Thursday, March 31, 2011

I Went, I Saw, I Bought

As I mentioned yesterday, my LYS had a Ravelry Carnival last night complete with food and sales...

I did go with the intention of looking for some yarn for a secret project I have in the works.  It is still in the planning stages, and you won't be seeing it until it is all finished. I found the perfect yarn for the project and bought all they had (nine skeins), and I got if for thirty percent off.  Score!



That purchase earned me a $25.00 off coupon in their loyalty program.  I thought, "Great!" and put it in my purse and continued knitting and visiting with people.  Then, I was reminded that I had to use it in thirty days...and things were on sale tonight...

I thought for a long time.

I looked at their selection of Madelinetosh yarns.  It was pretty picked over by that point, as it was flying off the shelves during this little party.  I was sitting right near it; so, I was watching the proceedings up to this point.  I settled on a skein of Tosh Sock in Betty Drapers Blue.  I don't know if I have any blue socks, or I could always make a shawl...



A friend just found out that she is having a baby at the end of November.  I have yarn in my stash to make something for the baby, but I also wanted to make something for baby number one who will be two in December.  I looked at my Ravelry stash on my phone and couldn't come up with enough yarn in one color to make something for Big Sister. 



I got the sock yarn and three skeins of the pink baby yarn for $2.23 after my coupon - they were discounted per the sale price too.

So, while I broke my Cold Sheep before my planned date - (because I couldn't wait for nine more days, apparently) - it could have been worse my friends...it could have been worse...

I stayed up pretty late last night knitting after I got home from the party.  I think I may be finished with both the sweater and the socks by late tonight, but I know the seaming and end weaving won't be done; so, y'all probably won't get to see them tomorrow.

Sorry.

MK out.

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

WIP Wednesday - 3/30/2011

I have been feverishly knitting on the two projects that I want to finish by the end of the month.

The end of the month is tomorrow.

I am about to start the heel flaps on the socks:



I am working on the sleeves for the baby sweater:




Sorry for the bad photography.  I know it's always bad, but I don't always remember to apologize for it.

In other news:  My LYS is having a Ravelry Carnival tonight and I plan to attend.  I will be tempted to buy yarn, I just know it. 

Tune in tomorrow...

MK out.

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Ten on Tuesday - 3/29/2011 - Support Your Local Library

I wanted to get this post done last night, but my attention was required elsewhere...




This week's topic via Carole is Ten Reasons to Use the Public Library:
1. You are already paying for it through your tax dollars....Get your money's worth.
2. They have tons of books...so you don't have to go out and buy any and your house can stay clutter free. (Merry Karma is into clutter freeness.) Not that books are clutter, but after you read a book, how many times do you read it again? And if you do want to read it again - it will be waiting for you at the library.  A cool thing is to check out a knitting book that you are thinking about buying to see if you really need it in your personal library, or if knowing it is available at the public library if you need it is good enough.  Also - if they don't have a particular book for which you are looking, they can hook you up through inter-library loans and get the book from another library.
3. There are tons of magazines and newspapers (aka periodicals) you can go read there. You don't have to blow your budget with subscribing to multiple periodicals. And what happens to those periodicals at home after you read them anyway? Either they get recycled or thrown away (horrors!) or they just pile up around the house (double horrors!)...that clutter thing again.
4. Want to read a book and knit at the same time?  They have audio books that make it easier.
5. Quit wasting your money on renting or buying DVDs. The library will let you borrow theirs and there are no late fees if you don't bring them back the next day.  (There are late fees if you don't bring them back by the due date - but they give you a longer time than the video store does.)
6. Is your computer in the shop and you need to check e-mail or see Merry Karma's latest knitting projects? Well, hop on over to your local library where they have computers available for patrons to use.
7. Need to look up your roots? Most libraries have extensive genealogy departments that can help you find out if you were one of Thomas Jefferson's illegitimate offspring....or just maybe who your great-great-great-grandparents were.
8. How about those children's programs?  I remember taking The Kid when he was itty bitty and there would be puppet shows, Miss Mickey would read a story and she would also lead the singing of Skinnamarink at the end.  Then he and I would go check out more books to read until the next week when we would return.  They used to have a tree house where we climbed up and had a pic nic a time or two.
9. They have book clubs and free classes.  I went to a seminar/class about crock-pot cooking not too long ago and got some good information about safe food temperatures, as well as some new recipes.
10.  The librarians are nice and informative people who can help you with just about anything.  In the age of Google, we sometimes forget that, but the human touch is really important.

And don't forget to honor someone you love with a donation to your local library...those tax dollars don't go as far as they used to.

MK out.

(Image was borrowed from the Diluth, MN public library website.)


Monday, March 28, 2011

Movie Monday - 3/28/2011

Sorry not many movies this week, but all three are worth watching:

Lottery Ticket is about a kid (Bow Wow) living with his grandmother in public housing, who purchases a lottery ticket on a whim, and ends up winning the 370 million dollar jackpot. He has the long holiday weekend to safeguard his ticket and maneuver around all the neighbors and various thugs out there who want a piece of the pie. It was entertaining.



In Wallstreet: Money Never Sleeps, Michael Douglas reprises his role as Gordon Gecko, the man who coined the phrase “Greed is good.” After spending eight years in jail, he is released to find that no one is waiting for him…not even his daughter (Carey Mulligan), to whom he left his 100 million dollar fortune in a Swiss bank in exchange for  her spotting him once he is gets out of jail until he can get back on his feet. She is now working for a non-profit and trying to better the world, while dating a Wallstreet trader (Shia LeBeouf). Gecko is promoting his book, “Is Greed Good?” while trying to get back into the game. Entertaining, yet predictable, I liked it.


Micmacs, in French with English subtitles, is a cute little fantasy with a bit of darkness. Basil loses his father to a landmine when he is just a boy. When he grows up, he is hit with a bullet to the head in a drive-by shooting that ultimately leaves him homeless and jobless. He meets a band of misfits that take him in. They join him in his quest to exact revenge on the arms dealers who manufactured the weaponry that affected his circumstances. I liked it.

MK out.

Saturday, March 26, 2011

The Adventures of a Girl Who Decided She Might Do a Little Gardening This Spring

I 've been trying to only blog during the week lately, but I had such an interesting day today; so, I thought I would share...or I would forget.  There are many really clever blog posts that have never gotten written, because I wasn't in front of the computer when the thoughts occurred.  When it was time to sit down and write - the thoughts were long gone....but I digress.

Last year, the landscape people came and planted some pentas and knock out roses. The pentas took a while to get going, because by the time I could make up my mind to have the landscaper come put something in those beds, the heat of the summer was in full force. I figured out that extra watering was in order, and they limped along and finally took hold. Two of the knock out roses plants had to be replaced, because they just flat out died on me.

Here's the issue: The landscapers come. They plant. They leave...and the care of those poor defenseless flowers and shrubs is left to me. In my defense though, it was stinkin' hot most of last summer.

Also last year, I noticed some bald spots in front of my shrubs that are great places for a pop of color. I do like to look at plants and flowers, but I just don't know a whole lot about gardening. That was when I thought that I would start earlier next year.  I figured I should start thinking about gardening in March andI filed the thought away.

Next year is now upon us, and I actually remembered the thought! So, last week, I enlisted the help of my friend who was my genetics teacher before I got into PA school. She knows how to garden, likes to and is good at it.  The first thing I had to do, she told me, was prepare my beds. I came away with homework such as, figure out how much shade different areas get after the leaves on the trees start coming out and think about whether I want annuals or perinneals.  I also came away with a list of things that I need like rose food, soil conditioner, weed block, a tiller...just to name a few.  We went to Home Depot together and looked at flowers...Oh my, I got so excited.

I came home and told The Husb about all the stuff I learned, and what we needed, and what I wanted to acccomplish, and he had the strangest look on his face.  I went on to say that I would rent a small tiller and have The Kid do the tilling...when I noticed that he looked a little relieved.  "Oh, that makes more sense...I was thinking you didn't realize that it all wouldn't be as easy as you were making it sound," he said.

Today was the big day...The Kid and I got ready and went to Home Depot to purchase soil conditioner and rent the tiller.  The Husb ended up going with us because he needed some things.  We got home with all the stuff and the fun began...It was a beautiful day, and I really enjoyed being outside. 

However....

We quickly figured out that we had bitten off more than we can chew, since 1. the soil around here is predominantly clay, 2. the beds for which we had rented the tiller had not been worked in a few years, and 3. it hadn't rained in a while and the dirt was v.e.r.y hard.

While some of the areas were being watered and given some time for the water to soak down and soften things up a bit, I turned my attention to the wall:



That was where the pentas lived last year.  Since I've had something planted there for the last few years, the soil was fairly easy to work and I got busy hoeing, weeding and working in the soil conditioner.  I also hand tilled around the knock outs.

After a while, The Kid managed to get a couple of areas tilled.



(I remember when Mommy and Me activities were things like going to Gymboree.  Now, they involve potentially dangerous equipment.)

All of this happened in the span of three and a half hours.  While we were taking a little water break, The Kid and I reflected a little about the gardening plan. While it was a great day to be outside and we did like spending some time together,  I remembered that I don't really like playing in the dirt all that much. He thought it was too much work, especially because we have too much garden.  We are planning to buy a few flowers to plant, since we did this much already, but we decided that the scope of the plan is going to be narrowed a bit.

To tide you over until the garden gets planted, here's  a picture of the knock out roses:



And here are some vintage pictures from when I started this blog in 2007:





Those zinnias had slug issues.  Ewww...

MK out.







Friday, March 25, 2011

FO Friday - 3/25/2011

There's lots of knitting, but not much finishing...but you probably already knew that.

I did finish a linen washcloth:



I used the Tile Stitch pattern from the Eight Linen Washcloths found in Knitter's Stash.  The yarn is the remaining yellow Louet Euroflax Sport Weight.

Here's that Lacy Top:



Y'all know I don't like to show an FO until it is all the way finished, but I am making an exception today.  As you can see, it is just waiting for some sewing up and edging treatment.  I am just not.in.the.mood.  If I were in the mood, I could be wearing it to work as early as next week.  I can be so stubborn sometimes...

I've decided that I am going to table Liesl until next month.  I am taking the Sweater Fitness Workshop from Anne Hanson at DFW Fiber Fest.  I might learn something that will be useful  in actually making that sweater.

So, until the end of the month, (next Thursday), I will be working on a pair of socks and a baby sweater.

Have a great weekend.

MK out.

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

WIP Wednesday - 3/23/2011

Since I write about my knitting weekly, I feel added pressure to knit and to be able to show progress.  I am sabotaging myself because I have a few things going at once. Even if I do knit on something reasonably consistently - and I also give attention to some or all of the other things going - progress is not so obvious.

Case in point, the March 2011 socks:



I like the pattern okay, but the slipping stitches across every other row slows me down too.  It is making a nice, dense fabric.



I am at the armholes on the baby sweater:



At least it is made in one piece; so, I have fronts and back up to that point simultaneously.

Cold Sheeping is still going well.  I have not bought one ball of yarn since November 1.  That's over four months!  When I look at projects I want to make online, or in the yarn shop - or I see a yarn I'd like to try...it can be a little hard.  Usually, I go upstairs to where my yarn stash lives and look through it a little, and I'm fine.

The DFW Fiber Fest is coming in three weeks...I have already planned to purchase yarn there.  How could I not?  Madelinetosh, The Woolie Ewe, Brooks Farm Yarns, The Knitting Fairy, Fiber Lady...just to name a few....will all be there.  There will be yarn fumes to take in and yarn to pet.  C.a.n.n.o.t.w.a.i.t.  I think my strategy will be to allow myself a certain dollar amount and have things in mind that I really want.  We shall see.

Anyone out there planning on coming to DFW Fiber Fest?  What other fiber festival will you be attending in the next few weeks or months?

MK out.


 

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Ten on Tuesday - 3/22/2011 - The One About Spring

Although spring is not my most favorite season, here are Ten Reasons To Be Glad It's Spring:



1. Flowers - tulips, daffodils, azaleas...flowers.
2. Easter dresses - although I haven't bought a new dress or outfit for Easter services in quite a while.
3.  Warm, sunny, dry days that allow one to dine outside...(or just stand outside without sweating) - and they are few and far between around here.
4.  Longer daylight hours - even though it means we wake up in the dark.
5.  Birds - There's a cardianl family in the bushes outside my sewing room window and a cute little teeny bird family that makes its annual nest in the birdhouse sitting on the patio table.
6.  Flying kites - another activity from the past...apparently.
7.  Pedicures with pink or pinky-red polish.
8.  Driving around town with the sunroof open.
9.  Cute tops and cropped pants - so comfy and fun...
10.  Strappy sandals - I need to go shopping...

Thanks Carole.

MK out.


Monday, March 21, 2011

Movie Monday - 3/21/2011

It's Monday, and that means another installment of movie comments. 

The Adjustment Bureau, starring Matt Damon and Emily Blunt, is about two people who may or may not get together. The free will vs. predestination conflict is explored in this film. There is an unseen group of people who “adjust” the course when someone strays from the path determined by some unknown entity. This group interferes with David (Damon) and Elise’s (Blunt) budding romance. It was entertaining, but I thought the ending was really weak.

Winnebago Man is a documentary about Jack Rebney. In the 70s, he starred in commercials about Winnebagos, and the multitudes of outtakes of him swearing up a storm have a cult following on YouTube and other venues. The filmmaker wanted to find out just who this guy was and what he was about. It was interesting, but be warned – the F-bombs fly.


Red, starring Bruce Willis, Morgan Freeman, Helen Mirren and John Malkovich, is about a group of retired CIA assassins who are being hunted. They find out why and eventually by whom. It was engaging and entertaining. I liked it.


The Beaches of Agnes is an autobiographical documentary of the life and works of Agnes Varda, whom many consider the grandmother of the French New Wave film movement. She wrote and directed Cleo from 5 to 7 – that movie I commented about a few weeks ago. It was a fascinating look at the life of a very talented individual.

Besides movies, I have several television shows on the Netflix queue.  I've just finished Weeds: Season 1.  While watching the first few episodes, I couldn't decide if I liked this show or not.  I couldn't relate to the characters or the situations...I don't even know people like that...By the end of the season, I was entertained - although I am not a single mother paying the rent with proceeds from my drug-dealing business. I am looking forward to watching Season 2.
Later, Internets...

MK out.

Friday, March 18, 2011

FO Friday - 3/18/2011

Howdy Folks!!!

By finishing the self-imposed sock club socks, I am down to one project that needs finishing up from February.  I present the February 2011 socks:




I used the Simple Master Coriolis pattern from Cat Bordhi's book New Pathways for Sock Knitter's Book One.  The yarn is Koigu (KPPPM) that has been marinating in my stash since the 2008 DFW Fiber Fest.  I used two Knit Picks size US 0 circulars to knit both socks at the same time. I finished off the tops with the cabled bind-off. 




I was itching to get the leftover yarn out of my stash; so, I made what I am calling the masculine version (although it could go either way) of Pumpkin - Pumpkin II:



There are only scraps left of that orange Berocco Comfort DK left. A small amount of the Comfort DK in lime green was used for the stem and the i-cord ties.  I used size US 6 circs for the hat and my Lantern Moon rosewood dpns in size US 3 for the booties.  The patterns used were Kubris for the hat and Ruth's Perfect Baby Booties.





Have a wonderful weekend.

MK out.


Thursday, March 17, 2011

I Like Aprons

But since I haven't been cooking much around here lately, and when I do, The Husb cleans up the kitchen - who would know?

Because I'm sure everyone is wanting to see, I have some pictures of my apron collection:

My mother is a seamstress extraordinaire.  Back in the day, she would frequently make aprons to give as shower gifts.  She made a couple for me:



(Note to self:  Style your pictures better.  Ironing helps tremendously.)

I think I made this apron myself many years ago.  It's a great combination of Christmas and aprons...two of my loves:



I won this apron at an American Heart Association function:



Here is a vintage Delta Airlines flight attendant apron:



Since I am pretty much a girly girl, I like my dish gloves to be girly:



By now, you may be asking, "What is the point of this post?"

I have a name twin in the cyberspace.  Mary Kay has the cutest blog.  She posted some of her favorite kitchen tools yesterday, and in the pictures, she is wearing the cutest dish washing gloves that a friend made for her. (Nice friend.)  Then, she went on to say that they m.a.t.c.h the apron her friend also made for her. 

Wha?!?

The longer I thought about it, the more inadequate I felt.  You've seen my apron collection.  You've seen my gloves.  There is not one matchy-matchy combination possible.

And to add insult to injury, look how cute MK is in her apron and dish washing gloves:



I think I have some sewing to do...

MK out.

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

WIP Wednesday - 3/16/2011

I try very hard to keep that startitis virus under control.  Sometimes I do better than other times.

Let me show you what is currently on the needles (OTN) at Chez Merry Karma:

There's Little Boy Blue.



Since I had half a skein of that linen yarn leftover, I had to start another washcloth.



I started my March 2011 socks!



Finally, I am giving that problem child Liesl another go.



What's on your needles?

MK out.

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Ten on Tuesday - 3/15/2011





I like pie...How about you?

Here are my 10 Favorite Kinds of Pie, in this order:
1. Blueberry - and not just any blueberry pie - I like mine made with fresh blueberries, not canned, on a homemade crust - thank you.  The best I've ever had was somewhere along the Cabot Trail in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia.
2. Banana Cream Pie - the kind you get in Bear Creek, Montana at the Hungry Bear Cafe. They advertise that their pie is the best in the world - for several miles before you get there. OMG!  It is like that homemade banana pudding with the Nilla Vanilla Wafers, except on a homemade crust,  that you might make once in your life from scratch until you figure out that you can make it a quicker way - but it's not as good...trust me.  Anyway, that pie is as good.
3. Key Lime - only if it's tart and it is homemade.  I've had some in Key West.  It was good.

Are we sensing a theme here? Maybe, more than one?

4. Lemon - again, best if tart and homemade. I like the kind at S&D Oyster Company in Dallas - especially before a Dallas STARS or Dallas MAVS game.
5. Pumpkin - I will eat just about anything pumpkin - bread, ice cream, pie - anything.  In a break with tradition, Mrs. Smith's Pumpkin Pie is pretty good.  In fact, I have her make pumpkin, apple and pecan pies frequently at Thanksgiving and Christmas.  She always seems happy to oblige.

OK, from here, there is no particular order, as long as it is homemade, (except for the two that Mrs. Smith makes for me):

6. Apple - I like it warm and with ice cream.
7. Pecan - Before I met Mrs. Smith, I remember going to Luby's with Anne, Barbara, Sara, Lynn and Chuck in Bryan, Texas, usually on a Sunday night - since the Commons cafeteria wasn't serving dinner - to have vegetables and pecan pie. Yum!
8. Cherry - I forget who turned me on to cherry pie, but I love it.
9. Peach - Room temperature with a side of ice cream will do, but warm is great!
10.  Blackberry - I think Barbara (see #7) makes a good one.

I love pie - homemade is best...

Ask me when I last made pie.

....and my thanks to Carole for this week's topic.  She is the Ten on Tuesday Queen.

MK out.







Monday, March 14, 2011

Movie Monday - 3/14/2011

It's Monday!!!  Here's some movies!!!

Amelia, starring Hillary Swank as Amelia Earhart and Richard Gere as George Putnam, is the story of the famous aviatrix and her eventual disappearance in the Pacific ocean. Hillary did a good job – she even resembled Amelia. We could’ve seen a little more of Richard Gere, but overall, it was pretty good.



Valentine’s Day is a cute and a little dumb romantic comedy that takes place entirely on Valentine’s Day. There are many actors in it, including Jennifer Gardner, Ashton Kutcher, Shirley MacLaine, Julia Roberts, Patrick Dempsey, Queen Latifah, Taylor Lautner and Taylor Swift…many couples, with many issues…definitely a renter, but it was entertaining.


In Me and Orson Wells, a high school student (Zac Efron) who dreams of becoming an actor, bluffs his way into a production by Orson Wells (Christian McKay). Much to his delight, he eventually works up to a speaking role. However, things soon go a little awry. Apparently, Mr. Wells was quite the character – with the ego to go along with it. It was well acted (Claire Danes is also in this movie and is marvelous) and pretty entertaining.


Robert Duvall, Bill Murray, Sissy Spacek and Lucas Black star in Get Low, a film inspired by the true story of a man who planned his funeral while he was still alive. The premise and the trailers made it seem that it would be a bit of a comedy, but actually, this movie rather serious. It was good though. The acting was wonderful and it was a good story.


I saw Europa Europa several years ago, but it had found its way on my Netflix queue for some reason and I thought I’d go ahead and see it again. A young Julie Delpy is in this film. It is based on the true story of a German Jew who survived the Holocaust by pretending to be a faithful follower of the Third Reich. It’s just amazing what people will do to survive. Anyway, it is in German and Russian with English subtitles. I liked it.


Sin Nombre, in Spanish with English subtitles, is about a member of a ruthless street gang from Mexico who is on the run after killing its leader. He meets a Honduran girl trying to make it to the US border with her father and her uncle. (More stuff happens before and after this synopsis.) It was an interesting look at how other people live - I live in such a bubble…It was alright, overall.

MK out.

Friday, March 11, 2011

FO Friday - 3/11/2011

Yay!  It's Friday!  It's the weekend!!!  Next week is Spring Break in these parts, but I haven't really celebrated Spring Break in a few years.  It feels a little weird, but I didn't know what the actual dates were - I had to look them up on the school website.

Remember that Surprise Bag?  I finally put on the grommets; so, it is Merry-Karma-Blog-Appropriate-Done! 

I think it is a little fugly, myself.  First of all, it felted a little unevenly, but I was not standing over the whole process.  Usually, I carefully take the item out, straighten it up and put it back in if needed.  This time, I set the timer and walked away.  It was a busy day, and I couldn't be bothered.  The Felting Gods had a field day with me, apparently.  It kind of looks like a tall, skinny Booga Bag.  Oh...you want to see it?



Felting is kind of like magic.  It turns something that looks like this:



Into something that looks like this:



That officially concludes the January 2011 FOs.  Here they are all together:



Maybe next week, I will have woven in the ends to the February socks and the Lacy Top.

MK out.

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

WIP Wednesday - 3/9/2011

I awoke to a bright and sunny day this morning.  I grabbed my camera to take a picture of my current WIPs and realized it was dead.......as a door nail.......deader than dead.......day-eed!

I plugged the battery into the charger and hurried off to work.

With a recharged battery, I present Little Boy Blue:



When you last saw this project, I had only completed the ribbing.  I knew that all I needed to do was to pick it up again to get past the rut and the knitting would proceed smoothly.  Last night, I did, and I am looking forward to working on it again tonight.



It has four panels of mirror-image cables.  I think they are visible well enough.

Here's Pumpkin II:



Well, it's actually the beginning of one bootie.  I thought I needed a little something to give me a bit of instant gratification, and to give my wrists a rest from the cotton. 

What are you working on?

MK out.




Monday, March 7, 2011

Movie Monday - 3/7/2011

After I wrote my comments, I realized I watch a lot of movies that aren't that great, but I suppose that is a hazard of the job.  There are many, many movies out there, but as with everything else in life, everything can't be wonderful.

And now for this week's selections:

Another Year is a sweet little dramedy that looks at a year in the life of a happily married couple, Tom and Gerri. Jim Broadbent and Ruth Sheen star as the married couple in this movie, as does Lesley Manville, as Gerri’s work friend named Mary. As stable as Tom and Gerri’s life together is, Mary’s life is not. She puts on a cheery façade, but she is literally drowning her sorrows in wine. It is definitely a character study, and I really liked it.



Rango is the new animated film starring the voices of Johnny Depp, Isla Fisher, Ned Beatty, Abigail Breslin, Alfred Molina and many others. Rango is a pet chameleon who finds himself on the side of a desert road. He comes upon the town of Dirt and leads the inhabitants to believe that he is a gunslinger with hero-like capabilities. It was cute, but I think the humor was geared more to adults.


Greenberg, starring Ben Stiller in the title role, is a character study about a man, having recently undergone a nervous breakdown, who finds himself still struggling at age forty. He is house-sitting for his brother’s family while they are out of the country for several weeks on business. He starts a non-relationship with the family’s assistant, played by Greta Gerwig. Greenberg is not an easy person to like, and I found myself not liking him throughout most of the film. In the end, I just kind of felt sorry for him. Eh.


The Rape of Europa is a documentary about the horrific plundering of Europe’s art museums and private collections by the Nazis in WWII. It talked about how some of the collections were safeguarded from being destroyed as collateral damage during air strikes and fighting, while others were not so lucky. A group of American and Allied forces had the job of recovering and returning items that were taken. It was a very good film.


The Girl from Monaco, in French with English subtitles, stars Fabrici Luchini – one of my favorite character actors – as Bertrand Beauvais, a successful attorney hired to represent a woman charged with murdering a younger lover who has ties to the Russian mafia. Her son hires, Chritsophe, a bodyguard (played by Roschdy Zem) to protect Bertrand from any mafia retaliation. Bertrand meets Audrey, a sexy and much younger woman, who is nothing but trouble. It was alright.


Holy Rollers, starring Jesse Eisenberg, is based on a true story. Eisenberg plays Sam, a Hasidic Jew in his late teens who has aspirations of becoming a rabbi, but is frustrated when his father’s poor financial decisions spoil his future with the girl of his dreams. His path takes a wrong turn when he starts smuggling ecstasy into the country for some extra money. It was only a matter of time before the game was called for rain. It was nothing special.

MK out.

Friday, March 4, 2011

FO Friday - 3/4/2011

Y'all are about to learn my dirty little secret...

During February, I did finish my February 2011 socks, 2 linen washcloths, and my Lacy Summer Top.  I also felted The Surprise Bag that I finished in January and I worked (a little) on the Baby Scrap Afghan.

The DLS:  I hate finish work. 

Because of that, the only FOs I have to show for my efforts today are the two linen washcloths that I made:



I used Louet Euroflax Sportweight in the goldilocks and jungle green colorways, with US 2 needles to get gauge.  Since I was participating in the "February Library Challenge:  For your home" in the Stash Knit Down group on Ravelry, I killed two birds with one stone by making some washcloths using patterns found in Knitter's Stash.




I really did not enjoy knitting with this yarn...it's pretty stiff, but I hear that it softens up beautifully after washing - and it probably gets softer the more it is washed.  I am looking forward to that.

I bought this yarn at The Woolie Ewe's annual end-of-the-year sale in December of 2007.



I still have that Louisa Harding Sari Ribbon...I don't remember why I bought it, but it was a deal! I also still have the alpaca yarn (the tan, grey and cream yarn) but have plans to make socks and fingerless mitts out of it.  I used the pink and green Cascade 220 to make My Constant Companion, also out of the Knitter's Stash book.  I made washcloths out of the blue, green, red and yellow yarn in the front.


Y'all have a great weekend!

MK out.

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

WIP Wednesday - 3/2/2011

What a beautiful day it was yesterday in these parts.  Instead of coming up with a Ten on Tuesday or at least a Two on Tuesday, I went to the park after work and enjoyed the sunshine. 

Since I just finished some projects (that y'all haven't yet seen), I pulled out some yarn and planned some projects for March:



I will make my March 2011 Socks out of the Fleece Artist using the Aquaphobia pattern (top). I think it will be fun working with this yarn since the colors are so bright and sunny - kind of like what I see outside my window this morning. 

From left to right:  I decided I needed a more masculine version of Pumpkin that I made in January.  Next, you might recognize that pile of Malabrigo Rios from my problem children post.  It is going to become a Liesl this month, (for real). Two more washcloths will be made from the leftover linen yarn

The sweater I started in February still looks like this:



I will try to make it look more like the picture this month....

What's are your knitting plans this week?

MK out.