Finally knitting a blanket!

I caved last night and actually purchased a knitting pattern, because what's better than knitting while it's snowing outside? Ok, maybe many things if you're cooler than me. Well, this blanket by Jared Flood is relatively easy, and due to the awesome amount of knitters on the internets who put up free videos about how to do things, I'm actually doing ok at this! I mean, it's pretty squished on my needles atm, so I have a feeling it's not going to be as pretty as his, but first attempts rarely are.
At least I figured out a way better way to cast on! My old cast on was, I'm pretty sure, what you teach a 5-year-old on their first knitting project. And it tended not to work too well. But the Lont-Tail Cast On is awesome, and I will forever use it. Perhaps next I should learn the adult way to switch colors while knitting.
I found the knitting abbreviations glossary to also be helpful when trying to figure out pretty much everything that wasn't "knit" and "purl." Yay project!

Winter is Coming...

le scarf!

I finally finished my scarf! I've been working on this thing for ages, which is ridiculous because it was pretty easy to knit. It didn't take me too long to do once I got started, but I'm lazy so it took forever. It's pretty easy, and if you would like to make one yourself, the directions can be found at TLC's website. I had to google a few things myself because I knit so rarely I sometimes forget what they mean when they say "purl" or how to cast off at the end of a piece...
Which reminds me, if I'm ever going to finish my hat I'm going to have to figure out how to "cast off" of circular needles. And find the pattern again.

this is a terrifying picture of me,
but I'm too lazy to take another.

Next, perhaps I'll finish a book.
I have read the first four books in A Song of Ice and Fire or more commonly known as A Game of Thrones, which is the title of the first book. They are quite long and there are a lot of characters, so I've been savoring them a bit. The first one took me a week to "savor" because it was so good. Than the second took me a bit longer, and the third longer than that, and the fourth took the longest. I know they're good because I keep trying to take a break from them and then decide I want to read them again within a few days.

They are the kind of books you need to take some time with, I think, because there are just so many characters and they are competing in the game of thrones, so basically all of them are competing against each other so most of them cannot win. George R. R. Martin is not kind to his readers, he let's us love them until he kills them and he sometimes makes us understand them just to destroy them. So if you want some light reading where the good guys win and the bad guys lose, this series is most definitely not for you. However, if you enjoy political intrigue and the kind of characters that make Snape look simple, than by all means, start the bloodbath.

Stay tuned: while I decide whether or not to finish said hat or move onto making a t-shirt quilt or these nifty headbands, possibly with scraps from the first t-shirt quilt.