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February 28, 2007

February UFO

Whoops. It's the last day of the month. How did that happen? Anyway, this month I frogged a sock in progress. I really like the yarn, but was eh on how the sock was coming out. So now I have the pretty yarn with which to do something else!

Sorry for the lack of posting recently. I'm okay, just... preoccupied. I hate February. I'll post more in March; I promise.

Posted by Kat at 09:31 PM | Comments (12)

February 14, 2007

Snow Day

Posted by Kat at 05:07 PM | Comments (13)

February 07, 2007

Review: Forever in Blue

I'm actually a few reviews behind, so let's see if I can catch up by the end of the week...

Forever in Blue by Ann Brashares
Genre: Young adult
Pages: 400
Rating: 4.2

I've loved this whole series, although I thought the first was the best, and the third not quite as good as the others. I was happy to find that the fourth was mostly great. These books tell the story of four teenage girls who are lifelong friends, and how their friendships develop and change as they grow up. The characters are nicely multidimensional, only occasionally falling into stereotypes. With four girls to work with, Brashares can have them face a wide variety of adolescent issues without making it seem too forced.

How much background information to repeat at the beginning of a later series title is always a difficult question. I think Brashares could have repeated more in this case. In the first several chapters, I was distracted by trying to remember what was going on which character's life. The first third of the book dragged a bit, but then it drew me in and I was sad to see the book, and the series, end. If you like young adult literature, definitely give these a try.

Posted by Kat at 11:00 AM | Comments (3)

February 04, 2007

Green Baby Blanket; Painful Photography Session

Finally, my first finish of 2007! This was my UFO for January, and I actually finished it a few weeks ago, but somehow never managed to post it. I'm trying to clear up my backlog of "things I meant to post about, so here it is! I would do the traditional yarn/pattern/etc. thing under the picture, but I made up the pattern as I went along, and I forget what the yarn was. Some sort of worsted weight 100% cotton that I found at Building 19 a while back.

Here's what happened as soon as I spread the blanket out on my (Dewey's) sleeping bag on the couch:

In his haste to start biting it, he jumped and grazed my camera-holding hand. Three bleeding fingers:

(Yes, wearing pajamas! Blurry, because I had to take it with my off hand.) Of course, while I was taking that picture, he jumped on the table and started drinking my cocoa. Sigh. My "spirited" kitten. So. I think you'll forgive me and understand why I'm not taking pictures today of the bag of yarn I just got at the Superbowl Sale.

Posted by Kat at 03:31 PM | Comments (13)

International Pajama Day!

Hey, it's International Pajama Day! And. I love pajamas. I probably have more pajamas than actual clothes. I generally change into pajamas as soon as I get home.

Except - today is also the traditional Superbowl Sale at my yarn store. What to do, what to do? I've given this conundrum a serious amount of thought, and I have decided to wear pajamas for most of the day, but put on jeans (but leave on the fleece hoodie I'm wearing as pajamas) for my trip to the yarn store. Seems fair enough.

And yes, I'll try to post pictures of what I buy later today, if the kitten is calm enough to not attack the yarn while I'm trying to photograph it. I have some Dewey pictures coming for you too!

Posted by Kat at 09:04 AM | Comments (3)

February 02, 2007

St. Brigid's Day Poetry Reading

Roots Down is leading the Second Annual Brigid in Cyberspace Poetry Reading. Here's one of my favorite winter poems, by Emily Dickinson:

There's a certain Slant of light,
Winter Afternoons--
That oppresses, like the Heft
Of Cathedral Tunes--

Heavenly Hurt, it gives us--
We can find no scar,
But internal difference,
Where the meanings are--

None may teach it--Any--
'Tis the Seal Despair--
An imperial affliction
Sent us of the Air--

When it comes, the Landscape listens--
Shadows--hold their breath--
When it goes, 'tis like the Distance
On the look of Death--

(found here)

Posted by Kat at 03:24 PM | Comments (4)

Yet another UFO Challenge rules clarification

Okay. I'm going to change things slightly, because I don't want to totally leave out people who didn't find out in time to sign up in January. Or people who don't have enough UFOs for the whole year. Or anyone. So. New procedure:

1. Sign-ups are not, in fact, closed. If you name is not on the right sidebar, make sure you comment or e-mail me. Signing up with me does NOT sign you up for the RingSurf ring. You need to do that separately.

2. As I've said before, each month that you participate, you should post (or comment or e-mail here, if you don't have a blog) about your UFO for the month, and whether you're working on it or frogging it. Make sure you make it clear in your post that the project is for this challenge so I don't have to read your mind. If you honestly work on something one month but don't have a chance to post it until the first or second of the next month, I'll give a little leeway with that (again, as long as you make it really clear which month the project is for), but try not to let that happen every month.

3. Each month, I will compile a list of the people who have participated, and post it sometime the next month. (Hopefully in the first week, but things happen.) I will do a random drawing from among the monthly participants for a small prize.

4. At the end of the year, I will put together the list of people who participated all twelve months, and do the "grand prize" drawing from among those names.

So, basically, you can sign up whenever, skip months, etc. and still be eligible for the small monthly prizes. But to qualify for the grand prize, you have to have been at it all year. That seem fair enough?

Working on January's list now...

Posted by Kat at 01:19 PM | Comments (15)

February 01, 2007

Spring IK preview!

The spring Interweave Knits preview is up! Looks good, at least mostly...

Posted by Kat at 11:15 AM | Comments (5)

Review: I Capture the Castle

I finished this one in January, but never quite managed to write up a review.

I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith
Genre: Literary fiction
Rating: 4.8

I love love love loved this book. I'd owned it for years, but for some reason never read it, although I had seen the movie. (It was okay.) I'm glad I finally read it. It's an enchanting story, about a family living in less-than-genteel poverty in a castle in England. They're all pretty eccentric, but lovable, most of the time. The story is in the form of the diary of Cassandra, the younger teenaged daughter. Early in the novel, the American heirs to the estate arrive, Cassandra's older sister sets her cap at one of them, and hilarity ensues. Or, at least, hilarity for the reader; it's the perfect mix of hilarity and heartbreak for the characters. The ending is hopeful but not unrealistically ideal. If you like Austen or Alcott or Montgomery, give this one a try.

Posted by Kat at 10:24 AM | Comments (5)

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