OMG! I totally didn't do an FO Friday post yesterday...and I really meant to because I have two FOs!!!
Here it is...My Affected Shawl:
I used The Loopy Ewe's Solid Series - a light fingering weight and lovely yarn - in the colors Putty, Slate and Iron. They have such a great selection of colors. The pattern, of course, is the stunning and viral quite popular Color Affection by Veera Valimaki.
It is very neutral and really goes well with most of the colors that I wear. That was the goal - I just wanted a grab and go shawl, without having to stop and think if it will match what I happen to be wearing as I run out the door.
The Christmas stocking is finished and ready for the embroidery shop:
The purple is really looking more blue in my pictures, sorry. I don't know how to photo shop. I used my diy pattern and Ella Rae Classic wool yarn. I hope the giftee likes it.
So, that's all I have this week. I am on to finishing those July socks and cruising away on my Camp Loopy Project 3.
Y'all have a good weekend.
MK out.
...starts tomorrow.
I'm all ready:
I'll be making Derecho.
MK out.
It's that time of the week...where I hold myself accountable for making progress on my knitting projects:
I finished the Color Affection shawl last Friday night. It took a little bath and lie down on Saturday and I took a picture of it yesterday...but...I won't show the picture until Friday, because I have to have something for FO Friday...and it might be the only thing.
Although...
The stocking is almost finished:
I've completed the heel and am racing towards the toe. The knitting should be finished by Friday for a glamour shot, but then, it will go to the embroidery shop for the name to be put on it. I don't know when the final, finished FO picture will be available. I will show y'all the finished-the-knitting FO picture though....don't worry.
The July socks are coming along:
I am knitting them inside out, as the one on the left depicts. It makes the floats the right length; so, the stitches aren't too tight and the socks don't pucker. I learned that trick from my friends on the Sock Knitters Anonymous group. They are a knowledgeable bunch, for sure!
Now, if I could just actually sit down and knit on them some more, they'd get finished faster.
I do have two more socks OTN - the April and the May socks, but I am going to try and finish them in August. I may have told you that...I don't remember. Plus, I am going to have the August socks going, as well as Camp Loopy Project 3 and a super, secret project too.
Hmmm. I think I have over committed myself again.
MK out.
It's been ages since I've talked about movies...but it's been ages since I've seen any.
Conviction, starring Hillary Swank, Sam Rockwell, Minnie Driver, Juliette Lewis and Melissa Leo (to name a few), is based on the true story of how Betty Anne Waters (Swank) did everything she could to prove that her brother (Rockwell) did not commit a murder. She went back to school - from earning her high school diploma to becoming an attorney - and to this day continues to work for prisoners who have been wrongfully convicted. It was good.
Kevin Spacey, Jeremy Irons, Stanley Tucci and Demi Moore star in Margin Call - about the night before Wall Street took a dive. The employees of a big investment firm get nervous because there are big layoffs. What they don't know until that night, however, is just how bad the situation is and that their profits and perks are all based on a house of cards. They throw their clients under the bus as they scramble around to come out okay. That level of greed is just sickening. It was a good movie though.
Kathy Bates narrates The Cutting Edge: The Magic of Movie Editing. Several directors and film editors give a glimpse of what is entailed in taking myriads of strips/frames of film and making them into the movies that we all enjoy. It was interesting.
MK out.
I am still knitting away on the Color Affection shawl - only two rows and the bind off to go. It will still need a little finish work - ends have to be woven in and it will need a little block...
If I get it done before it gets to dark tonight, I may come back with a picture. No promises though. If not, next Friday will be the day of the unveiling.
There are socks to show, though:
I used a nice sport-weight yarn I bought when visiting the Lonesome Stone Alpacas farm in Granbury, Colorado a few years ago. One of the Sock Knitters Anonymous challenges for June was to knit an underappreciated pattern (defined as a pattern from which less than 15 projects had been made). I found Maylin - with only five projects to its credit. I had to do a little math and needle downsizing to get gauge, but it wasn't a big ordeal. I really enjoyed knitting the pattern. Of course, one wouldn't guess that, seeing as it took a month and a half for me to complete the socks...but I was also working on my TLE Second Quarter Challenge cardi, my Mad May Lazy Girl Scarf and Camp Loopy Project 1. Oh...and we can't forget that I do lead a real life of sorts...
MK out.
I don't have anything finished to show you today...but I do have some random things to talk about...and eye candy is included.
I went to the Ice Cream Social at Madtosh on Saturday. Curly's Custard provided the treats:
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People were sitting and knitting, spinning and talking. There was buying going on too:
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I bought a That Semiferro Grrl project bag, because - you know - I don't have enough bags. I like the happy print...It's called Birds of a Feather. I really like Amy's bags...the craftmanship is very nice.
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I also bought a skein of Tosh Merino Light in Clementine. It is such a bright and happy colorway that I couldn't resist:
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And I do have something in mind for it.
In other news, Camp Loopy Project 3 was announced the other today. The challenge states that the project should:
1. contain two or more colors (because the Olympics are about working together in harmony, right?) plus,
2. must be at least 500 yds. single knit (not 250 yards doubled), plus,
3. be a pattern that you have not done before.
Camp Week also started the other day - where we get 20% off the yarn that we use for our project. I also had a credit to use (because it was burning a hole in my pocket). So, I had to get busy and decide what to make and choose some yarn or it would be seriously picked over if I waited too long!
I am going to make Derecho. Tosh Merino Light was my first choice, but there wasn't any Antler or Tart on that base, and I knew I wanted to use those two colors. I chose Tosh Sock instead, because not only was there Anter
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and Tart
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but there was Iris too!
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I'm a happy camper...pun intended.
MK out.
Here it is...the Fourth of July! What better time to do a little knitting?
In the last week or so; I battled a little case of startitis - and the startitis won!
First, let me show you My Affected Shawl.
I am knitting it for Camp Loopy - the second challenge. One has to take one of the colors of his or her national flag and use it in the project...and the project must use at least 800 yards of yarn. I chose white, and got Loopy Ewe approval to use Putty (the lighter color pictured) to represent it in my shawl. I am ready to add the third and final color.
So far, I am really enjoying knitting this shawl...but I think it will get really tedious at the very end when the rows are l.o.n.g. The deadline is July 27.
Next, I have worked a little on the June 2012 Socks. I am using a pattern called Maylin. I have one more pattern repeat until I start the heel. This project must be finished by July 31 to qualify for one of the Sock Knitters Anonymous June challenges - under appreciated patterns.
I really like this pattern...I don't think the yarn I am using is the right one - as it camouflages the stitches, but I am committed and not turning back...
I started my July 2012 Socks:
As you can see, they hit a snag and derailed. One of the SKA July challenges is color work. I've done a host of colorful socks in my day, but these are the first pair for which I am using the fair isle technique. It is tricky. The hand positions while changing between the colors is a technique all its own - using one color per hand. Color work tends to play havoc on the gauge too - which is the reason I've frogged the inch or so I had done since July 1. Back to the drawing board...at least the deadline for these socks isn't until August 30. The pattern is Zirkel, by the way. I am using Madelinetosh leftovers.
I cast on for another Christmas stocking for some friends:
They had a baby in February and I have made them three stockings already...I just need to complete the set. I have self-imposed a July 30 deadline, because I would like to get this project done and gifted. That is supposed to be purple, but I cannot photograph it well...
I also decided to go ahead and start the May 2012 Socks...and I did - on June 25th.
They haven't progressed much since then...I am planning on a plain vanilla sock with a ribbed top of the cuff.
Finally - the April 2012 Socks continue to be sadly ignored:
That's my list. I have challenged myself not to start anymore projects - even though I have a list of things that I am itching to start right now - until I've finished at least two of the above.
We shall see...
Happy Fourth!!!
MK out.
Moonrise Kingdom is a quirky movie...it reminds me of The Royal Tenenbaums...and it is with good reason, because Wes Anderson directed both. I made the mistake of taking The Husb and Oldest Son with me, knowing that their movie tastes greatly diverge from mine. They did not appreciate the artistry of this film. It is set in 1965 and is about two 12-year-old misfits who fall in love and decide to run away together. A hurricane is nearing and the frantic search for them ensues. There are many good actors in this movie: Frances McDormand, Bill Murray, Bruce Willis, Edward Norton, Tilda Swinton, just to name a few - and the kids are played by Kara Hayward and Jared Gilman. It was whimsical and fanciful and I loved it.
MK out.
