Tag: books

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.

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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!

Can a day be bad when it includes new books?

I can’t decide if today is a good day or a bad day.  On the plus side, a former coworker that I absolutely adore stopped by for a visit today; lunch was yummy (Green bean day at the cafe!  Woot!  Sounds weird, I know, but they make good green beans, trust me!); I finished all my projects this week, so today is slow enough that I was able to peruse one of my new books (more on that later) and catch up on my favorite knitting blogs; and, um, I think that’s it.  On the minus side, there’s the uber-pain in my back that wasn’t there yesterday; my throat has that I’m-getting-sick-and-you-can’t-stop-me feeling; one issue I wanted to handle today can’t be handled, because I don’t have the necessary paperwork with me; another issue is being ignored by an online entity for whom I have no phone number (Can I vague that up a bit?  Probably.); and yes, the whole throat thing sucks enough that I feel it should be mentioned twice.  So you can see my dilemma as I try to decide, is this a good day, or a bad day?  (Are you a good witch, or a bad witch?)

The Happy Hooker
 
Knit 2 Together

Since the jury is still out, and probably will be until I wake up tomorrow either sick or relieved not to be sick, I’ll move on to the books that arrived from Amazon yesterday: Knit 2 Together and Stitch ‘n Bitch Crochet: The Happy Hooker.  (New books! Squee!)  My first impression was, Damn, these books are heavy!  I had no idea the K2T book was going to be so dense!  I’ve since leafed through each book cover to cover, and even managed to read a bit (“hooking” is no longer an innocent term just because it refers to crochet!), and I can say that I don’t regret buying either book.  I am glad I only paid $5.50 for the K2T book, as most of the patterns are really not my cup of tea, but I think I might actually make a pair of those slippers (no DPNs required!).  The Happy Hooker, on the other hand, I’m positively gleeful about!  I can’t wait to expand my crochet horizons beyond the Log Cabin blankets I’ve been focussing on.  Crochet is so much quicker than knitting, which is a huge plus for my instant-gratification needs.  And, no DPNs!  I can make all kinds of cute hats (I assume) without DPNs or seams!  Yes, I love this book, and as always, I love Stoller’s writing style, and I can’t wait to try all the techniques beyond the single and double crochet stitches I’ve already mastered.

So bottom line is, when I get home tonight, Knit 2 Together will join my other pattern books on the shelf, and look very pretty there, and I’ll probably take it out every once in awhile when I’m looking for inspiration; and The Happy Hooker and I will be spending some quality time on the couch with a few boxes of yarn while I look for the perfect project to take on.

So maybe not such a bad day after all?

Categories
Knitting and Crochet

Amazon book sale?

I was surfing Amazon, as I sometimes do when my work projects are stalled until other people get me the stuff I need*, and I found Knit 2 Together: Patterns and Stories for Serious Knitting Fun there, for only $5.50!  Um, what?!  Confused, I looked at the other books on the knitting page, and saw that three of the top five sellers were marked down to under $6!  Sale? Data entry error?  Not sure, but in case you’re looking for some new books, hurry on over to Amazon and check out:

Knit 2 Together for $5.50
Knitting for Peace: Make the World a Better Place One Stitch at a Time for $3.99
Stitch ‘n Bitch Nation for $3.19

*Necessary disclaimer in case my boss is reading this.