I can't believe I get paid for this

My Harry Potter Flickr set

This was so much fun! We've been planning for this program since at least November, and it went smoother than any of us could have hoped for. We had good weather, plenty of help, and a large crowd (but not so large that nobody could move). We were thrilled to see that a lot of kids came in costume, including two very little ones who were running around in their Gryffindor sweaters expelliarmus-ing everything in sight.

All of the staff people were running around taking pictures like crazy, and I think we might have had more fun than the kids. :D I was dressed as Moaning Myrtle, and was so happy that people knew right away who I was supposed to be. All of the staff costumes were great. A lot of them had sewn their costumes themselves, and there I was in my Target/Old Navy/H&M knockoff... but considering that not a single person had to ask who I was supposed to be, I think I did good. :D

One of those days where I love my job. :)

Bejeweled Scarf

So, here's the danger of having a scarf as purse knitting:


That's a yooge scarf there, folks.

I made this my purse knitting after I finished my GWTF socks. A row here, a row there, a whole mess of rows while I was trying to tune out the guy at the tire place telling me in graphic detail about his rectal cancer... I pulled the scarf out last night to see how much longer it would have to be; it was already at 72", and I still had to do the snappy little point. Surprise!

This has long been the ignored middle child of my WIPs, so I'm glad that I can stop feeling bad about neglecting it. It's done just in time for the lovely humid days of August.


That look on my face says, "I am wearing a scarf, and it is 95 degrees out. Perhaps this knitting thing has gone too far."





Bejeweled scarf, by Lisa Shobhana Mason
Started January 07, finished July 07
Yarn: Rowan All-Seasons Cotton, limedrop, 2 skeins
Needles: US size 8.
Mods: Bigger gauge, thicker yarn, fewer stitches. Slipped stitch edges.

You know it's serious when it starts with a quote from Aeschylus

And yes, that's the only spoiler you'll get here, cross my heart.

Our HP copies arrived at work on Friday, sealed up in bins with plastic ties. The library system had signed legal agreements saying that we wouldn't circulate or process the books until Saturday, which meant that we couldn't get any of our reserve copies processed ahead of time.



We did NOT have a midnight party at the branch, which several people had asked about. We figure our big HP party in a week and a half will be more than enough. Those of us who are fans are excited for it; the muggles there are dreading it and wishing they'd asked for the night off. My costume is coming together, and all I'm missing now is a tie and the knowledge of how to properly tie it.

Our lack of a midnight party at the branch meant that I was free to go to a midnight party myself! I went with L from work and some of her friends, and we had a blast. Ok, I shouldn't speak for them--I had a blast, and they seemed to be having a fine time as well, especially when the punchiness started to hit. We got our "place in line" tickets around 6:15, went over to Outback for dinner, and then went back to B&N around 9:30 for the festivities. Sorting hat, crafts, Polaroid pictures (ours didn't turn out), trivia, costume contest... It hadn't been too crazy at 6, but the place was a zoo when we went back:





There were--I'm guessing here--about 1500 people there. Some of them who were, um, lucky enough to be near us in the parking lot probably overheard snippets of Stephen Lynch and Rocky Horror... sorry about that, nearby folks. None of our group had preordered our books, so we didn't get our copies until around 1:30. I got home around 2:15, intended to read one chapter before bed, but ended up reading 4 chapters before I forced myself to put it down. I had to work Saturday, and I'm non-functional after an all-nighter; as much as I wanted to stay up to read, real world responsibility had to come first. Bleh.

Perhaps the best part was the reaction I got from most of the people at work. I had the following exchange a few times during the day Saturday:

Coworker: "You've read that much already? When did you get the book?"
Me: "Last night. I read a few chapters before I went to bed, so I had a start on it before I came in."
Coworker: "You stayed up to get it last night, even though you had to work today? Did you get any sleep?"
Me: "Yes, about 4 hours."

And right there is where whoever it was would start laughing in that "I'm a little worried for your sanity" way. I had someone point out on Friday that I didn't even NEED to go get the book at midnight, since Target would have copies on Saturday during the day and I could just get it then... it seems that the midnight release thing doesn't make sense to everyone.

Anyway, 5 combined hours of reading later, I finished the book. I cried a few times, and cheered at the many kickass moments, and all-around loved it. Can't wait for work tomorrow so I can talk with people there about it!

(This post would have been up sooner, but I had to charge my camera batteries so I could get to my pictures. Blargh.)

A second stash begins

Obviously what I've needed is another hobby that will involve a stash.

I saw these fat quarters in starlitnest's Etsy shop last week and absolutely loved them:





Sorry, it's my first ever fabric acquisition not from a remnant bin, so I had to share.

I also uploaded a couple of pictures of our HP decorations at work. They added more stuff after I took these pictures, of course, so I may hold off until closer to program day before taking any more.

Ljod coming along

Know what's fun? Working in a library a couple of weeks before HP7 comes out. There are a few people there who haven't read the books and have no interest in it whatsoever... but the rest of us are geeking out pretty hardcore. I'll see if I can get some pictures of what's happened to the circ desk. I can;t wait to see what the place looks like for our big HP program, since this is just some early prep work that they're doing.

Hit a nice progress point on Ljod yesterday:


And since you can't see it in that picture above...


I've started binding off for the armholes. It's earlier than the pattern says to start, but I had the realization that, if I follow the pattern for length, I'm going to have a sweater that's 28" long. I don't want to envision myself in a sweater that big. Actually, that would be a very good guarantee that I'd never wear it.

And the totally unexpected good news I got today: the state tax people are giving me a refund! I thought I owed money to them, but it turns out that I didn't even have to file because I was working part-time for most of the year. I came home to find a nice check in my mail, and had absolutely no clue that it was coming. *grin*

Go With The Flow socks

We had lovely plans to go see fireworks on the Fourth... and then came the thunderstorm and tornado warnings. So instead, Amie, Jody, Coleen, and I hung out at Coleen's, did some knitting, and watched Office Space. I have a feeling that, if we had decided to stay for the fireworks instead of saying, "Wet ground... icky", I wouldn't have finished these:



My Go With The Flow socks are now DONE and wearable! This pattern is in IK summer 2005, and is also in the Interweave Favorite Socks book. The easily memorized and very repetitive lace made it so I could work on this absolutely anywhere... and I'm glad I had coaching for the final kitchenering, because I can never remember how to get that started.




And, lest you think that I only have one measly FO here...


Folks, I SEWED. It's been about 15 years since the last time that happened. With some very patient supervision from Jody and Sarah, Amie and I each turned out a box bag yesterday! Do I already have several sewing books checked out of the library? Maybe... :)