Weekend I Could Have Lived Without

Really, it was no fun at all. I had a show on Friday and Saturday. This was the worst I've ever done in a show ever. I've done this one for years and generally do well, not this time. I didn't even sell enough to cover the cost of fuel there and back. Never again! The bags that didn't sell I took to the art gallery because they wanted them all. The exhibit only lasts another week, but hopefully it goes well. Everything is back up on my Etsy Shop. When I get all the new bags I made for the gallery back I'll put them up there as well. Thankfully I don't have another show until December 1st. I think I have show burn out!
I'm going to be working on a few pattern designs for various places and knitting Christmas gifts. Seems like a better use of my time for now.
Yesterday I spent the day with a migraine. Whoever invented them is truly evil. Why would you make someone with a horrible mind crushing headache have to vomit??? It's just so wrong!
Maybe I'll have something better to say later on. I'll take photos of new yarn or something.

HSKS 3 Quidditch Round Three

More Harry Potter stuff. My Trivia answers for the last round of Quidditch for HSKS3. I might be the last one to get them up- sorry ladies!

Picture Scavenger Hunt- Bertie Botts Beans Jelly Slugs Chocolate Frogs Blood Pops Jenean's first HSKS kit(Bonus Point: Who made the kit)
The Jelly Slugs:
The rest of the candy:

And the link to Jeneans first HSKS kit, made my Ansley.

1. What was the name of the book Dumbledore left for Hermione in his will?

a. The Tales of Beedle the Bard

2. Whose sign was on Xenophilius Lovegood's chest?

d. Grindewald

3. Was October 30, 1980 the night that Lilly and James Potter died?

b. No

4. What's another name for the Elder Wand?

a. Deathstick

5. Whose Potterwatch code name was 'Rodent'?

d. Fred

6. What was so special about the peacocks at the Malfoy Manor?

d. They were all white

7. Who does Harry say was "probably the bravest man I knew?"

a. Snape

8. What thing was Lockhart giving Hagrid advice about getting out of a well?

b. Kelpies

What was the occupation of Colin Creevey's father?

a. Mailman

10. Which Professor of Hogwarts was a dueling champion when he was young?

a. Flitwick

Evil Things

I'm getting very little done right now that I should be. I have two terribly evil things to blame. Ravelry and The Loopy Ewe. Ravelry is great, I just got my invite a few days ago and I'm already so addicted. Hanging around with all those other knitters rocks, especially once you've found yourself a few friends and groups. I have found so many projects I would love to make, there's no way I'll ever get them all done. Although it may help out by providing me with a source for loads of sock patterns, which I desperately need. The need for the sock patterns stems directly from the awesomeness of The Loopy Ewe and the Loopy Queen Sheri. It is a sock knitters dream. So many sock yarns, new ones all the time, yarns from indie dyers that you would never be able to find at your LYS. The customer service is wonderful. Once you check it out you won't be able to help yourself. I can't and there is a huge group of other people who have the same problem. Such a terrible one to have :) I have two orders from TLE on their way to me. My fifth and sixth. I am a Loopy Groopie now- can't wait for that package!

Julianne Rocks!

Just so you know this is quite a long post because there are a lot of pictures!

I had an Owl Post delivery on Friday. My HSKS 3 pal Julianne completely spoiled me! It was like having Christmas come early- thanks a bunch Julianne! As excited as I was, I managed to contain myself enough to take pictures. So here are the package contents before I opened them:
Just look at the big pile of packages all carefully wrapped in Gryffindor house colors. I tried to read the note that came with it, but the note told me not to. I had to open presents first- no problem! I knew I was spoiled as soon as I opened the box, but I had no idea how much until I opened each gift.

Look at all the awesome Harry Potter and Knitting stuff she sent me! What more could a Harry Potter loving knitting freak possibly want? Nothing but Molly Weasleys knitting skills. Thank you Juli, I'm in love with it all! I know there's a lot in that picture, so I took more pictures with all that loot split up for you. First, the Harry stuff:

Yay for candy! There is a box of Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans, they really do mean every flavor. A package of Blood Pops, which are thankfully strawberry flavored not blood flavored. A chocolate frog too- I haven't eaten it yet so I still don't know which Wizard Card is inside. Maybe Dumbledore... As if the candy wasn't enough, she also sent me a pad of Harry paper, I've never even seen such a thing before. That's a small town for you. On top of all that I also am the proud owner of an awesome Harry Potter bookmark that happened to come with a rather cool poster. I told you, spoiled. A lot. That's not even the fibery knitting stuff, wait till you see it:

It's like knitters gold! A set of five 5" size 1 Rosewood Sock Stix by lantern Moon, which came in their own little bag. They're beautiful, I've always wanted to try them but never dreamed I would actually own a pair. The yarn, oh my goodness. It's a skein of All Things Heather hand dyed superwash sock yarn in Phoenix. I had my eye on just this yarn at the Loopy Ewe. How perfect is this yarn for a Gryffindor? Great name for the colorway too. I might have to make Fawkes socks out of it, using my new needles of course. Should I decide that Fawkes is not the right pattern for this yarn she gave me lots of new pattern choices:

Oh yeah, and entire new sock book. Lots of great patterns, I have the first one I want to knit narrowed down to two. Decisions, decisions. Then there are the handmade Gryffindor stitch markers. A set of five, with one special to mark the begining of a row, just the right size for sock knitting. I'm pretty sure she made them herself. Talented girl that she is. Did you notice that cute little sheep up there? I love him. He has moved into his new home with three other sheep- he's the only white one, plus a llama, and an alpaca. They all live close to my yarn. As if Juli hadn't shown enough talent and generosity, there's more:

Two shots of the perfect sock knitting bag. She made this herself too. Great Gryffindor colors and a brilliant way to carry it and keep it closed. I love it, a lot.

So once again Julianne- Thank you, thank you, thank you! I love everything! I could not have asked for a better swap pal. Thanks for making it fun for me.

The Muggle post man had a package for me too. My eagerly awaited order from the Loopy Ewe I had my very first skein of Dream in Color. It's lovely:

So on the left is the Wollmeise I ordered before in Tiefer See which translates to Deep Lake. The colors don't show up the greatest, but it's yummy. The other skein is the Dream in Color in Night Watch. Oh how I wish I could be knitting socks right now!

I do have some FOs to show:

A pair of fingerless gloves I designed myself. I used Plymouth Boku. The other glove is striped differently due to the way the yarn is dyed. I like them. Think I'll save them for that rapidly approaching October 19th show. In my last Loopy Ewe order my extra treat was a little red sock kit. I knit that up too, it turned out really cute. I forgot to take a picture so you can't see it.

Told you it was a looong post. I'm finally done now. Thanks again Julianne! I hope the person who has you is as good to you as you were to me.

HSKS 3 Quidditch Round 2

Homework for HSKS 3- my answers for quidditch round 2:
Trivia

1. In Deathly Hallows what does Harry step on when exiting his room to wash his cut?
c. A teacup

2. Which two members of the Order of Phoenix came to escort the Dursleys to a safe place?
b. Dedalus Diggle and Hestia Jones

3. In order to throw off the Death Eaters, several of Harry's friends take Polyjuice Potion to resemble him and each Harry goes with a different member of the Order of the Phoenix to a different location. Where do Ron (disguised as Harry) and Tonks go?
a. Auntie Muriel's house

4. At Bill and Fleur's wedding, Harry must disguise himself by taking Polyjuice Potion and takes on the appearance of a redheaded Muggle boy from Ottery St. Catchpol. He was introduced to wedding guests as Cousin . . .
c. Barny

5. Kingsley sends a message via Patronus to warn the Weasleys and wedding guests of the coming Death Eaters. What form does his Patronus take?
B. A lynx

6. In the Half-Blood Prince what drink does Romilda Vane try to give Harry?
d. Gillywater

7. What is the name of the person that heads the Holyhead Harpies?
a. Gwenog Jones

8. What tattoo is Harry reported to have on his chest?
b. Hippogriff

9. What color robes do the staff at Weasley's shop wear?
b. Magenta

10. Where do Nicolas Flamel and his wife Perenelle live?
d. Devon

Picture Scavenger Hunt- Some of these were not easy to find, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff in particular, so I hope what I did find works.
A Gryffindor Quidditch Uniform
A Hufflepuff Quidditch Uniform
A Ravenclaw Quidditch Uniform
A Slytherin Quidditch Uniform
A Picture of the Room of Requirement

Ravelry

I finally got my Ravelry invite- yay! I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing and haven't had time to figure the site out yet. I did join the Loopy Groopies group already. My user name is PrairieKnitter, should you care to know. If anyone has any advice or suggestions that would rock. I finally got in!!!

Bags and sock yarn collecting

Yesterday I got a phone call from Toni at Madison and Main Gallery in Colorado. She had good news- nearly half of my bags in their Art to Wear exhibit have sold already! The show runs for another three weeks. I'm so excited about selling the bags. She asked if I can send more before the show is over and I'm not sure I can. I have another show on the 19th and 20th that I'm knitting like mad for and if I make bags for the gallery then I won't have much for the show. What to do??? I need more hands...

On to the sock yarn collection. I have a beautiful skein of Wollmeise that joined my collection recently. If it's a collection it's NOT stash! That's my theory anyway. I ordered a skein of Dream in Color last night too. Pics when I have both to show you. Of course the guilty party adding to my collection is none other than the Loopy Ewe. She always tempts me with yarns I've never seen before in incredible colors by indie dyers. I may never use commercial sock yarn again. OK that's not true, I love all sock yarn. Not only is the Loopy Ewe awesome in its fibery goodness, but they absolutely rock in general. By they I mean mostly Sheri, the queen of all things Loopy. Your order comes to you lightning fast, well packaged and often (maybe always) has extra goodies. What could possibly happen to make Sheri even cooler? She loves her customers so much that if you leave comments on her blog she emails you personally commenting on your post! As if she doesn't have about 73 zillion other things to be doing. Those things make me want to come back for more. Not just yarn but the great blog too- it's like she's talking to you about all the parts of her life, even what she's cooking. OK enough about it already, right? I better quit before she thinks I'm a complete weirdo anyway- not that she's likely to ever read it.

I'm way sleepy from last night at work, another one of those nights at the hospital. I'm off to knit more bags...

Found!

The missing library book has been found. One of my twins walked out of my daughters room with it on Friday afternoon. She said she looked in her room- hah!

I think I have everything for both my Hogwarts sock swap, and Hogwarts sock kit swap partners. I have a box going for each of them, adding things as I go.

Knitting? Hmmm, lets see... I finished knitting a bag to be felted last night. I have three bags felted waiting for their finishing touches. I knit a bit over half of the first glove in a pair of fingerless gloves. I need about six more bags finished by somewhere around the 15th of October. I need some other small hand knits done by then too, all for a show.

I know, get off the computer and go knit! I'm going.