Monday, April 23, 2012

Homeschool Convention... and TARDISes...

Yes, still working on the TARDIS Kindle cover.  Would have had it done, but migraines have been plaguing me all weekend.  :/  Anyway, here it is (almost done).
The actual knitting part is done.  Yay!  I just have to embroider "POLICE BOX" at the top.  Then I have my own TARDIS!  Well, as close as I'm going to get, anyway...

So, in other news, my husband and I went to the Midwest Homeschool Convention in Cincinnati last Friday!  Had a great time (except for the migraine).  Thankfully my husband noticed that the convention hall had a first aid station (since I didn't have my purse with me, thus no medicine).  They were very helpful and once the ibuprofen kicked in and I could actually see correctly, everything was fine. 

I don't remember if I have mentioned that we homeschool.  Obviously, we do.  It would be a little creepy if we just went to strange conventions that had absolutely nothing to do with us!  Like showing up at a professional cake decorators convention just to see if they were handing out free samples.  Actually, that doesn't sound like a bad idea... I wonder if they have a professional cake decorators convention...  or a Starbucks convention...  ok, sorry, I must just be hungry!

The convention was great!  We didn't go for the whole three days.  We just got the one day vendor hall pass.  Trust me, though, the vendor hall was HUGE, so it pretty much took all day just to walk around it!  We found a lot of the books we are going to need for next year (thank you Rainbow Resources) and found a great booth with nature unit studies called Shining Dawn Books.  Definitely going to do a few of those next year! 

I really needed to get back to the convention this year.  It can be overwhelming (especially your first time) but it really helps me to get focused back on school and the direction God wants us to go with it.  Oh, and the roasted cinnamon pecans strategically placed under an air vent were pretty nice, too!  Both packs...  :P

Monday, April 16, 2012

Scarves and TARDISes...

Ok, so there is only one TARDIS, but I am making my own version!
 

It's a Kindle/ (insert your e-reader brand here) cover!  This one is for me, but I might put it on Etsy as a made-to-order type thing.  I found this pattern online, but I can't remember whose blog it was on right now.  It was written to be knitted from the bottom up, but I modified it to go top down (I just find that easier to do).  I do remember that one site I got on said that a Kindle cover and the TARDIS went perfectly together because a Kindle is a small box that holds much more on the inside!  I love it!

In other knitting news (and I know you are always waiting for more knitting news) I found knitting books at my local library's discarded book sale!!!  I mean knitting and books (really cheap books), what could be better?!  So I found about four knitting books and one was Celebrity Scarves 2.  Now, let me just say, this book is great.  It was made to fund Breast Cancer research, and as the daughter of a breast cancer survivor (and as a woman) I have to love that.  Also, I was really amazed at how many knitters there were in Hollywood!  The only problem I had with the book is how fun it makes knitting a scarf sound. 

Have you ever knitted a scarf?  Oh, it is (or can be) relatively easy.  This book had a lot of garter stitch scarves (only the actual "knit" stitch, no "purling") and used a lot of specialty yarns (like fun fur or bulky yarns), so it looked cool without being really hard to knit. 

Here is the funny/scary part.  It said all these cute things like, "Just cast on 4 stitches and knit till it is the desired length" or "knit until you run out of yarn".  What they don't tell you is that these are knitting euphemisms for, "knit until you actually want to poke out your own eyes with your knitting needles" or "knit until you have enough length to fashion a noose to hang yourself, or the person who invented scarves in the first place"! 

Sound harsh?  Well trust me, there is a reason why cowls are so popular right now.  Cowls are basically really short scarves that just button around your neck.  Believe me, they had to be invented by some poor knitter that started out thinking, "oh, a scarf, that should be easy!"  But somewhere between 5 inches and 60 inches thought, "Oh, heck with it!  It really just has to keep your neck warm anyway!"

So... that scarf you were hoping for on your next birthday... how do you feel about Kindle covers??  :P 

Monday, April 2, 2012

Just Keep Knitting, Just Keep Knitting...

Just keep knitting, knitting, knitting.  What do we do?  We knit, knit...

Sorry, Nemo flashback.

Where was I?  Oh yeah, knitting!  I've actually gotten some knitting done (well, half-way done).

Here is my current project...

I know, it is way too warm for a hat like this, but I love the yarn (Yarn Bee - Melody Bulky) and it is winter somewhere in the world!

Here is the project I was working on until the cool, colorful yarn lured me away...
It was supposed to be a baby blanket, but unless Larry the Cucumber and his wife are expecting a son soon, I think it is a bit long.  :/  I am thinking of adding random color stripes and just making a really big, crazy blanket.  I don't know.  Maybe it is meant to be a shawl. 

By the way, my next project is going to be a Kindle Cover that looks like the TARDIS!  I think I'll have to keep that one for myself!  I will keep you posted.