Well, I'm packed and ready for the Michigan Adventure. We head out early tomorrow, and plan to spend the night in Madison, WI. I likely won't write a blog post until we stop, but I should have some nice road pic for y'all. We're going to play a bit with The Hub and his sibs, and then on Wednesday, I go to work. I'm really looking forward to this year's workshops, and I hope to see some of you there. The weather forecast looks fairly nice- when you plan to teach classes in barns at a fairground in August, you expect some heat, but I think it'll be pretty tolerable. If it's not, you'll definitely hear me whining.
In the meantime, I've been reading a couple of John Scalzi books- Agent To The Stars, and The Android's Dream. Both are hilarious- check them out.
Be good while I'm gone, and I'll catch you on the flip.
Friday, August 10, 2012
Thursday, August 9, 2012
Thursday Tab- Girls in the War, Turnabout Dolls
I'll be in Michigan, teaching at the Michigan Fiber Festival, next Thursday, so I'm posting an extra special set today, to tide you over. I can't read the publisher name on this set, but it has that Merrill look about it.
Merrill sets are wonderful just on their own, but what makes this one even more amazing is that it's a Turnabout Doll book: the five dolls (which would have been plenty in most books), are printed on the back side with entirely different dolls, and each of those 10 characters has her own clothes.
It sounds like a printing nightmare to me, and I have no idea how successful they were at lining up the fronts and backs of these Brave Girls (and in my experience, Merrill outfits were always wonderful to look at, but maybe not so good in the fitting department), but the notion is pretty amazing.
Enjoy!
Merrill sets are wonderful just on their own, but what makes this one even more amazing is that it's a Turnabout Doll book: the five dolls (which would have been plenty in most books), are printed on the back side with entirely different dolls, and each of those 10 characters has her own clothes.
It sounds like a printing nightmare to me, and I have no idea how successful they were at lining up the fronts and backs of these Brave Girls (and in my experience, Merrill outfits were always wonderful to look at, but maybe not so good in the fitting department), but the notion is pretty amazing.
Enjoy!
Wednesday, August 8, 2012
Mucha Needlepoint Progress
Sorry, I've been battling seasonal allergies, and getting ready for the Michigan Fiber Festival, so it's been thin on the Blog Post Front. Here's a shot of the latest needlepoint progress. It comes with a promise to start making actual posts again. Real soon now.
Monday, August 6, 2012
Reminder- I'll be teaching at the Michigan Fiber Festival Next Week!
Woohoo!!! All four of my classes met the minimum registration requirements for the Michigan Fiber Festival next week!
I had great fun there last year, and was thrilled to be invited back. All of my classes have few open spaces, and there's till time to sign up. I'll be teaching Little Tips and Knitting Tricks, and Writing Patterns for Publication on Wednesday, Aug 15. I'll be teaching the All Day Nordic Christmas Stocking, and on Friday I'll be teaching All Day Fair Isle Design.
I hope to see some of you there!
Saturday, August 4, 2012
Yes, Mother Nature, whatever you say...
All week they said that there would be storms on Friday. The eastern half of South Dakota was in a Severe Thunderstorm Watch area, and the Weather Folk said that there could be scattered tornadoes before the day was over.
We watched the skies and we watched the radar, and the moving clouds and storm fronts all looked to be heading either north of us, or south. We complained a bit because so far, all of the storms have moved north or south of us, and we are in dire need of rain. And we were definitely hoping for a change in the hot and thick and sticky weather.
Then about 5:00 or so, The Hub and I looked west and this is what I posted on Facebook: I do not like the look of these clouds.
Those clouds are the ones of which I spoke. Note the darkness. Note the downy-hangy bits.
A few minutes later, I posted on Facebook: Ominous
I wasn't kidding.
And a few minutes later, I took this picture. Note the greenish portion in the upper right of the cloud formation... that's hail. Hail is formed when updrafts and downdrafts move moisture up and down in the clouds. That uppy-downy motion has another name: rotation.
After that I posted on Facebook: We have unfocused rotation, lots of updraft, and certainly hail up there
And then I took a short video of the clouds. I shut the recording off before The Hub finished his comment- what he said was that when the wind is blowing one direction and the clouds are moving in the opposite direction, look out.
My next Facebook status, posted minutes later was: Siren! Have adjourned to the basement
For those who don't live in Tornado Country- a specific siren is sounded when funnel clouds are spotted. When you hear one, you don't look up at the sky and wonder where the twister is, you head right to the damn basement, and you hunker down.
That is what we did, so there are no photos of the very very dark sky, or the torrential rain (over 2"), or of the Green Air, or of the small hailstones hitting the ground (and the windows). It has been a long time since the sirens have blown- it's always terrifying.
After about 20 minutes, we ventured back upstairs we did not lose power, but our satellite reception was out. I had the weather thingy on my phone, but it still showed tornadic activity heading toward our town.
Ducking and ready to head back downstairs, we looked out side- we still had another hour of constant thunder and lightning, and more rain, but the storms (and at least two funnel clouds) had moved on to do a little more structural damage elsewhere. There were no injuries reported, thank goodness.
After the storm, The Hub took some pics of these fascinating clouds.
Our only damage was a downed tree branch.
Post storm beauty.
The wonderful and rarely photographed puddle.
The cover blew off the pool, but it survived the storm intact.
Today? Today is partly cloudy, breezy, dry (humidity-wise) and barely 72 degrees.
The weather... always interesting in these here parts.
We watched the skies and we watched the radar, and the moving clouds and storm fronts all looked to be heading either north of us, or south. We complained a bit because so far, all of the storms have moved north or south of us, and we are in dire need of rain. And we were definitely hoping for a change in the hot and thick and sticky weather.
Then about 5:00 or so, The Hub and I looked west and this is what I posted on Facebook: I do not like the look of these clouds.
Those clouds are the ones of which I spoke. Note the darkness. Note the downy-hangy bits.
I wasn't kidding.
And a few minutes later, I took this picture. Note the greenish portion in the upper right of the cloud formation... that's hail. Hail is formed when updrafts and downdrafts move moisture up and down in the clouds. That uppy-downy motion has another name: rotation.
And then I took a short video of the clouds. I shut the recording off before The Hub finished his comment- what he said was that when the wind is blowing one direction and the clouds are moving in the opposite direction, look out.
My next Facebook status, posted minutes later was: Siren! Have adjourned to the basement
For those who don't live in Tornado Country- a specific siren is sounded when funnel clouds are spotted. When you hear one, you don't look up at the sky and wonder where the twister is, you head right to the damn basement, and you hunker down.
That is what we did, so there are no photos of the very very dark sky, or the torrential rain (over 2"), or of the Green Air, or of the small hailstones hitting the ground (and the windows). It has been a long time since the sirens have blown- it's always terrifying.
After about 20 minutes, we ventured back upstairs we did not lose power, but our satellite reception was out. I had the weather thingy on my phone, but it still showed tornadic activity heading toward our town.
Ducking and ready to head back downstairs, we looked out side- we still had another hour of constant thunder and lightning, and more rain, but the storms (and at least two funnel clouds) had moved on to do a little more structural damage elsewhere. There were no injuries reported, thank goodness.
The wonderful and rarely photographed puddle.
Today? Today is partly cloudy, breezy, dry (humidity-wise) and barely 72 degrees.
The weather... always interesting in these here parts.
Thursday, August 2, 2012
Thursday Tab- Artcraft/Saalfield #1306 Champs
This is an interesting set, and not just because the top of the book is cut in the shape of the pennant. It's interesting because the two male dolls have as many pages of clothes as the girls do- that's really rare in the world of paper dolls.
Note also that either the perforation or the printing is off on the front cover- our Basketball Hero will lose half of an eye once he's punched out.
I love the proto-biker outfit, with the black leather jacket and cuffed jeans.
Thanks for sharing, Dottie!
Note also that either the perforation or the printing is off on the front cover- our Basketball Hero will lose half of an eye once he's punched out.
I love the proto-biker outfit, with the black leather jacket and cuffed jeans.
Thanks for sharing, Dottie!
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
Drum roll, please... A Major Announcement
I'm not going to search back through the blog archives to find links, but I know that I've mentioned my unpublished mainstream novel. Several times. And I'm pretty sure that each time I mentioned it, I also declared that I thought it was my best work, but for whatever reason, it just never found a home.
After that first series of rejections I didn't actively search out publishers for the book, but I never gave up on it. Here and there over the last decade, a small publisher would ask to read the manuscript. I'd get my hopes up, only to receive another rejection.
So when a very nice eBook publisher expressed an interest in The Nut Hut, I didn't celebrate with champagne (or my latest Wine Crush: Moscato). I didn't rush off to tell family or friends. I didn't announce it here (or on Facebook). I just waited, expecting disappointment once again.
Imagine my surprise when my agent let me know that the very nice eBook publisher had offered a contract on the book!
Imagine my greater surprise when my agent mentioned that though the eBook publisher was very nice and quite reputable, if we published the book ourselves the same way we've been doing with the Tory Bauer Mysteries, we stood to make more money, with the added bonus of still controlling all of the rights should a mainstream publisher want to produce a dead tree version.
I thought about that for awhile, and then I did something that I've never done before... something I never expected to do: I thanked the nice eBook publisher for his contract offer, and then I turned it down.
I'll pause while you absorb that: I turned down a legit contract offer on a book that I had waited long and long to be published, a work that I consider to be my best writing. Instead, we're going to release the book ourselves.
I'm working with the exceptionally talented Kelly Brewer who is editing the book (she has already discovered that I have a Very Special Relationship with the comma), and though he's really really busy with paid gigs these days, I hope that Curtis Taylor can work his cover magic once again for me. We don't have a set release date, but I am hoping to have it all ready before the end of the year (after the final Tory Bauer Mystery, Foreign Body, is released). It'll be available across all eBook platforms, and it'll be text-to-speech and lending enabled. And if there is anywhere near enough interest, a print version is a real possibility.
Oh- and the story: The Nut Hut centers on an 18 year old girl's first week of work in a state-run institution. It's set in 1971, in a universe that most certainly existed. I worked in just such an institution at the same age, during the same time, but though the practices and procedures are true to life as it was back then, the story is not autobiographical.
I'm really, and I do mean REALLY, excited that this book will finally be published. And there is no doubt that I'll keep everyone posted on the progress!
Okay, now I'll open the Moscato. Cheers!
After that first series of rejections I didn't actively search out publishers for the book, but I never gave up on it. Here and there over the last decade, a small publisher would ask to read the manuscript. I'd get my hopes up, only to receive another rejection.
So when a very nice eBook publisher expressed an interest in The Nut Hut, I didn't celebrate with champagne (or my latest Wine Crush: Moscato). I didn't rush off to tell family or friends. I didn't announce it here (or on Facebook). I just waited, expecting disappointment once again.
Imagine my surprise when my agent let me know that the very nice eBook publisher had offered a contract on the book!
Imagine my greater surprise when my agent mentioned that though the eBook publisher was very nice and quite reputable, if we published the book ourselves the same way we've been doing with the Tory Bauer Mysteries, we stood to make more money, with the added bonus of still controlling all of the rights should a mainstream publisher want to produce a dead tree version.
I thought about that for awhile, and then I did something that I've never done before... something I never expected to do: I thanked the nice eBook publisher for his contract offer, and then I turned it down.
I'll pause while you absorb that: I turned down a legit contract offer on a book that I had waited long and long to be published, a work that I consider to be my best writing. Instead, we're going to release the book ourselves.
I'm working with the exceptionally talented Kelly Brewer who is editing the book (she has already discovered that I have a Very Special Relationship with the comma), and though he's really really busy with paid gigs these days, I hope that Curtis Taylor can work his cover magic once again for me. We don't have a set release date, but I am hoping to have it all ready before the end of the year (after the final Tory Bauer Mystery, Foreign Body, is released). It'll be available across all eBook platforms, and it'll be text-to-speech and lending enabled. And if there is anywhere near enough interest, a print version is a real possibility.
Oh- and the story: The Nut Hut centers on an 18 year old girl's first week of work in a state-run institution. It's set in 1971, in a universe that most certainly existed. I worked in just such an institution at the same age, during the same time, but though the practices and procedures are true to life as it was back then, the story is not autobiographical.
I'm really, and I do mean REALLY, excited that this book will finally be published. And there is no doubt that I'll keep everyone posted on the progress!
Okay, now I'll open the Moscato. Cheers!
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