Eight months clean

My ball of Knit One Crochet Too Ty-Dy Socks spent plenty of time in my office yarn/popcorn/soup bowl. Below is the actual project.

The other day, I was reminded how long it's been since I bought a skein of yarn.

I'm 232 days clean!

It's also been months since I've set foot in a craft store. I know, it sounds depressing. But I've been making so much progress with my stash-busting efforts.

I'm well ahead on Christmas presents. I actually crocheted and knitted presents for Father's and Mother's Day. I've spent time with yarn I bought years ago and fell in love with it all over again.

Case in point: the cabled scarf I just finished. I bought the yarn when I was still in college. It was soft and I intended to make my mom some socks out of it. I cast on knit for a bit, then ripped it all out and stuffed what I could inside of the ball. Knit One Crochet Too Ty-Dy Socks is a pretty yarn --- smooth, silky and easy to knit with despite its sock yarn weight. The colorway I bought, Pansy, knit up in nice patches of shades of purple and green. You can find the pattern here. This project was well-traveled! I took it to L.A. with me and it made multiple trips to Milwaukee! The pattern is perfect for trips.

Next, I'm tackling a pair of bunny slippers. I was fascinated by this pattern from The Happy Hooker when the book first came out. I gathered the yarn, but never quite got to starting the foundation chain.

Vacation Day One: Jump Start Frenzy

Whenever I travel -- especially if I know I'll be sitting most of the time -- I bring a book and a project or two. I don't sleep on any form of transportation and I go nuts without something to do. So, after packing, I headed to the coffee shop to cast on a project to keep me busy.

This time, I'm off to L.A.! I am so excited. I've never been, and this is the first time I'm going on vacation with my boyfriend.

To commemorate the occasion, I'm casting on two Christmas presents: crocheted bunny slippers crocheted with a combo of Lamb's Pride Worsted and Classic Elite La Gran Mohair in gray for an aunt, and a cable scarf out of  Knit One Crochet Too Ty-Dye in the pansy colorway for another aunt. I'm not expecting to finish them both on this trip, but I do want to make some headway on my holiday gift list. 

And the progress continues! While I'm casting on for those projects, I'm finishing off my California Spring Scarf. It turned out quite pretty, but I'm convinced the patter would have been easier to understand if it were in chart form. I still don't understand why most English-language crochet patterns, especially ones for lace, aren't written in that form. i had to keep watching designer's videos to understand the pattern's instructions.

The yarn I used, naturallycaron.com's Spa, was fun to crochet with. It was soft, silky and smooth. It was a bamboo acrylic blend. A pity it's discontinued. 

Anyway, all I've got left to do is weave in the end, and off it goes into the 'to block' pile. 

Splendid! It's barely fall, and I've got two Christmas presents done. Let the stash busting continue! 

Late night 'aha'

I've been staring at this pattern for months. I finally figured it out. It's a wonderful feeling. California Spring Scarf, you've been hooked. Fluffy Bunny Slippers and Reversible Cables Scarf beware. And one of you might end up on planes to and from L.A. Let the stash busting and Christmas present flurry continue!

Poor Harry

Who knew that I'd be a screamer? I sure didn't. Screaming apparently helps me through roller coaster rides. I felt sorry for the guys who ended up sitting next to me -- I'm pretty sure they went temporarily deaf for a couple hours.

I wanted to save babbling about my trip to Universal's Islands of Adventure on Wednesday for last because I needed time for my brain cells to recover from the three consecutive roller coaster rides I ended up hopping on. That's in addition to the two I rode at Busch Gardens. Would I chalk it up to masochism? No, not really. I walked through the park, took plenty of pictures, stowed away my stuff, then hopped on to whatever rides were open.

They were all absolutely terrifying. I struggled to keep my eyes open and silently chanted all the passwords I knew ( yes, even the ones from work) to prevent myself from chickening out and heading to the closest exit.

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter was the best part of the theme park. From sipping a butterbeer to taking a photo next to the Hogwarts Express at Platform 9 and 3/4, it was pretty incredible to see the books transformed into reality. I browsed my way through Ollivander's, Honeydukes, Dervish and Banges, and Zonko's. The place was packed.

I hopped on two rides here: The Dragon Challenge and Harry Potter and Forbidden Journey. The latter was pretty impressive; it made you feel like you were actually in the Triwizard Tournament alongside Harry. The former just made me feel sick. I was pretty sure something in my brain came loose, too.

I couldn't resist trying my luck on a water ride -- it looked like so much fun. Stood in line for an hour at Ripsaw Falls. It wasn't as terrifying as the other rides, but I did get soaked. Rather than pay $5 for a cycle inside a people dryer, I opted to walk around until I dried out.

I ended the day by hanging out with all my favorite Marvel superheroes -- Wolverine, Cyclops, Captain America, Spiderman, Storm and Rogue. I posed using some of the moves I learned in kickboxing class. See that fist? Haha.

But what's more frightening than rides? An 8-ounce gummy bear. How gross. Who would eat that? And imagine all the stuff it would pick up if you dropped it. I just had to take a picture: