Yes, I am still alive! Sorry I haven't posted in a while. I've had a case of crafter's block, which you may know as granny's square. (I know, I know... lame.) Also, I've spent a lot of time hanging out with my very best friend, who just moved back into the area last week. Gotta make up for six months without him!
And, of course, I went to the midnight release of --- and subsequently drooled over --- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.
What an awesome movie. Kudos, David Yates, Tom Felton, Michael Gambon, Evanna Lynch, David Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and whoever that girl was who played Lavender. Kudos to you all.
Anyway, enough fangirl giggling from me.
I've been doing a lot of digging on craft sites (all of which I will link once I've gotten the blogger interface figured out) and I came across a few awesome sites in particular, the first of which is berroco.com. Remember that best friend I mentioned earlier? His birthday is two weeks from yesterday. I'm pinching pennies, so I'm going to make him something. I was on the usual pattern sites for ages before I found this little gem. Highly recommended.
I also found Three Irish Girls. This site is awesome. In addition to having some of the most gorgeous yarns for sale, they also sell dyes and instruction books on how to dye your own yarn with stunning results.
But mostly, I want to draw your attention to Keep The Fleece. This site is many things. It is a celebration of the United Nations declaring 2009 to be the year of natural fibers. There are competitions in which the contestants submit items created of various categories of fibers. But what I'm really interested in is the collaborative project to create the world's longest scarf. Teams from all over the world will knit, crochet, weave, or felt lengths of scarves that are 9 inches wide. The scarf segments will then be joined together at the New York Sheep & Wool Festival on the 17th and 18th of August. The money raised from this project will go toward Heifer International, which will use it to provide needy families with fleece-bearing animals and training to look after the animals so that they can grow the herd's numbers and eventually become capable of supporting themselves financially. The scarf will be disassembled into normal scarf-length sections, and these scarves will be given to those who need them.
When I found out about the project, I immediately registered a team. In fact, in my rush to sign up, I almost forgot to ask the members of my team if they wanted to participate. I took up my hook, grabbed a skein of yarn, and got to work as soon as I'd registered the team. I have wanted for months to do something with this yarn, because it's just so fluffy and pretty. It's black and teal and lavender, and I love it.
I'll keep you updated on the scarf's progress. Hurry, go, register to make your own sections! Or, if you're not able to help with the scarf itself, donate on the site.
Ooh, maybe they'll let me take it with me if I go see Half-Blood Prince again....
Till next time,
Kirsten
