Vacation

I'm sorry to have gone AWOL for the past week! Vacation has been fun, though how I can be on vacation when I don't have a job... Well, the rest of the family is on vacation, and I'm with them, so that's how.

Knitting on Icarus continues but is still is the pretty boring stage. I did hit a snag earlier in the week when it turned out I couldn't count to seven. I was distracted. So I ended up having to tink back two full rows, and there are quite a few stitches OTN. I know "tink" is just "knit" backwards, though I didn't learn that when I first heard the term. I've always found it somewhat onomatopoetic, as if there were a little "tink" sound for each unplucked stitch. The good thing is that the crisis was averted. This portion of the pattern is so tightly structured that you will know you've made a mistake when you get to the next right side row. And if I could just count to seven, no more, no less, we'd be all set for the next two pattern repeats. Keep your fingers crossed!

In other knitting news, the LYS in Sister Bay is having a 20% off everything sale through next week. I broke down and bought two skeins of Euroflax in a beautiful blue (Neptune, I think, though it could be Aqua or French Blue - it's got the old bands on it, and I can't figure out the numeric code) to make the lace-edged skirt from Greetings from Knit Cafe. I was going to hold off on even thinking about that project for a while, but who can resist a sale? Should I go back and get the third skein? The small size calls for 580 yds.; I have 540 and have gotten a bit smaller the past few months. I should just get it, shouldn't I?

On movies, thanks for the comments! I'll have to check out Love, Actually, Marissa, as well as 13 Going on 30, Cheryl. Jenn, how can you choose Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom? I mean, he goes to Venice in The Last Crusade. And there's that wonderful scene in Raiders where they're on the ship and she says "Dammit, where doesn't it hurt?!" which leads to kisses on forehead, elbow, and lips before he falls dead asleep.

I thought of some other guilty pleasure romantic comedies (in no particular order, and I'm too lazy to link 'em today): Legally Blonde, Sweet Home Alabama, When Harry Met Sally, Bridget Jones' Diary (in spite of Renee Zellweger - should there be another "g" in there? And does this fall under the any Jane Austen heading?)... I know there are a few more, but it's a glorious day, and Isobel is in her tutu and Cubs hat, so we should get out there and enjoy ourselves.

Hope you had a happy Fourth!

P.S. Sorry if this is a little disjointed. Life is moving in some unusual ways for me of late, which I'll tell you about in due time. And this morning I found out my father has been making decaf accidentally for us the last few days. That has been rectified. Today I'm wired. Hehee.

Confession

Friday night: Left to my own devices I will choose the sappiest movies to watch. Well, perhaps not sappy. But I just watched Never Been Kissed. I quite like Drew Barrymore despite her talking out the side of her mouth. I've always wondered if she had a minor stroke or something. And the male lead (oh, Michael Vartan - guess I should have watched Alias) is cute. But why do I put myself through such things? The little misunderstandings. The romance. The kissing. I've come to realize that life is full of little landmines for those of us who don't have ... standard lives. The mention of any New England town. Happy families. The aforementioned kissing. I know most of us aren't standard. We all have our problems, our losses. But the world is constructed for happy families, whether they are the norm or no. Luckily, we all have our happinesses, I hope, and our gains, too. Some of us are lucky enough to have darling little people in our lives, and dear friends and family.

OK, to redeem myself I've just popped in the new Pride and Prejudice with Kiera Knightley. I think I prefer the BBC adaptation (come on, Colin Firth as Darcy), but the interiors in this new one remind me of my home, so back to sappy. Why didn't I pop it in sooner?

So, what are your top ten movies?

Mine would be (there are some copouts, I confess):

The Philadelphia Story

any Jane Austen adaptation - I know, a copout, but what can I do?

Casablanca

Rear Window

The Adventures of Baron Munchausen

La Belle et la Bete - oh, Jean Cocteau, such delightful flights of fancy

the sci-fi fantasy series movies of the age: Harry Potter/Lord of the Rings/Star Wars (at heart I am a geeky girl - hope you're not surprised)

So, I Married an Axe Murderer

From Russia with Love - my favorite Bond, and there is no one like Sean Connery

Xanadu - duh

FO: Wisp

First, the cute pictures...




Then, the scary one where I ran out of yarn five stitches from the end of my bindoff. Eep!


Luckily, I had a looong tail on my cast on, so I used some of that. What a nail-biter! I still need buttons and ribbon to properly finish off Wisp, but I am very happy with it in plain stole form.

See, I told you there would be FOs.

OK, look for the last time (yeah, right)

Yesyes, that is a bag from The Fold. And we also have a lovely English Ash Nostepinne. Of course, it's difficult to leave without some Blue Moon yarn, though their selection was on the skimpy side for sock yarn, as I'd just missed the Summer Solstice Sale. Now, I'm on the mailing list, so that won't happen again. The Seduction yarn is in the Shale colorway. Very moi, no? I'm thinking arm warmers. Not quite sure why, but that's the current notion.


And here is Icarus, or at least the start of it. I'm really enjoying the yarn and the color.

With the nostepinne purchase, I should be set for a while, as I have quite a bit of yarn to wind. Icarus and MS3 should keep me busy, so I won't have new toys to show, just WIPs and, hopefully, FOs.

With many thanks to the Fug Girls, I have discovered the end-of-days musical: Xanadu!

ZZZephyr

Keri is saving our collective bacon for MS3 by ordering a cone of Zephyr in Steel for us to share. Thank you, Keri (my enabler)! We both agreed that our original chosen yarns, which were quite similar, were too fine. Zephyr usually clocks in around 30wpi (wraps/inch), and ours were closer to 40. And I think my beads will still work with the new yarn. Unfortunately, I'll be up at the lake for the week, so I'll be a bit behind on the clues, but that will give me time to finish the Icarus I cast on last night with Jennifer's laceweight merino (lovely yarn, BTW). I know, Emily, "Another shawl!?" But this has been on my to-do list for some time, and it's a fairly simple pattern so far. I know the borders will be more complex, which will be fun, too, but sometimes a girl needs something interesting but not too, you know. I also think this is one of the few laceweight shawls that can handle a somewhat variegated yarn, since it has the expanse of stockinette panels. It's beautiful in plain yarn, but you'll be able to judge for yourself shortly. I haven't taken any pictures of my progress yet, as I'm only about fifty rows in, since I just cast on last night.

In the world just keeps getting weirder files, I received an email from the guy I dated through college and on to Boston. He's in the Chicago area visiting his family for the Fourth, and hearing that shimmer of sound from the cicadas made him think back seventeen years, when we were together. He's teaching at Columbia University, has a young son, and is also in the process of a divorce. Life is so strange. It was a nice email, very him, even after all these years.

Look, again!

What's that? It's a Nifty Swift, just like the ones I've been stalking online. Only I found it at one of my LYSes. Squee! I used the rest of my Mother's Day gift certificate from Isobel and my parents to buy it. Perfect!


And here's the potential yarn for MS3 ready to be wound. Even with the swift, laceweight is a night's worth of work when wound by hand (and an empty toilet paper roll - thanks, Island Girl!).


Here are the beads I found at the only local bead store I could find. It's across the street from "new park" (Isobel's term for any park outside the usual route) on Central Street in Evanston. No website. I thought the smoky glass ones would work best, but they're too small for the crochet hook I bought (size 12, I think). The hematite-style ones could work, though they wouldn't have that dewdrop quality.


But it doesn't really matter about the beads as I am very displeased with the swatch. I know, I know, the blocking is apalling, but my cast-on edge was a little too firm, and it doesn't matter. You could drive a truck through those YOs! And the stockinette portion is just too open. This is on US3s, and I don't think I'm up for knitting this project on US2s. I'm also very keen on everyone's Zephyr (you know what a sucker I am for silk content in yarn!), so I may have to go that route, but I'm worried that the other 3000+ knitters (yes, you read that correctly, three thousand plus - how cool is that!) have bought up all the Zephyr out there. Someone posted something to that effect on the group over the weekend. Besides, if I go down to a US2, I'm going to be knitting a very fancy scarf rather than a stole. Argh. I do like the dark grey, though, so that's something, as there are only two Zephyr colors that qualify (no way am I doing this with black yarn!).

Look!

Chapters of my life yadda yadda yadda. Look what arrived in the mail today!


Gawd, I love yarny packages. The only thing that would have made it better is if it also contained a Nifty Swift. Or, at the very least, a nostepinne (oh, my, they look a little ... ahem), so I can wind center-pull yarn cakes. Oh, in case you don't know, this is the third installment of the Rockin' Sock Club from Blue Moon Fiber Arts.

I might even consider making the sock pattern this time, though the yarn would make a lovely shawl for my Grandma. The colorway is called Firebird, and the theme of rebirth/rising from the ashes is quite apropros, no? Well, I think so. Very pretty, cheery, and summery.

In other delivery news, the papers have been served.

Oh, and I must share this awesome horoscope from today's Trib (not sure what made me read it): "Virgo. When queried, let people know the intricacies of your craft. If they don't ask, just behave regally, with pride." Um, can do. I do have a post half-written on Craft that I guess I should get back to. Watch this space...