Knitalongs

Hello dear 5-10 readers!

Sorry it has been hellaciously busy around here. Oldest's confirmation was May 18th and all the grandparents were here. They left last Tuesday and her graduation was the 25th. Plus hubby went to Monterey on a conference from Tuesday to Thursday (Brownell Circle as we knew it doesn't exist, Tanya! Sad but appropriate in the end.) Add in my job and end of school for the kids and its chaos.

The baby blanket has only 9 more rows!! I got a lot done today on our car trip to Corinth, MS to check out Civil War sites in the area. We went to Corinth, Brices Crossroads and Tupelo battlefields all in one day. That's a lot of Mississippi!!

I want to do a knitalong this summer but there's too many to choose from. So due to deadlines and the joy of overcommitting, I've joined the Trek Along With Me and The Amazing Lace. My LYS in Germantown, Rainbow Yarn and Fibers, is finally stocking Trekking and Opal. So I think this pair maybe a Christmas present for someone. For the Amazing Lace, I'm finally going to knit a a clapotis. Now I just need to figure out which of my Lorna's Lace Lion and Lamb yarn that I've had marinating is going to be the winner. I have Seaside and Watercolor. What do you think??

Top 100 Movies Meme

Today is totally unrelated to knitting. Just a check in and a meme for my SP to get to know me better. If you have a blog I tag you! For my Va Beach knitting buddies, post under our group!

Take this list of the top 100 movies from the IMDB and bold the movies you have seen, italicize the ones you own. This list is from May 2004.



Godfather, The (1972)

Shawshank Redemption, The (1994)

Godfather: Part II, The (1974)

Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, The (2003)

Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, The (2002)

Schindler's List (1993)

Shichinin no samurai (1954)

Casablanca (1942)

Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, The (2001)

Star Wars (1977)

Citizen Kane (1941)

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)

Dr. Strangelove (1964)

Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980)

Rear Window (1954) -a damn shame since I adore Grace Kelly and Jimmy Stewart

Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

Pulp Fiction (1994) - I couldn't make it through the first 5 minutes of this-uggh!

Usual Suspects, The (1995)

Memento (2000)

North by Northwest (1959)

12 Angry Men (1957)

Buono, il brutto, il cattivo, Il (1966)

Lawrence of Arabia (1962)another shame of mine

Psycho (1960)

Fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain, Le (2001)

Silence of the Lambs, The (1991)

It's a Wonderful Life (1946)

Goodfellas (1990)

American Beauty (1999)

Sunset Blvd. (1950)

Vertigo (1958)

Matrix, The (1999)

Cidade de Deus (2002)

To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)

C'era una volta il West (1968)

Apocalypse Now (1979)

Pianist, The (2002)

Third Man, The (1949)

Paths of Glory (1957)

Taxi Driver (1976)

Fight Club (1999)

Sen to Chihiro no kamikakushi (2001)

Some Like It Hot (1959)

Double Indemnity (1944)

Boot, Das (1981) had to watch this in college or a Soviet Economics class, rather boring

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)

Singin' in the Rain (1952)

Chinatown (1974)

L.A. Confidential (1997)

Maltese Falcon, The (1941)I also adore Bogie so this si also pathetic

Requiem for a Dream (2000)

All About Eve (1950)

M (1931)

Bridge on the River Kwai, The (1957)

Se7en (1995)

Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975) A classic- The Holy Hand Grenade!!

Saving Private Ryan (1998)

Rashômon (1950)

Raging Bull (1980)

Wizard of Oz, The (1939)

Alien (1979)

American History X (1998)

Sting, The (1973)

Léon (1994)

Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)another Jimmy Stewart that I've missed

Manchurian Candidate, The (1962)

Vita è bella, La (1997)

Touch of Evil (1958)

Treasure of the Sierra Madre, The (1948)

Finding Nemo (2003)

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) I always catch 2010 but never this one

Reservoir Dogs (1992)

Great Escape, The (1963)

Modern Times (1936)

Clockwork Orange, A (1971)

Amadeus (1984)

On the Waterfront (1954) I had to watch this one in college for an American studies class

Ran (1985)

Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003)

Annie Hall (1977)

Wo hu cang long (2000)

Jaws (1975)

Apartment, The (1960)

Braveheart (1995)

High Noon (1952)

Aliens (1986)

Fargo (1996)

Strangers on a Train (1951)

Shining, The (1980)

Metropolis (1927)

Blade Runner (1982)

Sixth Sense, The (1999)

City Lights (1931)

Donnie Darko (2001)

Duck Soup (1933)

Great Dictator, The (1940)

General, The (1927)

Sjunde inseglet, Det (1957)

Princess Bride, The (1987)The entire movie is quotable...Oh, what I wouldn't give for a holocaust cloak.


Dogville (2003)

Happy Mothers Day

Happy Mothers Day to all!! I got breakfast in bed, French Toast and turkey bacon, YUMMY!!! My mom flew in from Boston yesterday. She'll be here until a week from Tuesday. We are going out to dinner tonight to Amerigo's and then coming home and watching the final episode of West Wing. I'm so bummed over that. My in laws are arriving on Tuesday because Thursday is my oldest daughter's confirmation. So dear 5 readers, (and SP-you make my 6th!!), I may be out of touch until the 23rd or 24th. I've also started a part time job at Imagine This Sold,a service where you can bring in items to be sold on eBay. So I am a busy beaver these days.

Knitting

The baby blanket is making great progress. I'm about 2/3rds done, about 18 inches completed and I've reversed the pattern .

Look I finally have pictures of other projects!! Here are a few shots of the baby kimono from Mason-Dixon Knitting: The Curious Knitters' Guide




This was done in Lily Sugar 'n Cream Cool Breeze Ombre I highly recommend this project for a quick and easy baby gift. I also made Bev's Stay On Knit Booties - newborn sized in Dale of Norway Baby Ull #8523,a leaf green shade.

And lastly for this baby gift I made a hat of my own pattern. Using the same yarn from the booties, I used guidelines from The Knitter's Handy Book of Patterns. I cast on 54 stitches for a newborn size hat, K2P2 rib for about 1 inch and then used the seaweed pattern from Barbara Walker's A Second Treasury of Knitting Patterns I repeated the pattern 3 times, used the decrease recommended by Handy Book of Patterns and added a tassel. Not bad for first pattern, right??



Next post I'll have pics from the latest intarsia slippers and update the garden status after the Memphis floodwaters recede!!

SP 8 Questionaire

1. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?I have many I love to knit with:Noro Kureyon, any Lorna's Laces, any Brown Sheep, especially bulky, Koigu, and Lily Sugar and Cream cotton. I'm way over fun furs of most types.

2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in?I have separate cases for my DPNs, straights and circs.

3. How long have you been knitting? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced?I've been knitting regularly for 3 years now. I'm an intermediate level knitter.

4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?Yes, under castelfam.

5. What's your favorite scent? (for candles, bath products etc.)Ocean or lilac.

6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy?HUGE sweet tooth!!! LOve choclate, not a nut or coconut fan. Favorites are Cadbury Flake bars, Hershey's plain and smores and Dove milk chocolates

7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin?I don't spin, didn't like it. I read, do photography, and cook.

8. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)I don't have an iPod but I can play MP3 on my computer. I like classic rock, 80's and pop mostly.

9. What's your favorite color? Or--do you have a color family/season/palette you prefer? Any colors you just can't stand?I prefer jewel tones and brights. Not much I don't like

10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?I'm married to a really cute Naval officer, have 2 daughters ages almost 14 and 10. We have 1 cat.

11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos?Yes to all.

12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?Hats, socks, mittens...the smaller,quicker projects.

13. What are you knitting right now?A baby blanket for a friend who's baby is due any minute!

14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts?Yes

15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?Circs and either Addis or bamboo

16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift?No but those are on my wish list for my birthday.

17. How did you learn to knit?Originally, I took a class at a store in Virginia Beach calledThe Knitting Corner with the owner, Carole, back in 1995. I retook that beginning class, with Carole, in 2003.

18. How old is your oldest UFO? 10 years, since it was a baby blanket for my youngest daughter that I've never finished.

19. What is your favorite holiday?From fall to just after the New Year, I love all the holidays, plus it's my anniversary in October nad my youngest's birthday is in ealy January.

20. Is there anything that you collect?Junk (tee hee!!), No I really collect, early Blue Willow china, Canton china, pineapple and floral depression glass and Smith College (my alma mater) memoribilia.

21. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?
The Holy Grail of knitting books-Alice Starmore's Aran Knitting or Fair Isle knitting, anything on my Amazon wishlist, and the Princess Leia lighted knitting needles on Ebay. My magazine subscriptions are extensive: Interweave, Creative Knitting, & Vogue Knitting mainly.

22. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn?
I really need to sharpen my finishing skills.

23. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements? Yes. I'll edit the measurements later

24. When is your birthday? (mm/dd)August 23rd

My confession

Bless me readers(all 5 of you) for I have sinned, it has been about 3 weeks (or more) since my last entry...

Here's my excuse if you care to read it. I came down with some very nasty viral thing that lasted from Holy Thursday until the Thursday 2 weeks later. Big yuck! Maybe it was the flu, in which case the money I spent on the flu shot was a big waste. The last few days have been spent reorganizing my life, the family and the disaster that was my home. So now that I'm as back on track as I'll ever be (and that's not saying much)...

Knitting
I've mailed my sockapalooza's pal socks and I really hope she likes them. It's the first pair that I've ever knit for anyone outside of the family and without the chance to test them on the recipient. Keep your fingers crossed . I also finished a pair of intarsia knit slippers from Knit One, Felt Too for my other sister in law that I still have to mail. And lastly the baby blanket is up to about 14 inches, so about half way done.

Garden
All planted finally. Tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers got planted on Monday. Corn and zucchini got planted on April 23rd. The cotton is doing great. The woad finally appeared and is growing. The indigo tanked and I had to replant, which I did on May 1st, so the verdict is still out on that. So hopefully the summer natural dyeing may still occur.

Pictures of my recent projects and the garden will hopefully be up soon. So dear (5) readers, I ma back. Please tell me where you're from on my nifty map to the left . Ta Ta!!