Tag: off-topic

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!

Categories
Blogs

Drinking game!

I realize I am way late in finding this gem, as it was originally posted in March of 2006, but now that I’ve found it, I want to make sure I remember where it is:

Needles & hooks: Knitting Blog Drinking Game

So clever!  And so true–lordy knows I’m guilty of more than one of those drinking triggers myself! 

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?

New book, new graphic

I’m ridiculously happy with my new header graphic.  As much as I liked the old one, it was still the generic header that came with the pre-made theme–I didn’t want my laziness for design to prolong the initial launch of the blog, way back when.  Fortunately, my laziness with regard to laundry meant I finally took the time to at least change the header.  Not sure what else I’ll change–so far I like all the presets with the Leone theme. 

In other news, I was in Barnes and Noble last week where I picked up Charmed Knits: Projects for Fans of Harry Potter.  Harry Potter! And knitting patterns!  Two of my favorite things, all wrapped up in one package!  There wasn’t enough squee in the world when I found this little gem.

I haven’t read it cover to cover yet, just flipped through it, but so far I like it.  I’m not so sure I’ll be knitting any of the patterns, though.  My attention span is too short for any of the sweaters; I don’t like DPNs, so the socks and mittens are out; and the needles sizes are so small for most of the patterns–I may have missed it, but so far the largest needles I’ve seen mentioned are nines, yikes!  (ETA:  Wait, no!  Just saw that 13s are used for Ron’s Animal Crackers Hat, page 144.)  The Clock Blanket (page 29) is tempting, though.  And a huge plus can be found on page 141, where the author has included a row-by-row stitch pattern in addition to a chart for the cables on Hermione’s Cabled Hat–books so rarely include the row-by-row breakdown for those of us who are chart-challenged!

So yes, my initial impression is SQUEE!  If I change my mind, I’ll let you know. 🙂

Categories
Knitting and Crochet

Knitting vs. Crochet?

I’m taking a break from the evil tank top, mostly because I’ve reached the part where I’ll have to take copious notes to keep track of where I am, which makes it less mindless knitting, my preferred method of knitting.  So instead, I’m working on another log cabin blanket, again crocheted, again from Plymouth Encore (specifically, the yarn I purchased when I went to Handmade) in shades of orange, yellow and pink.  It’s nearly finished–double crochet is SO MUCH QUICKER than single crochet, I tell you!  I’ll post pictures soon.

In other news, I wanted to share this comic.  The dialogue is from a conversation that occurred on one of my other posting boards; the graphics came from the really nifty web app at stripcreator.com; and the two were joined in blissful, hilarious harmony by one of the members of my posting board. I think it highlights the differences between knitting and crochet rather perfectly, don’t you? 😀

And if you decide to create something yourself with StripCreator, please post a link here, I’d love to see it!