UNC Beanie Take 2

I made a UNC beanie for my aunt last month, and a work friend saw it and wanted one for herself. So I made another and *gasp* actually followed the pattern correctly this time. Now that I have done it the right way, I think I like the wrong way better. =P

Here they are side by side. The old (wrong) one is the bottom picture.

Frenzy

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I picked up a cheap glitter polish for $1.99 at Target and broke it out yesterday. It's Sinful Colors in Frenzy, and I didn't have high hopes after hating their Irish Green with a passion. I like it though. Glitter is pretty straightforward, so I guess it's hard to mess that up unless you have big chunks or something. Frenzy is a blue and purple glitter that could almost pass for 4th of July red and blue at a distance. The glitter pieces are small, so they're not annoying (but it is harder to get a clean line).

Feast your eyes on Frenzy!

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Emjoi Micro-Pedi

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I've been subjected to a lot of QVC in my time (thanks mom and grandma), but I've never bought anything off of QVC until now. I caved and got an Emjoi Micro-Pedi, which is a battery-powered callus shaver. It came in 3 colors, but the blue had sold out. I grabbed the purple because white is boring! I love the color because it's girly but not bright.

I've been rough on my feet over the years. I've worn heels, gone barefoot on all kinds of surfaces, and scraped them all over. I've got some pretty hard and thick calluses, especially on my big toes. I tried a Ped Egg, but it made my feet rough since it was pretty much like running my heels over a cheese grater. Once I even tried clipping the bottoms of my feet with nail clippers (highly painful, don't try it at home kids!). Nothing really worked for me... Until now!

This thing clearly works because you see so much skin coming off while you're using it. Then you're left with baby-soft feet that look and feel better. I'm gradually filing them down just in case, because you can seriously hurt yourself if you take off too much. Still, after the first use I noticed a marked difference between the before and after. I wish I had taken photos of the results! (There are B&A pictures on their website if you're curious.) The machine is so simple to use, and you can rinse it off so it's not like you're using a dirty, gross product over and over.

Another awesome thing I just found out is that there will be an attachable manicure tool available in July. Could I love it even more??

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Fast Track

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I dipped back into my Hunger Games polishes tonight, and painted my nails with China Glaze's "Fast Track." I'm usually not one to go for anything in the beige family, but it's quite pretty. It's a translucent beige-y color with a gold shimmer. It looks good in a dark room and in brighter environments.

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Irish Green

I hate having watery polish, and this one was the king. It's "Irish Green" by Sinful Colors, which in the bottle looks like the brightest, most obnoxious neon green I've been able to find. I was so excited to use it, so of course it sucks. =P

I rarely clean up my nails while I'm polishing them, but I had to with this stuff. It was either a) make a mess or b) do 15 coats. I opted for the mess because I'm impatient. This is what they looked like when I was done. Note that I cleaned them up while polishing and they still look like a mess!

As you can see, it's a bit translucent. I'd prefer a more opaque look without having to do multiple coats. This is probably 2-3 coats and I can still see through it. Another problem is that it's a great Kelly green inside, but is an acid, Rita Skeeter green in sunlight. It's maybe a little bit too 80s for me in the light.

The search for the perfect green continues...

Working on my Lotus Hat

I'm working on my Lotus hat today, which I've been putting off to do other things. I've done about 10-15 rows this morning, which is as much as I originally had before I stopped. The pattern calls for 3 pattern repeats (Chart A) for a short beanie, and I planned to do 4 because a lot of people on Ravelry recommended to do so. Now I'm thinking I might need to do 5 since my head is so big. I guess I'll play it by ear when I get there!

I wish I could make this horizontal!

For my OWL in HPKCHC, I'm making 8 hats in 3 months. I'm a bit behind, as we're halfway through the second month and I'm not even half done with my this, which is my fourth hat. So I need to speed it up!

Shower Together

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I've been holding off on painting my nails since I've been doing interviews this week, but I missed them so they're newly painted a beautiful peacock blue. This is China Glaze's Shower Together, which is a medium peacock blue creme. I absolutely love this polish, and I think it's going to be added to my favorites list. I like it so much, I'm debating getting another one in case they stop making it.

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Mini Slytherin Scarf

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I've been working this month on a mini Slytherin scarf for Nox. I wanted to try out my pattern with US 6 needles since when I make it with US size 7 needles it's a bit big. It took me a while because I hate monotonous ribbing and I also hate weaving in ends. =P

Here's Nox modeling the scarf for me:

And here's a comparison of the two scarves:

Yarn used:

  

Rainbow

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I painted my nails the other day using China Glaze's Rainbow, which is an iridescent white polish. I was really hoping for a full rainbow of colors in the shimmer, but it ended up looking mostly pink to me. It's translucent, but I didn't have the time or want to spend the effort to see what it looked like with several coats.

I tried an anti-yellowing top coat underneath because I already had it on. It obviously wasn't intended to be used as a base coat. 8 out of 10 nails are chipped today, and I painted them late the night before last. Not a good track record! But I did use it for something it wasn't intended to be used for... Mea culpa.

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Order of the Phoenix

I'm getting all caught up today! I've been doing Silver's Sock Class to make my first pair of socks. I'm using it for my Order of the Phoenix mission (2 month project) in HPKCHC. I'm using fingering weight yarn for the first time, and it's so small!! I feel like I'm going to break it. This is the first "real" pair of socks I will have made if I finish (since they are the first people-size socks I have attempted). I'm about 3.5" into the cuff on the first sock, which is just k2p2 ribbing... And I am so bored! I can only do a round or two at a time before putting it down. Blogging right now is serving as sock procrastination. =P

This is what they look like so far. Again, the colors are washed out. It's more of a forest green yarn. Wish me luck!!

Market Bag

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I started a market bag yesterday, and I'm not sure how it will turn out in acrylic. We shall see! I'm making it in Red Heart Paddy Green, and I'm using Dark Orchid for the top and handle. I think it will be like Mardi Gras colors... Maybe I should do the band in gold and the handle in purple. We'll see when I get to the top!

Here's the bottom of the bag (sorry for the washed out colors):

Yarn used:

Old-Style Ravenclaw Scarf

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I finally finished my old style, big stripe Ravenclaw scarf (movie colors, not blue and bronze... Yuck!) yesterday. I like it because it's not obviously a Potter scarf... It's just blue and grey. Now I just have to wait for the 80-degree weather to go away so I can wear it!

Yarn used:

  

Gryffindor Scarf is Coming Along...

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I've been working on my Gryffindor scarf on and off throughout May, and I've decided to shelve it for now. I'm about 40% through it, but I've got more pressing things to knit for now. It's nice mindless knitting for TV time, but since most of the TV shows I watch aren't on right now, I can concentrate on more fun things to knit. Here's my progress so far:

Yarn used: