Christmas Wishlist!

November 14, 2011

Written by Meaghan

1 Comment

Since I’ve been asked more than once recently about what I want for Christmas, here’s my list. I’d had some of it done before my birthday, but this morning I worked on completing it.

1) Yarn! I like bright colours, I like soft yarn, I like standard yarn. And if you buy me yarn, I might make you something in return. My favorite colours are green and red, but I also like blue, yellow, purple, and orange (in that order). Black, brown, white, and off-white are also cool. Do not by me eyelash yarn or similar frilly yarns.

Here’s a quick lesson in what to look for with yarn weights: On the label, there will be a little picture of yarn with a number on it. This is the yarn type, and how big it is around. The kinds I’m looking for are generally across the board; I already have a bunch of size 4 (which can be labelled as Aran and Worsted), and I have much less of every other kind (0, 1, 2, 3, 5, and 6). I have lots of patterns I want to make, so even buying me some of what will be used can be a big help. I think having wool would be cool, and alpaca would be pretty sweet.

I want to make a Harry Potter scarf that is Ravenclaw-themed, and I need blue and bronze for that. You can look up the specific shades online. I need much more blue than bronze, and the pattern calls for 1,000 yards in total.

I’m going to make my adorable niece a nice owl. The yarn type is super bulky, and I do not – I repeat, do not - want any frilly yarns for this. I want yarn that’s pretty much the same as regular yarn, but obviously bigger, or one like in the pattern. For the body, I want to use a medium brown and a nice off-white, so its belly is white and its wings and head are brown. It calls for 180 yards for the body, so I would probably get at least 125-150 in brown and 100 in white, just to be safe. It makes me on-edge to think I’ll run out of yarn, and I like having extra for future projects. I’ll also need grey, yellowy-green or blue or yellow-orange, and dark grey/black (all for the eyes, so I don’t need much).

2) Knitting needles. I need circular or double-pointed needles far more than straight – I have nearly every size of straight, and I can borrow the ones I don’t have.

For circular needles, I need “16 long ones pretty much across the board, except for sizes 4 and 6; speaking of, I would also like something like this set http://www.knitpicks.com/needles/Options_Interchangeable_Nickel_Plated_Circular_Knitting_Needle_Set__D90335.html, so I don’t have a bajillion knitting needles in every size. The only downside to that set is that it only has two sizes of cords. If you could find one that comes with more cords of varying sizes, that would be awesome. I don’t know what need I have for large needles, so keep away from those until I know for sure.

For double-pointed, I could use a range of sizes. I already own size 4, 6, and 7, so any others are cool with me. Make sure they aren’t too short or too long, but I would rather have too-long ones than too-short.

3) What would make me really happy is if people read my book, or asked about it. I’m rewriting it – that’s true – and you can’t read the new version yet, but even though I don’t have anything for anyone to read yet, just asking about how it’s going is appreciated. Only two people ever ask how things are going with writing, and it makes me sad that none of my close family ever bring it up themselves.

4) Knee-high socks are the best for winter months. I’ll take all kinds of socks, but I don’t really like neon. I want plenty, but keep in mind I don’t want it to be one of the only things I get altogether (that is, I don’t want my only presents – from everyone as a whole – to be nothing but socks, knitting needles, and yarn).

5) My Amazon wishlist is a good source for ideas. I have yet to update it since my birthday, so check back in a couple of weeks to see if I’ve done anything (and possibly hound me to if I haven’t).

6) Again, I would love nothing more than that Neverending White Lights: Act III album! Even though owning the actual CD would be nice, I don’t have anything to play it in and my computer and CDs don’t get along, so having a digital copy – even if you got it for free – would be AMAZING.

7) Your love and affection! I like it when people pay attention to me, because sometimes I get forgotten and then I go sob quietly in the corner for a while.

8 ) I always appreciate money. Who doesn’t? I have a list of things I’d like to get, and I want to pick those things out myself.

9) A hot man. Please?

10) Boy cooties, or hot-man cooties (see above).

 

Again, I don’t want any candy or sweets. I think everything else is fair game!

Category:

Books, Holidays, Just stuff, Knitting, Story and writing, Winter

Back to Square One

November 9, 2011

Written by Meaghan

Comments Off

Well, brace yourself for some news.

I’m pretty much scrapping Tazier and writing it fresh. Yes, really! I know it sounds quite drastic, but trust me: it’s for the best. You may want to read this post on my website for a more in-depth look on what I’m changing, and what went wrong.

I have to say, I feel like writing this book, and then scrapping it, was actually really helpful. I spent three months writing it, but I also learned a lot along the way and know how to do better this time around. It will take at least as long to write this version, and probably longer – I think I’ll end up getting closer to the 75,000-word mark, too, since I have so much more material. I have to say I’m really excited! I can (and will) wait to write it, making sure all of the details are figured out before I dive into writing it all over again. When I’m finished writing, I will hound people to read it the whole way through if I have to, but hopefully I’ll do well enough this time that no hounding will be necessary! I think a lot of the reason people didn’t read the whole story wasn’t necessarily the book itself; people either forgot to read it, or they were too busy. Then again, maybe it was the book . . . ;)

Category:

Autumn, Books, Just stuff, Story and writing

It’s Fall!

September 29, 2011

Written by Meaghan

Comments Off

Over the last few weeks, after accidentally coming across the local knitting group that meets at the library, I’ve taken up knitting again on a regular basis. I started knitting a blanket with the yarn I had on circular needles.

Blanketzorz!

I knit a row or two every day, and it now has over 13,000 stitches, since it’s 98 inches wide. (I didn’t mean to make it quite so big. Oops?)

Stripes!

Then, I joined Ravelry a few days ago, and found quite a few things I’d like to make, such as Christmas gifts – socks, scarves, hats, and so on – but I need yarn and needles for those. Yesterday I made an mp3 player cozy that looks like a pop tart, despite no longer eating sweets; it was too cute to resist.

I still need to add embroidery floss sprinkles.

I want to make a Brambles Beret for myself when I have specific needles and yarn that’s nice and soft. This morning I looked at patterns for knee-high and thigh-high socks (like this, this, and this!), so those are some more projects to make on my list.

One reason I like knitting is because I’m making fabric, essentially, but another reason is that I feel productive when I would otherwise be doing nothing. When we’re driving somewhere, I can’t write, read, or do much of anything, but I can knit just fine, and so I usually do. It’s also great for when we have people over, because I can sit there, knitting while I talk, instead of just sitting there.

I can’t forget my story, however. All summer, I’ve been writing pretty much every day and making great progress in spite of several issues (mainly concerning the lack of planning done in some areas). I passed the 53,000 word mark today, my drafts (where I write the basics of every scene in third-person present-tense in my notebook; when it gets written on the computer for real in final detail, it’s third-person past-tense, I believe) are on chapter seventeen, and I’m writing chapter fifteen of the seventeen chapters total that my book will have. When I’m done writing my story, I’m going to go through the entire thing, revise where needed, think about cover art, and then put it up for sale on Kindle. Exciting, huh?

As this is a series, this will not be the last book. Before I begin book two, as I will be extremely tempted to do immediately after I finish the first book, I’m going to take a break for a few months, plan everything much better this time (though sometimes, I can’t figure something out until I actually go to write it), and do things like job-hunt, read books (I thought not reading other books while writing my own was a good idea; they can make me feel very down-in-the-dumps), knit, and get to more studying like I meant to over the last few months, but couldn’t find much time for. I spend on average a few hours a day at least trying to write – and failing, much like I am right now – so it doesn’t leave time for much in between walking a combined total of an hour a day, making food, cleaning the kitchen, and sleeping.

Last week we hit up the local apple orchard and picked a banana box of apples for $16. I made apple pie for the rest of the house, because it’s the natural step to take with skills like mine. I’m considering making some apple pie for other people, too, because it’s pretty amazing (if you didn’t already know, I make my own pie crust) and it’s good for bribery. Next up: unsweetened apple sauce!

SAWCE

Category:

Autumn, Just stuff, Knitting, Story and writing

The List

September 27, 2011

Written by Meaghan

Comments Off

This year, I had a hard time thinking of what I wanted for my birthday. I don’t really have anything I want or need. People will have to be on the creative side, I guess, and figure it out amongst themselves.

Some things I’d like to say I do not want are: sweets, candy, junk food, etc.; I don’t eat them anymore, I have no desire to eat them, so please save your money and time. I don’t bake anymore unless someone really wants me to (i.e. for special occasions) so gadgets and the like for baking goods are out as well. I currently have no need for notebooks, though I now use them regularly and will (at some point in the distant future) run out of them. I’m still going through a package of something like 50 mechanical pencils my brother and sister-in-law got for me in 2007, so I’m decent in the writing instrument area. I don’t particularly want video games, because I feel super lazy for playing them and then refuse to even think about playing them, ’cause I’ve got stuff to do.

1) Buy/read my book. I haven’t finished it yet, but I’m getting very close.
2) Money. Then I may spend it as I choose!
3) Amazon.ca wishlist (http://www.amazon.ca/registry/wishlist/2WUEDNXAKQEK5)
4) Neverending White Lights: Act 3 (there is a mere 0.01% chance I won’t like this CD)
5) T-shirts (Below are suggestions!)
6) Nail polish! I like sparkles, solids, and I don’t really care for iridescent. I’ve been interested in buying orange, yellow, and purple (in solid).
7) I want a passport. So I can, you know, go places.

http://www.threadless.com/product/2122/Why_Is_an_Owl_Smart/tab,girls/style,shirt
http://www.threadless.com/product/2271/Night_Sky_Projector/tab,girls/style,shirt
http://www.threadless.com/product/1902/Long_Journey/tab,girls/style,shirt
http://www.threadless.com/product/2422/Lost_in_My_Dreams/tab,girls/style,boatneck (Hardcore want this shirt; not in boatneck style, though)
http://www.welovefine.com/product.php?id_product=245
http://www.welovefine.com/product.php?id_product=244
http://www.threadless.com/product/3112/Wherever_the_Wind_Blows/tab,girls/style,shirt

Size shirt I take:
Threadless: S
welovefine: no idea, go for S

Really, when it comes down to it, all I need is your love! Best of all, love is free. You don’t have to wrap it or anything – though that would be a little difficult. I spend most of my time writing, preparing to write, studying (I missed out on a few years of school), keeping fit and healthy, and most importantly, breathing. I don’t really watch any TV anymore and tend to keep off the interwebtubes most of the time. I would prefer spending time with people over getting a bunch of gifts. My story is really important to me, so I love it when people discuss my story, let me know if I can improve it in any way, or (this has yet to happen) exchange any theories they might have.

There you have it! My list is complete, and you have everything you need in order to procure excellent gifts.

Category:

Just stuff

Tag Cloud