Author: Polgara

Harry Potter week

No updates in a week?? I am a very bad blogger. But truth be told, I’ve barely touched a strand of yarn all week.  Instead, all my free time has been devoted solely to Harry Potter–Goblet of Fire, Order of the Phoenix, and the Half-Blood Prince, to be exact.  As the release date for the seventh and final Harry Potter book draws inexorably nearer, I’ve been frantically trying to finish my re-read of all six of the preceding books.  I really should’ve started way sooner than I did, given how slow a reader I am.  The first two were no problem, since I have them both as audio cds as well as text, so I was able to listen to them whilst crocheting.  Prisoner of Azkaban has always been my favorite, so I zipped through that one, no problem.

But then came Goblet of Fire, one of my least favorite of the series, and impossibly long.  It took me forever to read that one, but I finally finished it last Thursday night, giving me only a week to read the last two, also impossibly long, books, so guess what my weekend consisted of? I felt like a college student trying to cram an entire semester’s worth of knowledge into my head the night before a final.  My sleep has been marred by feverish dreams of racing down dark hallways and trying to placate bickering best friends.  With nearly every spare moment devoted to Harry and friends (I took two breaks–one to see Transformers and the other to see Order of the Phoenix, although that second one doesn’t technically qualify as a break, I guess), all I’ve been able to think about in my non-spare moments is of course Harry and friends.  I’ve been avoiding phone calls and posting boards and yes, this blog, in my efforts to be as ready as I can be for Friday night’s midnight release of possibly the most anticipated book ever.

I’m almost there–only 230 pages to go.  Maybe then I’ll be able to take the two minutes to upload the picture of the pretty crochet square that I promised last week, which of course still isn’t finished.

Categories
Blogs

Hooks and Books

crop woman crocheting soft pink scarf
Photo by Anete Lusina on Pexels.com

First up, a sale!
If you’re a subscriber to Knitting Daily, then you’re already aware that Interweave Press is having a “hurt book” sale, selling off damaged books at deeply discounted sales.  I was verra excited about this, as I’ve been barely holding back purchasing 200 Crochet Blocks and I figured this would be the perfect incentive.  Until, that is, I went to the website.

Now, I’m at work, which means I’m on a pretty fast connection–usually.  The Hurt Books website, however, is agonizingly slow.  Like, having a car park right on your foot and the driver can’t hear you so he leaves it there for awhile, slow. Agonizing.  But I stuck it out, ’cause I wanted that book.  Took about 20 minutes, but I finally got the main page, then the “shopping” page, then the specific book page to open.  (Three pages, 20 minutes. Why don’t they just stick a pen in my eye and get it over with?)  I added it to my cart. (Another five minutes.)  Then it was time to check out! Except….there was no link to my cart.  No “view cart”, no “checkout” button, no nuthin’ to indicate it was even a shopping site.  WTF?! I had to go back to the homepage (……………..load already!…….) to find a “View Cart” link in the left nav, and when I clicked on it?  A 404.

I gave up.  A half hour to buy a book at 50% off, and no way to checkout?  I’d rather pay Amazon’s price.

Now granted, it’s entirely possible, even probable, that the site’s problems are due to a higher than usual traffic rate, but in the end, it just wasn’t worth it to me. But if you want to try it out, I wish you luck, speed, and much patience. 🙂

In Crochet News
Last week I was doing my usual blog sweep, and found the coolest bag on L.A. Is My Beat. It’s called “Larger Than Life,” the pattern for which was included in the spring issue of Interweave Crochet. It was so beautiful, with so many vibrant colors, I just had to have one! I hit Borders on Independence Day and picked up a copy of the magazine, and I got started on my first square this past Sunday.

Wow, it’s harder than it looks!  Also, it’s my first square, so I’m still learning the basics, but this square is definitely teaching me lots!  It’s not finished–one more round to go–and I have no pictures yet, but this first one is yellow in the center, green in the middle layer, and purple on the outside–perfect Mardi Gras colors, actually.  I’m verra proud of it so far, and can’t wait to make more, but it requires concentration, which makes it difficult to work on when there are distractions, like conversations and dvds and inquisitive cats.  I’ll try to remember to take a picture tonight.

Also this weekend, I crochet my first flower, from a pattern in The Ultimate Sourcebook of Knitting and Crochet Stitches.  It was easy–boring, really.  I made two, one in yellow, one in purple.  I’ll take pictures of those tonight, too.

And finally, today I brought Grace’s blanket with me to work.  I’ll be weaving in ends and adding a lime-green sc border during lunch, as it’s about time I got both hers and Noah’s blankets finished, washed and delivered to their rightful homes.

And that’s what’s up with me in the world of yarn.  I haven’t picked up the knitting needles in what seems like ages–crochet is just so much easier and quicker.  Maybe once these projects are complete, I’ll try to knit some booties from a little booklet I got at the grocery store checkout line.

Until then, always remember, you’re only young once, but you can be immature forever! 😀

Vampire People @ Barnes & Noble

Will the Vampire People Please Leave the Lobby?I’ve been terribly lax in updating this week, for which I’m very sorry.  It’s been a busy week, with both ups and downs, and very little time for yarn work.  The biggest up is that my friend Allyson’s first book, Will the Vampire People Please Leave the Lobby?, became available exclusively at Barnes & Noble stores across the country on Friday, about a week earlier than any of us expected.  Friends from NY to Florida, Iowa to Texas and California, have been reporting back with stories on how they found the book, how they chatted up the store employees to generate bookseller interest, how they took pictures (and posted them) of the book on display, and finally how they felt upon reading the essays nestled within the covers.  It’s been a big weekend for those of us chronicled in this book about how an internet community based around fandom (in this case, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Firefly fandoms) can change a life.  Specifically, it’s about how it changed Allyson’s life, but so much of it describes how it changed many lives, mine included.

And if you’re reading this blog, I’d wager your life has also been changed by online interactions with strangers around the world, and if that’s true, you should stop by your local B&N and look for Will the Vampire People Please Leave the Lobby? by Allyson Beatrice.  Leaf through it, maybe read a page or two (I’d recommend the chapter entitled “The Internet Wants Your Daughters”), and if you like what you see, buy a copy and bring it home.  And as you’re reading it, everytime you come across a mention of Allyson’s friend Paula, you can think to yourself, “Hey, I know her–I read her blog!”

P.S. It’ll be available in all other bookstores as of August 1st!

Best/Aiko Hybrid Amigurumi Bunny

Amigurumi BunnyThe bunny is nearly finished. I gave up on the body from katcrochet.com (tell me that doesn’t look like a vase!) and instead used the body from LionBrand’s Best Bunny (pattern #60480A), which worked much better. I was going to use the legs from the Best Bunny, but they were too stout, so those became the arms, and I went back to the Aiko pattern for the legs. So to sum, head, ears and legs are from Aiko, and the body and arms are from Best Bunny.

As this is my first toy, this is also my first time assembling a toy, and gah, did it suck! As you can see, the arms are not even–one is higher than the other.  Blech.  And in my attempt to not make the same mistake with the legs, I made them too close together.  Blech again.  On the bright side, the ears are perfect, IMHO.  On the not bright side, my decreases are too wide and hole-y, so you can see the stuffing around his midsection, which won’t work if I decide to make another in a brighter color.

He’s not finished yet, because, obviously, he’s lacking a face.  I’m askeared of the face, as it requires embroidery, which is so not my strong suit.  Right now, he’s a freak without a face (bonus points if you recognized that reference).  I do have the embroidery thread, so he may have a face soon, if I can figure out how to do it.  I wonder if wikipedia has anything on how to embroider a bunny face?

Ok, so now that I’ve finished the critiquing of my own work, can I just say, “Squeeeeeeeeeeeee! Isn’t he the cutest thing ever?!!”  Hee!

Aiko the Amigurumi Bunny

As I sat here all freakin’ day waiting for an overnighted delivery (4:30, they showed up–4:30!), I worked on my first amigurumi animal, Aiko the bunny.  It’s been a little frustrating, as the pattern has a couple of mistakes, and the body appears to be half the size of the head, and shaped like a vase, and looks nothing like the picture.  Maybe it’ll all become clear once I’ve stuffed the pieces (no polyfill in the house), but at the moment, I’m looking at it all and wondering if I’ve wasted my day on something that can never work as written.  Poop.