I am joining Dewey’s Knit-Along (in memory of Dewey) and hosted by Robin. It’s one of the mini-challenges that Robin concocted for Dewey’s Book Challenge, but you can join in the knit-along without doing the reading challenge. I’m terrible with reading challenges, but I thought I would tag my next Knitting Project as my Dewey Knit-Along item.

So, with the same yarn I used for my mom’s hat, I am knitting her a scarflette. More specifically, the Ribbed Mini-Scarf [ravlink] by Celeste Glassel. I figure that my mom already has some really fancy, pretty silk scarf/pashmina things for work, but she needs a more practical scarf to wear with her hat. Also, it’s not as big/long/time-consuming as a regular sized scarf.

P.S. I’m being booted out* of the house for Superbowl tomorrow so I hope to find a coffeeshop to sit, knit, and surf the net. * Note: but who really wants to be in a house with grown men yelling and belching and farting and smoking?

1. I’d really like a hug from my man right now.
2. Inappropriate phrases is what you’d most often hear me say if I stubbed my toe.
3. Possession is a slippery slope.
4. I heart Captain Jack Sparrow.
5. Marshmallows and fire go together like love and marriage. Add some chocolate and graham crackers and you get s’mores.
6. My apartment hunt goes on and on.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to finally finishing my website portfolio, tomorrow my plans include building a light box to photograph some earrings and Sunday, I want to finish my cocoa pal’s package!

A couple weeks ago I ordered a little earring tree off eBay. It arrived today and I’m glad I only paid a couple dollars for it, it isn’t nearly as classy as they made it out to be… but you can’t tell that the “crystal base” is actually just plastic. *sigh* Either way, it’ll hold the earring well and I want to practice photographing them to properly portray the colours and designs.

My cocoa pal’s package is nearly done. I just have to put the finishing touches on their Blah Buster Buddy, and find one more item for the package. I want to get her a knitting accessory that she needs/wants, but it’s difficult to find the right item. Speaking of knitting accessories, my tapestry needles and dropping like flies! I had four, and now I’m down to one… and I have no idea where or when they disappeared!

I am feeling so influenced by advertisements right now. I’m watching TV and you know the mail-order infomercials? There was this awesome scrapbooking cutter that I wanted. And now I just saw an ad for International Delight Irish Cream that I want to try. And yesterday I stopped by Tim Horton’s to try their new lattes. They are actually pretty good, and cheaper than Starbucks!

Maybe I should turn off the TV, I now want Hagen Daz ice cream… now half the fat!

Some of you may or may not know that I’m a vegetarian. Well I recently was sent some books from a publishers that are a little more extreme than my current dietary habits; however, I’ve flipped through them and flagged some recipes I’d like to try or adapt. I just wanted to let you all know that I’ll be talking about my cooking a little if I can.

I love 30-minute type meals, and am endlessly searching for a “quick meals vegetarian” book. And I would love to hear some recipe recommendations if you have any.

Great Chefs Cook Vegan by Linda Long. My first impression of this book was that it was very gourmet. I’m going to wait until I try cooking a recipe or two before I pass any judgement though. I marked some recipes that I could adapt, as I may not have the ingredients, or use dairy items instead of non-dairy products. The book appears to be a collection of recipes from over 20 different chefs; everything from entrees and salads to soups and desserts. There are some recipes that call for fresh berries that made my mouth water.

Everyday Raw by Matthew Kenney. The photos in this book look so delicious and fresh. The design of the book is very modern, and I think it makes a statement on the Raw Movement. The intro in the book talks about the key to eating raw is to use what’s fresh, local, in season, and available. I noticed that a number of the recipes call for a “dehydrator” and “dehydration sheets” which appear to be a substitute to an oven… I’m not really sure but there are certainly some appealing recipes that I’d love to adapt and work into my regular day-to-day life. There are a lot of great suggestions for salsas, sauces, dressings, and smoothies. I’m interested in trying acai berry, mango guacamole, and pineapple salsa! I’ll let you know how it all goes.

Project Details [ravpage]:
Yarn: Michell & CIA. Luxury Collection Alpaca Peru. 100% baby alpaca.
Pattern: Fetching-Inspired Hat [ravlink] by Grace KnitsALOT.
Needles: 6mm circulars (instead of DPNs)

The pattern was very vague, but fortunately, hats with a 5 stitch repeat are fairly easy to manipulate. I held the yarn doubled (the pattern called for bulky) and CO 130 sts (pattern calls for 80). Other than that, I followed the pattern pretty much exactly. I did take to putting it on my head to figure out length, but that all went well!

X in Flight is the first installment of the XYZ Trilogy by Karen Rivers.

“X in Flight” centers on the lives of three intriguing teens. Xenos (“X” for short) will never be a normal kid. And it isn’t his looks or the way he carries himself. It isn’t because he hasn’t quite figured out how to deal with his crazy girlfriend or out-there mother. It’s because X doesn’t want to be normal. He wants to stand out.

So, quite by accident, X gets his wish. Now, he can fly. But is he an angel of a superhero? What’s the purpose of his new power? There are no obvious answers, but X should know by now that very few things come easy. Even a brand new set of wings…

I really don’t know how to describe this book, I’ve actually been sitting on this review for several days. The book is geared towards young adults, and I think that Karen Rivers nailed that apprehensive, self-conscious teen in all of us. However, I don’t think the characters needed to use the f-word

I think what bothered me most was the narrative mode. We followed three characters, and each time we returned to one, the point of view changed dramatically. This was a little off-putting, yet I was really compelled by the story, to find out what happens… or happened (due to the POV I’m not really sure…).

The main character, X, is written in first-person narrative, but as a letter to the girl he has a crush on. It’s like he’s writing in a diary, addressed to the girl, Ruby, but he’ll never show her. Ruby’s chapters are written in second-person narrative (“you find yourself looking over the school”). These chapters feel the weirdest, probably because second-person narrative is uncommon in Western literature. The third character we follow is Cat, X’s current girlfriend, and the narrative is third-person. This one is the most common narrative, and sounds the most relaxed and normal for the book.

I’m already reading the next book in the trilogy, Y in the Shadows, because I want to know what the point is. Sure X can fly, but why? What was the point of it? Was it just a character-development type book?