The Hoodie How-To

I blogged a long, long time ago about the hoodie that I made over, a project that I had Sara repeat in the book. I promised pictures and instructions...

And let's face it. Follow-through is not my spiritual gift, and anything that involves pictures takes longer because's a multi-step process (I don't snap and share; it's not in my nature. There's always editing, even if it's just fixing the levels).

No more excuses - here's the hoodie in better detail:

1. I picked up the hoodie itself at Ross after looking about everywhere. Somehow, finding one with long enough sleeves became hard. It's BCBG; I got it for $30. Maybe even $20 - I don't remember anymore. I wasn't wild about the color, but the price was right, the fit was good, and it had a two-way zipper.

2. Went to 27th street fabrics for black chiffon. We played around a lot to find the right kind of look. I had a general idea of what I wanted to do, from a cardigan I'd seen on J.Crew.com. I was able to look closely enough to figure out the way they'd stitched theirs.

3. Was having a hard time figuring out what to do, was being swayed by black velvet ribbon, when the gal at the store ripped off a strip of chiffon for us to play with. The torn edge was perfect! I bought 1/4 yard, which was more than plenty.

4. I went to Harlequin Beads to figure out what I wanted for the center of the bow. I knew I wanted something a bit glitzy without being overdone (the concept was "an evening hoodie"). I settled on some slightly smoky-looking Swarovski crystals, as well as three Swarovski pearls to keep it toned down.

5. The hoodie had bright silver-toned accents. I colored over them with a black sharpie. Also pulled out the string in the hood. Played around with threading a narrower chiffon strip (actually, a couple tied/glued together, but liked it best without.

6. So. The stitching. I started off with fabric glue - total no go. Moved to black thread. Tacked and tied off every one or two places, generally about every 1-2 inches. The giant cluster in the picture is where I sewed the center and the beads.

7. I should also note that there was a BCGG label on the front, with the same little silver stud-things as the hood. I picked them off with my thumbnail and placed the bow over it so you couldn't see the residue.

8. On top of the bow, around the beads I did little mini flowers. Not that you can much tell, but they added texture. Basically, I just cut a couple small squares off of the strips, pinched them into a blossom shape, stuck a couple stitches through the base and sewed three or four onto the center of the bow.

9. I continued the motif around the back, not that you see it much with the hood down, but I liked how it connected to the ribbons on the other side. I kinda twisted the ribbons at the ends, so that it was less obvious when I joined new ones.

10. I tried to take a picture of me with it on, but it didn't go so well. Danny's now home - could probably try again, but I'm feeling kind of wired and wondering if the coffee I drank earlier wasn't decaf (I drink so little caffeine that Danny can tell if I've had half-caf four hours after the fact. Now

I avoid it altogether).

So there it is! Sara makes and wears this hoodie for a big event in the book. She pairs it with a green wool skirt I'd hoped to make. Maybe the skirt will happen after the book is done - just don't expect a timely blog about it!

Baby Steps

I just realized recently that I have difficulty breaking things down and planning. I get overwhelmed with the number of things to do, to the point that I get completely overwhelmed.

This is not an advantageous character trait for someone who writes 85,000 word novels for a living.

Pretty much, if I try to do much else than the book - you know, laundry, forage for food, that sort of thing - I tend to get wigged out.

So my new thing is to break things down into steps for myself. My new stationery item o'choice is magnetic notepads for the refridgerator. (It used to be post-it notes, lots and lots of post-it notes. While I still have an affection for them, I don't work at a proper desk very often. The fridge, however, isn't going anywhere.) The method at hand is to write the things I want to do, specific to the day, on the pad. Then I'll write the other things I want to accomplish over the week.

We'll see how goes. In other news...

My editor sent me this link in my email this morning. While Angela Hunt is at the top of her writing game, I'm still convinced that when it comes to procrastinating, I could take her.

Also, with the Toronto International Film Festival going on until Saturday, all the likely Oscar contenders are being rolled out. Can't tell you how much I'd love to be there. Because I'd love to see this -



And this -



And, honestly, I thought The Young Victoria was the one I was most excited to see. It had princesses, right? Well, then I saw this trailer -



It had me at "Jedi Master."

I'm giggling just writing about it. And sure, while we could have a conversation about how psychics are at best fooling people, or at worst demon-possessed, I figure we're in a fictive world. If George Clooney wants to knock over goats with his gaze, I say go ahead.

In fact, my mom has a look (the death mommy look) that would probably knock a goat over. George Clooney doing it - maybe not out of the realm of possibility.

Starting Over

I know I said I started Simply Sara. I didn't lie. I did start. But it wasn't the kind of start that began with several paragraphs and stayed several paragraphs for a while.

Then I got all frustrated with not writing and wrote a few more paragraphs, landing me in solid 1 1/2-page territory.

Though it seemed like much more in my head.

Through all of this, people asked me if I was hard at work on my next book yet. Seriously, that's like asking a woman with a two-month-old if she's working on getting pregnant again. You've just killed yourself getting out the last one - making another doesn't sound like fun yet.

But Plain Jayne is coming out and my editor suggested that we put the first chapter of Simply Sara into the back. And I'm all for that - sample chapters are one of the few marketing techniques that actually works on me as a book buyer. So the chapter has to be done. Today.

Now I'm remembering exactly how talented at procrastination I am, as I try to write and my mind whirs and I find myself thinking of the laundry I could do or the things to look for at the library, and when is the new Swell Season CD coming out, and has my JCrew sweater shipping status indicated that it's left Salt Lake City?

I feel this experience is well illustrated by this cartoon:

So great.

But I am enjoying Simply Sara, the more I get into it. This is the book that spends time in a bookstore and art school with a character who loves clothes and another named William Blythe, named after Shakespeare and Anne's Gilbert. Throw in a Godfather-quoting bookstore employee, and I'm feeling pretty good about things.

All I have left to do is write the rest of the book.

Avoiding what we love

Last week, I was between projects. I had just finished throwing a bridal shower for my brother's fiancée, and knew I was facing Plain Jayne edits at the end of the week.

I felt like I should hunker down and relax, but I was bored. And I hate being bored - actually don't believe in it. I feel that if you're bored, you're doing something wrong.

In my case, my antipathy towards boredom began (and likely continues) as a fear. Even as a child, I packed for all occasions. I brought toys, books; more than what I'd ever need to help pass the time, should the opportunity arise. I left things at friends' houses often.

Even now, I'm happiest with a book, and/or knitting in my bag when I go places. And when I say "go places," I mean the grocery store. But I digress.

Last week I was cranky and listless. But I opened my document for the first chapter of Simply Sara and started writing. I felt better. My muscles relaxed. Life was once again worth living.

Late that day, I had a conversation with my best friend Kara. Turned out, Kara had been exhibiting the same symptoms I had earlier that morning. She too was in-between projects and avoiding writing.

One of the tricky things about being a working writer is that writing becomes not work, but drudgery. Sure, we have the happy serendipitous moments when the stars align and the words flow, but a lot of writing is plugging away when you'd rather be doing anything else. Like housecleaning.

At that point, writers associate writing with a lot of negative feelings and bad karma. You rarely see any writers update their facebook status with something cheery, like, "so delighted I get to write today!" or "the words, they are a-flowing." No, it's more like, "I haven't unloaded my dishwasher in two weeks, my children eat nothing but cheap pizza, my husband has no clean underwear, and I'm still 2,000 words behind my daily quota."

No wonder we're cranky.

But it shouldn't be that way. I think with this next project, not only do I need to be on a more realistic writing schedule (last January-March's death march was not much fun), but take the time with a few side projects to enjoy writing. After all, I started writing because I enjoyed writing, didn't I?

In all fairness, I've loaded/unloaded my dishwasher and run five loads of laundry because I'm avoiding editing. Procrastination has the power to make me a crackerjack housewife sometimes. And I'm only going to Costco this afternoon because we're nearly out of toilet paper.

Right?

Glad Tidings

I've started this blog a few times and not gotten past the title. I finished Plain Jayne last Tuesday, after a marathon writing day that involved almost 3,000 words written in a single day.
Wednesday and Thursday I took my agent's advice and spent a couple days away from the book. Read Girls in Trucks, which made my brain melt a little. Friday I formatted the book into a single document (which is more time-consuming than it sounds) and learned that the official title for the next book is............

Simply Sara! Which I predicted, and is why when I requested information on the Art Institute of Portland, I listed Sara's name. At the time, I listed that I only wished to be reached by mail or email. So imagine my surprise when I get a call asking if I'm Sara Burke.

I had an entire conversation as Sara, and asked lots of questions that will prove useful in the next book.

Looking forward to doing the research for Simply Sara. After researching Plain Jayne, I made the decision as a writer that I wanted to learn something new for every book. For Plain Jayne, that meant learning to ride a motorcycle. For Simply Sara, I want to learn to sew. I tried last spring, with mixed results. Mixed, largely because I tend to get ambitious when it comes to textiles. When I knit, I can rip things out when they don't work. Sewing - it's a bit more complicated.

So - for the rest of the month, I have a LOT of editing to do! So far I'm on Chapter 4 of 38. Oh - I also have my first interview scheduled. In November I'll be interviewed over the phone by Christian Book Distributors, so that should be exciting.

Enough procrastinating - need to get back to the manuscript. Will update more later!

Researching those who don't care to be researched

Research for my book is a bit trickier than I anticipated: it's tough researching people who won't speak for themselves. Granted, you can find some collections of Amish people writing about sundry items like baking, quilting and barn-raising, but most of those collections are written for children and avoid the hard-hitting topics.

Do the Amish like being Amish, or do they stay for tradition's sake? Do any of the regret staying? Do they ever envy conventional dishwashers or the concept of salvation by grace?

Add to that the fact that there are 1,400 different ways to be Amish. One group may eschew regular bathing, while others are more fastidious. Finding out what's standard is like finding out what color is most common for cats.

Then you've got your points of view. People who came from an Amish background are either overly rosy or exceptionally bitter. True, I would have some hard feelings about a group that wouldn't let me shave my armpits. Some of the outsiders looking in have the same set of polarized reactions - I think America wants to believe in the possibility of the idealic agrarian society. It's kind of like the fascination with organic farming.

Before I started working on this project, I read anything I could get my hands on regarding the Amish (Note: anything non-fiction. The Quilter's Daughter isn't my idea of a hard source). Now, I'm going back to look for what I may have missed. It's tough writing about a world I've never experienced and likely never will, considering that what the Amish want most is to be left alone.

On top of all the Amish research I've also got a fairly strict writing schedule; some weeks are better than others. And I never really unpacked from the writers' conference, and my cold combined with my subsequent birthday weekend hasn't done a whole lot for the tidiness of my home. It's funny writing about the Amish, who will shame you with their cleanliness and work ethic, while sitting surrounded by piles of stuff.

However, I do have a load of laundry going.

Some things I have learned about the Amish:

1. They love ice cream. As in, love ice cream the way my husband loves ice cream - by the pint.

2. The children and teens will play volleyball. Violently. Kind of funny if you consider they're pacifists.

3. Amish couples honeymoon at the bride's parents' home until their home is completed. Often, they'll spend the weekends traveling to family member's homes and receiving gifts.

4. The Amish collect no social security, but they do pay taxes.

5. Many Amish are prefer chiropractors to doctors, and will travel great distances to see them. There's a joke that you can get an Amishman to the moon by telling him there's a chiropractor there.

6. Most Amish do use electricity through generators, solar panels, and wind power. Because of this, even the most conservative group (the Schwartzentrubers) use washing machines.

7. The only musical instrument allowed is the harmonica. All church singing is a cappella.

So many other things, but I'm done procrastinating. Will keep posting about progress...