First Pair of Socks!

So I've been knitting for a while, but until this last week had never made a sock. It's not that it's so challenging to make a sock, it's more that I didn't have the right equipment. Then this summer I got some more double pointed needles and suddenly, socks were within my grasp. I made some attempts at making a sock while at school, but I kept putting it aside and pulling it out to discover that the stitches had all slipped off while I was neglecting it. So I decided to wait until I was home for winter break.

I got home and then I did it. I made a sock!

The aforementioned sock.

Then I started to make a mate for this sock.

The progress of sock number 2.

For comparison.

This particular yarn is very thin and I got a little bored. I decided that I wanted to knit some socks that wouldn't take as long. I looked through my stash and found I had some wool yarn I could use. Long story short, I now have a pair of knitted woolen socks.

The pair on their own.

And on my feet.

Another angle of them on my feet.

So yeah, socks. I can make those now.

Ravenclaw Scarf-DONE!

So a little while ago I posted about a knitting project I was working on. I was working on a Ravenclaw scarf. Then I stopped after a while, partially because I was yet to get into Pottermore and didn't want to waste more time on a scarf for what might be the wrong house. Then I got sorted into Ravenclaw, so I finished the scarf.

Picture time!

I was going to retake this picture so you could see my face, but then I decided to make my mom happy and leave my face out.

I still have a skein of each color left. I'm trying to think of a project for them. Socks maybe. I'll see what I can find.

Things Other People Are Obsessed With

I fully admit to being a tremendous fangirl about a lot of things. I love Harry Potter, Doctor Who, Wrock, Trock, youtube, Nerdfighteria, books, knitting and way more. I realize I go on about these things a lot. There are however, things I've noticed other people are obsessed with. Some obsessions I understand, and some I don't, but here are, some things that other people are obsessed with.

1. Twilight

People tend to be obsessed with this series in one of two ways. They are either obsessed with it because they love it and need to be a crazy fangirl, or they're obsessed with it because they hate and need to bring the TwiHards down. Now I've read the books and I enjoyed them while I read them, but I never really saw the point to picking a team. I know that there was a big debate in the Harry Potter community about whether Hermione should be with Ron or Harry. While there are many fan fictions that explore Harry/Hermione, once the books made it clear that wasn't happening no one really went around saying they were Team Harry. Then again, unlike Twilight, the focus of Harry Potter was on a great battle between good and evil, not about what boy to make out with.

Which brings me to the Twilight haters. I realize that it's mostly people like me who are Harry Potter fans doing a lot of this but really, this needs to stop. The only reason there's really any hatred is that Twilight began as Harry Potter was ending. The fantasy elements and heft of the book caused some people to proclaim it as the next Harry Potter. This is an unfair comparison that has led to much strife. All the people who complain about Twilight do so under the impression that Twilight is being treated as great literature. However, my view of it is that the Twilight books are good snow day books. They're fun to curl up with on a snowy day while you drink hot chocolate. They aren't books you write papers about.

Both groups need to calm down and learn to respect each other's opinions.

2. Chipotle

Yes, they have good burritos but this restaurant seems to inspire rapturous praise from almost everyone I know (at least, on a university campus). Maybe it's because I had a negative experience my first time there (pretty much all their meat except the pork is at least a little spicy which I did not know, and was not informed) but I don't have the same obsession. I have nothing against them, and I will eat there, it just seems like when people are trying to figure out where to go for dinner, it Chipotle is mentioned, that stands out as the clear favorite. It may be that Chipotle has the familiarity of a McDonalds or Taco Bell, but is higher quality enough that it doesn't get the same negative connotations. I'm sure that I will be eating there more frequently over the next few years than I have in the past (considering that I've eaten there twice, once in eighth grade and once last quarter, I need only dine there once within the next four years to up my rate) I don't know that I'll ever really "get" it.

3. Football

While I have recently come to understand the rules of football more fully than I ever have in the past, I still don't experience the same obsession that others seem to have. When I went to the homecoming game, or if my school is playing, I come closest to getting it. It's a point of pride for "your" team to win. I still have trouble with understanding professional football. I support my school's football team as a way to support my school. I chose my school and I love my school and I want us to do well. As for professional football, do I support a team just because I happen to live nearby? Do I support them because I grew up nearby? If the team moves to a new city do I still support them? What if all the best players leave for another team? I just don't get what determines what teams I'm supposed to root for. Frankly, I don't care if I do.

Knitting Update

A little while ago I lost my winter coat, and with it my hat and scarf, that I had knit. I've since gotten a new coat. While at first I was very disappointed to have lost my hat and scarf, especially considering the amount of work I put into them, I decided to take advantage of the situation.

First I knit myself a new hat.

The hat, as well as my left knee.

It's a Jayne hat. For those of you who don't watch Firefly, that probably means nothing. For those of you do watch Firefly, isn't it awesome? There are a lot of patterns online, I used one that I found on ravelry, though I don't remember which one.

My scarf is still a work in progress. I've long wanted to make myself a Harry Potter scarf and decided to finally go ahead and do it. I'm doing it with Ravenclaw colors. I'm not sure what I'll do if Pottermore (should the rest of us ever be allowed on) sorts me elsewhere, but I'll figure it out when I need to.

The scarf, as well as parts of my legs.

For those of you wondering, I decided to use blue and bronze, as those are the colors of Ravenclaw in the books, as opposed to blue and silver, which are the colors in the movies. I also decided to make a scarf in the style of the later movies because I like that pattern better. I'm using a technique called double knitting, which is why it is blue with bronze stripes on one side, but bronze with blue stripes on the other. And to anyone who says that it looks orange, not bronze, you try finding bronze yarn! That's what I thought.

I think I prefer the blue as the main color a little better, but both sides look nice. It'll be a while until I finish, although it's coming along nicely. I'll do another update when I finish the scarf.

What I've Been Up To

So I got home on break a little while ago. Unfortunately, most of my friends from hoe have only just started getting home from break. As a result, I've needed to keep myself occupied. Occupation has come in the form of:

Reading
Watching Buffy on Hulu
Knitting
Watching Firefly on Hulu
More reading
Going to the Post Office for my Mom
More  knitting
Volunteering/Helping out at my Temple
Going to the Post Office for Mom again
Playing Bridge with my Dad and Grandparents
Being Sick with a 24 bug

That last one hit yesterday.  Luckily I seem to be all better. Which is good because now I can hang out with all my friends who are back from school. After all, their families will still be here after January 1, but I won't. I go back to school before most of my friends. Isn't being on a quarter system fun?

It's Almost Over

Today I went to get some yarn so I could make some of those cool squares I showed you a week or so ago. One of the squares I didn't show made the TARDIS image so I was looking for the right shade of blue. I wasn't sure I had it so I went to the store employee nearby and ad a very fun conversation.

"This probably doesn't mean anything to you but does this *holds up skein of blue yarn* look TARDIS blue to you?"
"I do know what a TARDIS is but I don't know it well enough to know if that's the right shade of blue."
"I just thought I'd ask."
"Does this work?" *She picks up a slightly different shade of blue*
"I don't know."
"Do you want me to look it up on my phone?"
"Sure." *We do so*
"I like being able to use my phone at work."
*Picture comes up* *I hold both skeins up to the screen*
"I guess this one looks a little closer"
"It's kind of between them in color."

I ended up getting the slightly lighter shade which when I compared it to my TARDIS I realized was a little too light. Oh well. It doesn't have to be exact.

I love Ravelry

So I may not have mentioned this on here before but I'm a knitter. I also crochet but mostly I knit. I'm signed up for a knitter social network called Ravelry. Normally I've been using Ravelry to find alternative patterns, or to get inspiration. I recently picked up eight skeins of a yarn I had no plans for because it was on a fantastic sale. So I searched the yarn on Ravelry and got some ideas for things to make with it. So far I've done a few things but I still have plenty of yarn left.

Today I decided to search in patterns just out of curiosity of what there was. I quickly realized there were a lot of Harry Potter and Doctor Who patterns. A lot. So, I've been downloading free patterns this afternoon.
Harry Potter scarf bookmarks,

Photo and Pattern Credit: Ann Kingstone

TARDIS Kindle cases and so much more.

Photo and Pattern Credit: Stephanie Walls

Obviously there are fourth Doctor scarf patterns (already did it thank you very much)

Photo and Pattern Credit: Tara Wheeler

but the patterns I found most cool were these:

Photo and Pattern Credit: Holynarf

Photo and Pattern Credit: Holynarf

Photo and Pattern Credit: Marie Wright

They're dishtowels/blanket squares/coaster/pretty much anything. I love it. Normally when I have leftover yarn I make squares then sew them into blankets. The hardest part is usually trying to find unique patterns so they aren't all boring squares. Now that I've seen these cool texture pictures (easier than two color knitting) I'm excited for the next one.

Quick Disclaimer: I don't own these images or patterns. They are the property of the people who took them and made them. All images were found on Ravelry. If you own the image/pattern and would like me to remove it (or fix the credit if I miss credited it) please just let me know.