You Have Been Assimilated

Sorry about that, but as you know, resistance is futile. So anyway, remember how on Friday I said I wanted to have Hugh done by Monday? I worked super fast, and I finished the knitting on Saturday afternoon. Then I stuck it in the washing machine with no detergent for about ten minutes. When I pulled it out, it weighed about twice as much as it should, and it took forever to wring it out. Once I got most of the water out, I laid it out on cardboard and towels:

(A few minutes after I took this, I got another piece of cardboard so the whole thing would be on it.) I left it there while I went to see some fireworks, and when I got home I ditched the cardboard and got fresh towels for the night. The next morning, it still was nowhere near being dry, so my mom and I hung it over a bunch of hangers on the shower rod. Then I figured I might as well do something while I waited, so I made this:

It's the final ruffle scarf for my mom (so I guess all the other ones should have been out of 18, not 17). Oh well. I'm just glad it's over, because just a few minutes ago I did this:

Hugh was finally dry, so I stitched up the ends, gave it to my mom, and it's all done now!

My mom and I went to Michaels on Sunday, since there was a really great coupon, and I'll show you what I got next time. Talk to you soon!

Recycling

Recycling is good, right? We all like recycling. So it's okay if I recycle this picture, right?

Because although I am now working on the 17th stripe, Hugh looks exactly the same (possibly a bit thicker). Since recycling is good for the planet, I figured why not? (Translation: I left off writing this until the absolute last minute and I don't have enough time to do a nice post with a new picture and a semi-witty title.) And yes, I know that my titles will never, ever, be described as "witty."

Have an awesome weekend! I am really pushing to try to get this done by Monday, so keep your fingers crossed for me!

Jelly Roll of Doom

I'm considering a name change from Hugh to Jelly Roll of Doom, and here's why:

I've never actually had a jelly roll before, and I've never seen a jelly roll before, but I would imagine it would something like that. Right now I'm on the 15th row of the 15th stripe, which means I have a total of 95 rounds left. And that makes me really happy.

I need to eat so I can get ready for my rehearsal (I get to wear saddle shoes and a poodle skirt! Oh the joys of the 50s), so I'm going to end this here. Talk to you soon!

Don't Look Now!

Don't look now, but it's a post! For the second day in a row! And would you believe that, but this thing has more stripes!

There's a total of 11 (I think, I'm counting based off the picture), which means I only have eight to go! Although I did realize yesterday that I was going to need more white yarn. My mom thought this was hysterical, since when I was making this monstrosity, she bought me way too much white yarn. So now, whenever we go to Michaels, she always asks me if I need more white yarn. And last night, I had to ask her for more white yarn. And since the yarn needs to be the same, so there won't be a difference between the white stripes, I had to get a whole pound. It's like a never ending cycle of white yarn hate.

Anyway, I should be all set to finish Hugh now! Talk to you (dare I say it?) tomorrow!

Yipes! Stripes!

Yeah, I'm pretty sure that's a book title, or maybe a puzzle or something. But it can also be applied to week-late blog posts:

I'm four rounds away from having seven whole stripes, and that means that I'm four rows away from having twelve stripes left. Ugh. I told you this one was going to take a while!

Tomorrow I (hopefully) will be posting my first book review. Maybe. You guys should know by now, I'm not really good at keeping to that kind of thing.

Oops

I never know how many Os to put in Oops...

Anyway, I think I got cocky. I was all, "Oh, I posted three days in a row, I got this!" And then two days with nothing. So since I owe you guys an update, the first book review is going to be next week. I do have some exciting news, though:

That's right, 15 of 17, 16 of 17, and (finally) 17 of 17! Now I'm down to one last scarf:

At least, one more scarf with a deadline. But more about that in a second. After much discussion with my mom, we settled on this pattern, which is actually for a Hogwarts scarf. Since this final scarf (I'm calling it Hugh, by the way) is for a guy, this seemed like a good way to go. One downside: it's taking a while. I'm at the very end of the third stripe (literally, there's one stitch left) of 19, which sort of stinks. Also, since the stripes are all the same length (22 rows), it's not quite as mindless as the ruffle scarves.

On the bright side, once I finish this one, I just have one more scarf to make. It's a ruffle scarf, just like the ones above, except it's black. And it's just something my mom wanted, so I don't need to worry about getting it done by a specific time. I am going to do it right after I finish Hugh though, or else I probably won't ever do it!

Have an awesome weekend, and a very happy Father's Day to any of the dads out there (especially mine)!

Threepeat

I'm running a bit late today, so this'll have to be a quickie. I just finished the knitting for 15 of 17, and I'll tack down the edges later tonight or tomorrow:

I know this hardly counts as a post, but hopefully tomorrow's will be a little more interesting.

A New Record

I'm posting two days in a row!!! It's a new record! (Not really. March of last year kind of rocked for me.) So check out 14 of 17:

Just like yesterday, I spent way too much time watching Doctor Who this morning (Well, I actually only watch two episodes. It could have been worse.) and my knitting is reaping the benefits. As in now it exists, and before it was a ball of yarn.

So after that, I felt a little guilty, and wanted to do something productive with my day. Being the neat freak I am, my first thought was, "Let's clean something!" I then proceeded to the perfectly logical step of drawing a map of my room:

which I am showing you for no apparent reason whatsoever. I actually measured my room from wall to wall, and all the furniture. And then drew it on graph paper (each square is six square inches, if you care). I really have no idea what the point of all this was.

One last thing before I go. About two months ago, before my, um, absence, I said I was going to start posting book reviews. And then I left. Anyway, my original plan was to post those on Thursdays, because those were my busier evenings, and I could write the posts ahead of time. That doesn't matter anymore, so I have a new plan. Any weekday that I don't have much of anything to post, I'll put up that week's review. And if (by some miracle) I have stuff to post every day, then it'll come on Friday.

That's it! Talk to you tomorrow!

I Think I'm Defective

What's the easiest way to stop a member of the collective in their tracks? Ask them if they're defective. What's the easiest way to stop these posts in their tracks? Assign me a research paper, three final exams, five standardized tests, a few assorted projects, and administer a huge dose of laziness. Seriously. That has basically been my life since the last time I posted. (Also, my French teacher made us this French apple tart thing for the last class, and I discovered that apricot jam tastes oddly like prunes. Because, you know. Logic.)

Anyway, as you might guess, I have a lot to show you now. Today is just going to be the Borg Scarves, since I have a lot of them.

First, 5 of 17 and 6 of 17:

I have no idea when I finished any of these (until we get closer to the end), so I'm not going to worry about those. Al I know is that 5 of 17 was finished before May 4, and 6 of 17 was after May 5. 7 of 17 is seen here with a friend:

On the left is the scarf my mom requested I make and give to her for Mother's Day. (So I guess 7 of 17 was done before Mother's Day.) Now, 8 of 17, 9 of 17, and 10 of 17:

Here we get to the point where I know things about stuff.  Sort of. I know that I tacked down the edges of all three of these just a little while ago, and that I finished the knitting for 12 of 17 and 13 of 17 yesterday, but I don't really know when I knit 11 of 17. At all.

I feel like I need to tell you something else that's pretty important. While I was gone, I became a Sherlockian and a Whovian. Yeah. (I actually just started Doctor Who yesterday, hence the two scarves finished yesterday.) I know totally understand the intense hatred of Moffat, and completely share in it. MOFFAT!!!!!!!

I'll hopefully be back tomorrow with a normal post (but we all know that may not happen). Talk to you soon!

Resistance is Futile

I know I promised this picture for Friday, but after my seriously crapolicious (that's a scientific term there, folks) day, I didn't feel like posting. So now you may enjoy:

3 of 17! (I think. They're all sort of blurring together.) Anyway, I tacked down the edges on Friday night, and because of the aforementioned crapoliciousness, I didn't do anything else productive until Saturday, when I started 4 of 17.

Random note: For the first four ruffle scarves I made (plus 1 of 17), I spent the entire knitting time untwisting the yarn as I went:

Unlike with normal yarn, a specific side has to be on top at ALL TIMES. Seriously. The scarf will start yelling if you don't get that right. So, as I was about to start 2 of 17, I had an idea (go ahead, gasp with shock). Before I started knitting, I took the time to wrap the yarn around my needle gauge (it was the first rectangular thing I found), like so:

Then, as I knit, I just turned the roll, and the yarn came off quite nicely. The first time, it took me about an hour. (Although, I was doing this while watching Sherlock Holmes: Game of Shadows for the first time. It's sort of distracting.) Since then, I have turned this into somewhat of an art. The second time, I tried it with the ball on the floor, and me standing on the chair. Despite the fact that I almost fell off the chair, it worked a lot better, and it only took about 20 minutes. Yesterday, I did it sitting on a short dresser (a few feet of the ground), which also worked well, and was less dangerous. I didn't time that very well, but it was around 15 minutes. I think it's definitely worth a few minutes to make the actual knitting go faster, and I do recommend doing some version of this if you're going to make a lot of these. 

Speaking of a lot (by the way, kudos to you if you read that whole paragraph), my mom went to Michaels (without me!) and got the rest of the yarn:

Yeah. I internally cried a little when I looked at all the yarn together. However, there is good news! I did finish 4 of 17 yesterday:

Yay! Alright, I know I said I was hoping for two FOs this weekend, but since I didn't post on Friday, I technically did show you two completed scarves today. Technically.

Anyway, I am fully wound and a few inches into 5 of 17. Maybe a FO tomorrow, maybe not. However it turns out, have a wonderful evening!

Tacky

I came very close to having another FO for you today:

I just have to tack down the ends, which I would have done, but something weird happened with the yarn right near the end, so it's going to take a little more precision than normal. I will have that done by tomorrow, though. My goal is to make two more this weekend (including tomorrow), since I know looking at endless pictures of the same scarf is pretty boring!

BOOOOKS

I am getting close to the end of 3 of 17 (and you thought I was going to forget), but there hasn't been any visible progress, so I'm recycling pictures:

because honestly, if that bugs you that much, how have you managed to stay here this longs? So now on to other stuff.....

I know I ended yesterday's post with sort of a cliffhanger, so I'm going to amend that right now. So you know how I said I love reading? I wasn't kidding. I seriously inhale books, and I've been doing it since kindergarten. After seeing my brother (in second grade) read the first few HP books, I wanted to, too. So my mom and I took turns, each reading one chapter aloud, until I decided she read too slow and just went and read it by myself. I haven't exactly slowed down since then, so I've decided to share my addiction with you guys! (Do you feel lucky? Because seriously, you shouldn't.)

Yesterday's description of The Return was the beginning of a new thing I'm going to try. I don't have a name for it, so it doesn't have a tag or anything (did you really think I thought this through?), but it's basically going to be book recommendations. I like to think I have a broad taste in books, but some of you may feel like I'm being really repetitive. I'm probably going to do it on Thursdays, since I'm never home on Thursday afternoons, and most of the time I don't end up posting. I'm not sure if I'll do it tomorrow, since I sort of did one yesterday, but whatever. I'll figure it out.

I hope you enjoy, and if you don't, then just don't come here on Thursdays. There'll be plenty of yarn addiction on other days! :)

3 of 17

Yesterday evening I was thinking, and I decided to incorporate my nerdiness into yet another aspect of my life. Therefore, I will be referring to all of these scarves like Borg. (The non-ruffly one is going to be Hugh. Seriously.) Meet 3 of 17:

Not quite finished, probably about halfway there. I kind of have Borg on the brain, because yesterday I finished The Return by William Shatner. My brother found it while cleaning out his bookshelves (yes, plural, we're a reading family) and gave it to me. (thanks!) It was really good, even though my TOS knowledge is very limited. (I know that he fought a Gorn in one of the episodes, and I've seen 3 of the TOS movies. That's pretty much it.) You do kind of need to be pretty familiar with TNG though, since that's where most of the characters are from. Yeah.

I was going to tell you about my latest completely idiotic brilliant idea, but I took way too long to do the first half of this, and I have to eat now. So something for you to look forward to for tomorrow!

Timewarp

I hope everyone had a nice weekend, and a happy Easter if you celebrate. Mine involved eating two servings of baby food: prunes and peas. (The prunes were easily one of the most disgusting things I've ever had, the peas were actually quite nice by comparison!) I kind of had a crazy weekend in terms of bloggables, starting with a shopping trip on Saturday. My original plan was to get this:

Hmm, that's not the picture I thought it was, but it does show some useful things. I got size 5 DPNs, not realizing I had already done so a few weeks ago, a charm I picked up on a whim, and some safety eyes. I also got that K hook, which will be explained momentarily.

Before you look at the next picture, explanations are in order. Remember how I made four ruffly scarves a while ago? And how I said I didn't want to make any more? Yeah, that's not going to work out:

My mom wants me to make a total of seventeen scarves for the members of a committee she runs. They're all going to be that white and blue ruffle yarn, except that black and white one, and a regular striped one using that blue yarn and white I already have. I totally would have said no, except she offered to pay me, and then I had this really great idea. (Well, I thought it was great....) A few days ago, I found this pattern for an Avatar blanket. And I really wanted to make it. Except the yarn for it would have cost about $40, taking into account I already have a few of the skeins I needed. Can you guess where I'm going with this? I asked my mom to buy the rest of the yarn I needed in exchange for making the scarves:

We had a pretty good coupon, so she agreed! Yay! I'm super excited to start working on it, and even more excited to have the finished product :). Right now, I'm going to focus on getting the scarves done. There was only enough yarn in that color for about half of the scarves, so I'm going to use up what I have right now, then start on my blanket! Speaking of which:

I'm already done with two of them, and I've also done a few inches on the third. 

I also bought a few other things: floss for the next segment of my HP cross stitch, and this frame:

Boy, am I glad to have this done! My aunt's birthday is this weekend, so it was perfect timing. Although the back is sort of ugly (yeah, I don't know why I used shiny duct tape either) I hope she'll like it!

I put one set of safety eyes to good use:

After finishing the head, making a new hair roll, and stitching down the collar and chest piece, all she needs is a crown! (And no, I have no idea how I'm going to pull that off.)

Just one more thing, I promise. I finally finished off the HP charm bracelet I've been collecting for for a while:

After messing around with spacing for a while, I decided not to use all the charms. In the end, I've kept the owl, crystal ball, dragon, "hippogriff," goblet/cup, tiara/diadem, and key. Basically, I left off the ones that take more interpretation. (Hey, they made sense to me!)

I'm pretty sure I warped time to get all this done. Seriously! Anyway, this is probably one of my longest posts, so I'm going to stop here. See you tomorrow!

Sayonara!!

I have done this:

And now I have these:

Well. I don't have them have them, because I gave the blue ones away, I'm going to do so with the purple one tomorrow, and I gave the last one to my mom today. (She's giving it to her friend, remember?) I still can't decide what to call that one (at least, not quickly). I mean, it's black, white, red, and grey. Why couldn't it just pick one color and go with it like the rest of them?! (Can you tell I didn't pick out that yarn?)

I have a bunch of stuff to do tonight, so I might not start the TTT, but I almost definitely will tomorrow.

The Force is with me....

I think I may have used some sort of magical force yesterday, because I did this:

And this:

All I have to do for the purple one is tack those ends down, which I'll probably do when I'm done with this. And yes, that is a tuba mouthpiece. I didn't feel like moving it. (It is only now occurring to me that if I had put the scarf on the other door handle it wouldn't have been in the picture.) For the other one, I have that little blob of yarn to do, then I'll be all done with that. And I think I'm going to take a nice, long break from ruffle scarves. While they are highly addictive, too much of a good thing is a bad thing. (By the way, I gave my friend the first two scarves today, and I ended up giving her both of them. I tried one on this morning and I wasn't a fan.)

Once I finish that business, I'll be free to start on my next project, which I've already done the prep work for:

OK, honesty time. I actually already started this, and I got half-way through the first row before I realized that I had started it one size too small. I ripped it out, highlighted the numbers I'm supposed to be using, then started the fourth ruffle scarf. Apparently they've become stupid-therapy for me. :)

I mentioned yesterday that I bought yarn to make Yoda:

See? Yoda yarn! Anyway, I was on Craftster on Sunday, and I found these awesome patterns for Star Wars mini amigurumi people/other things. I linked all fourteen patterns, but she has different deals for different numbers of patterns (that didn't make any sense). I'm going to get two: Yoda and the Ewok! Ewoks are my favorite. Seriously. I get more emotional over that one ewok dying than Qui-Gon, Padmé, and Obi-Wan combined. (Oh, right. Spoiler Alert!) I have everything I need now except the safety eyes (Michaels doesn't have them, but JoAnn apparently does) and the patterns. 

All the red lines in that paragraph are bothering me. Obviously, Blogger is not a Star Wars fan! :)

I've blabbered enough today. Go look at some yarn! See ya!

Prolific

That is such a fun word to say! It's relevant today because I got a ton done this weekend. Shall we take a look?

1. I finished the second ruffle scarf:

and here they are together:

I think this is from Friday night, but I'm not really sure. I'm home sick today (blech), so I'll give one of these away tomorrow.

2. After much thought (okay, I just did it on a whim) I frogged the Blossom Scarf, and am now the proud owner of these:

3. With that taken care of, I didn't have any short-term WIPs, so I decided to go through the time-out bag. First, I dug out the sequin skirt, and decided to just pull them all off. Here's what it looks like now:

Well, sort of. As you can see, my picture taking skills haven't improved any. That's now done and officially crossed off the list!

4. Next, I found the t-shirt quilt stuff and a pile of t-shirts. I spent about an hour cutting them up, until I had these:

The smaller bag has the actual pictures, and the bigger bag has all the scraps. When I took this picture (Friday night) I had just shoved all the scraps into it, but I went back on Saturday and spent another hourish cutting off the ribbing, seams, etc. until I just had a bunch of rectangles. I took a cool picture of that:

Well, I think it's cool!

5. I had this dress:

You can't see from this picture, but the top is coming off the waistband in the back. It's also rather unflattering, and I wouldn't have worn it if I had fixed it, so I finished the job:

and now I have a skirt that I might actually wear. If that waistband wasn't so big. I may need to fix that.

6. I went shopping yesterday! Here's what I got: 

You didn't believe me when I said I was going to get more, did you? The purple is for my favorite teacher's birthday (next Monday) and the other one is for one of my mom's friends. 

More yarn! This is for this, which is going to be awesome. I was originally going to use Ocean, but I couldn't find it in two stores, and I decided to do this color instead. With a solid color, I don't have to worry about pooling or flashing or anything like that.

This will be used to make this. I've never done anything like this before, but it doesn't look too hard (remind me of this a week from now, please).

The two circulars are for the Teal Tween Top (henceforth known as TTT) and the DPNs are for Voodoo Wristwarmers. I already have yarn for these (I hope).

I also picked up another charm and beading needles. Not really sure what was going through my head, but those do not do what I thought they did.

This is for Yoda, which will be explained tomorrow, as this post is way too long already.