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Alison Hawke

Alison Hawke

Drawing class

I've been taking a weekly class at the St Louis Artist's Guild (acronym SLAG, which makes me giggle) and the teacher, David Zamudio, has been gently working us towards drawing an actual human. Prior lessons focussed on spheres and cubes, working on shading and accuracy, this

Accomplished: 3rd degree brown belt

Four years, two months, and one day, that's how long it took me to get my third degree brown belt in Chinese Kenpo from Tracy's Karate. My first lesson was on Monday 17th November 2008, I got my brown belt on Friday 18th January 2013. That

A parade of finished objects

It's been a busy January so far. I've released a pattern for small drawstring bags, burned my hand with boiling water (making proper tea is a hazardous business) and I'm training for my third degree brown belt in Chinese Kenpo. And I've

New Year’s Resolution Reading Challenge

I don't normally make extensive New Year's resolutions, beyond my annual "I will not stab anyone in [insert year here]." I borrowed that one from Rachel Herron in 2010 and it is a worthy goal worth re-committing to each year (I never resolve not

Ink sampling

I've been sampling various combinations of ink and fountain pens. It's a huge surpise how different pens with the same ink give wildly different results. Using my TWSBI 540 pen with Noodler's Black Swan in Australian Roses ink gives a nice even burgundy line.

Projects in progress and stalled

If ever there was a year where I don't complete NaNoWriMo it's this one. Too much going on to have brain real-estate tied up with a novel. I may stage a dramatic comeback mid-month but it's not looking very likely today. I'm

NaNoWriMo – T minus 10 days

Ten days. Keyboards on standby, tea ready to be brewed, notebooks filled with plot debris, friends and fiends recruited, donor halo firmly in place. We're doing this. I have a stack of index cards in three different colours, with events on relating to the group of characters in

NaNoWriMo – T minus 20 days

I've spent October thinking I wouldn't have anything to write beyond one cool concept. The novel is competing for brain real-estate with 30 self defense techniques and 11 kata that I need to have pattern-perfect for my third degree brown belt test in Chinese Kenpo. I&

FO: Midnight Slouching hat

It's not often I make two of the same thing so close together. This hat has squishy earflaps because of the 1x1 cabling, which is quite tedious to do. I really should learn to do those without a cable needle. Perhaps on hat #3. Pattern: Ekaterin Slouch Hat

NaNoWriMo – T minus 30 days

Now is the time to panic, if you haven't already started. We're writing a NOVEL in a month's time, we must be mad. October is the month of the Great Site Relaunch, all the posts in the NaNoWriMo forums get wiped for the new

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