Sooooo...

I forgot to do a WIP Wednesday post yesterday; so, I'll do one today. The Oscar nominations were announced today and it's a WIP kind of situation, because I have eleven films yet to see. In case you wanted to know, the nominations for the top five are:

BEST PICTURE 

Bridge of Spies

Brooklyn

Mad Max: Fury Road

Room

Spotlight

The Big Short

The Martian

The Revenant

BEST ACTOR

Bryan Cranston - Trumbo

Eddie Redmayne - The Danish Girl

Leonardo DiCaprio - The Revenant

Matt Damon - The Martian

Michael Fassbender - Steve Jobs

BEST SUP ACTOR

Christian Bale - The Big Short

Mark Ruffalo - Spotlight

Mark Rylance - Bridge of Spies

Sylvester Stallone - Creed

Tom Hardy - The Revenant

BEST ACTRESS

Brie Larson - Room

Cate Blanchett - Carol

Charlotte Rampling - 45 Years

Jennifer Lawrence - Joy

Saoirse Ronan - Brooklyn

BEST SUP ACTRESS

Alicia Vikander - The Danish Girl

Jennifer Jason Leigh - The Hateful Eight

Kate Winslet - Steve Jobs

Rachel McAdams - Spotlight

Rooney Mara - Carol 

Since we are in the WIP kind of mood, I'll share a little gander at my two projects on the front burner.

My project for the January's Loopy Monthly Mixer is coming along. I've gotten to the lace rows:

This month, we had to pick a pattern, yarn base, yarn color or fabric line that begins with a P. I picked the pattern Peipponen in Wollmeise's Pure base and it's a purple-ish color...it's a trifecta!

I'm also making the Copilot Cowl out of a skein of Alicia Goes Around's Marmalade (of Ponies) in a fun pink, purple and red colorway.

Both are coming right along.

MK out.

WIP Wednesday - 1/27/2016

Did you have "centers" when you were in Kindergarten? The room is divided into areas like "kitchen," "construction," "dress up" - just to name a few. I did not when I was in Kindergarten 100 years ago, but The Kid did. Today, my approach to my day looked like a center-fied WIP Wednesday.

I had a quilting center:

There was an organizing the paperwork center:

And there's always a knitting center:

MK out.

Movie Monday - 1/25/2016

I am working through the movies I need to watch before the Academy Awards...

The Revenant is loosely based on a real person. Back in the 1820s, there lived a fur trapped named Hugh Glass. While on an expedition, he was mauled by a bear and left for dead by members of his team. However, he didn't die. His sheer determination to live was fueled by a little dose of revenge. Leonardo Di Caprio plays Glass. Tom Hardy plays John Fitgerald - a greedy, duplicitous member of the team - and he plays him well. There were some scenes that were hard to watch (bear mauling), but it was good.

Jennifer Lawrence stars in Joy, a film loosely based on the life of inventor and entrepreneur Joy Mangano of Miracle Mop fame. There are a lot of people in this movie - Robert De Niro, Bradley Cooper, Isabella Rossellini, Diane Ladd, Virginia Madsen, and Edgar Ramirez, just to name a few. It was cute.

MK out.

WIP Wednesday - 1/20/2016

Last night, I had the time to sit down at the sewing machine and work on catching up with the Farmers Wife SAL. I am very far behind, although I have cut out the pieces to some of the blocks. I decided I wanted to make the Sara block. I had the fabrics picked out; so, I grabbed them and started cutting. I didn't realize that I had grabbed some cheap, white fabric that I had used for a craft project. I'm not entirely sure how it got mixed up with my quilting stash.

Anyway, I made the block, and noticed that the white pieces were looking strange.

Apparently, I was shrinking the white fabric with the iron. Horrors!

Tonight, I cut out the pieces for the block again, this time using some nice quality quilters' cotton. 

I think I'll wait before I put it totally together. I still need to cool off about that one.

MK out.

Movie Monday - 1/18/2016

In the last week, I've knocked one movie off my getting-ready-for-the-Oscars movie watching extravaganza. Mad Max: Fury Road is the fourth installment in the Mad Max franchise and apparently, it took many years to get it to the theater. The critics loved this movie. I did not. It had a little plot, but none of the roles were a stretch for the high-powered stars (Tom Hardy and Charlize Theron). The special effects were technically adequate, but nonstop action is not really my cup of tea...not to mention it took a third of the movie for me to figure out who the good guys were. If you're into this type of thing, I can see where it would be entertaining, but for me...no thank you. And I don't know how it got nominated for Best Picture. Oh well.

Concussion is based on a true story of the forensic pathologist who took on the NFL and their deplorable act of covering up the evidence that head hits are dangerous to a person. Will Smith plays the doctor - Bennet Omalu. It was good.

Amy Winehouse had a short, turbulent life - mostly because of the choices she made. Amy is a British documentary that tells her story. It's always a shame when someone so gifted, talented and young dies. I thought it was an interesting look. I liked it.

MK out.

FO Friday - A Day Late

I really meant to write a post yesterday, even though my FOs aren't really all that exciting. I really did. I guess I lost all track of time working on some super secret Christmas presents...not for the Christmas that just passed, but for the one coming. You know the one...the one that is out there looming in the future, but will be here before we know it.

Back to FOs. It's the middle of the month and I've finished three things already! Actually, I started all three on the first and finished them all by the next day.

Here's the first one:

No...I didn't make a skein of yarn. I just forgot to take a picture, and the next day I gifted it to an adorable little girl I know. What did I make, you ask? I made a boa...something every little girl needs. So, imagine a boa made out of this yarn.

Then, I made these:

I used my favorite pattern and some Encore Worsted and I knocked those babies right out.

So, that's it...that's the list.

MK out.

Movie Monday - 1/11/2016

Did anyone catch the Golden Globes last night? I didn't...

Your Sister's Sister was an alright movie about a guy who hooked up with his best friend's (who is female) sister. Emily Blunt, Mark Duplass and Rosemarie DeWitt starred as the principal players. The critics seemed to like it, but I thought it was okay. Maybe, I need to see it again - or maybe I'm not the target audience.

The Testament of Youth is adapted from the memoir of Vera Brittain, who wrote of her experiences during WWI. She convinced her parents to allow her to attend university, but when the war broke out and her brother, fiancé and other male friends join the fight, she felt compelled to make a sacrifice too. She volunteered as a nurse and treated patients on both sides. It's a good movie.

Michael Douglas, Robert de Niro, Morgan Freeman and Kevin Kline star in Last Vegas, about a group of friends since childhood who head to Las Vegas to throw a bachelor party for one of the guys. It was pretty funny and entertaining. I liked it.

In The Age of Adaline, Blake Lively plays a woman who has stayed 29 for almost eighty years following a strange accident. Could you imagine? I think that would be awesome, except for the fact that you wouldn't get to grow old with anyone; so, everyone dies on you. And that was Adaline's issue with the whole thing too. But dang...for a while, I'd be game. Ellen Burstyn, Kathy Baker and Harrison Ford also starred in this movie. It was pretty good.

The Big Short is another look at the housing mortgage collapse of 2008. One guy saw it coming and played it to his advantage. Once again, it exposed the greed of some of the key players from Lehman Brothers and some of the other big investment banks who ruined the lives of many people - many of whom were their own employees. Wow! Anyway, Christian Bale, Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling and Brad Pitt starred in this film. It was good.

MK out.

Movie Monday - 1/04/2016

In Brooklyn, Eilis leaves her home in Ireland to find a better life in America. Saoirse Ronan, Emory Cohen, Jim Broadbent, Julie Waters and Fiona Glascott star in this cute film. I highly recommend it.

In Paper Towns, a teen disappears after a night of adventure shared with the guy who lives across the street and is besotted by her. He takes it upon himself to enlist the help of his buddies to find her, while following clues she has left behind. It was alright.

Ian McKellen stars as the famous Sherlock in Mr. Holmes. Close to retirement, he is still plagued by an old case that hasn't yet been solved. Also starring in the film are Laura Linney and Milo Parker. It was very good.

I really don't know very much about the man, but after watching Steve Jobs, I'm not sure I would have liked him very much. The story focuses on his creative accomplishments, achieved at the expense of his interpersonal relationships. Michael Fassbender stars as Jobs. Kate Winslet, Seth Rogen and Jeff Daniels are also in the movie. It was good.

The original players return to reprise their roles in Star Wars: The Force Awakens. A couple of new characters are introduced, but thankfully, none are annoying like Jar Jar Binks. (Did I say that outloud?) I thoroughly enjoyed this movie - even without seeing all of the previous ones in the series.

MK out.

FO Friday - 1/1/2016

Happy New Year Everyone!!!

Twenty-fifteen ended, and looking over this past year, I sure didn't knit very much. According to my Ravelry page, I made 25 projects. I think my all-time high is 50. Hmmm........

I did complete all my projects for Loopy Academy though. So, I choose to be positive in my outlook and build from that.

In the knitting division, our assignments re to make a pillow, a project with texture and a project with cables. Each project had to use at least 225 yards of yarn.  In the sewing division, our assignments were to make a drawstring bag (or bags), a set of four placemats and a seasonal wall hanging. Each project had to use at least 1 1/2 yards of fabric. All supplies had to be purchased from The Loopy Ewe. After much thinking, I decided that my theme for all the assignments was Christmas.

I made three pillows to fulfill all the knitting assignment requirements. I made them in the colors I use to decorate for Christmas - cream, red and teal/turquoise. Two were finished just in time to use this year for Christmas:

The cream one was for texture:

I used Cascade 220 Super wash, in the Aran colorway. The pattern is Independence Pillow.

The red one was for cables:

I used Cascade Superwash in Really Red. The pattern is Smushion.

I finished the third after Christmas. It's the pillow, for the pillow assignment - aka the official pillow:

I used Cascade Superwash in Deep Ocean. The pattern is Delightful Diamonds.

The Christmas theme continued in the sewing division.

I had enough fabric to make three drawstring project bags using selections from Moda's Be Jolly line. I used this tutorial, except I used the accent fabric at the bottom of the bag. It's a great tutorial for drawstring bag first timers!

For placemats, I chose fat quarters - a variety of batiks in reds and teals. I made eight, because four are not enough at Chez Merry Karma.

I had seen some horizontal stipend ones and decided to make mine in vertical stripes instead. I decided not to bind them. I backed them in a beautiful red batik...they're reversible!

Finally, I used red, cream and teal fabrics from the Andover Dimples collection to make my wallhanging:

Except for all the cutting and the HSTs assembled, I made the entire thing between 10:45pm Wednesday night and 7:00am yesterday.

And then later, I boarded a plane and jetted away.

Off to the Rose Bowl today. Go Hawks!

MK out.