And Sew I Stitch

December 2016 Still here!

noreply@blogger.com (Cviens) — Thu, 08 Dec 2016 12:31:00 +0000

Where has the time gone!??

noreply@blogger.com (Cviens) — Sun, 18 Sep 2016 13:14:00 +0000

Oh my!! I cant believe it has been so long since I have touched that book! Where did all the time go?
I think I know, just by counting the new wrinkles on my face...but I am back!

Let's see what I have been up to. Or maybe I should say, lets see all the UFO's that have accumulated. Actually, I am currently working on some quilts for family members. The one I am working on today, is a Double sliced Layer cake quilt that I found on one of my favorite sites The Missouri Star Quilt Company https://youtu.be/jxC-0T5lXw4
I love Jenny! Thank goodness for her, cause she makes my quilts look like I have worked so hard on them when in fact, they really are easy peasy!

I tried to go rogue and make a quilt without a design, and it came back to bite me in the ...well you know. I don't like it and so now it sits half finished and I have to finish it soon because it is a gift for Christmas eeek! sigh... Anyway, here are the squares that I am working on.

They are almost all done squaring up. (yes, I now square up my blocks before I put them together!) Its funny how you learn things after a few years of making quilts that do not come out right. What I mean by that is that they aren't square, or they don't line up with my backing, and every one of my quilts is wonky! But that's ok, because the quilts I have made so far have gone to love ones and they don't seem to mind. Did I mention that I have only been quilting for about 5 years? So yes, I am a newbie, but I am learning lots from some amazing quilters!

One of these great quilters that I have learned from is Bonnie Hunter! I discovered Bonnie Hunter and scrap quilting about two years ago and I am now hooked! I just finished my first mystery quilt of hers called the Grand Illusion. Here it is!

And then last November I found myself in the frenzy again with Alleitare! I have not finished it yet but am aching to get back to it. She is amazing! You can find her at http://quiltville.com/...but I digress...

Having said that, the quilt blocks that you see being squared up today, aren't scrappy, but they "need" to get done! And so, until next time...who knows, I might even get a chance to do some editing on that book...HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!! Who am I kidding? I'll be busy quilting!

And sew...I stitch!

Change of direction

noreply@blogger.com (Cviens) — Thu, 27 Jun 2013 11:33:00 +0000

I finished the book! Well, actually, I finished the rough draft... a long seven months ago! What have I done with it you ask? I printed out the first chapter, grabbed a pen and began to edit. After the first two paragraphs, I set it down, and began to hate the book. Now don't get me wrong, I love the story, but maybe this editing stuff just isnt for me. However, lately I have begun to feel that my muse is back and she wants to get back to writing. Yes, writing, not editing. So then I thought...well what can I write that wont create a need to do so much editing. I had a revelation! As I sit here in my craft room that I absolutely adore, and relish in its mess, I thought, "Why not blog about my crafts? "
Genius! That would kill two birds with one stone! I can hone my writing and do what I love at the same time!
So, bear with me as I rant on numerous topics. Some will be about my book, while others on my crafts.
Oh, and I almost forgot....I wrote a book years ago, called " And Sew I Stitch". You guessed it...the rough draft is done. So I thought, perhaps if I turn the book into a blog, then perhaps I can edit it and then get it to print. Will that mean I change my blog's name? No, I think what that means is that I will create a new blog with the title of that book, and work on both blogs. My musings and my crafts. I just have to work the kinks out.
Have a great rainy day!

Still at it!

noreply@blogger.com (Cviens) — Mon, 19 Nov 2012 21:23:00 +0000

I bet you thought I had given up on this blog and forgotten all about my loyal followers.
Not a chance. I am halfway there with over 26000 words. The story is really messed up and in outline form in some places and other spots actually have conversations and make sense!
I am having a hard time with it though I must admit. I keep changing gears as I write the story. The premise is the same, but the road map to get to the end keeps changing.
That might be a good thing, I don't know, but forcing myself to sit and write is the hardest part.
So I wrote on a sticky and placed it above my screen "I am a writer; I write books".
Now when I find myself drifting and not wanting to be sitting in my chair, I read that aloud. Does it help? I don't know, but it doesn't hurt!
I also have written the following on my notepad, and I refer to it every single day. "Do Not Multitask! and Do Not Give Up!"
Until next time,
Carol

Time for an update!

noreply@blogger.com (Cviens) — Wed, 07 Nov 2012 12:41:00 +0000

After one week of serious writing, I found myself yesterday very angry with myself. Feeling pretty smug about having 9457 words so far towards my goal, only to find out that yesterday, according to the NaNoWriMo daily update, I should have been at 10,000 words. Ok, so no big deal I thought. I will just go back and write some more until I have hit their goal. But then, I continued to read the rest of my email.

I had joined the google group for the software program that I am using to write this novel, (yWriter), and discovered that I did not read the installation instructions thoroughly and made a big mistake.

Yep, as technologically savvy as I am, I didn't see the caveat that read,"Do NOT use Dropbox as your backup location"

Are you kidding? I thought. I use Dropbox for everything!!!

I emailed the thread to see if there was anything that I could do in order to fix this other than the tedious task of copy, pasting, saving, re-installing and then pasting it all back in the correct places. So, after an hour and a half of wasted writing time, sniff, I humbly succumbed to my dried out eyes and shut the laptop down. However, you will be pleased to know, that I created a new backup and it should be fine now.

This mistake was huge to me, because I have wasted half of the time (a year and a half), that I have allowed myself to pursue this dream before going back to the "real world".

So, a little bit of advice here, RTFM!

Have a good one, I'm off to my room to write.

November 1st!

noreply@blogger.com (Cviens) — Thu, 01 Nov 2012 11:05:00 +0000

It has finally arrived. November 1st, the NaNoWriMo challenge. I wont write much in today's blog because I have 1400 words to write today as a personal challenge to myself. Let's see how this works out. On your mark, get set......write!

Haven't Given Up

noreply@blogger.com (Cviens) — Fri, 07 Sep 2012 19:00:00 +0000

Happy Friday, Everyone!
For those of you who have been wondering if I have changed my mind about this? Well, the answer is, Nope!! Not even close to giving up on this little adventure. Once I have made up my mind, I usually stick to my commitments. This is one of those that I can’t let just disappear because I have put myself out there. (Not only that, but Gary would never let me ever live it down).
As I continue to prepare, I am amazed at the different resources out there for writers. One of the things that I have found interesting is that there are programs out there to help scatter-brained people like me to focus. Imagine that!! I have had to use programs before, in order to finish a paper because I get so distracted and tend to go off on many tangents. As a matter of fact, when I taught middle school, I was famous for being that teacher who could talk about anything once the kids distracted me from the subject.... until it was time to assign homework! (Remember that kids?) Anyway, I digress. One of my favorite programs is Inspiration! Inspiration is a program that helps you put your thoughts into a coherent order and then it transforms into an outline from which you can write. It is also a great tool that I some times use for planning out big projects and organizing them. As a teacher I would use this to organize my units, or just help me put into perspective the time required for some projects. If you have never used this, you should really check it out. You can actually download a free 30-day trial. http://www.inspiration.com/
Once I discovered how to use this program, I have never written a paper without it. As it is, the book I am currently on, has the whole story laid out in an Inspiration document file, just waiting for me to write it. The only problem is, once again, I have waited so long to write the story, that I have changed my mind about many things pertaining to the story. Like character names, and how the story evolves, etc. So I have decided that in preparation for this challenge, that I will start with a fresh document in Inspiration and go from there without stopping during the month.
I have also found websites that are helping me to prepare for this event. http://www.publishyourownebooks.com/category/ebook-writing/
They have some really great ideas! Personally, I am excited for this challenge! I have been sitting on this book (and others) for years! Now, I am finally going to finish the first draft! Will you get to read it? Not the first draft, but perhaps I might be tempted to edit and publish it...who knows.
Tune in for my next blog when I give you a tiny insight to what the book is about! Have an awesome weekend everyone!

Establishing a Routine

noreply@blogger.com (Cviens) — Thu, 30 Aug 2012 13:36:00 +0000

When I wrote my first book (yes, I have written a book), I had to establish a routine. (Yes, I'll discuss that book in a minute...bear with me; I do have a point). It began every morning at 5 am, I would write for an hour each weekday, and then go to the gym to work out and then off to work I went. The book got finished (but didn't get published). The point is, that I had a routine! For someone like me, that made all the difference in the world. I wasn't going to post daily to this blog until I actually began the November challenge, (and I still might not), but I have been prodded to by my niece Erika. She suggested that I post daily, as to gain interest and snippets to entice while I research and prepare. Hmmm, not sure I will do that. Why? Well, as I said, the challenge starts on November 1st. Yes, I have a ways to go, but daily? Maybe, let's see how my muse wants to proceed.
Back to the routine. If you could see the space that I am preparing for me to sit and write every day, you would simply shake your head in disgust and say what a mess!! I have "projects" in medias res everywhere!!!! I am up to my neck in pictures, and cross-stitch, and quilting; just to name a few. So, my plan is to take care of some of these projects by either finishing them up or getting them out of this room! The clutter, I must admit is overwhelming. So, to write everyday right now means that I have yet another tool to procrastinate. Those of you who have seen this room would say, "Leave her alone to clean up that mess first, then she can write!"
Now, about that first book... Oh, you thought I forgot? Nope. Picture this...The year, 2000 and I am in northern Maine: Caribou to be exact. I am riding on the back of our snow machine with my husband Gary. BAM! Out of the blue, an idea strikes! So, there I am...riding, and thinking. Slowly I begin developing the details of the book. Once home, I start scribbling down everything I could think of, and the next morning, I begin my routine! I finish the book as I said earlier, and I have a writing partner, Lynda, who I would share a couple of chapters in order to help me edit. I love having a writer as a friend as they are such a big help in so many ways! Anyway, I digress. The book is called "And Sew I Stitch". It was finished in 2001. It is a book that is about a woman who learns to cross stitch in middle school, and each chapter is based on an event in her life, and at the end of each chapter is a cross-stitch pattern that relates to the previous chapter. I have sent this out to a couple of publications, but I hadn’t really pursued it too much, because I needed more time to create the cross stitch designs. I haven’t touched it in years! I will, but for now, I'd like to get this novel that has been in my head for 10 years, onto paper, and into your hands.

Preparing the canvas

noreply@blogger.com (Cviens) — Wed, 29 Aug 2012 12:45:00 +0000

One would think that with all the training I have and the teaching of websites that I have overseen, that I wouldn’t break the primary rule: make sure that you don’t use fancy font! In my effort to quickly get a website up that was halfway decent looking, I inadvertently chose to accept a template "as is". It wasn’t until I asked a couple of my tech geek friends to take a look at the site, that I quickly received comments on the font. I have since changed this ghastly oversight, and am now continuing the process of "preparing the canvas" for my book.

Over the years, I’ve had some epiphanies for book ideas, only to be in the strangest of places, with nothing to write on. Thereby having to repeat the idea over and over until I find a piece of paper to put my "great idea” down. These ideas, notes, and novels to someday write, usually end up in a folder soon to be filed or lost somewhere on my desk mountain. Since I have committed myself to do this adventure, each time I sit here at my desk and begin to review my notes, I realize that I have a lot of notes for a lot of stories!! They just ramble through my head, and when I pick up a note, an idea, my brain immediately starts thinking of where this could go, and how to develop the characters. But do I actually sit and write? No, because I am so ADD, (attention deficit), that I find many other things to do first! So, this is going to be quite a ride, for any of you willing to read my ramblings. For myself, taking this challenge is the only way I will be forced to finish this first book. Then, and only then can I pick up my notes on one of my many other books, and continue their stories.

My muse is smiling at me, because now she knows, that I finally am going to follow through and allow her to stay. I'm just glad that she has returned...

Have an awesome day!

My challenge to me!

noreply@blogger.com (Cviens) — Mon, 27 Aug 2012 16:34:00 +0000

So it seems that my muse is back, and I am finally ready to move forward. Right now I am trying to decide if I want to keep this blog or go to something else. For the time being, this (Blogger) seems to be working well.
I will keep you informed on this decision. Now, as far as what to blog about, Well, perhaps because I am going to take the challenge in November at http://www.nanowrimo.org/ I have officially resigned to complete my first rough draft by the end of November. I am doing the preliminaries right now. So far, my husband Gary has laughed himself silly when I announced that this was really going to happen. So now I think the challenge is more to show him that i am capable of doing this, rather than satisfying my own need to FINALLY finish my novel.
I have thought about blogging about interesting ways to teach integrating technology. But right now I seem to be leaning more towards my book. Perhaps later on as I get a lull in my creativity, I can write about what I know...and that is how to make learning more interesting, and how to integrate technology into your curriculum. So, what ever my muse tells me to blog about...that will be my topic.
Wish me luck!!

Update

noreply@blogger.com (Cviens) — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 19:37:00 +0000

Well, it seems as though I have had a hard time getting to put myself in my writing mode for very long. I am reading lots of "stuff" but my muse seems sporadic. I find myself procrastinating more than writing. This is very frustrating!

Day one

noreply@blogger.com (Cviens) — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 20:11:00 +0000

Well, I am not sure where this Blog will go, but I certainly will find out. I am considering using this space as I go through the process of leaving the "working world"and entering into the "writing world".
I am not sure how I am really feeling about all of this....the whole "Not being a technology director any more" and leaving education to write. Some days I am fine, others...well I think of the countless hours spent writing papers, taking classes, missing out on "Life" just to earn my degrees. Only to realize that this "Job" doesn't make me happy. It sure was a lot of money spent to figure that out.
I am thinking that perhaps this blog will help me with "putting myself out there to the world" thereby my standing naked in the town square wont feel as scary.