.  She has to put Tiger Balm on her back.  Unfortunately she can’t really reach where the lotion has to go.  In order to reach it she is using her back scratcher.  However, she is concerned about the balm having an affect on the wood.  So I crocheted her a cover for it so she can put the balm on the crochet cotton to go over the top of it.  I’ll be mailing it to her this week.

In total, I’ve made the following:

17 scarves
4 dish towels
8 pot holders (4 of which were actually for me)
5 sponges
2 hats
2 pair of wristers
2 dish cloths
1 pair of slippers
2 mesh bags
10 make up pads
and a strange cover for a back scratcher

In addition to the crocheting, I made homemade pizza and meatballs for Vicki as well as putting tiger balm on her shoulder daily and cooking the meals with Alex.  It was a GREAT week, very relaxing and productive.