Do you consider yourself a neat and tidy person?

I grew up watching The Odd Couple on TV, with Felix the uptight neatnik and Oscar the grouchy slob. I like this photo because they’re both smiling. Sometimes they got along.

Jack Klugman and Tony Randall, 1970s television’s Odd Couple

Like most people, I suppose, I identified somewhere in the middle—not too neat, not too messy; just right. I think the show’s writers wanted us to like Oscar the best though. I certainly did. I grew up always liking Jack Klugman and not liking Tony Randall, didn’t matter what other productions they were in. And I seem to have become more Oscarish in my habits. Read More →

If there’s anyone out there still reading my blog (stats tell me I get the occasional visitor)—just want to let you know I’m still here, still weaving, knitting, crocheting, and occasionally sewing.

I have an idea about my pin loom patterns and “book.” If you’ve read the assorted blurbs on the Sue’s Book tab of this blog, you’ll see I vacillate. My original intention was to write and publish a children’s book, but after many years of serious effort I’ve abandoned the idea (maybe temporarily, maybe permanently). Lately I’ve toyed with the idea of writing a pin loom weaving book—well, more than toyed—I’ve put in some serious effort and had significant assistance from my friend, Tanja in the Netherlands, who is a typing wizard. She transcribed all the notes I sent her and paired them with the photos I sent her.

Here’s what part of it looks like (in miniature):

a glimpse of the Library of Patterns

Obviously Tanja couldn’t type up the stuff I didn’t send her . . . and haven’t sent her. I’ve been whipping up more patterns in the last week, and playing around with color combinations and pattern variations. I still write everything out by hand, but I’m slightly more organized about it now—I write on note cards and keep each card with its square in a Ziploc bag.

Old way . . .

New way

You might have noticed the photos are blurry. I did that on purpose for a couple of reasons. One is to protect the patterns’ privacy. The other is that we’re having a swap on the Facebook Pin Loom Weaving Support Group and I don’t want to give away any surprises (because I might be using some of these squares in the swap).

So, my idea is to give up on the idea of a book—my heart isn’t in it; I just like making up the patterns—and instead, release the patterns here under their own tab. That way we can all have access to my patterns instead of waiting for a day that likely will never arrive (if it’s up to me it isn’t to be—unfortunately).

Any comments?

for L. A.

One reason I don’t want to write a non-fiction book is because it’s like asking for a gob of mistakes to be printed and preserved practically for eternity. As I peruse Florencia Campos Correa’s book, 100 Pin Loom Squares (a book about which I have VERY mixed feelings) I can’t help thinking (again), “This could have been, should have been, a wonderful book. What makes me think I could do a better job?”

100 Pin Loom Squares book cover

100 Pin Loom Squares book cover

In the meantime, while I wrestle with my personal publishing commit-a-phobia, I shall devote some of my efforts to correcting extant mistakes. Today’s target: the two-layer warping (2LW) section of Florencia’s book (beginning p 38).

This is a sample page of my copy of the book. It prompted me to make one of my early blog post duos: to weave the houndstooth check patten on the Weave-it and Loomette, respectively.

This is a sample page of my copy of her book. The frustration I felt due to the lack of proper instructions prompted me to write one of my early blog post duos: how to weave the houndstooth check pattern–on the Weave-it and Loomette, respectively.

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I’m not including a photo of the picture I started painting last night. You’ll just have to use your imagination. But I’m including a few photos of old artwork, to give this post some color.

A mood, a place, objects that may inspire . . .

A mood, a place, objects that may inspire . . .

This was a totally new experience for me. Last night I sat down to make a “midnight sketch”–something I’ve done three nights in a row now. I started sketching a little landscape scene, but my imagination got going and I found myself drawing a possible location for the story I’m working on with my writing partner, Heather.

Random landscape photo.

Random landscape photo.

Soon this imaginary place started suggesting stuff that could be in our story: maybe the people live up in the mountains, maybe there’s a lake, maybe . . . maybe . . . maybe . . . Don’t want to get too specific because it’s all a big secret at this point.

All you writers might want to give this a try. Draw a picture and see where it takes you. You might create a setting, an event, a character, or a mood for your next or current project.

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