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

July has been a fun month!  It’s also been really hot, and the lack of working AC didn’t help, so for the most part, all I had the energy to do was sit on the couch and watch t.v.

Crochet:

I finally felted the purse I talked about last month.  I tried doing it by hand, but I got really impatient, so I ended up throwing it in the washing machine.  I had to do it a couple times to get it to how you see it in the picture, but I think it also depends on how felted you want it.

I wasn’t completely happy with how the handles turned out, but that was my fault- I didn’t count as well as I thought I did for that part of it.  It’s also really small, so I’m not sure what I’m going to use it for, but I am using a different purse (that’s also bigger than what I’m used to), so maybe I’ll use it for smaller things like my keys and wallet.  But I’m not sure.  Below, you can see what it looks like, before and after felting.

As you can see, you can still see the stitches a little bit, but I think felting is one of those things where you do it until you get the look you want.

I did a capelet and witches hat too, and both took longer than I wanted to.  But only because I got a bit lazy, so then I had to crochet furiously for about a week, just to get them done in time for the midnight release of HP And The Cursed Child.  But I got it done!  Somehow, I did, even though I’m not completely sure how!

I really like the capelet, though I don’t know that I’ll wear it much beyond the Harry Potter events going on.  But honestly?  It was a lot cheaper/easier making it than it would be to buy it.  And it’s the same with the hat!  I will say, though, that the hat threw me a little.  I really like it, and it turned out well, but there was something slightly weird about it.

There were some rounds, mostly towards the end, where my stitch count was off for no apparent reason- and it was always the rounds where I didn’t increase.  I had the correct number of stitches in the previous round, I didn’t miss any stitches- even at the beginning and end of the round, and I even counted a good three or four times.  And yet, I was still off by one stitch, even though I should have had the correct number of stitches.  I don’t think it’s the pattern, because it was fine until the brim, so I’m chalking it up to crocheter-error.  You can find the pattern for the hat here, and the pattern for the capelet here, if you’re interested!

Books:

I went to the Gail Carriger book signing for Imprudence, and I had a great time.  If you ever have the chance to go to one of her books signings, they’re really fun.  She takes questions the entire time, and she’s funny, and people always ask really interesting questions, and she has some really funny answers.  One thing I might start doing is taking notes, just because I can never remember what they talk about, and I wish I could talk more about what people asked and what their answers are.

Also: Harry Potter midnight release party!!!!!!!!  That was fun, and I talked more about it here, but I will say that it was nice to go to another midnight release party for Harry Potter.  I can’t think of any other book that would get the midnight release party treatment.

As for the books I bought: I bought Imprudence by Gail Carriger, and Servants Of The Storm by Delilah Dawsonn. Of course, I also bought Harry Potter And The Cursed Child- both print and e-book.  I also got When Reason Breaks by Cindy Rodriguez from Audible.

T.V./Movies:

I saw The BFG, which I talked about here, and I also went to see Ghostbusters.  Ghostbusters was a lot of fun to watch, and in no way did it ruin the fact that I grew up on the original- which I now want to re-watch, because it’s been way too long since I’ve seen it.  I loved Holtzman, and Patty was awesome, and I loved that they were very much about the science, and what they had to go through in order to be taken seriously.  Also: Chris Hemsworth as the dumb receptionist was absolutely hysterical.  It definitely has its own story, and I think the all-female cast was a good choice because it meant it was really different from the original.  But there are also quite a few nods to the original Ghostbusters movie, and that was really cool.  And definitely stay for the credits, because it’s one of the most entertaining credits I’ve seen in a long time.

As for t.v., I’ve been watching Law & Order: SVU on Netflix, so I’ve basically been watching the post-Stabler seasons (which I’m sure are on hulu).  I will never understand how I can binge-watch this show.  I finished season 1 of iZombie, which I really liked, and now I’m watching Royal Pains.  I’ve only seen bits and pieces of Royal Pains, and the original stuff on USA is pretty cool, from what I’ve seen of Royal Pains and White Collar.

Around The Internet:

Reading rules we don’t follow as adults that we expect students to follow was pretty interesting reading and makes a lot of good points.

This blog post about genres and how important it is to place books into the right genre was also interesting reading.

On a semi-related note: How To Define YA and Do YA Characters Need To Be Role Models?

I liked this post about disability terminology, this one about navigating criticism and discussions about disability representation, and this one about chronic illness in YA.

I also liked this interview with 4 YA authors about sci-fi, sex and writing for young women.

If it weren’t so hot, I’d totally make these baked chicken strips.  However, that just means I may need to have these snacks on hand.

This honey lemon chicken looks really good!

This post hits the nail on the head about required reading in English class.

Speaking of school…I loved seeing these historical photos.  They really bring history to life.

I am a fan of page flags, particularly when I read non-fiction, and these make me want to buy some!

You can find all of this, and more, over on pinterest!

Things I’m Looking Forward To In August:

There’s not much, but there are a few things I’m looking forward to.

• A Harry Potter party!  I went last year, and it was super-fun, and I’m definitely looking forward to it this year.
• I’m going to a book signing for The Beauty Of Darkness by Mary E. Pearson.  I’m sad the series is coming to an end, but I also need/want to know what happens next!
• Suicide Squad!  I usually go see all of the Marvel movies, but I almost never make it to the DC ones.  But this one looks cool.

Music:

Here’s a playlist of what I’ve been listening to over the last couple of months.  Enjoy!