Happy Knit-versary! Here's to 5 years!

In Febrary of 2008 I began what would become one of my greatest journeys, that of becoming a knitter.  I say journey because what started out with a few stitches, blossomed into a steady hobby and has progressed to be a pastime that's as important to me as my love of reading.  Anyone who knows how much I love to read, how I've spent entire summer vacations as a child in the house with my nose in a book, will see that this is a profound statement.  As much as my identity includes being a bookworm and a lover of sci-fi, I am a knitter.  Knitting has allowed me to explore untapped craftiness, lovingly gifted others, relaxed and challenged me.  My yarn stash is now out of control, my knitting gadgets plenty, I'm rarely seen without a project and my adoration for this craft continues to grow.

Here I am the other day with my very first scarf.  I'm never getting rid of this thing. :)
From the humble beginnings of this sampler scarf I've tried my hands at many different types of projects:

Hats...

Gloves...

Toys...

Colorwork....

Shawls and lace....

Tried my had at a bit of dyeing (with Kool-Aid)....

Cables...

More hats....

And gloves...

Socks too!

That's just a small sampling of the things I've knitted over the past five years!  I may not have accomplished much as far as larger items, blankets, sweaters, etc., but I've tried a bit of everything and that's important in being a well-rounded knitter. Looking foward I would really like to tackle more garments  and that first sweater.  I have the yarn to knit at least three or four and the pattern candidates as well, but I really want to make sure I have the time to carefully craft something that fits and I'll love, but it's coming soon.  Also, I need to make sure to take good care of my wrists and elbows so I can continue knitting for years to come.

Also, an indispensible resource and place to commiserate has been Ravelry.  When my desire to knit has waned, this place has added fuel to the fire every time!

I love you so hard Ravelry, you don't even know.

So that's it.  I happily look a  future that includes two needles and yarn in my hands always. :)

New Manicures!

I'm slowing going through my stash...and acquiring new polishes too, I bought one last week and was gifted a few others, egads.

This one just glows amazingly, doesn't it?  One of my all-time favorite combos for sure.  Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure in Fairy Teal with two coats of Spoiled Use Protection.  I could write an entire post on oddly named nail polish.

Ulta Pink Flamingo with Julie G Light it Up on top.  Fun and glittery.  I was feeling young this day.

Again another duochrome because I never tire of them.  This was gifted to me, OPI Just Spotted the Lizard from their Amazing Spiderman collection.  The new thing is for lots of new movies to have nail polish lines too.  Being I love Spidey and nail polish too, this works for me.  It's a dupe of a million other colors one of which I already own, Jessica Iridescent Eye.  It's green and flashes to teal.  Beautiful!

Book Review - Knit One, Kill Two

Knit One, Kill Two by Maggie Sefton (unabridged audiobook)

Synopsis (from Goodreads):

"Kelly Flynn never picked up a pair of knitting needles she liked—until she strolled into House of Lambspun. Now, in the first in a brand-new series, she learns how to knit one, purl two, and untangle the mystery behind her aunt's murder."

Review:

This book falls under the category of  cozy mystery, little violence, no graphic material, the writing equivalent of  a "Matlock" episode.  This subgenre of crime fiction has a huge following and you can often find books with themes such as knitting, sewing, baking, you name it.  Sometimes one might want to do some light reading, perhaps featuring a particular hobby.  Being an avid knitter is obviously what drew me to this title.

That being said, I wanted to like this book more than I did.  This is my first foray into cozy mysteries and even knowing a bit about the genre it still felt really, really thin on everything, story, character development, etc.  I certainly enjoyed the knitting portions of the book, the description of the yarns, the yarn store, Kelly's first tries with knitting made me nostalgically think of my own.  All in all, it was a sufficient story, but not challenging enough for me to thoroughly enjoy it.

I'll probably give another cozy a try, if I feel the same way then I'll conclude this genre isn't for me.

2 out of 5 Iggystars

All the nails!

More untried polishes.  I was tempted to participate in a nail polish challenge, a different theme for each day in February, but really I just don't have the energy and gumption to accomplish such a feat.  Plus I have two knitting tournaments just starting (more on that in another post).  Wet nails and knitting do not a pair make.

To maximize the number of polishes I'll be using while hanging on to a bit of laziness, I'll be doing a polish change those couple of times a week, then finding a suitable, similar shade that I can layer on top without having to do a whole acetone deal.  Above is Pure Ice Alter Ego.  Pure Ice being that awesomely cheap Wal-Mart brand that only costs $2.  It's a chocolate brown with silver flakes.  Too bad my photo is horrible otherwise you could really gaze at its greatness.

Look upon the beauty that is Barielle Elle's Spell!!!  No, really look!  A deep red jelly with golden flakes.  The website's picture, as well as mine, does it no justice.

Whoa, grab your shades.  Here's Zoya Kimmy which is a foil finish and this just glows, doesn't it?

That's it for now.  I'll be back in a few days with more untrieds.  If I can stop buying polish perhaps I'll make some headway.

Book Review - Wool Omnibus

Wool Omnibus by Hugh Howey

Synopsis:

Wool is the story of a post-apocalyptic society struggling for survival.  What's left of Earth's population lives underground in Silos, hundreds of stories deep, which offers protection from the inhabitable surface.  Order is kept in this society by a few, as the severest punishment to be had is sentenced for the mere expression of wanting to bet let out into the world above.  Those who want out get exactly what they ask for.


Review:

This book was suggested to me by a fellow knitter and certainly knowing Wool had a bit of knitting in it, was a draw.  But it was the thrilling Part One that captured my attention and whet my appetite for for the excellent story that lay ahead.  I found the setting to be quite interesting, civilization burrowing underground instead of the sci-fi trope of trying to look to the stars.  The plot is a main focus, while the details of everyday living, the societal structure and background serve to move the story, with its many mysteries, forward.  I immediately cared about the characters as well, they were very believable and I loved that motives and actions had a kind of moral ambiguity.  Sometimes  cutthroat decisions were made that a decent person would never agree with, but were in a sense, kind of logical.

This was a "page" turner (I actually read and listened to some of Wool) that I really found hard to put down.

This book started out as a short story, it's subsequent parts being released over a six-month span.  Right now it's only available in digital format on Amazon for the ridiculously low price of $6, but Howey recently got a publishing deal and it should be available in print early 2013.


4.5/5 Iggystars

Enough polish to open a salon! Literally....

I'll admit to being a bit overzealous when I start to enjoy a hobby.  As with my yarn stash, my nail polish stash has grown to epic proportions.  I love finding new polishes colors, colors that are unique and hard-to-find, it's like a little treasure hunt with the spoils ending up on my nails.

I need to try and wear as many polishes as I can this year with a concrete goal of  using 100 - 150 untried colors!  Crazy, right?  (The goal and the amount of polish I now own, lol.) Well, by doing a polish change on my hands twice a week and one on my toes once a week, not to mention by doing accent nails, funky frenches or glitter bombs over another color, I should be able to reach that goal.  Also, it only takes me fifteen minutes max. to change my polish and thirty for a full-on shaping with cuticle care so success is totally possible. Look out for lots and lots of manicure posts!

Two from this week:

Do you see the glitter in this manicure?  Neither do I which is why I hate polishes that tease me with glitter and then once I put the polish on my nails I can only see it if I'm shining a direct light on my tips.  This is a pretty milk chocolate, OPI's Wooden Shoe Like to Know, but the shimmer is barely apparent and that literally makes me angry.  If I want to buy a creme I'll buy one!  Stupid downlow shimmer!  (ROTFL, no it isn't that serious.)

See, now this is better.  Glass flecked polishes never fail to deliver, although the picture isn't the best.  This is China Glaze Grape Juice and even with poor lighting you can see its sparkle.  I liked this color so much I immediately purchased two more from it's collection.  I have to stop that because purchasing polish is counterproductive in keeping my untried percentage in check.



Reading and Challenges 2013

A few years ago I discovered reading challenges.  A simple activity used to encourage reading, bond with fellow book lovers and find out about new titles from the reviews posted in the challenge.  I excitedly overcommitted myself to a bunch, read some books from a few of the challenges and didn't finish one!

So this year following the theme of "Better" I decided to give it another go.  I've joined only three this year (click on the challenge title to link to the actual challenge page), hoping the more reasonable goal will allow for success.  There is a fourth challenge that I've created just for myself which I'll detail at the end.

Nerdy Non-Fiction Challenge 2013

This challenge focuses on non-fiction in categories such as, biographies, music, science, sports, adventure, crime, animals and so on.  Particpants are encourgaged to pick books from the varying categories, not reading more than two in each.  For some reason I love non-fiction in audiobook form, in fact most of my audiobook listening has been in the non-fiction category. 

I'm aiming for the Geek level, 4-6 books in 2 -3 categories.  I already own enough to reach that level.

2013 Audio Book Challenge

Reading + knitting = awesomeness!  I'm an audiobook convert! Not that I've given up on the printed (or electronic) format, but when working out, knitting, doing housework and driving I've found absolute enjoyment in listening to a book. 

I plan on at least making the Flirting level of 6 audio books.  There should be no reason not to reach this level as you can cross challenges.  Any book I listen to can apply to another challenge and with the number of non-fiction books I have in my Audible library I should be good to go.




Dystopia Reading Challenge 2013

Dystopia: A dystopia is a community or society, usually fictional, that is in some important way undesirable or frightening. It is the opposite of a utopia.  Sounds like a bummer of a genre, huh?  But for some reason I really enjoy dystopian fiction.  These books usually feature some really interesting hypothetical situations, those "what if" kinds of themes involving govermental rule, society, often with some good sci-fi or tech thrown in.  I wholeheartedly recommend books such as Ready Player One, The Hunger Games, 1984 (that book will never, ever leave you).  So this challenge is particularly interesting to me since there seems to be a boom in this kind of fiction especially seen in the YA category, which I have quite a few titles having a teenager in the house.

Level 1: Recruit (1 to 6 books) seems to be about my speed. 

With the Audiobook Challenge allowing me to listen to titles that I can use for the first and last challenge I'm looking at reading at least 12 new titles this year.  I'd go for more if it weren't for this fourth challenge.

Are You Serious?  Finish the Blasted Book Challenge 2013

I was actually hoping to find a challenge focusing on half-read books, but I guess for a real book lover that's kind of lame.  I never used to have unfinished reading, as a personal point of pride if I started a book, I finished it.  There's a saying, "life's too short to read a bad book", but I've watched enough horrible reality television  that I can't in good conscienc use the "life's too short" adage.  Plus, my unfinished book stack contains perfectly good reading it's just somehow along the way I've developed a bad case of start-itis  A new book looks interesting and off I go.  Well, I'm finishing those books this year and posting my triumph of tackling this pile.

Ok, lastly...I have a Kindle Fire HD!  I love it to pieces.  I got it basically for free as I had a horrible experience at Best Buy where they had to give me lots of gift card money.  I originally bought it for the Amazon Prime Instant Video content.  I thought I'd catch up on some shows like Firefly and Fringe, then use the device for apps and magazines.  Well, I like reading on it too as I can adjust my settings to my liking.  It's really nice to read while laying in bed while the lights are out too.

2013 the year for reading in all formats!