A Nice Day

Spent some time today taking Jessica's advice and putting my FO and Stash pictures up on my Flickr account. I'd never used Flickr before, having always had a Photobucket account, but I like Flickr much more :D

Got up at nine this morning and went swimming, which was wonderful, and made headway on another Lizard Ridge Block. I want to attempt to knit through my stash of Kureyon before starting a different project, which should only take me a week or so; I have three balls including this one. May get more at Unwind when Mom goes to Fort Walton this week. Soon, though, I may be having to order purely online. Anyone know of a cheap Kureyon provider??

Oh, and I forgot to show you guys my new wallet that Mom bought me at Disney!:


Tink, of course! :D

Don't forget to sign up for the Official Knitter's Book Swap, and tell your friends!

FO: Hogwarts Hip Scarf

The answer to the question What Was the Bag of Ends for is upon us!

The bag of ends was for the Hogwarts Hip Scarf from Charmed Knits: Projects for Fans of Harry Potter! I finished knitting it the day after I got to my dad's but weaving in the ends was something else entirely! It took me a good three days. I spray blocked it Monday, but the wool kept twisting in a spiral when I wore it today. I'm either going to block it majorly with warm water or just let it be. Probably going to let it be.

The pattern is fantastic and easy, I'll probably make a couple more to wear as head scarves in different colors. I used Cascade 200 left over from my Gryffindor Scarf (Movies 1&2 style) that I made in my senior year and not the recommended Superwash. It didn't even take a full ball of the red, much less the yellow.




By all rights, I should have two FOs for you today, but my one skein of Debbie Bliss Cashmerion Aran wasn't enough for the cabled fingerless mitts I'm fashioning, so that'll have to wait until I can get some more. That is the FOUR ROWS AND A THUMB will have to wait. FOUR ROWS!!!

I'm going to cast on another Lizard Ridge square, maybe tonight, maybe tomorrow. Tomorrow morning i'm going to get up and swim, and I need to work on my novel and want to spend some time reading, but Lizard Ridge calls.

I think I hinted at my dad none-too-subtly enough that he may get me a Bookmate which would be awesome!

A few sign-ups received for the Official Knitter's Book Swap I assume some peopel are waiting until they know what they're sending. I knew as soon as I thought up the idea :D

Official Knitter's Book Swap Vol. I

Here goes! The Official Knitter's Book Swap begins! I'm calling it Vol I, because I figure if it works okay we could do it perhaps quarterly, and maybe with themes (YA novel, Chicklit etc), but for this time here's the deal:

1. Pick your favorite book.

2. Email me at lildramatic4760[at]gmail[dot]com by 7:00 PM EDT Thursday, June 14th with the following information:

Name:

Email Address:

Actual Address:
Blog/Website URL:

Book Title and Genre (or at least genre):

Genres you absolutely won't read, even if tied down and with the book held in front of your face for two years):

Any Other Information:

3. Pimp this on your blog

4. Attain a copy of the book you're going to send. Make notes in it, draw pictures (not taking away from the text) and include a bookmark if you want (that part's optional.). Besure to prepare a note card and stick it in there identifying yourself so they can let you know they received it and you can chat about the book (not optional!!!)

5. Receive your book recipient by June 16th and be ready to mail your book by the 20th

6. Receive your new book. Alert your swap partner that you have received it so that they don't curse the USPS (or whatever Postal Service, this is international!) for no reason. Read book. Talk about book on blog and such.

Questions answered before you ask them:

Does it matter what kind of book I send?

No, although preferably not a book about knitting. This is a swap between knitters, but not necessarily about knitting. The Friday Night Knitting Club or The Knitting Circle: A Novel would be okay, but not-so-much Sensational Knitted Socks. (Although, eventually we should do a knitting book swap)

Do I reveal myself to my partner?

Not before they receive the book. Be sure to include a card (tucked inside the book) with your name or handle, email address and blog so they can let you know what they think of the book!

Will the person I send to send to me?

No. You will receive from someone and send to someone just like any other swap.

Where did this idea come from?

The myriad of swaps out there, particularly the Knitterly Letter Swap.

Why don't you have a pretty banner for the swap? I want a pretty banner!

So do I. I fail at banner making. Anyone want to take up the challenge, comment here.




Look, Erin at Literate Knits made us a pretty button for blogs!!! Yay!

So there we go! Comment with any questions and let other's know what we're doing over here. The more the merrier!!!!!!

Favorite Book Swap

I posted about this over on the L&V messageboards and I was wondering if anyone would be interested in doing a Favorite Book Swap? Not knitting books necessarily, but sending a favorite book, maybe with notes in it, to another knitter so that they can share in the love and maybe discuss it with you. It'd be a way to get to know other knitters and read good books at the same time!

Interested?

Lizard Blocks and Bags of Ends (No Odds)

Well, if the trip to my dad's was good for one thing, it was knitting. I already told you all about the yarn stores, but I also got a fair bit of knitting done.

For a bit of yarn pr0n, that's Debbie Bliss cashmerino DK and I'm planning on making socks with the blue as the heel and toes. Pretteh, no? I really like it. I also picked up a ball of Cashmerino Aran, because I'm plan on making my Wicked out of that, and I wanted to try it out.





As for FOs, this one's not completely finished yet, but this bag is all the ends I had to weave in for it. I ended up duplicate stitching them in thanks to Thersea's tutorial on Knitty and that seemed to work well. Pictures once it's blooked.


I got four Lizard Ridge blocks done in between the day before we left (last Friday) and yesterday. It would have been Friday-to-Friday, but it got too dark on the ride home. Here they are in all their glory. Clockwise it's: 147, 150, 209 and 175 aka Witch's Lake, Winter Store, Gelly Roll and Rose Garden. (Gelly Pen because that one reminds me of the gel pens I was obsessed with at thirteen)


That's about it. I plan to spend today working on editing the novel I wrote for last year's NaNoWriMo and working on my gloves. I'll also be listening to podcasts and waiting anxiously for my Ravelry invite still.... :D

Musing on Yarn Stores and Other Thoughts

My titles sound a bit like titles of Panic! At the Disco songs....

So, I'm down in South FL visiting my dad. He's been working down here, so Mom and I brought Jacob (my brother) and Adam (my nephew) aka the two hyenas to visit. I wasn't wanting to come, but yarn crawls were promised, and crawl we did!

Details and pictures of the yarns later, but for now some musings on stores.

We went to three places, The Knit and Stitch in Cocoa, Stitchworm in St. Petersburg and Knit 'n' Knibble in Tampa.

Some had better stock than others; Stitchworm didn't have Noro which I was after, but they did have some nice pretty yarn.

One thing that struck me in all of them was something I've seen in all Florida yarn stores. Older proprietors and customers (in general, although some young employees), all of whom sit around at a table talking. Very nice, but people in browsing aren't brought into the conversation which could seem a little stand-off-ish. At the same time, I don't like it when a proprietor shoves yarn in my face. I know what I like, and I don't need you to tell me without me asking a question.

The locations of stores is also interesting to me. In Atlanta Why Knot Knit is in a little house smushed up between wearhouses, and Knitch is in a conberted firehouse. Both unique, charming and adding to the display of wonderful yarns. In Florida they're mostly in strip centers, even my LYS, which isn't bad, just more generic leading to a fairly generic feel inside.

Not all the stores can support the designer yarns, understood, although one yarn store in FL that I didn't go to, but saw online seemed to have mostly Lion Brand. Fiber snob I may be, but, seriously? Notsomuch.

Overall, though, most stores have basically the same thing, so it really is the display and the atmosphere that makes or breaks a store. Knit 'n' Knibble (which, unfortuately, I continually read as Knit 'n' Kibble) is really good as far as selection, lots of Cascade, Noro and so on. Their idea is good, coffee and such, but I wouldn't so much say that have a café as they serve coffee, similarly to Knitch. Not bad, though.

I think, though, my favorite store would have to be the Knit and Stitch, because while they are small they are very nice, entertained the hynenas while my mom and I were shopping and were just generally a good store.

A lot of Florida yarn stores don't have websites, which makes it difficult to decide which to visit. They seem to be the only Florida enterprise not aimed specifically at tourists....

I need to review A History of Hand Knitting, but before I do that; I read a fantastic book that my dad bought me at Barnes and Noble last night entitled When I Was a Soldier

It's a memoir of a girl, Valèrie Zenatti, who was born in France but lives in Israel from the age of thirteen and is thus drafted into the army. The book very expertly juxtaposes her pre-army life with her experiences in the service. I saw myself and my friends in her, and had to imagine what our pampered, in college selves would do were we forced into military service. Not fare well, I think.

The book is very well written, jumping between diary entries and narrative, but all first person. It is well-translated from the French. My one complaint is that the end comes fast, but overall it's a very well written book. Definitely worth the read and a good reminder that the American way isn't the only way people grow up.

Mkay, massive picture post when I get home!

Charms and Color!

Ladies and Gentlemen, presenting my first colorwork! It's a washcloth/display piece for my best friend's eighteenth birthday, knit in cable cotton and it needs to be blocked, but it's done!

I got the letters from the Knitter's Alphabet and I probably could have just as easily duplicate stitched it, but I felt the need to try stranded colorwork, and it went pretty well!

Next up will be the twelfth Lizard Ridge square.







Today, before my follow-up eye appointment my mom and I stopped by Books-A-Million, where I picked up a copy of Alison Hansel's Charmed Knits


I've wanted it for ages, and it was between that and The Yarn Harlot's Stephanie Pearl-McPhee Casts Off! I really wanted both, but since the Potter Premieres are in July, I decided that Charmed Knits was more time-sensitive.


I really like most of the patterns in it; and the Hip House Scarf is going directly on my To-Knit list, and will be knit after the Lizard Ridge block, as I have yarn left over from the Gryfindor scarf I knit last year. After that will eventually be Hermione's Magical Knitting Bag, Hermione's Cable and Bobble Hat, the Quidditch socks and the Invisability Shawl. Also, probably, the Snitch tree ornament and Errol for my friends for Christmas. Also, eventually and ambitiously the Clock Blanket.

Some of the projects are a little out there for me, like Molly's Amazing Technicolor Housecoat, and of course I haven't any kids to knit for (my brother and nephew live in Florida. Not so much on the sweaters, although maybe an elf-hat at some point), but I think that's what makes the book well rounded.

I also really like that the yarns are mostly common and affordable; some from Knitpicks and a lot of Cascade 220, which is readily available at my LYS.

Overall, I'm VERY impressed!!!!!

We're heading off to south Florida on Friday, and I'm really hoping to make a couple of yarn crawls with my mom, and shall update then, of course!