Yvette's Inner Geek Blog

I just wanted to share some of the crafty things I’ve been working on this past year in an effort to feel better about myself for procrastinating. Cross-stitching while watching TV or talking with friends makes me feel more productive! I find that I’m usually working on two patterns at a time, so if I get stuck or bored with one, there’s a back-up to prevent my hands from idling.

After I finish a pattern, the addiction makes itself clear. I can’t wait to start another.

It’s to the point, though, that I have about a dozen finished or nearly finished patterns laying around unframed. It’s really sad, and my friends are mad at me for not having any hanging on the walls yet. Well, that leads me to this first design.

Decisions are hard, yo!

My husband and I are both Libras. This is pretty much our mantra. In fact, I had the idea to use a strand of gold for one column in the uppercase D, but I still haven’t decided if I’m going to keep it that way… so the needle with a bit of gold thread is still there as a reminder to make a damn decision already.

The Libra pattern is from “Cross Stitch Borders and Motifs” by Jana Hauschild LIndberg, as are the letters. I just put the sentiment together.

This next “Irony is Not Dead” piece is actually the first cross stitch I ever attempted. The pattern is from Julie Jackson’s Subversive Cross Stitch book which, along with my friend Marie’s own brand of subversive embroidery, was responsible for this crafty addiction.

Instead of using the recommended 14-count Aida fabric, which I’ve used for almost everything since then, I used a 28-count linen that I’d purchased before I read the book. Along with a very pointy needle, that made for an interesting first cross stitch experience.

(I still prick myself with the blunt embroidery needle I use now, but it’s not as gory or painful. Impossible and unintentional self-injury is just a fact of life for me.)

Okay, that’s all I’m going to share today… next time I’ll have some geekier needlecraft works of art to share with you. Because if I can’t put the real ones up on a wall, at least I should share them online. Way more people will enjoy them that way!

I’ve been working hard to figure out what to do with my blog and with innergeek.us in recent hours, days, weeks, months, years. Mostly it’s overwhelming, and nothing ever seems to be good enough. I’m the only one who ever has that type of problem, right?

This blog, if you’re reading it on my actual site, is currently using a WordPress theme I found online but do not intend to keep. I like the daffodils and the black flourishes and the gradient on either side of the center column, but it’s not set up to easily switch the background of the center pane to white so I know that my words are a little tough to read. It’s easily the girliest theme I’ve ever contemplated using and will eventually be replaced by a more gender-neutral (and geek-inspired) look.

I’ve toyed with rebuilding my whole site using WordPress, but that may end up making future features more difficult to incorporate. I’ve instead decided to build my CSS so that I can seamlessly integrate my WordPress blog into that design. Now the major hurdle is building a design that meets or exceeds my vision. I have dozens of pencil sketches all over my desk and a handful of abandoned designs on my computer. So I’m taking a break right now.

For the sake of accountability (to YOU! My loyal readership! Or at least my mom.) I’m going to lay out my plans for innergeek.us.

1. Create an innergeek logo. (done!)
   
2. Create a site design that seamlessly integrates WordPress blog (I think I’m really close.)
3. Create graphics for site design
4. Build CSS for site design
5. Refresh exisiting content, except Geek Test
6. Transition to new web host (there’s never a good time for this, is there?)
7. Upload and test everything online in a secret sandbox
8. Refresh Geek Test to a slightly less embarrassing version 3.2
9. Launch new site by September 1, 2009
10. Overhaul Geek Test
11. Launch new Geek Test by October 16, 2009

At this point, I think 30 days is a reasonable amount of time to give myself to revamp the website, especially if I’m stocked up on coffee. I’m going to table all the super-sweet feature ideas for now because I think that’s slowing me down. After I launch the new site, I’ll have six weeks to publish Geek Test 4.0—and that’s a hard deadline for my most overwhelming task. It’s the ten-year anniversary of the very first Geek Party where the very first version of the Geek Test was unveiled. It. Must. Happen.

But for now, I’m gunning for goal #2.