Goodbye Grandma J

Both of the very special women who taught me to knit are now passed. Mom back in the summer of 97 and now Grandma J.

Grandma J was 95, it was her time. 

I'm so incredibly sad.

I knitting related news I have her needle stash, which I love. The straights are displayed in the kitchen.  I also have some of her yarn stash.  Maybe it is time to dip into that special stash a bit in celebration of her life fully lived.

Halloween and Stitch Markers

Greetings one's of readers! I know at least one person reads this blog. So let's just jump back in shall we? Behold The Boy Who Lived Weasley Sweater I knitted for Henry LAST YEAR. Ok. Knitting children's sweaters a bit large is not a BAD idea, it's a GOOD idea. Kids grow.

The sweater, along with some Channel eye liner for a lightening shaped forehead scar, were quite the hit for Henry's Harry Potter Halloween costume this year. Pretty much EVERYONE recognized H's costume.

We raided the dress up, clothes we already have, dollar store for our costumes this year. Evelyn wore her green fairy/princess skirt and bolero Grandma Sue made her for Christmas a few years back. We augmented it with some Bright Green dollar store fairy accessories, some black clothing she already had and finished it off with a pair of lovely Noro leggings inspired by Lyra's leggings in The Golden Compass. So we had a Handknit Halloween!

I've been itching to knit lace. I've been wearing my Swallowtail and Kiri shawls recently. Oh how I love them. They add a little warmth, a splash of color and texture. I love them. This is Gail (Nightsongs) in Knit Picks Gossamer in Sweat Pea.

I crashed and burned during my first attempt on the Nightsongs shawl. I used all locking stitch markers and missed the very important center marker. I decided to toss my stitch marker stash.

Top row from left to right we have a section of drinking straw, yes I have resorted to drinking straw bits in the past. Knit Picks split ring markers, Knit Picks locking stitch marker, I don't like either of the Knit Pick's stitch markers, they are stiff, break easily and the pointy part of the open one is too pointy. The one of the end is a Grandma Janette stash old school plastic O ring. I think they were intended for hanging curtains somehow. I love them.

Middle row from left to right. Surprise stitch markers included in my Crazy 4 Dying yarn, I love these. One of my set of "Boob" markers from Just A Knit Wit's Etsy store. One of two markers I received from Laura from Crazy Miss Finch a few years ago. One of my favorites. It's metal wire and beads. I really like this construction. She has a tutorial, scroll down to find the stitch markers.

Bottom Row thank you markers from Cyrano's Creature Comforts Drive.

The continuous metal wire and bead markers are my favorite. They are the least likely to come apart and get caught on the project in my experience.

I'm here and I knitting. I have more projects to share but many are Holiday gifts so I'll wait to post pics.

Where did September go?

I'm here, I'm knitting, I'm just not blogging. I spend more time on Ravelry and Facebook these days then on blogger.

I've finished seven projects since Wicked. Two dishcloths, a pair of Owling Mitts for my Sister's 30th birthday, two Hedgies for a swap with a high school friend, a cotton thong for a bachelorette party and a surprise. I'm not up for posting pics right now. Just have not felt like blogging.

I started a god awful looking blanket to try to work through some of my acrylic stash. I'm doing Lizard Ridge, but in acrylic. It's a brilliant, gorgeous pattern but I'm doing it in awful yarn. The last yarn I used was so scratchy and squeeky. I was ready to just bind off and call the project quits. Then I tossed my stash and realized that I was knitting with the single most scratchy, awful yarn in my entire stash. I culled several skeins of ultra awful acrylic to give to the kids to just tangle and mess with, meh. I'm going to journey on with the blanket in an attempt to create some sort of awful that transcends into the beautiful. I'm going for nausea inducing color vibration.

I started a pair of Noro Legwarmies for E today. I'm doing them two at a time like socks. Oh I love the Noro in all of it's imperfect explosive color.

I threw a surprise 30th birthday party for my sister. She knew there was something planned but did not know when where how or who so she was genuinely surprised when guests started arriving while she was over for dinner. She loved the Hedwig mitts I knitted for her. She received a beautiful stole knitted in Noro sock from her college roommate Erin.

I tossed my stash while transitioning it from plastic storage tubs to a new bookcase in my office. I can see my stash, all of it. It's awesome to be able to see it all at once. I have the Eames Lounger next to the stash with a nice light on the other side. Dave helped me move the bed out of my office, it went to E's room and her bed went to H's room and H's mattress went to the basement.

My office is now more open. I love the new arrangement.

Toe UP Sock FO

Finished the latest pair of socks last night. Learned the Elizabeth Zimmerman sewn cast off from Knitting without tears. What a fab cast off. I'm loving learning new techniques. The socks are snug and a bit itchy. Ok they are super itchy. Still need to order a bottle of wool wash from Knit Picks. So many wants, while the needs keep rolling in, like shoes for the kids.

Anyway thrilled about the sock FO. I'm thinking two at a time on two circs is my new sock knitting technique of choice. Now to fine tune the needle stash a bit and think about another set of socks. I paged through my new Cat Bordhi sock books. Drool. I think I may be ready to tackle CB socks soon.

Also thinking about knitting a shawl sometime soon. Jackie from Knit Knite suggested a possible KAL in comments. I think that would be fun. I have not done a full blown lace project for some time. Hmmmm. Need to percolate.

In non knitting Geek Girl news Jenny the author of the GeekDad blog post about meeting Wil Wheaton stopped by in comments. How cool! Thanks for stopping by. She also blogs over at her personal blog Imaginary Village.

In reading news I'm on book three in the In Death series. Yes it's already getting a bit formula but I'm having fun. I love the character Mavis. She is so flamboyant.

Let's see family news. E has two new pairs of sandals and a new pair of tennis shoes. Who knew new sandals would elicit so much joy and excitement. I have a little fashionista. H could care less about fashion, just like Dave.

Little Sidetracked

We attended a funeral up north last weekend. Dave's Uncle passed over Easter. It was a big Italian Catholic mass. We still had a nice visit and got to see quite a bit of Dave's family.

I did not want to work on any of my current WIP's during the trip so I started a

jacque cousteau Hat for Dad's upcoming 70th birthday. It's knitted on size 4 circs and dpn's in Paton's Classic Merino, Rich Red. A size large took nearly the whole skein of Merino.

So now it's back to my languishing WIP's, Crumpets, the Star, The Cube, and The bag. All four pieces of the bag are complete. Now it's a matter of seaming them and knitting the handle.

The Apartment Therapy 8 Step Home Cure continues. I went through quite a bit of clothing today. The bulk of the clothing is kid clothing, maybe that will be tomorrow, we shall see. I worked on my office/quest room/yarn haven space a bit today as well. I continue to cull and organize.

Grandma J is Knitting!

Got to visit with Grandma J on Saturday. I'd heard she's been knitting up a storm and indeed she has. Her afghan is coming along beautifuly. I brought the little mohair blend scarf home with me to block, it's curing a bit but fabulous. I will post pictures soon.



I have no clue what yarn she is using. Not a ball band in sight, everything was all wound up in happy little yarn cakes. I can't tell you how thrilled I am that she is knitting again. We talked knitting, about the internet and knitting a bit, about yarn, family, etc. We had a lovely visit.

Urban Renwal

Since we stayed in this weekend we kept to more simple around the house projects, projects that do not require trips to Home Despot. First off Dave moved the tv/av equipment from the left side of the fire place to the right side. No small feat. Ever check out the swirling mass of cable behind the average av setup? Not pretty. The new tv location is nice, the av equipment got a much needed dusting and Dave has a new vantage point from the recliner, not that he sits in in very often.


I mentioned taking up the thinning carpet runner a few days ago. Turns out D has been itching to do this small project. Note the look of disdain for the the runner on his face.


A few minutes and some quality time with the needle nose pliers to remove the staples and the stairs are runner free. The stairs look quite nice in person. The only down side is that our mismatched, mishmash of uncoordinated flooring choices made by the previous owners just scream for some sort of cohesiveness. Some sort of theme, other then pet stained initially nice beige wool carpet and very low end, very light colored laminate.

We have been discussing ditching the carpet and laminate for a uniform, dark mid range laminate. It's just that life keeps getting in the way.


I finally finished my Henry 1st year collage, it's been on my to do list for weeks, who am I kidding, months. I made similar collages of E's first year for us, Allison, Dad/Sue and Madaline. It felt good to get the collages finished.


In knitting news I'm making good progress on my second yoga sock. It's going much faster then the first.

Vote

I took H with me this morning to vote. He flirted with some of the poll workers and I held him while I used the electronic touch screen voting machine. Dave took E with him when he voted after he got home from work.

I loved going with my Mom to vote, it was a civic responsibility. I remember feeling like an adult when I was old enough to vote and we went together. After 10 years I still miss her so much. I think she would be thrilled to know we have such a diverse group of people up for nomination this time around.

I Can Haz FO'S?

Want to know a dirty little secret of mne? I love I Can Has Cheezburger. There I admitted it. Dave and I have been all "I Can Haz?" for a few weeks now. I've been reading for months but the LOL speak has been running wild around here for a few weeks now.


I can haz FO? Check out this spiff Viking Chicken Hat for Coleen's upcoming, still percolating gender still TBA little bundle of joy. This was an annoying knit. The little goosebumps were not lining up right, my fault, not the pattern. I screwed up the first go at the first drumstick, again me, not the pattern. The second drumstick was a funky attempt to do the first drumstick but backwards. In the end it is a cute hat and a fun FO. For some reason Dave really likes this hat.

Yes it is on the full sized wig head. I've had it on H's head for like a second, then it came OFF and it is not as big as it seems. Ok little bebe to be is going to have to grow a bit for it to fit but it is still child sized.

Sugar and Cream in cream on size 6 needles.




50% to FO. Check out my first attempt at a Yoga Sock. This is my kind of sock, no heels and no toes. This is Knit Picks Essentials, Meadow Multi on size 1 needles. I'm actually excited to start the second sock!

If you were wondering that's my Man Crush Capt Jack Harkness of Torchwood played by the super amazing John Barrowman on the tv. EEP.


My in real life Man Crush has a new contract. One guess where he is working. His uniforms arrived yesterday and are actually kind of fun in person. E and H were very happy to see Daddy.

My current list of WIP's include, a knitted Weighted Companion Cube, E's long suffering Crumpets, the Earth Day bag, the incredibly boring K-9 and the second Yoga Sock. I have a few more projects waiting in the wings.

Happy Knitting everyone!

Yarn Stash Enhancement

The Knit Picks Palette in Blush arrived today along with some other stash enhancing yarn. The Petal was too bright for the upcoming Companion Cube knit. I find myself wanting to cast on a ton of projects at once, I'm usually a one or two project at a time knitter but lately it's been a little out of control.

A few new purples for the stash.

How about s0me green for the stash.

"Junk in the trunk."

Check out H-Man from the side rocking his stay puffed snow suit. This was taken about a week ago after a nice snowfall. The kids had fun in the snow. I however have fun knitting, knitting that I am growing increasingly bad at blogging about. So I'm going to go knit so I have blog content, or do I blog to have knitting projects...

Happy Valentines's Day

As the knitting languishes

Here at In Knitting News there is little knitting news. I have several wip's that are just languishing. I'm either bored with them, just not excited with them or lack the necessary yarn to finish them.

I could really use a Minion to help me with my knitting. I'm not Martha, I don't have legions of minions to make me and my projects fabulous. I do have a very cute and very capable little girl who happens to enjoy the ball winder and making yarn cakes.




Thought I might try hosting a video here. E winds a yarn cake while H-Man tries to help.

You know what. I'm going to go and just place that Knit Pick's order I've been stewing over for more then a week. Then I can get moving. Wednesday is anti procrastination day with Flylady. It's time to turn some WIP's into FO's.

In Torchwood news. Yes I must talk Torchwood for a bit. I got to see season 2 episode 2 tonight, even knitted on the super boring K-9 wip. Another good episode with lots of foreshadowing for later in the season.

Ok off to Knit Picks.

Happy 2008: Actuall Blog Content

Not sure of where to begin. I'm obsessed with Ravelry. It's great for perusing patterns. My girlfriend Brandi aptly described Ravelry as Facebook for Knitting. There is the social aspect of it, a social aspect that I would not be able to experience otherwise. It's also project management. Between your queue and stash and library and needle tracker and favorites and project list you have fabulous organizational tools right at your fingertips.

The downside to Ravelry is that I don't feel as compelled to blog. I'm knitting more then ever and I'm tracking my progress in Ravelry but I'm not blogging and I'm not reading anywhere near as many knitting blogs as before. I have about three I read regularly, can't stop completely now.

This is as good a time as any to write out my knitting goals for 2008. I had a long list of goals a few years ago. This year it is pretty simple.

I will knit for the joy and peace knitting brings my sometimes troubled soul.

That's it. I'm going to knit to knit. It brings me comfort. I do want to continue blogging and Ravelry is a monkey I don't want off my back. In the meantime I'm going to knit.

Onward to an attempt at actual blogging.


My last FO of 2007. The Greenery Hat in Needful Yarn's Joy. The yarn is self striping and a well, Joy, to knit. Fun pattern, great hat. Great feeling to knit out 2007 with a Green hat in Yummy yarn.


My most appreciated, and spot on knitted gift this past holiday season. Fetching in Lamb's Pride Bulky for Coleen. I was over at her house last night watching Firefly, we are taking a Doctor Who/Torchwood break. We were discussing Christmas gifts. To my absolute delight she said that the mitts were the most thoughtful of all of her gifts. It feels so good when you really nail a gift.

My sister was in a HUGE wedding at the end of December. The Bride was a childhood friend of Allie's. The Mother of the Bride was friends with Mom. She sends the kids little gifts from Mom every now and then, it's incredibly sweet. The wedding was lovely. The Bride LOVES the color PINK so I knew I had to knit her a Hedgehog. She was saying at the Bridal Shower that she wants her future dental office to be pink. So I knitted her up a Pink Hedgie for her dental office or her first little girl, whichever comes first.


Little Pink Dental Office/Baby Hedgie turned out very cute, very small, and very PINK! I love knitting the Hedgies.


I must share at least one picture of Annie in her white satin, fur trimmed traveling cloak and muff. She was a vision.


Allison was lovely as well. I'm so glad that Dave and I were able to attend. We had such a nice day. The kids stayed with Grandma Madaline and did great.


Dave and I had so much fun being out and about just the two of us at a very fun wedding and reception. I have a wonderful husband who does not understand yet does not mind my constant need for more yarn.


In addition to Dave here are the two people I'm most thankful for, Henry and Evelyn. We have our moments but they are two amazing children who I'm so very proud of and am incredibly grateful for.

Happy Halloween

What says sisterly love like nearly matching R2-D2/R2-KT hats?

Happy Halloween everyone!

A DAY OF MAGIC

I would like to welcome guest blogger Allison to In Knitting News. The following is her much anticipated, at least by me, account of her experience seeing and meeting author J.K. Rowling.

Karen

Edited 10/27/07 to add pictures.

A DAY OF MAGIC

When: Friday, October 19, 2007, 7 p.m.

Where: New York City-Carnegie Hall

Before I talk specifically about the big event with J.K. Rowling I want to recap what the rest of the day was like in the city....feel free to skip all of this and get to the good stuff. It’s all a bit lengthy, but details can leave so quickly and I wanted to remember all of this special day…..so I guess I’m saying this is really for me….since I don’t have a pensieve or a time-turner!!!! ENJOY!

I awoke on Friday morning, October 19 in Newark, NJ at the Days Hotel. The forecast the night before had called for lots of rain, so I was a bit scared to open the blinds in the room. Sure enough it was overcast and dreary outside-but nothing could contain my excitement……

Nicholas and I left and took the shuttle from the hotel over to Newark International Airport, then the air train to the train station, and finally the train into Penn Station in New York City. We have made this trip many times and I am always amazed when you come off the train and into the station the number of people-it’s a constant flow and I must admit that I was feeling a bit overwhelmed by all of the activity this trip in. We found a map of the city (essential and my favorite thing!) and made our way north up 8^th avenue until we hit 57^th street and went west 1 block to 7^th & 57^th. Carnegie Hall is at the SE corner of this intersection…..as we were coming up the street I could see the flags stretched out from the building calling me to the destination where all of the fun would take place. At this point it was about 9:45 a.m.….as we came up to the hall we saw multiple school buses pull up with screaming children. These lucky youngsters were about to have their own reading with J.K. Rowling. It was so thrilling to see such little kids in the big city so thrilled to be there to see their favorite author…….after this we continued on our journey to pass the time till the evening.

Next went north one block to Central Park and cut across to the west far side….66^th street, I believe. Nicholas is the organist at First Church Scientist, Columbus, here in well, Columbus. Last time he was in the city with his mom they had found another Christian Science church and we went in search for the same church this morning. It is a beautiful building….reminiscent of the church here in town, built in the late 1800’s. We went to the side door and got lucky because the custodian lady was in and said she would be happy to show us around. Turns out the whole church is under a huge renovation. It was initially Second Church Scientist. First Church had been sold and this church is to become First Church in NYC. Anyways, the nice custodian lady took us in up the marble stair cases, past the beautiful stain glass and into the auditorium (you’re reading correctly, auditorium instead of sanctuary)…..the auditorium is like a jungle gym. Scaffolding was up to the ceiling and the great organ was all covered up, protected from the dust…..really beautiful room and it was a great thrill to see it, even though it was under construction. Next the nice lady took us downstairs and into the Sunday school, class rooms, and reading room. Again-beautiful…you don’t get to see buildings built like this these days. It was a great treat and we said good bye and thank you at about 10:30 because we had LADIES to meet.

We made our way back across the street through Central Park. At this point the sun had actually come out and it was perfect weather. Cool, sunny, the leaves were all turning their various browns and reds. The park was not crowded-some runners, people walking their dogs, young families…..really nice and peaceful, and such a haven amidst the madness of the city….

We were scheduled to meet Emily D. and Kate H. at 11 in front of the old Plaza Hotel (think Big Business) right by the big gold horse statue. Emily I have known since freshman year of high school and Kate and I met in second grade in girl scouts! They are both great ladies and are living it up in NYC!!! Anyways, we met up with them-what a treat (!) and made our way across the street to FAO Schwartz…the famed toy store…..with the man in the big, red suit greeting you at the door. We came in to aisles of stuffed animals which finished with a huge exhibit of LARGE stuffed animals which were…..guess……Harry Potter themed!!! There was Buckbeak, Aragog, and Fluffy, to name a few!!! We were of course very excited! After making our way through the store we headed east on 58^th, I believe and cut down Madison Avenue, back to 57^th and ate at The Palace. The Palace is a diner and Emily informed us that Justin Timberlake has eaten there….so I was of course sold!!!! After this we headed over to Bloomingdales…pretty ritzy stuff! I was admiring the $200 scarves and informed everyone that my sister could make something twice as nice!!! (Thank you Allie!) After pursuing the shoes, jewelry, and furniture we said goodbye to the lovely Emily and Kate and made our way back to 57^th street….it was nearly time to pick up our tickets!!!!

When we said goodbye to Emily and Kate it was about 2:15 p.m. Nicholas and I made our way west back down 57^th and sat in Starbuck’s right next to Carnegie. At this point the rain had begun and there was a rainbow of umbrellas to see and try not to run into as we both got pretty soaked!!! My hair was plastered to my face and I think I was ready for an afternoon nap, so sitting inside Starbuck’s hit the spot!

At this point I should note that I was still in utter disbelief as to what was about to happen……numb……perhaps this was also due to being a bit and cold but it was still unbelievable to me.

During the fun of the rain Nicholas and I realized that we didn’t bring anything with us to put our books in to keep from getting wet on the long trek back to Penn Station. So Nicholas’s mom, Vicki, suggested that we find a drug store and buy big zip lock bags to keep our treasures safe when the time came!!!! (great idea too, it continued to be wet!)….So we obtained our bags and it was FINALLY time to head back to Carnegie to pick up the tickets.

It was now 3 p.m. and when we arrived at the lobby in Carnegie there were a bunch of people milling around and picking up their tickets….mostly young kids and their parents. I went up to the ticket window and gave the man my driver’s license and a second later he handed me two tickets…SectionT6, Row/Box 6, Seat 3…more on this later. Such excitement….and it was at this point that Karen called and I got to inform her that I finally had the tickets in my hands. We found our way to the seating chart and roughly found our seat location (more on this soon)….and went outside to watch all of the excited people. Everyone was taking pictures with their tickets, big smiles and lots of squealing. We stood outside for a while not knowing what to do because the anticipation was building by the minute and we still had 3 ½ hours left!!!!!

So we had to pass some time. We walked back down 57^th street to Borders and wondered around the stacks. I am always looking for paraphernalia for the Harry Potter shrine and Nicholas is always looking for art books, so we passed a good 1 ½ hours there before we headed back down across the street from Carnegie. We ended up at Pick-A-Bagel, a sandwich shop directly across the street, east of Carnegie. It was great walking in there because there were already a bunch of people who were obviously going to the big event. I was particularly struck by a young family. The woman was reading the 7^th book to her young son as her husband looked on. This little boy could not have been more than 10 and he sat transfixed as his mother read to him. I remember standing there amidst all of these people and hearing none of the noise because I was thinking about everything I’ve read over the years about how these books have gotten the children to read and reminded adults why they should pick up a book everyday if they can and enjoy the magic too. I was so touched.

We sat down and met two lovely ladies from New Jersey who had just taken the train in for the big event. They were probably both in their 50’s and were super excited to come and see J.K…..neither of them realized that this was a country-wide event and they both seemed a bit shocked that we drove from Ohio! Well, I informed them that there would be people there from Hawaii!!!! We said goodbye to the lovely NJ ladies and headed across the street. Already there was a large crowd/line forming outside Carnegie Hall....at this point it wasn’t even 6 p.m. Nicholas and I made our way into the lobby which was about full with excited people dressed up in Hogwarts robs, reading one of the books, finding their way to the ticket windows, taking photos, chatting with friends. You could feel the excitement in the air and by the time the doors opened at 6:30 p.m., the lobby was PACKED and you could see the droves of people waiting outside. There was of course a mass cheer when the men and women in red opened the gates to let all of the excited fans in!!!!!

Nicholas and I were some of the first people through the gates and we ran up the two flights of stairs as directed. It was virtually deserted when we made our appearance. We had to go down a long hallway to get to our seats and enter through a door on the left. Now this is when things really get exciting, folks! Carnegie Hall is two tiers of boxes, right on top of each other. We were in the higher boxes, third from the end to the right of the stage. Basically once I sat down I was looking over a very low railing at the very first few rows of the hall. Then when I looked a bit to the left was the stage and in the center towards the front was the throne for J.K. Rowling. The whole stage was dark except for the throne area which was in the spotlight; it was gold with a red, fancy cushion. To the right of the throne was a little table with flowers and a glass of water on it, I think. Under the throne was a beautiful rug-it was truly fit for a queen. Behind the throne was a very large screen which would eventually show us J.K. up close during the actual event, but when we sat down the screen showed us all of the books and various animations. Throughout all of this, before and after the event, music played from the movies-which were of course, wonderful and welcoming.

There were six people in our box. I was in the front, right corner………...directly to my left were a woman and her son, who was probably about 10. They had just driven down from Buffalo and had never been to the city before. The nice mom had entered and won this for her son. She told me how she hadn’t read any of the books, but decided to read number 7 in preparation for the big event. I of course immediately informed that reading 1-6 was absolutely necessary and would make the last book twice as meaningful…….but it was great to chat with both of them! Behind us were two teenage girls, both dressed in their Hogwarts uniforms, digital camera in hand!!!

Now as far as taking photos.....we were told initially that there would be no photos allowed at all. But I am telling you, every single person in Carnegie Hall had a camera. When we sat down initially it was flashes non-stop, until the big voice came on the loud speaker and told us that we were NOT allowed to take photos and if we didn’t stop, the event would not begin. Now the audience had to be told this THREE times and I swear even after that people were sneaking in some shots! Just to get this out of the way-we were not allowed to take photos as J.K. read and talked, which is of course respectful since she was on stage. We also were not permitted to take photos with her or in line, which is understandable as well since we might have been there all night!!!!

Just a bit after 7 p.m., Keith Olbermann, who is an anchor on MSNBC came out on stage to introduce J.K. He was funny and had some really poignant things to say about how the books have influenced so many people and changed a generation. By the time he was finished I was totally pumped. However, it was not only Mr. Olbermann’s introduction that had me all excited. From our seats we could see the side of the stage and J.K. was standing in the door holding the book-talk about awesome!!!! It was so cool to be able to see her in the wings.

Finally, dear reader, your suffering and perseverance through almost four pages is about to pay off, we are here!

J.K. Rowling came out to absolute mad, crazy, thunderous applause-and of course a standing ovation. It was absolutely amazing. I thought I was going to fall over the rail onto the floor because I was shaking so bad and my heart was pounding so furiously. J.K. came out-then quickly and gracefully sat down in her rightful throne. She seemed completely in her element and excited to begin her reading. J.K. told us that she had never read this part of HP7 in public before and that it was one of her favorite parts of the book-when Ron comes back to Harry and Hermione after leaving them in frustration on the horcrux search…..this announcement came with more thunderous applause! J.K. read from the chapter 19 entitled The Silver Doe, pages 378-387 of HP7. I was so impressed with her reading. J.K. used great inflection and did special voices for Ron, Harry, and Hermione. She seemed so thrilled to be reading and everyone really enjoyed it. I could have listened to her read the whole night….just like Jim Dale, but alas she finished at the very end of chapter 19.

Now it was on to the question answer session!!! The winners of this fabulous contest were given the opportunity to submit questions to Scholastic for J.K. Twelve questions were selected-and the lucky twelve who asked these questions got to sit in the front center row of Carnegie Hall. They took turns stepping up to the microphone-had an opportunity to say hi to J.K. and then asked their question. What a thrill for these lucky kids!!!! During the question answer session I scribbled away in my notebook-this will by no means be verbatim, but I will tell all of you about the questions and give some personal commentary. Also, it should be noted that J.K. spoke so eloquently and with such love for her characters and the books. She was so articulate and funny, interacted wonderfully with the kids, and the whole audience…..and it was great to see her so comfortable and poised on her throne.

I only wrote down where the kids were from who asked the questions-just to give you a sense that there were people there from all over the country! Again, please remember that I am paraphrasing and just giving an overview…..I’m sure full transcripts can be found all over the place on-line!

Now for the questions:

1. Arizona-

Question: What is the one question that you always wanted people to ask you and never got asked?

Answer: What was Dumbledore’s wand made of!

Commentary: It was really odd because I never even thought about Dumbledore’s wand for some reason. J.K. goes to great pains to describe so many other important wands…..but how odd that she never told us about Dumbledore.

2. Washington, DC-

Question: Did Neville ever find love?

Answer: “of course”….marries the landlady of The Leaky Cauldron, Hannah Abbott!

Commentary: I love Neville and was SO PROUD of him in the last book. Him taking out Lord Voldemort’s mighty snake was just so awesome….and Neville became such a leader! Neville got lots of cheers from the audience….like Harry he suffered greatly and really pulled through and did amazing things.

3. Connecticut-

Question: How did you decide who would finish Bellatrix?

Answer: J.K. said with now hesitation that she always knew it would be Molly Weasley. She reminded us that Molly was a very powerful witch and there was “might hidden under the bushel”…and the fact that even though she always seemed to be in the kitchen cooking (which J.K. told us is harder than it looks!)-did not mean that she did not have great power. Dedication and maternal love were Molly’s “obsessions” as J.K. put it and Lord Voldemort was Bellatrix’s obsession……so how fitting that the woman who was obsessed with good would finish the woman obsessed with evil.

Commentary: At the end of her answer, J.K. talked about the importance of motherhood and how there is NOTHING easy about it. She is such an influential role model and I just think it’s such a great thing to be reminded of-the Weasley’s took such care of their children and Harry-and we all know that Molly was the glue!

4. Buffalo-

Question: How different would the end of the series have been if J.K. had killed of Arthur Weasley, like she had originally planned, in book 5?

Answer: J.K. decided that she wanted to keep the Weasley’s as a safe haven for Harry, but at the same time wanted to show what war can cost children (example: Teddy loosing Tonks and Lupin)….

Commentary: I can’t even imagine how it would have been if Arthur had been killed in HP5-the devastation for that family and for Harry would have been great indeed.

5. Hawaii-I do remember this little girl quite well, Maya, I think was her name-she was 8 years old and she was beautiful!

Question: What were Aberforth’s charges?

Answer: “make a goat that was easy to keep clean”

Commentary: J.K .was REALLY funny while answering this question. She asked Maya her age and decided to modify her answer in hope of keeping it clean for all of the young children! Go back and read about the goat in HP7-J.K. has a dirty mind!

6. Colorado-

Question: Did Dumbledore ever find love?

Answer: DRAMATIC PAUSE “I always saw Dumbledore as gay”-J.K. went on to say that Dumbledore had fallen in love with the famed Grindelwald when they were teenagers. DRAMATIC PAUSE AND LOUD CHEERING!

Commentary: This is the question that the press and everyone else have been going on about-and I knew that this would get the most press. The audience seemed totally fine and excited. In fact, there were two gay men to our right who were standing up and yelling like mad. Dumbledore is J.K.’s character and she can have him be whatever she wants. I think it was fabulous and bold on her part to announce this and I was totally pumped because here is someone who was a great and kind man and truly made a difference for people. Dumbledore made a difference for us-take yourself back to when he fell off the tower at the end of 6. I know all of you said “what?” and had to go back and read a few pages, not believing that Dumbledore could be gone….being gay does not change this iconic character at all.

7. New York-

Question: Can you learn parseltongue (example-like what Ron did to open the Chamber of Secrets)?

Answer: Nope can’t learn to speak to talk with snakes, very rare and is inherited-Ron was just mimicking how he had heard Harry speak.

Commentary: How about that kiss between Ron and Hermione during this scene in HP7 everyone!!!! Can I get a what what??!!!!

8. Massachusetts-

Question: What did Dumbledore write in the letter to the Dursley’s to make them take Harry?

Answer: Dumbledore was a very smart man and appealed to Petunia to keep Harry since she had wanted to badly to be a part of the wizarding world.

Commentary: Another great layer in the story-who would have thought that Petunia would have secretly asked to attend Hogwarts? Very telling

9. Georgia-

Ok everyone I really dropped the ball on this question-so get on-line and read it! It was something about Harry being a horcrux and I wrote something about being “destroyed without repair”…..? I thought all of this was brilliant…..Harry’s scar, Harry having to make the conscious decision to die and face his nemesis…..

10. Texas-

Question: Why couldn’t Harry talk to Dumbledore in the headmaster’s office?

Answer: 1. Harry needed to decode the horcrux vs. hallows himself and learn to really THINK…..his greatest fault was being too reckless and acting to quickly-so Harry needed to figure this out on his own. 2. Put simply, it would have been too easy.

Commentary: Well J.K. makes up for all of this when Harry and Dumbledore talk in the train station…..what a great chapter…..Dumbledore’s candor and Harry’s insight were awesome!

11. Chicago-

Question: Deatheaters compared to the Nazis.

Answer: Definite parallel there, also a parallel between the wizarding world and the real world. Also, the ministry parallels other “regimes” that we all know and love. J.K. said that the books are a “prolonged argument for tolerance,” and bigotry and don’t assume that what the press tells you is always true!

Commentary: This was another great moment for J.K. Everyone in the room understood where she was coming from and I think all of this could be assumed, dear reader, but it was great for the kids to hear, especially the part about don’t always believe what you read.

12. New Jersey-

Question: How did completing book 7 compare to completing book 1.

Answer: “strangely similar”…..J.K. said that she has a great feeling of loss finishing 7, a “huge” sense of bereavement. She pointed over to her husband, Neil, and said that he had been “long suffering” through all of it.

Commentary: Everyone J.K. Rowling loves these books and LOVES the characters…..it was so touching.

Now we thought this was end of the questions…..but oh no! A representative from Scholastic came out on stage and asked J.K. if she would answer a few more questions. Well she did, four more to be exact…..but this time, the audience members didn’t know they would be called from their seats!

13. Missouri-

Question: Does Malfoy owe Harry a debt?

Answer: In the epilogue Malfoy gives Harry the nod-and this shows that they can be cordial to one another, but Malfoy will never be kind to Harry because of all the bad blood there.

Commentary: I thought it was really interesting that all of the Malfoy’s survived-grace on the part of J.K., I think.

14. Washington-This lady got to run down from the top balcony!!!

Question: What were the careers of Remus, Peter, James, and Sirius after the left school?

Answer: Remus was unemployable until Dumbledore. The other three were full time members of the Order and James was so rich that he supported Lilly and Remus!

Commentary: I thought it was really interesting that these four friends all died…..died in the name of war. It is really tragic, especially when you go back and read about them being at Hogwarts-so young and innocent (well maybe) and then all was taken from them be Lord Voldemort.

15. Washington, DC-This lady was awesome-she was 63 and said that winning this contest was better than winning the lottery!!

Question: Did Hagrid get married and have children?

Answer: No. His dating pool wasn’t very large and Madame Maxine wasn’t a very good fit!

Commentary: So glad our friend Hagrid made it through the series. I know lots of people were worried that he wouldn’t and at the beginning of the HP7, I thought he was done for sure.

16. Virginia-This was a mother and daughter….they were told to “come on down”-and the mom said that this was “much better than the price is right”….!

Question: Snape’s portrait in the Headmasters Office and would Harry come back to speak with him?

Answer: Snape had already abandoned his post, so no portrait…but “Harry would have insisted that Snape have his portrait on the wall”….but no, Harry would not have come to speak with him.

Commentary: All I have to say is “Albus Severus Potter”…..

“One of them was a Slytherin and he was probably the bravest man I ever knew” (758).

That ends the question and answer period! It was awesome. J.K. was everything I hope she would be-witty, personable, funny…..knows and LOVES the books. She took great time in answering the questions and I was so impressed with her speaking and words-completely down to earth too!!! Time to “limber up” to sign 2000 books!

Because of the location of our seats, Nicholas and I had a great view to watch the signing. They had the whole floor go before us and we got to watch from above as J.K. signed away and greeted fans. It was this huge production line-WAIT….? Did I mention this already??? 2000 copies of HP7 were stacked in front of the stage; it was quite a sight to see!!! Anyways, it was great to watch J.K. sign and say hello to everyone. She gave the kids high-fives and smiled the whole time and looked super excited. I felt like I was watching a movie and when it was our turn to go I had to bring myself back to reality!!!

We began walking down the aisle of the floor of Carnegie Hall and it was awesome….indescribable. They were playing music from the movies during all of the signing and as Nicholas and I walked down the aisle, they were playing my FAVORITE music from the movies-“Buckbeaks Flight” by John Williams, from HP3. This part wasn’t in the book, but it’s when Harry gets to rid Buckbeak for the first time and goes out over the beautiful terrain….great, lush music! As we got closer I could see J.K. quite clearly-she is a stunning woman. My heart was pounding and I began shaking again, just like before she came out for the first time. I knew that this would be a one-time thing….so when I got to her I simply thanked her for bring us such joy with the books. J.K. looked right up at me, smiled, and said: “oh that’s so nice, thank you….” and I turned, took my book (with authenticity sticker on the autograph page-the title page, I must add) walked back up the aisle and I furiously wrote down what she said to me!

Also, since I knew I would more than likely never get the opportunity again……as we sat and watched J.K. sign away, people were handing her notes (well the Scholastic people took them for safe keeping)….I decided that I wanted to write J.K. a note as well. In the note I thanked her for the books and all of the comfort and joy that they have brought me and so many people in my life. I told her that she handled death so eloquently in her writing and I was so moved when Harry realized what he had to do to finish Lord Voldemort and so many other times in the story when J.K. took the hard road, when she could have taken the easy way out. I told J.K. that my only regret was that my mom, who passed away before HP1 made its way over to the states in 1997, never got the opportunity to read this magical stories…..and be touched like I have been.

At 9:30 p.m. we began walking south the twenty some block back to Penn Station, through Times Square and I held my book tight to my heart and relieved the evening-not even noticing all of the people and noise. This was a once in a lifetime opportunity and there are truly no words for my joy and excitement. I will NEVER forget J.K.’s smile, her accent (!), the anticipation in the room before she came on stage, and walking down that aisle with the music to guide my way…..

I finish with words from another story that has touched my heart and speaks of magic…the magic of believing and having faith. The Polar Express, by Chris Van Allsburg, has been a favorite for as long as I can remember. It was published in 1985, so I was six years old and I know that you all know the story of a little boy who asks Santa for one bell from the reindeer sleigh. One the last page, Van Allsburg writes:

“At one time most of my friends could hear the bell, but as years passed, it fell silent for all of them. Even Sarah found one Christmas that she could no longer hear its sweet sound. Though I’ve grown old, the bell still rings for me as it does for all who truly believe.”

The bell will always ring for me when I think of Harry and do not let anyone ever tell you that there is no such thing as magic because I experienced it on Friday, October 19, 2007.

Allison E.

October 26, 2007

His & Her's Brown Knit Hats

Pattern: His Hat
Marnie MacLean
Knit Picks Peat Cadena
10.5 dpns and circs

Finished Dad's Christmas Hat tonight. Realized that I had not frogged the Leia Wig hat part. It's a perfectly lovely roll brimmed brown hat that would be perfect for my Step-Mother. That's two Christmas knits down!

Score!!!

I've already knitted up a coaster and started a knitted vase for further Christmas knitting.

Allison's NYC Harry Potter Adventure UPDATE

Yes Allison and Nicholas were there. They had a FABULOUS time. Allison is working on what she has dubbed the MANIFESTO, a scrapbook of sorts detailing her experience. I will be posting pictures and her experience as soon as it is ready. Sadly there was no picture taking allowed during the reading and signing but Allison got her moment with JKR which was very special for her.