Hoping this works

This may be the only thing that will work on me today- a big cafe au lait.

It was such a long night last night at work. Lots of hard patients. Plus I lost my friends grandmothers. It wasn't a surprise we were just waiting for her to go. I always hate when patients die, but somehow this one was a bigger bummer than most. I suppose it's because even though this is a small town I still don't know most people and I knew this one. It was a crazy night on top of that. I came home and passed out at one am, and got back up at five.

About ten minutes before it's time to leave for school my daughter informed me that her library book is due today and she can't find it. Do I know where it is? Nope, never even saw it. Needless to say the book is still MIA.

I am making a bit of progress on all my projects. I finished up a little something extra for one of my Hogwarts sock swap partners yesterday, hopefully I'll finish the something extra for my other partner today. Can't tell you what I made on the off chance that one of them might read this. Their packages keep getting closer to being ready to send off by owl.

I have a show to do on October 19 and 20. I need to get lots more bags made, again. I have three drying right now, but I still need to get another on needles fast. I'd like to have about a dozen new ones to take, along with some smaller knits like baby hats, gloves and things to take as well. Smaller things make better impulse buys. I'm not very successful so far in getting stuff done for this show, but I don't have long at all before it will be here so Hopefully that will get my fingers moving faster.

I need to be thinking about Christmas knitting too. I try to make most of my gifts or at least find something handmade on etsy. We have to support each other you know.

I missed the Loopy Ewe sneak up last night. Bummer. It's not like I'm lacking sock yarn, but I didn't even get to see any of the new stuff and lust after it.

OK- enough rambling...

What happens to things!

I wish I knew where all my stuff disappears to, and who breaks the rest of it for that matter. My little knitting needle sizer thingy that also measures swatches for gauge (yup that's the technical term) went missing for days. Magically it reappeared- broken! I had three row counters. Just the little plastic ones on a plastic loop that keep track of your rows when you turn the dials to change the numbers. Two are gone. Yes, I need them all. I probably need more since I'm always knitting half a dozen things at once! I wish I had them back. Who to blame...the kids, the nice cat- aka the Queen, or the evil kitty Mushu...

Very Bright Socks

OK, after about four days of being sick I'm finally about 2/3 of the way to feeling human again. Yay! I spent yesterday watching football, of course, and knitting. I got some Cherry Tree Hill Sockittome (yep all one word and it's new) in Java from The Loopy Ewe. I decided to design a new sock pattern for it. You can't see it because I'm not done. I'm on try number four- what ever happened to that whole third time's the charm thing? I may have been more successful if I'd been paying closer attention and not cursing football referees...

I do have one project finished! I had some Ginny Weasley yarn from MacKintosh Yarns and then Anna designed a Ginny sock pattern, so the Ginny socks were born. I didn't follow her pattern exactly, but I did take the general idea and turn it into nearly the same socks. They were for my daughter who thinks I have been neglecting her by not knitting her socks. I think they turned out well, and since they're so bright maybe she won't lose them! Here they are modeled by her and her skinny legs and big feet:

Quidditch

For HSKS3 we are playing Quiditch to earn house points- Gryffindor in my case. Part of Quidditch is answering these questions and finding pictures of the characters listed below. So here is my shot at it. Go Gryffindor!

Who is the Hogwarts teacher that Voldermort performed the Avada Kedavra curse on in Deathly Hallows?

a. Mad Eye Moody

b. Charity Burbage

c. Irma Pince

d. Quirenius Quirrell



2. Who replaces the Muggles studies teacher in Deathly Hallows?

a. Charity Burbage

b. Irma Pince

c. Alecto Carrow

d. Dilys Dirwent



3. When Harry meets Mr. Olivander for the first time, which wand law is introduced?

a. Wands cannot be shared

.b. Spells can be worked with any want.

c. The wand chooses the wizard.

d. Only one wand will work properly for a wizard.



4. According to Mr. Ollivander, what is not necessary to take true possession of another wizard's wand?

a. to kill the owner

b. one cannot take possession of another wizard's wand

c. to force the wand away from it's owner

d. to ask the owner politely



5. If you know anything about Harry Potter, you will know that Harry's Patronus is a stag. But what is his best friend Ron Weasley's Patronus?

a. Otter

b. Owl

c. Weasel

d. Jack Russell Terrier



6. Now for the third member of the trio. What form does Hermione Granger's Patronus take?

a. Otter

b. Kneazle
c. Tabby Cat

d. Beaver



7. What did Mrs. Weasley make to eat the first night that Harry arrived at Grimmauld Place?

a. Stew

b. Goulash

c. Roast beef

d. Ham and chicken pie



8. In book 5, at the start of term feast, what is Ron eating when trying to talk to Nearly Headless Nick?

a. Treacle tart

b. Pork chop

c. Roast potato

d. Cottage pie



9. A half-giant called Rubeus Hagrid takes you to Diagon Alley for the first time. To get there, you go into the courtyard of a pub called the Leaky Cauldron. There, Hagrid taps a certain brick on the courtyard wall three times with his pink umbrella, revealing the entrance to Diagon Alley. As he decides which brick to tap, he mutters instructions to himself. What instructions does he mutter?

a. Third brick from the left above the dustbin
b. ‘Three up... two across
c. Three down ... four across
d. Four up ... three across



10. The first place you go in Diagon Alley is Gringotts bank, where you can withdraw money from your vault and Hagrid can withdraw a top-secret package from Vault No. 713 on Dumbledore’s orders. On the second set of doors leading into the bank you notice a poem written. These are the first two lines:Enter, stranger, but take heed of what awaits the sin of greed,What is the next line?

a. For you’ll pay dearly in your turn

b. So if you seek beneath our floors

c. Thief, you are being warned, beware

d. ‘For those who take, but do not earn




Picture Scavenger HuntYou may either post these pictures on your blog OR simply link to them. Rolanda Hooch Firenze Argus Filch Moaning Myrtle Colin Creevey
I linked to the ones I found, on some of the pages you'll have to scroll down a bit.

Hope I got it right, I did fix some of the spelling errors from the original quiz that transfered over when I pasted the quiz to my bolg. You should all be impressed I did this at all because I'm still sick!

I sooo didn't get my wish

I don't know why, maybe the hospital gods are unhappy with me. I got called in to work last night, my night off, 30 minutes before I had to leave to get there on time. So much for my wish. The ambulance didn't behave either like I wanted them to. Another crazy night, weird stuff came in too. Tonight is my night to work again, I'm not going to hope it's better. Maybe if I want it to be worse it will get confused and get better.

Yesterday I had two sick kids. This morning I have three sick kids, a sick husband, and a sick me. I hate summer (ish) colds!

On the bright side the Loopy Ewe did a sneak up yesterday that I managed to catch as it was happening. I actually got to watch all the new yarn come up! I don't need another inch of sock yarn of course, but I broke down when I saw all the Wollmeise. I wanted to see what all the fuss is about since the sock knitting addicts out there can't seem to get enough of it. I tried to buy three different colors before I got one that hadn't sold out already. That stuff must have been flying off the shelves- well you know what I mean! So I can't wait to get it, I hope it's worth the extra $ on the credit card. That's order number three from the Loopy Ewe, so I'm on my way to being a Loopy Groupie! I think it was dangerous for me to find Sheri and her sock knitters heaven...

Very little

I'm pleased to report that it's still cold enough for hand knit socks! For both of my Hogwarts swap partners- your things are coming together nicely and I keep finding more goodies to add.
I ran my butt off at work last night, so today my eyes are burning and I'm tired.
See- very little to say! Here's to not getting called in to work tonight (I hope) the ambulances staying away if I do have to go, and maybe a little knitting time tonight!

Knit Sock Weather

OK, I suppose it feels like fall now. Football season has officially started, it's dark when I get up in the morning (if when I get up counts as morning yet), it was 50 degrees here yesterday and it poured. 50 isn't bad, right? Two days ago it was over 90. The best part of it getting cooler outside is that I can break out my knit socks again. Yesterday and today I put on pairs that hadn't even been worn yet, well except for trying them on. I can't believe I only finished two pairs since last winter! Too many UFO's hanging about my house. So, since I have nothing better to post I will show you my toasty warm feet.

I wore these yesterday. They are just plain stockinette because I was too excited to try the yarn to find the perfect pattern for it. They are knit in Hedwig from Sunshine Yarns, which can of course be found on etsy.com. Note the Harry Potter connection- Hedwig- I really do have a problem...

These lovely socks are keeping my toes warm today, although I will have to take them off to go to work. My feet would get too hot running around in them all night at the hospital, plus I wouldn't want to risk defiling them with blood or other bodily fluids I run into! I don't remember what exact pattern these are, but I know it came from Sensational Knit Socks. It looks nice but they took FOREVER to knit because I got so bored with the pattern. I used Sublime from Fearless Fibers, love the yarn. If you can't figure out where it came from you haven't been paying attention ;)

That's it. I have a pile of stuff to do today, so I'm off to try and get some of it done!

Hogwarts Homework

As you know I have both a Harry Potter problem and a sock knitting problem. So I am in two swaps at the moment involving socks and Harry Potter. Yesterdays post was for one swap today's is for another. I must answer the following questions and let a prefect know when I've done it.



What type of pet do you choose as your companion at Hogwarts?



An owl would be rather useful, but I could always use a school owl... So I think a cat because it would be better company than an owl. A very smart cat like Crookshanks of course.



While shopping in Hogsmeade you stop by Honeydukes for some sweets. What treats do you purchase for yourself?



Their best chocolate, of course! Lots of it so I don't run out before the next Hogsmeade weekend.



A potion you are preparing needs an ingredient available only at muggle shops. You don't want to stand out in your wizards robes, so you resort to traditional muggle clothing. Describe your outfit in detail.



I suppose I would wear something very much like I did before attending Hogwarts, being Muggle born and all. Faded and well worn Levi's 501's, fitted V-neck t-shirt probably black, a pair of Converse All Stars. I might bring a hooded sweatshirt along if it's cold out.



What is your favorite subject to study at Hogwarts and why?



Charms or Transfiguration- both would be fun and terribly useful. I think becoming an animagus would be a great challenge!



Likewise, what subject is your least favorite and why?



I imagine I would have a have a hard time with Divination. Mostly because pleasing Professor Trelawney would be difficult- she would know if I was making it up. Perhaps I would drop it later in my studies!



Back to the potion you were shopping for ingredients for, what type of potion are you making, what color is it, what are the ingredients, and precisely what does the potion do?




An Invisibility potion- since we can't all have cloaks. It is a different color to each person who looks at it. It's silvery for me. Some of the ingredients: chameleon blood, Rowan tree bark, light of the full moon, vanilla extract (from the Muggle shop), jewel beetle wings- I would tell you the rest but it's not perfected yet and I don't want to be responsible for any accidental poisonings. It takes precisely 27 days to make and must be stored in a cobalt blue glass bottle. It gives who ever takes it the ability to blend with their surroundings so perfectly as to become invisible, like a chameleon but better.

Gryffindor Trivia

Well, for HSKS3 the Gryffindor prefect sent us all a crossword puzzle to answer. I emailed my answers to her just like I'm supposed to. In order to complete my homework, I must post what I thought was the most difficult question. If 11 across- which had no clue- doesn't count, then my answer would have to be 5 down. I really had to think about that one, and then I couldn't believe I didn't get it right away! Can't tell what it is or that would give away the answer! The easiest, even though no one asked me, was 9 down because the answer to that question makes EVERYTHING better- LOL.
I've already done a bit of shopping for the person I get to spoil for this swap, but I'm still trying to think of other Harry-ish things to send along by owl post.

They made it!

I just got a call from Madison and Main Gallery saying that my bags made it there just fine. I feel much better now. Plus she said that they were beautiful, professional looking, and she loved them!!! I hope the people who go to the show love them too, I think I would cry if I got them all back because they didn't sell.

I'm getting nothing done today. The only thing on my list that I've managed to do is buy bread. I have loads of knitting of course, need to go to the optometrist and order my new glasses (seeing is a good thing) I have to decide which glasses first and no one will help me out by saying so much as "you look like a total geek in those" so I'm on my own trying on the few pairs I got to take home and "test drive" while not being able to really see because I don't have my glasses on. OK, so I'm a little frustrated about that... Plus today is the day my sons stitches come out and he HATES the doctor more than anything else in the world. The appointment is late in the afternoon so it doesn't conflict with my daughter getting out of school, so they will be behind and I hope I don't get out too late to make it to work on time. Work- today is Friday and the ER is always so crazy on Friday night, full of people doing dumb things. At least the craziness will make the night go faster!

OK- rant over. Sorry about that!

HSKS 3 Questions

I got my first email from the person who has me for the swap, and have emailed back and forth with my person as well. The person who got me had a list of questions for me, and then these questions got posted on the blog. I'll just answer both!

1. What Hogwarts house have you been sorted into?



Gryffindor


2. List your favorite double-point needle brands, including size and length. Or would you prefer circulars?



Brittany, Takumi bamboo, Comfort Zone- all dpns. I generally use the 6 or 7 inch ones and knit with size 1 or 2, although I have needed to go up to 3 before.


3. Would you like to try a new brand needle? If so, which brand? Size? Length?



Sure, I'm sure there are lots I've never tried or heard of!


4. If you are a RAVENCLAW, do you prefer the colors in the film or the book? Do you have a strong preference?



Just ignore that one since I'm Gryffindor!





5. Do you have any allergies?



Not to pets or fiber, but I break out from a lot of lotions, soaps, candles, and other things that smell.



6. If you are swapping scarves - what is your desired length for the pattern? This will help your partner find the pattern that is just right for you and buy yarn accordingly.



Socks for me!


I think everyone in on the swap is really excited about it judging by the blog posts, so this should be lots of fun. Gryffindor has won the House Cup the last two "years" so all of us first year Gryffindors have a lot to live up to! I hope I'm good at Quidditch...


Other than swaps what am I up to? I have the toe to finish on the first Burrow sock, I've done the cuff and a bit of the leg on the Hermione socks and I have the first Ginny sock nearly done too. Right now I have sock knitting ADD, so many new yarns and pattern ideas. I'm going to have to finish a few pairs because I'm using all my dpns now! I really should get to working on more bags for the show I have in October. I think I got a bit burned out on them trying to get all those gallery bags done. Which reminds me I need to be sure they made it there alright!

Here's your chance

Now is your last chance to join Hogwarts Sock Kit Swap 3. The sign ups will close today or tomorrow. It's going to be lots of fun, you get to make up a sock knitting kit for your partner. yarn, markers, needles, etc- plus you get one back in return. So get on over there Potter fans and sign up for the sock lovin'.

Bring on the FO's!

I am finally totally finished with all of the gallery bags! I took photos of all but two of them since I promised I would post them before I sent all of the bags off. The bags are getting priced, tagged, and shipped today! Here they are:

That black one has needle felted swirls on it and some fun handles, the gray one has lots of cables and bobbles, and the green one has all those flowers, leaves and vines attatched to it after felting- they go all the way around the bag. My fingers suffered greatly due to the needle felting, I may be too clumsy to realy be allowed to use them!

The brown bag up there has a wet and needle felted covered button attatched that I made. The red one has a black needle felted star on one side.

Some of these guys you have seen before, the purple one with the flowers and the navy one with the white embroidered stars. That big purple on with the fabric covered button was knit out of yarn that I spun myself! The flower on the stripey bag is held on with a pin back and can be removed and worn.

I spent the weekend finishing those guys up. Almost all of them have inside pockets, and the ones that needed it have magnetic snap closures. Now to get them ready to go... If anyone is interested they will be at:

Madison and Main Gallery

927 16th Street (right by UNC)

Greeley, CO

The Art to Wear show starts on September 4th and runs through October 26th.

Other knitting news- the Hufflepuff socks are finished! I can't show photos because that would ruin my pals surprise. I'm still waiting on some things for her package to get here- from Australia. I hope she likes everything.

I restarted knitting The Burrow socks now that the others are finished. I didn't get very far due to a trip to the ER with my son. The one who never gets hurt split his forehead open on his twin brothers head. It was quite the crash. Usually it's the other one who gets hurt- staples in his head three times. So the one who got hurt last night got three sutures after having to have anesthesia to calm him down enough to let anyone touch him. He HATES the doctor! I do so love going to work on my night off!

OMG- there I am!

So I've been keeping my eye out all week- well all three days of it so far anyway- and today is the day I made it on the Lime & Violet blog! Whoever the generous person is who wrote about me had some really great things to say about my etsy shop. I'm way excited- in case you had no idea. To the folks at Lime & Violet... Thank you, thank you!

If you are wondering what I'm so happy about go on over and check it out. Every day there is a new Etsy shop of the day not to mention shout outs and reviews for all things fibery and good. I've already seen lots of other peoples work that I now have a desperate need of. Like the Yarn Pirate yarn and the Wildhorse Designs sock patterns that I read about today.

I should really be getting something done- like knitting- but I had to tell everyone ( or perhaps no one) who reads this all about it. Yay!

Six Degrees of Draco Malfoy ans A Tough Decision

A challenge issued by a prefect for Hogwarts Sock Swap 2 - a character must be traced back to Draco Malfoy in six steps. The character must be picked from a list provided by the prefect. So here is mine:
1-Arabella Figg
2-neighbor of Harry Potter who is the
3-best friend of Ron Weasley
4-Rons father is Arthur Weasley
5-who despises Lucius Malfoy
6-who is Dracos father
Hopefully it will win some points for Ravenclaw!

Oh- and to my swap partner: never fear I have stared the second sock. You shall not have one cold foot after all!

The tough decision? Which sock yarn club to join. A Harry Potter book cover art inspired club 7 skeins, one a month plus a book inspired pattern. Or another awesome club done by one of my favorite etsy sellers- five skeins of yarn, one skein plus a pattern and a few goodies every other month. I can't do both and I'm in love with both peoples yarns! If I wait too long to decide I'll miss out in them entirely. What to do... Suggestions welcome;)

Socks and socks

After talking about Lime & Violet yesterday, I thought I would post a photo of a completed Jaywalker done in Lime & Violet yarn. So here you go:


I won't show much so I don't spoil the surprise entirely, but here is a small peek at the finished sock for my Hogwarts Sock Swap 2 partner:

To top it all off- I have finished knitting the gallery bags!!! Some still need to be felted/fulled, some just need finishing touches, and five are totally ready to go. Pictures to come when they are all complete.

OMG- Lime and Violet!!!

OK, I checked my email this morning and had an Etsy conversation from someone who writes on Lime & Violets blog. For those of you who have not experienced Lime & Violets awesome fibery goodness- otherwise known as sock yarn- you must check it out. It can be a bit hard to get your hands on, but it's well worth it. Anyway! They have chosen my etsy shop to be featured as an Etsy site of the day on their blog- Lime & Violets Daily Chum!!! Sometime this week I'll be there with lots of other Etsy sellers, some rather good company I must say as Etsy people rock! I don't know why they picked me, but I'm really happy about it- thanks!!!

I have a photo of a Jaywalker work in progress on here a few posts back that is knit with Lime & Violet yarn should you care to see it.

Otherwise...I have finished the first sock for my Hufflepuff sock swap partner. All of the first one- third time's the charm I guess. Hopefully my Hufflepuff pal will like them when I'm done! Besides that I have made lots of progress in the bags for the gallery department. Only two left to knit (one is half done) a handfull to felt, several need finishing touches. That may not sound like progress, but trust me it is. However, my needles are calling my name and I really must knit- which I can do while watching football today, yay!

Another Hogwarts Sock Swap

I can't seem to help myself, I've joined another Hogwarts swap! This one is the Hogwarts Sock Kit Swap 3. It should be a really fun swap. We get to put together sock knitting kits for our partners in their house colors- bag, yarn, needles, markers, pattern, etc. It's always great to see what other people come up with. The sign ups close when 100 people have joined or on August 29th, whichever comes first. Get yourself over there and sign up now- it's easy! I got sorted into Gryffindor for this swap- the house I belong in must depend on the day!

I'm supposed to earn five points for Gryffindor if I put the button for the swap on my blog. I have yet to figure out how in the world to do that but I'll see what I can do. If nothing else here's the picture of what the button looks like:

What I'm up to

No pictures or anything so probably a boring post. Been knitting bags like mad for a gallery show, I have four completely finished, five in various stages of progress, so three more still to start and finish up. I need to have tweleve shipped and to the gallery by September first. My hands are hurting and I should probably take a break but if I do I'll never finish in time.

My Hufflepuff socks for the Hogwarts Sock Swap Two ran into a minor snag- at the hands of a four year old- but I do have the leg totally finished on the first one now. If no one decides to help me unknit them again they should be done in plenty of time.

Hmmm... I have another show in the middle of October that my bags tend to do well at, so I have more to knit when I finish the gallery ones. Then a show at the begining of December, and I'm hoping my etsy shop will pick up again in the fall. Christmas shoppers should be about soon. Which reminds me of all the knitting I should do for Christmas- aack!

It's not my fault!

I swear it's not my fault I have such a sock yarn addiction. I could blame it on loads of things, my love of knitting socks for example. Right now I am going to place the blame squarely on one persons shoulders- Liz! She keeps making all this great yarn and selling it. She's a yarn dealer! I can call her that because she threatened to send me to Knitters Anonymous.
Isn't the yarn awesome? The colors are Ginny (as in Weasley) and Half Blood Prince (Harry Potter). I love them. I currently have so much sock yarn I could keep my fingers busy for a year. I'm going to have to try and control myself or I will have spent all my pennies on sock yarn. I don't think we can live in the sock yarn... So help me out and buy her yarn up before I do!