26 July 2007

Love, Actually

Marissa, you were totally right! What a sweet movie. I definitely recommend Love, Actually. My mom objected to the nudity and some of the language, but I didn't really mind. And I'm quite fond of just about everyone in the movie.

And I actually love Icarus. I'm halfway through the last chart (yay!) and hope to be blocking this baby by the weekend. It is a great pattern. And working it reinforced my idea that lace isn't as hard as some people fear, especially if you concentrate on the row at hand. I know I was kvetching about the knit stitches in the purl-back rows (evens), but they really ensure that you've done everything properly on the knit side. If you have a copy of Interweave Knits, be sure to check out the errata on Miriam's blog - it's not on IK's site, as Miriam says it's optional. I have a few rows to get to the errata, so I can't say how it makes a difference, but I'm sure it does.

And love plays a prominent role in the last Harry Potter book, which I bought on Saturday and finished on Monday. I enjoyed it immensely.

Love you all, actually!

19 July 2007

I hate it when they disappear

You know, those bloggers who go missing and when they do deign to publish a post are all "Sorry sorry, I've been busy and can't tell you about what I've been up to"? Yeah, well...

Sorry sorry! I've been busy and can't tell you what I've been up to.

Actually, if you leave me a comment or drop me an email, I can share a smidge, but things are far from ready for the wide distribution of the blog. If you've never commented, make sure your email address is in your profile, so I can write you back. Blogger is great most of the time, but it's bollocks on commenter contact as far as I'm concerned.

In knitting news chez Purly, I've made more progress on Icarus. I'm on chart two, which is going well, as it flows nicely from the YO columns in the hundreds of rows of chart one. Only difficulty is that you have to knit every so often on the purl side, so it requires counting. I really enjoy just purling back, as it gives me a chance to think. But I'll survive. The yarn is just lovely. And it looks like charts two through four are only one repeat of each. While I enjoyed the semi-mindless nature of chart one, I think I'm up for some more complicated lacework here, just not for hundreds of rows.

I had a little debate with myself whether to pause on Icarus after finishing chart one to start Mystery Stole 3 but I'm coming to realize that I'm a one-project-at-a-time girl, and I'm OK with that. However, I am not a one-yarn-purchase-at-a-time girl! I'll try to snap some pics today if the grey skies lift.

I'm really looking forward to diving into MS3, though, and the shade card Keri included with my half of the Zephyr is putting me in mind of all sorts of new projects. Danger danger!

09 July 2007

Almost ready to start MS3

The yarn was waiting for me when I got back from the lake. Thanks, Keri! I'll try to snap a pic of it (and Icarus) tomorrow, as it is very yummy yarn and much more substantial than the stuff we swatched with. And, oh, the silk! Just gives the yarn a lovely gleam. I did have to go Special Notices on the MS3 Yahoo! group because, man, those people are chatty! The connection up North is not terribly fast, and it took forever to download messages last week. I hope I don't miss anything fun, but the inbox was out of control.

As for Icarus progress. I have one more repeat of the "straight" chart before moving on to the exciting charts. Hopefully, I can get my counting under control by then! The yarn is very nice on this project, too. I'm curious to see how the variegation works in the lacier borders.

Since two picture-less posts in a row are just boring now that I have constant access to pics from the blog (I used to post from work, in case you've joined me recently), here are some snaps of our adventure at The Farm (there were sheep, so it's knitting related):


Mommy and Isobel


Peacock in full strut - I'd never seen one put on a display in person.


Isobel got to feed a Jacob lamb, as well as goat kids and a piglet.

07 July 2007

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.

29 June 2007

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.

    28 June 2007

    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!