Category Archives: Knoontime Knitting – One Writer’s Journey Into 3-D

Solving problems with crafts

Knoontime Knitting
Last month I blogged about my adventures with Japanese temari – a lot of fun to make, but purely decorative.
While I love to make beautiful things, I find I get the most satisfaction when my crafting has practical uses. Going back to full-time office work earlier this year, I found I had two minor issues that needed a solution for my desk at work.
Problem one: I started bringing a water bottle with me to work because the water in the office cooler wasn’t always cold enough. I fill my water bottle with ice which results in it sweating all over my desk. I found I was constantly wiping up puddles and I was worried I’d accidentally ruin some important papers, so I decided I needed a bottle cover.
Problem two: Though I usually keep my cell phone on vibrate, I like to keep it handy under a shelf on my desk. When it buzzes – it’s not very quiet, so I decided I needed a cover for that also, to minimize the vibrations.
My solutions involved a size H crochet hook and one skein of Lily Sugar ‘n Cream cotton yarn. I chose ‘Beach ball’ because I love the shades of lavender.
After scoping out a couple of water bottle patterns on line, I decided just to crochet a simple round starting with 6 double crochet stitches and working around, adding stitches until the bottom of the carrier was about as wide as the bottom of the water bottle.
The yarn provides just enough give to hold the bottle snugly. I shaped the holder by crocheting in the front loop of my stitches once around, then single crocheting rows until the holder was tall enough. The shading of the yarn just happened to create a perfect spiral pattern on the holder, though I didn’t specifically set out to achieve that look.
For the cell phone holder, I just made a band of single crochet, the width of my phone and just about twice the length and sewed the sides together to make a nifty little pocket.
Now my ice water stays chilly longer than before thanks to the insulating effects of the yarn, and the bottle doesn’t sweat all over my desk, and when my cell phone buzzes, it doesn’t vibrate all over.
Quick, easy and practical. I may start making crocheted covers for everything I own.
Have you ever solved a problem with your crafting?

Saturday Showcase – In the Garden with J. M. Cartwright

Knoontime Knitting

After I did the call for authors who craft, J. M. Cartwright contact me and mentioned she loves to garden. Given all the work that goes into creating a garden, I absolutely consider it a craft as much as knitting or woodworking are. I asked J. M. some interview questions and here are her thoughts on life, the universe, and dirt:

K.K. Tell me a little more about what crafts you do. What do you like to make?

J.M.C. My craft is gardening, which is a fairly unforgiving craft, since we depend on sunlight and water and good soil to be successful. Oh, and a boatload of elbow grease. Uh-huh.

K.K. When did you learn to do crafts?

J.M.C. Hah. Gardening is a learn-by-doing exercise in frustration. The gardens continue to evolve because the product is a growing one. Literally. I’ve learned from other gardeners and from a fabulous magazine, Fine Gardening. It helps to see what others are doing, learn from their mistakes and copying their successes – though I do tend to add my own touches to things. I like to take an idea and twist it, bend it, enlarge it, make it my own.

It struck me this season that my gardens are ten years old this year. Whoa. I look around at the beds around my home and I’m amazed. When I moved to this home in 2002, there were some good foundation shrubs and a bounty of beautiful deciduous trees, plus two gorgeous blue spruces. Most of the trees are probably as old as my home (55 years), so the shade, the shape, the impact they have on my home are substantial. My airconditioning doesn’t have to work as hard as the systems in other homes, which is mighty nice. So I’ve been actively gardening with ground gardens and pots for these ten years. Prior to that, it was baskets and pots on decks and balconies. However, I’ve been an indoor plant person for a lot longer than that.

K.K. Have you ever given a craft to a character? How did you go about it? What research did it require?

J.M.C. Absolutely! One of my first books, A Change Of Scenery, had MC Stephen owning and operating a gardening shop in a small city in West Virginia. I used my work experience of dealing with landscapers (designers and installers), plus my own personal experience of being a consumer. Lots of consuming going on there, let me tell you.

K.K. What effect does your writing have on your crafting and vice-versa? Does one fall off when the other is stronger, or do they synergize?

J.M.C. It’s definitely synergy. How can it not be? The more I do it, the better I can write about it. The more I write about it, the more I want to do it – and have my characters enjoy doing it, too.

K.K. What do you dream of making when you have the time or skills?

J.M.C. I’d love to have several acres where I could expand my gardens. Currently I have two distinct gardens, one full shade and one full sun. The other beds are a mix. So having more land to work with would allow me to create individual spaces that speak to the different loves I have for growing things. I’d create some outdoor rooms, which is what these spaces are now called. They bringing seating, tables, hardscape into the garden, allowing people to experience the gardens while performing life activities.

K.K. Where do you get ideas for your crafts?

J.M.C. Magazines, other gardens, my imagination!

K.K. Any other questions you want me to ask that I haven’t yet? 😉

J.M.C. In the last two decades, I’ve noticed a substantial increase in the number of people who garden. A garden can be three or four containers on a balcony or it can be several acres in size. The point I’m making is that more people are recognizing what a difference it makes, whether we live in urban, suburban or rural settings, to have beauty surround us. It softens our hearts, eases our souls, brings out the joy and kindness in us. We need more of that in our lives, not less.

So I say, grow, baby, grow!

Biography

A little bit of info…

I’ve been a mix of a dreamer and a doer for pretty much my whole life. The doer part is usually in charge. But I think it’s the dreamer that adds the spice, the panache and the zest.

My stories come from both sides – the doer helps me get the damned things done while the dreamer lets me express my creative, artistic side. My day job of running a small business appreciates both parts and I’ve learned to be more patient, more thoughtful as I go through the day-to-day tasks and interact with people. I’ve learned to appreciate a lot more things about my life since I started seriously writing, and I’ve had an entire world opened up to me from the day I was brave enough to click send and submit my manuscript.

Saturday Showcase – Sitting with Selena Robins

Knoontime Knitting

Selena Robins is a kindred spirit. We met through shared writing acquaintances and have become fast friends through Facebook and similar passions – writing, food, craft, and family. I’m excited to bring you an interview with Selena in which she discusses her pursuit of culinary perfection. Please held me welcome Selena to Knoontime Knitting!

KK: Tell me a little more about your passion for your craft. What do you like to make?

SR: My craft is the oldest profession in the world—cooking. I’m a big time foodie, so I watch a lot of cooking shows. I love Iron Chef. I then try (the operative word here is try) to replicate what the Iron Chefs made. However, I won’t attempt anything that involves organ meats or gooey duck. My favorite things to cook is anything Italian.

Italian food is food inspired from the soul, simple to make, delicious, nutritious and shared with family and friends with pride. Italian recipes are handed down from generations of great cooks from the mother country.

Disclaimer: When I say recipes handed down, I’m not talking about the traditional cook book, detailing ingredients and exact measurements.

KK: When did you learn to cook?

SR: I learned how to cook at a young age from my mom, who was the best cook in the world. I know we all say that about our moms, but in my case it’s true. She could produce a seven course meal without ever turning a page in a recipe book or having state-of-the-art kitchen appliances or gadgets.

It was a rite of passage in our family (daughters and sons) to learn how to make homemade pasta and tomato sauce. Emphasis on homemade. Heaven forbid an Italian is caught with store-bought sauce or worse have a can of Spaghettio’s in the cupboard. Open one of those babies and your FBI status (Full Bloodied Italian) would be taken away.

My mom taught me to cook using my senses; sight, touch, taste, smell, listen. The latter was ultra important in our household. Always, listen to mamma.

KK: Have you ever given your love of cooking to a character?

SR: With my published novels, both my heroines do not like to cook, not only do they not like it, they can’t be bothered learning. However, I did give the skill to the hero’s. So sexy to see a man in the kitchen. With my two works in progress, the heroines do love cooking as much as I do.

KK: What effect does your writing have on your cooking and vice-versa? Does one fall off when the other is stronger, or do they synergize?

SR: The same techniques I use in cooking I also apply when writing, adding a lot of love into my writing craft. Using all the senses: touch, taste, sight and smell, creating characters, dialogue and plots that will give the reader not only a visual experience of what’s happening, but hopefully they can taste what the characters are tasting, smell the scents of the scenery, close their eyes and hear the voices (not the ones in our heads, that’s another story), but the tone of the characters, and most importantly feel the passion I (and other writer’s) have put into creating a wonderful story to draw the reader into a comical, suspenseful, mysterious and romantic world.

KK: What do you dream of making when you have the time or skills?

SR: The perfect pie crust recipe. I cannot master a pie crust. I can make homemade bread, cakes, pastas, pizza, but that perfect pie crust still haunts me.

KK: Those of you who have been following the Saturday Showcase know that I include pictures of the authors’ art. Selena has taken that one step further and included a recipe that we can try ourselves! If you try it, we’d love to hear how you liked it in the Comments.

Pasta e Fagioli

This recipe can be made and eaten the same day, but it tastes even better if you make it a day ahead of time and serve it the next day, as all the ingredients and goodness marinate together.

Ingredients:

  • olive oil
  • 5 chopped tomatoes (or a can of plum tomatoes)
  • 1 cup onion (finely chopped)
  • 2 cloves garlic (minced)
  • 6 cups beef broth (or vegetable stock)
  • 1 can red kidney beans (drained and well rinsed)
  • 1 can white kidney beans (drained and well rinsed)
  • 1 can chick peas (drained and well rinsed)
  • ½ cup fresh basil (chopped)
  • **3 cups meatballs (use your favorite meatball recipe and make them tiny bite sized)
  • Pinch red pepper flakes, optional
  • Freshly grated Parmesan Cheese
  • Pasta (your choice: penne, elbow, tubetti)

**Note: If you don’t want to make meatballs, you can use ground beef, or skip the meat all together.

Directions:

  • Coat soup pot with olive oil and heat oil on medium. Once oil is heated, add onion and cook until onion is transparent, then add garlic and keep stirring until garlic is infused with the onion.
  • Add tomatoes and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring.
  • Add broth and let cook (uncovered) for 45 minutes.
  • Add red beans, white beans, chick peas, meatballs or sautéed ground beef if you are using meat, and let cook for 15 minutes
  • In a separate pot, boil water and make pasta according to package directions
  • While the pasta is cooking, add the chopped basil, red pepper flakes and salt and pepper to taste and let the soup keep cooking.
  • Once pasta is cooked, drain it and add it to the soup pot.
  • Ladle the soup into bowls. Sprinkle with freshly grated Parmesan cheese and drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil just before serving.

Note: If making soup the day ahead, then don’t add any pasta, make the pasta the day you will be serving the soup.

Buon appetito!

Biography

Genre-defying, witty, humorous, suspenseful, romantic and sexy — words used to describe Selena’s novels. A self-professed foodie and chocolate guru, Selena loves to dance with her dog, sing into her hairbrush and write in her PJ’s. In love with her family, friends, books, laughter, hockey, lively discussions and red wine, (sometimes all at the same time). Selena is a dragon slayer who enjoys reading and writing sassy heroines and hot heroes (the ones your mamma warned you about, but secretly wished she’d dated a few in her life).

Having a ball with Japanese Temari

Knoontime Knitting
I’ve been in love with the idea of making ornaments for as long as I can remember, so when I came across a book about the Japanese art of temari, I knew I had to try it.
Traditionally given as gifts, these often intricately decorated balls of thread can have designs as simple or as complex as you wish. Getting started is easy – the hard part, I found, is tearing yourself away from the thousands of designs that can be found in books and on the internet.
To start a simple temari, you’ll need a ball of leftover yarn [not a problem for all of you knitters and crocheters], a small or medium sized Styrofoam ball, an industrial sized spool of thread in any color [dark colors are best to start with IMO], an embroidery needle [or one with a large eye], pins and craft thread or embroidery floss.
Preparing a thread ball to start your design is easy. You can start with the Styrofoam ball and wrap your leftover yarn tightly around it until the ball is completely covered. [You can also skip the Styrofoam and just use yarn to start the ball, just keep the base shape as round as possible].

When you’ve completely covered the form, tuck in the end of the yarn so it doesn’t unravel and then begin wrapping thread around the yarn covered ball until you can’t see the yarn anymore. [Best to use thread in a different color from the yarn.] This part takes the longest and can use up quite a bit of thread. Turn the ball often to keep as round a shape as possible. Use the needle to tuck in the end of your thread so the ball doesn’t unravel. The thread layer allows you to ‘sew’ on the ball in any direction and gives you a place to anchor your stitches.

Next you need to divide the thread ball into sections by wrapping a thin strip of paper or a contrasting color of craft thread around the equators of the ball. You can divide the ball into any number of sections – 4 or 8 is easiest, using the needle to secure the craft thread at the poles of the ball or pinning the paper to the ball. The paper will be removed later, but the thread will become part of the design you create.
In this picture you can just about see the divisions I made with gold thread.

The simplest temari patterns involve wrapping your craft thread or floss around the ball and anchoring each pass at the guidelines you created when you divided the ball into sections.  By wrapping the ball in different directions and anchoring the thread around the guide lines, you can make stripes, triangles, stars, net-like effects, layers and even spirals.
Here’s an excellent set of instructions for basic stitches:
After browsing through a few of the on-line tutorials, I was making dozens of different designs in no time. I’m always looking for books to add to my craft library, though, so I also invested in The Simple Art of Japanese Temari by Dominique Herve and Alban Negaret.
One of the things I love about temari is it utilized supplies I already had on hand – beware though, temari tend to multiply and once you master a few simple stitches you may find yourself with more temari than you know what to do with.

Sunday Design Notebook

Knoontime Knitting
Picture from Lion Brand website.

My next project is the Everyday Flair Bolero by Lion Brand. It’s one of their free patterns.  I’m making it out of the Edwardian colorway, which appears black but is heathered dark grey.  It’s listed as a Beginner pattern, easy to make, but I disagree.  It is a pretty pattern, and will look good on the friend I’m making it for.  Boleros don’t look flattering on my figure but she is much shorter than I am and quite petite; the bolero will highlight her curves and look good on her body.

It turns out, when I read the comments for the pattern, I’m not alone in that opinion.  The difficulty lies in the way the pattern is written.  There are two issues with it:  first, the order of operations is confusing and, second, the second front piece is merely written as “repeat but reverse all shaping.”  I’m having to take very careful notes and use several markers to keep the pattern in order, which is ironic, since the pattern is a simple K3/P2 on RS, K on the WS.  I restarted the second front piece four times, because the pattern is very easy to jog and won’t look good that way.

This is the first front piece, showing the pattern of K3/P2 ribbing.  On the WS, all stitches are K, which makes it appear like a garter rib stitch.  When you finish the front of the sweater, you slide it off to a holder so I’m using a circular needle to hold the stitches in place.  Each of these sides will be joined and the sweater finished in one piece.

This is the second front piece, Take Four.  🙂 

I should be finished with the second front piece today and will then join it.  I will say, as long as the pieces are done correctly, the sweater knits up quickly.

Saturday Showcase – Jody Wallace!

Knoontime Knitting

I’m so pleased to be able to bring you of my fellow Beyond the Veil authors, Jody Wallace.  A fellow cat-lover, Jody is creative, modest, and talented.  Please help me make her feel welcome at Knoontime Knitting.

KK: Tell me a little more about amigurumi. What is it? What do you like to make?

JW: Amigurumi is, according to Wiki, “the Japanese art of knitting or crocheting small stuffed animals and anthropomorphic creatures.” (From Wikipedia.)  There’s more to it than that, but that’s the basic definition. I like to make scary little critters, people (I once made the characters of one of my romance novels) and other funky animals. I also like to make gifts for friends (zombie wedding cake topper!), family and industry professionals who visit our local RWA chapter. Note: I have my chapter’s approval to do this. I don’t just push the amigurumi on the editors and agents in a creepy fashion :).

KK: When did you learn to do it? Did you crochet for a while before you learned the art?

JW: My grandmother taught me some basic crocheting when I was a kid. I made a scarf. And half of a poncho. But the fact is, I’m lazy and a mini-project takes so much less time than a scarf or an afghan or a sweater. The first amigurumi I ever made was a tiny, evil gnome, also a character in one of my romance novels. I like to crochet hats, too, but today I’m talking amigurumi.

KK: Have you ever given a craft to a character? How did you go about it? What research did it require?

JW: Nothing extensive enough that required research, no. Since the plots of my books often involve the hero, heroine and other characters being jerked out of their ordinary lives to save the world and whatnot, the characters never have much time for knitting or woodworking.

KK: What effect does your writing have on your crafting and vice-versa? Does one fall off when the other is stronger, or do they synergize?

JW: I write more than I crochet, but sometimes I crochet writing-related items. In addition to the instances I mentioned above, I also make amigurumi for reader giveaways. Right now I’m working on a wee zombie horde that will function as basket toppers for a promo group organized by author TJ Michaels. The baskets will be given away at the Authors After Dark conference.

KK: What do you dream of making when you have the time or skills?

JW: Videos and comic strips featuring the amigurumi I created for my novel One Thousand Kisses. Alas, my time management skills, not to mention my graphics editing and videography skills, have not yet allowed me to complete this lofty goal.

KK: Where do you get ideas for your crafts?

JW: The garbage, usually. I also love the book Creepy Cute Crochet by Christen Haden.

Gallery

Amigurumeme

Beachgnome

Crochetchaun

Devohat
(Note from Noony – I TOTALLY want one of these hats.  Adorable!!)

PVSN21

Zombies
(Awesome!)

Biography

Jody Wallace grew up in the South in a very rural area. She went to school a long time and ended up with a Master’s Degree in Creative Writing. Her resume includes college English instructor, technical documents editor, market analyst, web designer, and general all around pain in the butt. She is a terrible packrat and likes to amass vintage clothing, books, Asian-inspired kitchenware, gnomes, and other items that threaten to force her family out of the house. She also likes cats. A lot.

Humpday Update – Bryce Canyon Shawl and Prayer Shawl

Knoontime Knitting

I finished the Bryce Canyon Shawl today. The last step was to add a 6 row garter stitch border to match the edges of the shawl and the bottom of the triangle. Then I used a knit one, purl one bind-off to make sure it would be elastic enough. The edge took a while to finish but I’m pleased with the results. I’ll share the bind-off here since I’ve used it a couple other times and really like it.

1. Cut the yarn 3 times the width of the edge and thread a yarn needle. Insert the yarn needle purlwise into the first stitch. Pull the yarn through. With the yarn needle behind the next stitch, insert it knitwise into the purl stitch and pull the yarn through.

2. *Slip the first knit stitch knitwise and insert the yarn needle into the second stitch on the needle purlwise. Pull the yarn through.

3. Slip the first stitch purlwise. Go behind the next stitch and insert the needle knitwise into the next stitch. Pull the yarn through. Repeat from the * in step 2 until all the stitches are bound off.

The next step is to block the shawl. It is stretched out of the way because of the lace. It needs to be stretched to allow the lace to lay flat. I’ll post pictures of that, but here are the images of the finished shawl (below).

In addition, I finished the prayer shawl for a friend of a friend who has colon cancer. It’s a triangle shawl like the Bryce Canyon Shawl, but with an allover lace pattern that’s K1, *YO, K2T. The edges are a 3-stitch garter stitch border with a YO, which is where the shape comes from. I used a picot bind-off which is quite pretty, along with 3 tassels.

This is an overall view of the shawl that shows the 3 lace diamonds and the lace outline, which is a vertical lace trellis stitch from Barbara Walker.

This is the bottom, center, medallion, also from Barbara Walker.

This is the medallion on the left.  When worn, this appears over the left shoulder and down the arm.

This is the right medallion and, like the left, appears on the arm.

This shows the bound-off edge with the garter stitch edge and the sewing needle bind-off.
This is the first comprehensive picture of the Prayer Shawl.  I used Lion Brand Homespun, in Harvest colorway.  The shawl is too large to show flat (it’s on a Full bed), so I folded the edges.  I used tassels on each of the 3 corners.

I stepped back to show the shawl again.  I love the way the yarn stripes.

This is a detail of the picot bind-off, on the inside left; ont he inside right you can see the garter edge with yarn-over increase.  The bind-off takes a while, but as you can see the results are worth it.

The preparation of the Prayer Shawl will simply be to wash and dry it.  It doesn’t require blocking, since the yarn doesn’t pull out of shape.

Organizing Tips for Crafters

Knoontime Knitting

Greetings from Vacation Land!  We went to see Brave, which is well worth it, and I finished the Bryce Canyon Shawl!  I’ll post pictures and a design update, but first just a quick note on organizing.

I came across a picture today that totally excited me.  One can use a desk organizer for knitting and sewing supplies!  The manufacturers probably think it’s for pens, pencils, and staplers, but we know better, don’t we?  Here’s an idea to get your juices flowing:

What a great idea, no?  How do you organize your tools?

Saturday Showcase – A Conversation with ID Locke

Knoontime Knitting

I recently had the opportunity to hear from ID Locke about her process of art and writing and how they go together.  I’m excited to share her interview with you!

KK: Tell me a little more about what crafts you do. What do you like to make?

IDL: Generally, I do a lot of knitting and hand sewing. Knitting is whatever strikes my fancy at the moment or something that I “need” to do. Currently, my “need” project is a baby blanket for my soon-to-arrive grandbaby #2. I have another project that I’ve only gotten as far as casting on the required stitches before I realized that I had a month to knit said baby blanket.

I have a collection of BJD’s (ball-jointed dolls) that are physical representations of the characters in several of my stories. I mostly sew clothes for them, but also knit sweaters and travel blankets to provide additional protection when I take them out somewhere. Doll sweaters are fairly quick to knit even if you need to use baby/fingerling yarn and 2.5mm needles.

I typically knit and sew while watching TV as I can’t just sit there and do nothing. Long car rides are a challenge as I’ve found I can’t knit while in a car because it makes me feel queasy.

One of my favourite things to do is pick up random balls of yarn at second-hand shops and see what I can make with them. I like the challenge of taking a ball of one colour/texture/weight and mixing it with something else to see what happens. Quite a few of the things I knit are one of a kind as I often have no idea where the yarn came from and can’t get more of it.

KK: When did you learn to do crafts?

IDL: My mom got me started on sewing. She’s a wonderful seamstress and had me using a sewing machine by the time I was 6. I saw a friend knitting when I was about 8 or 9 and thought it looked neat so I decided to try it.

KK: Have you ever given a craft to a character? How did you go about it? What research did it require?

IDL: I have. I have one that actually knits and another who is a face-up artist for BJD’s on the side. The knitting aspect… well, I already do quite a bit of that so it was easy. The details about face-up work I asked face-up artists some basic information and browsed through a doll forum for info. I have a character that is a glass blower as his job and I researched that as well as spent some time watching some local glass blowers at work.

KK: What effect does your writing have on your crafting and vice-versa? Does one fall off when the other is stronger, or do they synergize?

IDL: I have to make time for each thing since they can’t be done at the same time. Generally, I’ll knit/sew after supper for an hour or two then switch to writing. On the weekends, depending on what is most pressing for me to get done is what gets worked on the most. For a while I focused exclusively on writing and learned the hard way that wasn’t a smart thing to do. I try to be more balanced now. I also find that if I’m working a simple pattern, my mind will go off on little day trips and either take a WIP into new territory or give me something completely new to work on.

KK: What do you dream of making when you have the time or skills?

IDL: I’d love to make a tree of life sweater but the idea of following a chart pattern to that degree turns me off. If I had the money, I’d love to make a sweater out of quivik yarn but at nearly $100/1 oz ball (and it’s a lace weight yarn)… yeah, not gonna happen unless I win the lotto.

KK: Where do you get ideas for your crafts?

IDL: I usually see something I like and want to make that for myself or somebody I know who’d really like it. When it comes to doll things, I generally need to make the various clothes as they’re typically created species of mine and their cultural clothes doesn’t really exist outside of my head.

Gallery

2 wigs for Jolen and a pair of boots I made. The outfit he’s wearing I also made out of a pair of dress socks.

I sewed Dakvir’s outfit and modded his wig to add the silver-white hair

Kysmirhea’s wig was made out of dyed fox fur and I sewed his cat ears to it. The white top he’s wearing is made out of a mesh glove and I also sewed the quasi military jacket, too.

Biography

ID Locke is an obsessive/compulsive writer who often ignores things like the need to eat and the fact she’ll be even later for work if that document isn’t closed right this minute. Writing has been a life-long obsession for her, and people have commented that she appears to get twitchy if she doesn’t do it on a regular basis.

ID Locke has been married for more than twenty years, has a grown son and is now a grandma. She has an exceptionally dirty mind filled with kinky possibilities and enjoys writing hot man-on-man sex (with Plot no less) for her own amusement and the entertainment of others. She works, writes, and knits, squeezing reading and some anime/TV watching in there somewhere. She also enjoys creating clothes and jewellery for the ball-jointed-dolls she has turned into many of the characters from her novels. She’s blunt, sarcastic, and not afraid to speak her mind. Music is one of her loves, and she often listens to her rather eclectic collection while writing to help the creative juices flow.