Coraline

This book review is long overdue. I listened to Coraline, by Neil Gaiman, in October, and have been meaning to review it since.

Overall, I enjoyed listening to the book. Usually, when books are read by the author as this one was the result is poor, but Neil Gaiman exceeded expectations. The manner in which he read was extremely inexpressive so even in near death situations the speed of the reading was the same as one would expect when a character were taking a pleasant walk through a meadow. Because of this, the horror story was actually quite calming.

The book begins with Coraline and her parents moving to a new flat. It's quite exciting for a while, with all of the new places to explore and the neighbors to meet and have tea with. But, of course, that English weather has to go and ruin it all by raining. For the first rainy day in the new flat, Coraline has nothing to do but bother her parents while they try and work and look in all the nooks and crannies of her flat. She wishes for a more exciting life with more exciting parents who don't cook 'recipes.' And that night, she gets a lot more than she bargained for.

Late at night, she sneaks through a little door she finds in the wall and finds herself in a world parallel to her own. In this Other World, she has an Other Mother and an Other Father who love her and are quite interesting, toys that are much more entertaining than the variety back home, and the accompaniment of a talking black cat who warns her against running into the open arms of her Other Parents.

For the Other World is not as glorious as it seems. Locked away behind mirrors are other children the Other Mother has taken from the real world and hidden away in her own fantasy land. As Coraline learns the evilness of the seemingly wonderful place she has discovered, she- with the help of the nameless black cat- battles the Other Mother to set the other children free. But it will not be easy in any event. ★★★★☆

Simple and to the Point

You've notice by now, unless you're reading this in an email update, that I've redesigned my blog for the second time this week.

The houndstooth check was too busy. The colors were too dark. It didn't look right. I got two complaints. So I took everything away (again) and put very little back. Some of my favorite blogs have this template; the plain white with a fancy header. I'll grant you, my header isn't too fancy, but it is unique; that's my own messy scrawl up there. Who'd have thought that the brilliant writer behind this blog could have such unpromising penmanship? 

Hope you like the new look!  

slippers

I've spent today and yesterday afternoon knitting this pair of slippers. I do have a pair of slippers, but they aren't the sort you can cuddle up next to the fire in, and these are. The pattern I used is Amy March's Slippers by Tiny Owl Knits. Since these are knit toe-up and have a turned heel, don't they technically count as my first pair of toe-up socks? 

I had a bit of trouble following the instructions for the heel, but it turned out okay in the end. I was going to tie the bow with lace as the pattern suggests but decided I prefer the little pink bows. I also used the cast on she puts in the pattern. 

I used Red Heart Super Savers held double throughout. 

Completion

As I think I said a couple of posts ago, I finished my Saroyan at last (well, at last isn't really correct as I've been working on it for about half a month and have been taking lots of breaks). I pinned it out to block the night before last and let it dry until this morning. It's not the softest; the wool is a bit scratchy. But it's definitely very warm. 

Yesterday evening I felt like I was coming down with a cold and I was exhausted, so I went to bed at eight- probably the earliest time I've gone to bed in years. While I did fall asleep, I was awake from 11pm to 3:30am and got a bunch of knitting done on my Thor Scarf, and it's starting to look like the beginnings of a scarf. I didn't get up this morning until 10 and spent a very relaxing day knitting, mostly by Entrelac Cowl, which is now finished (pictures to follow tomorrow). I also started a hat, which is going swimmingly (I really hate that adverb). It'll probably be done in a few days and then I'll have to write up a pattern for that... so plenty to keep me busy. 

My vacation has come to an end, as my family just returned from Palo Duro Canyon. I still have about two weeks before school starts again, but those two weeks will be filled with noise and I won't have as much time to knit. It's been very relaxing and quiet with only four people in the house, but I suppose it would have gotten lonely after a while. So, I suppose I'm glad to have them all back home. (just kidding, I'm happier than that for their return.)

WIP Wednesday

Last night, I stayed up long and late finishing Saroyan. It's blocking now; I'll get pictures up after it's dry. But unfortunately, I have a few other things to finish before I can start something new...

This is my Entrelac Cowl, which is being made out of Knitpicks Biggo in the color way Calypso Heather. I'm about two thirds of the way done, judging by how much yarn I have left. I started this a few days before Christmas, but it didn't get a whole lot of attention because I was also working on Saroyan and a few other things. It's going very quickly as I'm using size 15 needles, and the entrelac is very relaxing and easy but also interesting. 

Another WIP is my Thor scarf, which is coming along nicely. I worked on it a lot last night while watching Holiday Affair, and I'm on the third color already. 

It's not really far enough along to see the stitch pattern, but the colors are definitely starting to remind me of the god of thunder.

Another thing to share is my first sock. I made it in one day using worsted weight yarn and size 7 needles. It's way too big, and I wouldn't waste my time making another one, but it's shown me how easy socks are. 

It's quite uncomfortable to walk in, but had I used a tighter gauge I'm sure it would have made quite a nice slipper sock. I already have plans for a pair of slipper socks. I don't think I'll follow a pattern; I prefer to follow a recipe and add some fancy stitches.

Superstitious Nonsense

2012 was an excellent number, but 2013 doesn't have the same ring to it. I feel a bit bad for 13, always looked upon as unlucky. What did it ever do? Though I must admit, the number does have a rather ominous sound to it.

Last night, instead of going to a party or drinking champagne, I was on the computer, chatting through Gmail with my friend Rose, who also had nobody to celebrate the New Year with. We stayed up till midnight (and a little later), wasting time and laughing. 

The reason I had nobody to celebrate with is that nearly my entire family took off yesterday morning to Palo Duro Canyon, located in the Panhandle of Texas, for a four or five day camping trip. I'm very happy about this, because it means that there are only four people in a house that usually is home to seven or eight (and in the last couple of weeks, 10 or 11). I'm taking advantage of the emptiness and quiet for some relaxing knitting, writing, and reading. My mom and I both hate camping of any sort, as we learned last year when we were dragged to Big Bend for a week the day after Christmas. Sure, mountains and cacti are pretty, but not worth the freezing, windy nights and the threat of being eaten by javelinas. 

Today I'm going to be working on my Saroyan. I'm almost done with the straight part, and then onto the decreases, which are always nice because the rows start to take less and less time to do. I've been knitting a lot of other things lately, which is why I haven't finished Saroyan yet, but now I've picked it up again and it's going well. 

I think the best thing about starting a new year is the archives on a blog, particularly one that's >1 year old, like mine. It goes from one year to two, and it looks much more professional and grown up.

Again, Happy New Year, everyone, and many more to come! 

At The End

So, unless I go on a blogging craze tonight (don't get your hopes up), this will be the last post to be published in 2012. That will bring the total of 2012 to 167 posts. So close to a hundred seventy.

Most people are talking about New Year's Resolutions right about now. I don't think I've ever set a New Year's Resolution before, and I say, let's not break that nice tradition. As Calvin says, I'm perfect the way I am. So there's that done with.

A lot of people are also talking about what they've accomplished this year. I would agree to this one- but the post would quickly turn into a novel.

So, since I can't be a stereotypical blogger, I'll just talk about how I redesigned my blog (again). It was just making me wince every time I looked at it, so I took it all away and put something much simpler back. I'll probably keep tweaking at it until I get something I like. I know there's some perfect design out there.

Happy New Year everyone. I hope your resolutions are as easy to fulfill as mine.

Christmas 2012

On Christmas day or the day after, two blog posts appeared in my Reading list. Both were entitled Christmas 2012. I thought I should carry on the pattern (that has been broken by several of the other blogs I follow. Stupid people. Just kidding).

At this point in time, there are two in three chances that you know me and know my family's Christmas traditions. But for the other third out there (how unfortunate you are to be included in that category), I'll explain a little about how Lowery Christmases go.

It all starts in August (yep. Our Christmas celebrations are so elaborate it takes us five months to get through them all). There's usually a time when the whole family is together, and at that time we each draw a name from a hat, or possibly a flower pot. Then we all sit around for a few months until the holidays hit, and we go around to the stores and find some special presents for whoever we picked out of the hat (or flower pot). Think Secret Santa, but under a more dignified and as yet unspecified name.

Then, at six o'clock on Christmas Eve, all 11 of us (and now a couple of in-laws as well) gather around our table for a meal of bread and cheese. A poor man's meal, you may think, but it's a wonder how many gourmet (and, of course, expensive) cheeses you can find in the world of Central Market.

After we've eaten as much as we can, we sit around the Christmas Tree with glasses of eggnog and a platter of cookies. We start with the youngest, in this case (and every case for the last 13 years) me. I dramatically put down my eggnog, arise from my seat, and take a present from the tree. I then give this present to whoever I picked from the hat all those months ago. This person opens the present, says thank you and all, and then they take a present from the tree. And so on so forth until everybody's person is discovered and everybody has at least one present (unless their secret santa forgot who they had, in which case one person is very sad and another person is very sorry).

This year, my brother Thomas was fortunate to have his name picked by me. I made him a hat and scarf following the patterns Turn a Square by Jared Flood and His (Birthday) Scarf by Monika SteinBauer, both of which are free. I don't have any pictures yet, but hopefully will get some soon.

I also gave some other people presents. Namely, my sisters and mother. Because girls are so much easier to knit for than boys. I don't have any pictures of these, either, but the patterns I used were Forget the Fingers (for my mom), Oh, Helen! (for Mrs Elizabeth Joseph, my newlywed sister), and Cranberry Sauce (for my sister Mary Margaret). All of these are also free. And I also knit a shawl for my sister Rebecca, but I designed the pattern. I'll get it up in a few weeks (or months) if I can ever decipher my notes.

But onto more important things now- the presents I received. 

Two books, Stitch Library and Literary Knits. The latter is from my brother David, who had me for Christmas. Both of them are amazing. The first will contribute greatly to my designs with the endless supply of cable patterns, lace patterns, and simple knit and purl charts. The second already has any money I got for Christmas begging to be spent on the yarn reacquired for some of the projects (but I'm restraining myself because I have quite a few projects already on the needles...)

Also on Christmas Eve I was given a Doctor Who book, Dark Horizons, from my brother Nate, and an amazing Tardis pencil case from Mary Margaret. 

This picture doesn't do the wonder of this pencil case justice. She made it herself. She wrote the little words on the panel on the front. And made them bigger and smaller as does the real Tardis. And she lined it. Others may gaze in wonder at what comes off my knitting needles, but Mary Margaret's talent warrants even more respect. (Especially since she's also one of the smartest people on our street, can command a pencil across a sheet of paper like none other, and has more skill with a calligraphy pen than I've scene before. And yes, I might be exaggerating just a little bit, out of gratitude for my pencil case.)

On Christmas morn, we always awake to find our handmade felt stockings filled with candy and other goodies. For me, I found lots of yarn this year. True, I did pick it out myself, but there's no joy greater than finding some scrumptious balls of yarn at your place at 7:30 in the morning on 12-25)

This yarn is a beautiful self-striping aran weight under the brand name of Quasar. I'm planning on combining my new stitch book with this yarn to create a slouchy hat. 

These three skeins are Kroy Paton's Sock, but it is intending, not for a pair of socks, but for a scarf. The pattern I'm using is Koigu Linen Stitch Scarf, and it costs five dollars but if you do a quick search for 'Linen Stitch Scarf' on Ravelry you'll find some free ones as well. This is going to be my Thor scarf, because the colors are wonderfully reminiscent of how Marvel has reproduced the Scandinavian god.  

Of course there's more, but not that I can remember right off the bat. So onto Christmas day....

Since most of our celebrations are done on Christmas eve, we usually just mill around on Christmas day, taking naps and eating chocolate. For the past couple of years, though, we've gone to the theater on Christmas Day. Last year, we went to see The Adventures of Tintin (have I mentioned that it's co-written by Steven Moffat, who is the head writer and executive producer of Doctor Who?). This year, we went for something more serious: Les Miserables, starring Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, and Anne Hathaway. The musical was so wonderful, we all left the theater in tears. 

While we were watching it, the snow began to fall, and our dream of a white Christmas transitioned into reality. 

Mary Margaret failed to take any photos of our wintry landscape, but this one is pretty cool. Hope she doesn't mind I borrowed it. I think it's of one of our outdoor cast-iron stools or flower pot holders or something. 

We by no means were caught in a blizzard, but it was still very chilly so we were very grateful for the Indian meal Nate and his girlfriend, Niha, prepared while we were watching Les Mis. 

After dinner me and Mother washed and dried a lot of the dishes, because our hot water heater broke (only for half the house, thank heavens) and we couldn't run the dishwasher. 

And that concludes the 2012 Christmas celebrations. Tomorrow I have a costume party to attend, and on the 31st most of my family departs for a five day backpacking trip to Palo Duro Canyon. I'm really looking forward to that- I'll have the house almost to myself!

Merry Christmas all, and apologies about the long post. The next one will be shorter, I promise. 

Yet Another Pair

In the past few days, I've been mainly knitting yet another pair of fingerless gloves. I've been trying to recreate the perfect pair of fingerless gloves, which I already own but sadly they are falling apart.

This perfect pair of fingerless gloves is actually a pair of store-bought gloves that shrunk in the wash, so I cut the fingers off. The thing about these mitts is that they are a little bit too small, so they fit very close to my hands. Most of my fingerless gloves are perfect right after I knit them, but after a few weeks of use they stretch out and are too loose.

However, I have now accomplished my mission of creating a pair of gloves that are tight enough and then some.

I give you Radagast, the name inspired, again, by The Hobbit. I finally figured out how to do the whole PDF file thing, so no more long boring patterns for my non-knitting followers to scroll through. Happy Christmas. You can download it for free here. 

Thumb-hole

I love fingerless gloves, and have knit or crocheted several pairs. However, I've never been able to get my head around a thumb gusset. Finally this morning, I asked on ravelry if there were any good patterns that were simple and easy and had a thumb gusset to be worked. The free pattern 75 Yard Malabrigo Fingerless Mitts was suggested and I immediately found some worsted weight yarn
(not Malabrigo) and my size 7 dpns and cast on.

Eager to get to the gusset, I only knit four rounds of ribbing for the cuff, considering the fact that I was only doing this for practice and wasn't even going to make its mate. I also cut the top of the glove short and added a few rounds of moss stitch to the thumb. And I didn't weave in my ends, as you can clearly see, because this glove will be thrown into my 'cheap yarn' bag until I need the yarn and rip it out.

And now I know just how easy a thumb gusset is. Just like knitting in the round and purling, I have overcome this fear and am onto knitting bigger and better thumb holes.