Currently Obsessed With is a once-a-month (but sometimes more) feature where I talk about my favorite things from the last month.

July was so much fun!  I went to a book signing and a knit and crochet show, and both were pretty awesome. I’ll talk more about them, but I’m definitely glad I went to both!

Crochet:

July was a good month for crochet things!  I made the Luna Lovegood scarf for a Harry Potter party I went to, and I really like the scarf.  I would definitely make it again, but I think next time, I’d use a bigger hook, because something about the scarf would work well with a bigger hook.  Really, the possible combinations of different hooks and yarns would make for an interesting scarf, and it would be interesting to see how much the scarf changed.

I also went to the Knit & Crochet Show, and I am so glad I went!  I would definitely go again if I had the chance.  I took a couple of classes- one about shawls, and one about the shell stitch.  I learned so much (which is all I’m going to say, since one class specifically mentioned that we only say we took the class and I’m applying that rule to the other class just to be safe), and if you have the chance to take classes with Marty Miller or Karen Klemp, go for it, because I thought they and their classes were pretty awesome.

I also got some yarn.  Pretty, pretty yarn.  Which is also very, very soft yarn, and all I want to do is hug the yarn and look at the yarn.  As much as I wanted to buy all the yarn, I knew that I couldn’t.  How I stuck to my budget, I have no idea.  I really don’t. But walking around before buying anything helped a lot.

I got Mulberry silk yarn with beads, and all of the colors they had were beautiful.  I’ve never crocheted with yarn that has beads throughout the yarn, but I couldn’t resist!  I think I even have a project in mind for it, which is sort of weird, but at least I know it won’t sit there because I don’t know what to do with it.  I also got some bulky pink yarn (because pink, and they’re also local, which will make it easy to get yarn from them again).  And I got fingering weight yarn (the bright green) and the yellow is a cotton and something (I want to say rayon, but I’m not sure) blend that will be fun to work with.  I think I might want to use the green for another Luna Lovegood scarf, because I think a really light-weight yarn would work for it.  And lotion from Squirrel Stash Yarn.  (Random side note: I know Cait, and I think everyone should check out her shop on etsy. She has awesome stuff).

And Lion Brand was one of the sponsors, and they had some goody bags for people who pre-registered.  I’m excited about the yarn, of course, but the bag is a reusable shopping bag which is nice for storing the yarn I got!

Books:

I went to a book signing for The Heart Of Betrayal by Mary Pearson, which I’m super-excited about, because I really liked the first book, The Kiss Of Deception.  I haven’t started it yet, because I have what feels like 50 million library books I need to read (and not being in a big reading mood right now isn’t helping), but I will read it soon!  It was fun to hear her talk about the book, and what inspired it.  Also: the poster is awesome, and I love the pins and the bookmark!

I also got The Secret Sky by Atia Abawi from Audible, which I’m looking forward to listening to, assuming I can find some time to actually do that.

T.V./Movies:

I haven’t been to the movies in a while, but I’ve been going back and forth between House and NCIS. I was surprised that NCIS was on Netflix, but now I get to watch it from the beginning.  I randomly came across the show a few years ago on USA, so I’ve never seen the episodes in order, from the beginning.  And so far, I’ve seen all of them, but still.  It’s nice to start from the beginning.  And it’s been fun re-watching House, but I think I may have re-watch the re-watch, because I have a tendency to watch it when I’m falling asleep, so I’ve missed a lot.  But it’s still a great show.

Around The Internet:

I have an entire pinterest board dedicated to Around The Internet, so you can see everything there.

I did want to specifically mention a Cover Snark post from Smart Bitches,  Trashy Books.  Also: there is a guest review for Emily’s Magical Bejeweled Codpiece here.  You need to read it, you really do.

I read a fascinating interview with Alton Brown here.

Who knew that translating Alice In Wonderland could be so challenging?  I didn’t.

Dear Author has a really thoughtful post about liking problematic things.  It’s something I have a hard time with.

I really need to spend some time looking at this list of the 37 best websites to learn new things.

Music/Podcasts:

I have no music picks this month, because I’ve added a bunch of new podcasts to my rotation.  I thought I’d share some of the ones I’ve added recently.  I’m having a hard time keeping it short, and at this point, I’m strongly considering doing a special post just to talk about more podcasts.  I’m always looking for recommendations, so if you have any, leave them in the comments!  Here’s just a few for you:

• The Black Tapes Podcast.  The best description I can think of is Night Vale done in the style of Serial.  I was listening to it at work (there’s only 6, and they’re all an hour or less) and I was getting massively creeped out listening to it.  And there were points where I forgot it was fictional.  That’s how realistic it is.  You can check them out here.  (Also, you really need to listen in order, because otherwise, things won’t make as much sense).
• Most of the ones from How Stuff Works- the history one, the conspiracy one, stuff mom never told you, stuff you should know, and stuff to blow your mind.  They’re all really interesting, and if you like learning about random things, they’re worth checking out.  Which you can do here.
• The Nerdist Podcast.  It’s really funny, and more often than not, I find myself laughing as I’m listening.  The one with Ian McKlellan was really fascinating.  You can check out The Nerdist podcast here.
• The Gilmore Guys.  It’s a lot of fun, and I came across it when I saw an article somewhere about Gilmore Girls.  It even got me to watch a few episodes of the show.  I don’t usually start at the beginning of podcast, especially if it’s over 10 or 15, like this one.  But after listening to one of the episodes, I knew I had to start back at the beginning, so it’ll be awhile before I’m caught up on this one.  You can check out Gilmore Guys here.
• Sean DeTore’s Mixtape (found here) and The Air Raid Podcast with Aaron Roden (found here). Both have really awesome interviews with people, and I heard about them on the Grapes Of Rad (which is also a favorite and totally awesome podcast where the co-hosts talk about the most random stuff.  You can check it out here if you want).

Happy August!