Housekeeping

1. I finished the small size of my Skoosh Socks pattern.

I hope that the recipient likes them. They are for the woman who recruited me to go work in the Adirondacks this summer. She came out for a week to train me and help me get set up (on her own dime) and then when she came out later for her two weeks of vacation she brought me my very own handmade inkle loom and spent much of her time helping me out. She's a really great woman. I'm going to find a way to turn these socks in for the House Cup, but I don't know where they are going yet.

As far as the pattern goes I'm glad that I took the time to knit the socks in a different size before I released the final PDF because a couple of things did end up scaling differently.

2. On a recent trek to Gauge I discovered that Colinette Jitterbug is coming in 400 yard skeins now. I can't find these lovely big skeins anywhere else online - they aren't even listed in Ravelry's database - but they are EXCELLENT. I've never bought Jitterbug before because the yardage was so short, but both skeins I took home are already on their way to becoming something.

Fire - a delightful pinky red - is becoming some another pair of Gentlemen's Fancy Socks by Nancy Bush. This will be my third pair. Red is so hard to photograph. They are fantastic in person and not at all this weird upsetting neon pink you see here.

I also bought some Pharaoh, which is gorgeous, but I'm not ready to show it to anyone yet.

DORK ALERT!!!!! IF YOU ARE NOT A HUGE HARRY POTTER/GRAMMAR NERD, THE FOLLOWING MAY NOT MAKE THE LEAST BIT OF SENSE!!!

3. In the evenings, when we're watching PTI, The Daily Show, and The Colbert Report (the nightly lineup) I am working on a project for the House Cup that makes me laugh like a crazy person.

One of the other Ravenclaws drew our attention to this blog post from Hyperbole and a Half. Being Ravenclaws, we all thought that it was hilarious. And so, The Alot Along was born. The assignment for Charms is to plan a break in at Gringotts, and many of the Ravenclaws (and a couple of students from other houses) are planning a massive heist with the Alots. People are crafting things such as Alot of Ambition, Alot of Gold, Alot of Stealth. And I am crafting Alot of Luck.

Because I abhor fun furs as a general rule I decided to make a smooth bodied Alot all covered in Shamrocks. But them I began to think, "What am I going to do with a smooth bodied Alot all covered in Shamrocks?" So I'm making mittens, to which I shall attach Alot horns and eyeballs.

They aren't perfect - they're not gift or design quality, but they are fun and I'll get some mittens out of it. The yarn is Dale of Norway Baby Ull from a very old colorwork project long since frogged. I just have bits and scraps of much of it, so I'm holding two strands together and working them at the same time. It's basically coming out worsted weight.

4. I'm working on a brand new website as part of my plan to become a Real Designer. It's one of the main reasons I was able to justify buying a Mac, and it is pretty fun. I especially love how you can drag in photos and resize them and move them around. That's my idea of a good time! (See dork alert above.)