2017 book 8

Barbara Bretton's Casting Spells
Am I the target audience for a paranormal romance fantasy cozy mystery knitting series? You betcha I am. And this one is charmingly written, which is a bonus, because it could have been a lot sillier and I still would have liked it. PARANORMAL ROMANCE KNITTING MYSTERY!!!!! Like wow. I love it. I mean, of course it is mildly cheesy, and the mystery is perfunctory at best, and there were a lot of missing commas, but the author is CLEARLY a knitter, and it was just a super enjoyable read. A-.

stuff

Lego cookie cutter! I need this. Also, Cupcake Milkshake!

Nick Bertozzi does The Awakening (Arianne commented that she would totally buy this--me too! And so would every women's studies/lit undergrad. Someone needs to get on this).

I'm actually surprised it took so long for a Twilight-branded version of Wuthering Heights.

The day after her father disowned her for her novel, Randa Jarrar won an award! (I really liked her book.)

Fun Alton Brown interview.

Hey, should we knit little blankets for shelter animals? Thinking of those poor little puppies and kittens all lonely and bereft just breaks my heart. There are lots of participating shelters all over, it looks like.

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Originally uploaded by wordnerdy

I finally finished knitting this blanket, which has been the bane of my existence for two months. I think it came out pretty well, but the purling sections made me nuts. Now I just have to weave in the ends, and find a baby to give it to!

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Originally uploaded by wordnerdy

Check it out--lizard ridge is done! As promised, my mom finished sewing all the squares together before Thanksgiving and I brought it home with me. It's huge--like almost big enough to be a bedspread--and I have no idea what to do with it! It seems too nice to just cuddle up under and watch tv.

Now back to knitting a baby blanket for friends (almost done!) and then I get to play with all the pretty new yarn I got in Pittsburgh. I just have to decide what project to try first . . .

vampires and more!

I know all my loyal readers are desperate to know--have I really not read a book all week?? The answer is yes! And it's not an issue of a dearth of new reading material--I have a stack of a few appealing titles. It's just that I've been knitting a baby blanket for friends C+C, and there's a deadline on that kind of knitting project. First I was knitting and watching Dr. Who (I still haven't adjusted to David Tennant, but I'm early in season 2) and as of yesterday I've been knitting and watching True Blood (thanks Mike!). Gotta get my Sookie Stackhouse fix! It's surprisingly loyal to the first book, though they've made Tara and Lafayette more important to the story, and Jason is somehow even skeevier.

Speaking of vampire stories--here's an NY Times piece on making the Twilight movie.

Anyway, my reading may be light this week as well, since I'm working a few nights this week and thus am missing my usual evening reading time. Sad, I know.

some library-related links

Lego Batgirl! (Batgirl is a librarian.)

A library has banned a children's knitting group. Seriously, WTF. (Via Ravelry and Unshelved)

This new book collecting Stan and Jan Berenstain's cartoons is notable for the one that takes place in a library (see the link). I love how horrified the librarian is that someone would ask for comic books.

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Originally uploaded by wordnerdy

I made some legwarmers this past week--I don't have a good picture of me wearing them (it's surprisingly hard to get a good shot of your own legs) but I made them long enough that I can scrunch them down if I want to. Of course it's not really legwarmer weather here at the moment, but I made them just for the fun of it, really.

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Originally uploaded by wordnerdy

Yay, I finished knitting my Argosy scarf! I still need to block it, but I really hate blocking (I only have a mini ironing board at my disposal, and the cat will mess with it anyway). I always love knitting with Noro yarn though, b/c you never know what color will come up next.

2008 book 24

Jacqueline Winspear's Maisie Dobbs
Elizabeth recommended this to me--it's the first book in a series about a young woman detective in the late 1920s. In this volume, the mystery takes a back seat to her backstory, as we learn about her humble roots, her generous benefactor, and her stint as a nurse in France during WWI. On the whole it was enjoyable (though not as good as the Laurie King Mary Russell books), aside from a really silly interlude where Maisie explains how she solved the mystery. Also, she says "golly!" more than once. Heh. B.

Meanwhile, I am super annoyed b/c my macbook suddenly isn't working with my wireless! And my other computer barely works at all, which makes book blogging a very frustrating endeavor. Good thing I started knitting two new scarves today! (While watching the Colin Firth Pride and Prejudice movie, no less.)

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Originally uploaded by wordnerdy

I've finished a few knitting projects recently--this scarf will be sure to keep me warm at Midwinter! I'm a little obsessed with Noro yarns right now--I almost want to knit a scarf to match the hat I made!

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Originally uploaded by wordnerdy

I whipped up a new pair of wristwarmers tonight during the NBC comedy block--a perfect Thursday night combination! My previous pair is something like five years old and pretty worn out, and it's been fricking freezing at work, so immediate action needed to be taken!

And check it out--it's been almost a year since I posted a picture of any of my knitting. That's because I've been busy cranking out baby blankets for several friends who occasionally read this, and I didn't want to ruin the surprise! Also, I've had some major knitter's block--I need some new projects but can't find any that inspire me. Have any of you knitted something fun recently?

news for knitters

The latest Stitch 'n' Bitch book, which is a whole collection of patterns for dudes, is available for preorder . . . and my friend Stef has a pattern in it! It's even on the cover!! (I believe it's the one on the far left.) She is a knitting superstar!

cute sweater

Stef, who was kind enough to teach me how to knit back when we were freshmen in college (ah, nostalgia! Remember when all our boyfriends and guy friends joined our Stitch 'n' Bitch group, making the bitching a lot harder? Those were the days), has an awesome sweater pattern up at Magknits. Yay Stef!!