Hermione Hat Pt.2 & What I'm Reading...

The hat turned out WAY too small (think child size), so I ended up giving it to my small-headed friend. Hopefully it won't be too small for her, but she's got a daughter she could give it to, if so. ;)

I've started another attempt, this time I went with a slightly thicker yarn and went a size up on my needles, and so far so good regarding the size. Maybe this will be the keeper! I like this yarn I'm using too. It's a pretty cream color, and it's got just the slightest hint of a sparkle to it, so it's a little magical, which is appropriate for a hat named after Hermione. ;)

Speaking of magical... I've also started listening to The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern while I knit. But... I'm only about 17% into the story, and I'm less than impressed.

I didn't really have high expectations for this book to start with, because I'm not interested in circuses, or carnivals, or fairs or other "entertainment" stuff like that... and especially not "whimsical" "magical" versions of those things. And I don't really care for unruly magic, either. I guess what I'm trying to say here is that magic constrained only by imagination and skill, without rules or boundaries, is boring to me... I've already seen several examples of this in the book so far. *sigh*
PLUS, the audio is read by Jim Dale, and I am not a fan of him. I don't like the way he reads at all, especially Harry Potter. This isn't so bad, at least he's not mangling voices I've loved for years inside my head, but I just can't bring myself to like his style. So... Yeah. Three strikes against this already, and two were there before I'd even started. =\

It's not really all that fair, but that's life sometimes, eh? LOL

That being said, I'm not HATING it. I'm just not really all that impressed by it. Maybe it'll get better... who knows? It's for my bookclub, so I'll finish it either way, and I'm sticking with the audio so I can multi-task and knit me up a hat! I'm a glutton for punishment that way. ;)

Wish me luck!

'Hermione Hearts Ron' Hat

For a while now, I've been itching to make this adorable cable and eyelet hat that I found on Ravelry, Hermione Hearts Ron, and now that I'm re-reading the Harry Potter series, and it's still cold, I've decided to just do it.

So far, I'm loving the pattern, though it is taking what seems like forever because there are so many stitches and the needles are so small that it seems like after doing all 132 of them to complete a round, I've added only about a centimeter of length. And to be honest, I am starting to get concerned that this adorable hat will be too small for my big head.

This pattern is very stretchy, but it still might not fit how I'd like, so if that's the case, I plan on gifting it to a fellow Harry Potter fan who has a smaller head than I do...

Here's a picture of the hat in progress (and sorry for the crappy quality - ipod pictures are TOTALLY the best... /sarcasm)... The yarn is actually pure white, not pee yellow. :P : 

Also, this past Christmas, a Secret Santa got me a copy of  Literary Knits: 30 Patterns Inspired By Favorite Books by Nikol Lohr. There are some gorgeous patterns in there, though I think that they are a bit above my skill level at this point. Anyone else knit or crochet, or quilt or craft or fabricate or make? And if so, have you made anything inspired by a book you've read or a movie you've seen?

New Years Resolutions and Goals

2013 is going to be a great reading year!

Last year, I banned myself from re-reading anything for the entire year. Nothing but new-to-me books for an entire year. I made it, but it was incredibly hard, and is probably the reason I did not make my goal of reading 160 books.  I ended up lowering my goal several times, and in the end I made it to 128. 80% is a passing score, but it was still disappointing to me. I feel like I'd have done better if I could occasionally re-read a book I knew I'd love.

So this year, all that "no re-reading" garbage is out the window. I'll be doing a LOT of re-reading this year.

I have plans to read through as much of Stephen King's work as possible, in publication order, for the most part. I'll be skipping the Bachman books (except Thinner, The Regulators, and Blaze), and reading the Dark Tower series at the end of the year, rather than the beginning, which was originally the plan before I decided to go crazy with the Stephen King re-reads.

I'll also be re-reading Harry Potter. Duh. And some other favorites, like The Lord of the Rings trilogy and some Jane Austen.

Basically anything I want! MWAHAHAHAHA!

We're also continuing with the real life bookclub, which is exciting. I'm really glad that people seem to enjoy it, and it's even growing! We lost one of our members when he moved away, but we've gained a few others, so it's working out. I really enjoy it, and it's caused me to read some books that I really had no intention of ever reading. Some of those I didn't even end up hating! Surprises abound.

January's book is The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern, which is another one that I really had zero intention of ever reading. It was THE "It" book for a while a few months ago, and while I don't really have anything against super-hyped books, I have read a few reviews and it doesn't seem like it will be my cup of tea. But I'm going to read it and give it a chance... who knows, maybe I'll end up liking it. Stranger things have happened, right?

So anyway, this year, my goal is to read 150 books. With all the re-reads that I know I'll enjoy, I don't think I'll have to "OMG I-DUN-WANNA!" reading slumps that I had last year, where nothing at all interested me enough to read it... for weeks at a time. Reading should be enjoyable, dang it!

This year it will be. Or ELSE.

Anywho... if anyone is still reading this defunct blog, do you have any reading goals or plans you would like to share?