Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

It's been a long time since I've read any of J.K. Rowling's books. So I forgot most of the minor plot details in the last Harry Potter book. It's probably better that way, the whole book VS movie issue.

Watching the movie Friday night reminded me of the book my sister gave me a few years ago, Charmed Knits. It's a cute book, but I still have only made the hat from that post three years ago.

Three years ago! That's a long time in blogging years.

Ok, back to the book. There are THOUSANDS of projects from the book on ravelry.

There are 128 versions of the elf tea cozy hat alone.

Here's my version from 2007, in case you didn't go back in time to look:

Purl Necklace

unfortunately, that's more what my "purl necklace" looks like more than pearls.



It's my first project from DomiKNITrix.

It did certainly whip me into shape, per the book's tagline. Lots of tiny increases and decreases, and different ways of increasing and decreasing. Good practice. Not sure how I feel about the finished product. Strangely organic.

It could be a spider egg sac. Or a bunch of them.

shivers

How Tuesday: how to see this project

Join Ravelry, suckas!!!

http://www.ravelry.com/projects/hybridclothes/the-mc

This book, Get Your Crochet On, has a good amount of cute hats, endless variation, basic color theory, and basic crochet instructions. Get it. And join ravelry and show me your MC hats!

Chicken Contest!

Hey happy readers!

I know I promised to do Tutorials on Tuesday, but, well, I'm not very good with rules. Even ones I make myself. However, this little contest will get you started on a chicken-how-to.

I know a lot of ya'll are the crafty gardening types. And one of the crazily simple ways to be nice to your garden is to have chickens. Yes. You. Chickens.

The pros: they eat bugs. they eat weeds. They poop, and their poop is great in the compost pile. they lay eggs. You can craft with their feathers. They're pretty easy to care for, and not very time-consuming.

The cons: they eat ALL bugs they can catch. they will eat some of your seedlings. They poop wherever, and you do need to age it a bit so you won't get nitrogen burn on your little plant-a-loons. People might thing you're weird, especially if you craft with their feathers. Depending on your area, you might not be able to legally keep chickens.

If you're interested in chickens and need to start off on your research, I've got the contest for you. I've got a copy of Keep Chickens: Tending Small Flocks in Cities, Suburbs, and Other Small Spaces. And it can be yours.

I got it at Powell's last month. I read it, but it's not really good as a chicken owner's reference. But it IS great for folks who are thinking of chickens and need a jumping off point, an idea about what to have when you first get your chicks, and what to expect the first couple months of life.

Keep Chickens can be yours. All you gotta do is leave me a comment with one bit of chicken lore, a chicken fact, or a good name for a chicken. I'll randomly select a winner next Tuesday!

Now I can post Christmas presents. First, what the newest nephew got

The Seija Blanket from Happy Hooker in a lovely green/black/offwhite for my new nephew:


as modeled by the fiance


and onesies!


yeah, that IS a mustache on that onesie. what's it to ya?


and a helephant!


and on the elephant bootie:


That's all for now! More tomorrow.

p.s. i got loop-d-loop on sale, and what Eagle Lodge has to do with YOU.

Yep, the book. I wanted to get it when it came out because there were a few intriguing patterns. But really, I did not need the book at all, especially for the original price. I found it at Powell's for 11.98. Yep, the lovely Powell's on Hawthorne, the one with all the craft and gardening and home books.

The cover features a scarf that is pretty nifty. Easy to make sans pattern, but cute in a Jacob Marley way.

I like the one sleeved tank: here's a finished version someone put up on craftster. I like that it looks easy to make as well...

I also like the yoke vest. That link is also to a craftster post. The image in the book features a vest with a more standupish collar. I think it's begging for a snug shirt underneath and maybe a conversion of the collar into a hood. Hopefully this'll get me to knit a sweater type thing. I also like the lace leaf pullover. And the Fair Isle Hooded Capelet.

There are some patterns which I am pretty close to hating though. Braided-bodice wench blouse? No. And the cashmere lace blouse is not awesome. Actually, it's really ugly.

On more marital-related news, Eagle Lodge, Eagle Lodge, Eagle Lodge. Cheaper than initially quoted, the Eagle Lodge comes with a board of trustees that votes on each event (Record Sales!, Rummage Sales!, apparently lots of wedding receptions too!). The spacious enough Eagle Lodge features two rooms, a good sized dance floor, a modest stage perfect for brothers and uncles to get up and play the guitar on. Also, kids are welcome in the reservable area, and in the video game area whilst accompanied by an adult. Two pool tables are available for the over 21 crowd. A full bar. Sorry, no open bar, but with the budget we're working with this is how it's gotta be. And no wedding would be complete without video poker availability at the reception. Yeah.

Interestingly, the Eagles Lodge became the nesting area for local Eagles in 1977. Yes, dear readers, that's correct. 1977 is the year in which the fiance and I were born! It's also the year Elvis died. Also, the Raiders were still in Oakland and they more than doubled the Vikings score in the SuperBowl. Carter pardoned most Vietnam draft dodgers in February of the same year. And Uranus was in the news - that's the year astronomers discovered rings around Uranus. (Uranus uranus uranus uranus... I think it's out of my system now).

Wait.

Apparently it's not out of my system. I just asked the Fiance "Guess what year astronomers discovered rings around Uranus." His "shut up" reply sent me into giggles. "No seriously, it's a serious question." "Shut up." "Anyway, it was 1977," really, I thought he would be excited. "Yeah, real f*#&ing funny. 'Cause that's the year I was born. Hilarious." See what I'm working with? Two of us who think like 12 year olds. Uranus. hahahahah.

uh... back to The Year of the Fire Snake, 1977. Martin Luther King Junior was awarded the Medal of Freedom in July. If only they would've awarded him that Medal before, if only it could have deflected that terrible bullet. Carter signed the Department of Energy into being. In August, the Son of Sam was arrested.

Vaguely related, I strongly feel that the president should be someone like Carter, in that they WORK and know what it's like to be a normal human with a normal job and stressors, and go back to being a peanut farmer or whatever after their term.

Yeah. So, dearly beloved, get ready to rock the Eagle Lodge come May 23rd.

Charmed Knits: Projects for Fans of Harry Potter

My sister got me the book as a Christmas gift. I figured I oughta make her something as a thank you, and since she just had a beautiful baby boy, and I needed something QUICK, the elf hat was perfect.

I started it at the PDX Crafty Vixen get together today, and finished it... later today.



It's a quick knit that's easy for beginner knitters. It's all garter stitch with easy finishing. I think I might make more hats that are based on the rectangle. While I stitched this hat for the little one, I realized that the rectangle was the basic shape of the hat that a friend's mom had made for my fiance years ago. Only THAT hat had pompoms and was stitched together slightly differently :)