Weekend Update
First, here's the hat I posted about last time:
The pattern is "Painted Turtle" from "Itty Bitty Hats". It's knit in Manos Cotton Stria yarn. I originally was going to make it for my sister's baby, but I'm not happy with how it came out, so I'm going to donate it to the Pine Ridge Reservation. Mine just doesn't look as cute as the one in the book. I can't put my finger on why, though. Maybe the way I sewed on the turtles. It was my first time using Cotton Stria and it's not a favorite. I like the subtle variegations, but it was really hard to knit and I prefer a smooth, mercerized cotton over a textured cotton like this. I also couldn't get gauge without going down more needles sizes, so it's bigger than baby size - more like toddler size. I had a hard enough time knitting on size 6 needles, so I didn't want to go down any smaller.
I also wanted to show you the yarn I got this month from the Sweet Sheep Socks Club:
It's from the Sweet Sheep itself, called Sweet Socks. I LOVE this colorway. It's great purples and turquoise and gray - so beautiful! The colorway is called "Comforts of Home" and is based on "The blue morning glories in my mom's backyard, the violets that always catch my eye, and the silver for my mom's beautiful salt and pepper hair." It's a nice superwash and nylon blend that feels soft, too. I can't wait to knit this one up! I saw the "Not Just Socks" kids book this weekend and I may have to go back and buy it after the holidays, because it had some great patterns for sock yarn, which I have in abundance, y'all know.
Saturday was Talk Cinema day and we saw this film:
I really liked it, but I think I was once again a litle out of step with the rest of the audience. It seemed like I liked it better than most of the rest of the viewers. The film stars Edward Norton as a bacteriologist in the mid-20s who meets and falls instantly in love with a spoiled society girl played by Naomi Watts. Since Norton's work is done in China, he must act quickly and proposes to Watts. She accepts, not because she loves him, but because she wants to get away from her disapproving mother. Once she goes to Shanghai with her new husband, she realizes she may have made a mistake and falls into an affair with a diplomat played by Liev Shreiber. Norton soon finds out and threatens to publicly humiliate Watts and Shreiber with a divorce unless Watts goes with him to a small village that is suffering a Cholera epidemic - a suicidal mission. The rest of the film shows Norton and Watts beginning to see their own problems within the bigger context of this epidemic and a background of political turmoil in China - the Chinese don't really want foreigners occupying their land. The film has lushly beautiful scenes of the Chinese countryside and a wonderful score. This is the type of old-fashioned period romance that I just love, so if you like that type of film too, check out "The Painted Veil."
Saturday afternoon I had my nephew, Michael, over for a little card-making. He's a very crafty boy and when he heard I was making my own Christmas cards, he wanted in on the action. Here are a couple of the cards he made - I think they're adorable:
Saturday night was the Christmas party for one of my knitting groups. It was so much fun! We had a potluck and the food everyone brought was wonderful! Needlework Unlimited is generous enough to allow our group to meet in their shop after hours, which is always a lot of fun. We laughed and knitted and time flew by. We also had a gift exchange and I received this lovely addition to my tape measure collection from my friend Velia:
I love it! It's so pretty and sparkly and I love frogs! Last year we all went out for lunch and to "The Nutcracker", which was really fun, but this simple get together was even more fun, I think. I think we have a new yearly tradition! I even managed to get out of the store without buying anything - a first for me. Although I did ask for a couple of skeins of laceweight yarn to be ordered in for me. I think we're all going to do our first knitalong, too. That doesn't count, though, because I haven't actually bought the yarn yet.
Sunday was a disappointing day at the Metrodome. I'm seriously considering not renewing my season tickets for next year. It's such a huge production to get to the train, ride into downtown, get through security and the packed stadium to get to your seat, watch the game, then all the madness in reverse. The team's inability to play well for the last couple of years have just sucked all the fun out of it. Of course nothing can top the high flying, record-setting, 15-1 team of 1998 and the great fun of those Sundays, and I don't expect that every year, but it's just becoming ridiculous. There aren't even many players that I delight in seeing play, like I used to look forward to seeing the long strides of Robert Smith, gliding into the endzone. I guess we'll just wait and see what happens.
The pattern is "Painted Turtle" from "Itty Bitty Hats". It's knit in Manos Cotton Stria yarn. I originally was going to make it for my sister's baby, but I'm not happy with how it came out, so I'm going to donate it to the Pine Ridge Reservation. Mine just doesn't look as cute as the one in the book. I can't put my finger on why, though. Maybe the way I sewed on the turtles. It was my first time using Cotton Stria and it's not a favorite. I like the subtle variegations, but it was really hard to knit and I prefer a smooth, mercerized cotton over a textured cotton like this. I also couldn't get gauge without going down more needles sizes, so it's bigger than baby size - more like toddler size. I had a hard enough time knitting on size 6 needles, so I didn't want to go down any smaller.
I also wanted to show you the yarn I got this month from the Sweet Sheep Socks Club:
It's from the Sweet Sheep itself, called Sweet Socks. I LOVE this colorway. It's great purples and turquoise and gray - so beautiful! The colorway is called "Comforts of Home" and is based on "The blue morning glories in my mom's backyard, the violets that always catch my eye, and the silver for my mom's beautiful salt and pepper hair." It's a nice superwash and nylon blend that feels soft, too. I can't wait to knit this one up! I saw the "Not Just Socks" kids book this weekend and I may have to go back and buy it after the holidays, because it had some great patterns for sock yarn, which I have in abundance, y'all know.
Saturday was Talk Cinema day and we saw this film:
I really liked it, but I think I was once again a litle out of step with the rest of the audience. It seemed like I liked it better than most of the rest of the viewers. The film stars Edward Norton as a bacteriologist in the mid-20s who meets and falls instantly in love with a spoiled society girl played by Naomi Watts. Since Norton's work is done in China, he must act quickly and proposes to Watts. She accepts, not because she loves him, but because she wants to get away from her disapproving mother. Once she goes to Shanghai with her new husband, she realizes she may have made a mistake and falls into an affair with a diplomat played by Liev Shreiber. Norton soon finds out and threatens to publicly humiliate Watts and Shreiber with a divorce unless Watts goes with him to a small village that is suffering a Cholera epidemic - a suicidal mission. The rest of the film shows Norton and Watts beginning to see their own problems within the bigger context of this epidemic and a background of political turmoil in China - the Chinese don't really want foreigners occupying their land. The film has lushly beautiful scenes of the Chinese countryside and a wonderful score. This is the type of old-fashioned period romance that I just love, so if you like that type of film too, check out "The Painted Veil."
Saturday afternoon I had my nephew, Michael, over for a little card-making. He's a very crafty boy and when he heard I was making my own Christmas cards, he wanted in on the action. Here are a couple of the cards he made - I think they're adorable:
Saturday night was the Christmas party for one of my knitting groups. It was so much fun! We had a potluck and the food everyone brought was wonderful! Needlework Unlimited is generous enough to allow our group to meet in their shop after hours, which is always a lot of fun. We laughed and knitted and time flew by. We also had a gift exchange and I received this lovely addition to my tape measure collection from my friend Velia:
I love it! It's so pretty and sparkly and I love frogs! Last year we all went out for lunch and to "The Nutcracker", which was really fun, but this simple get together was even more fun, I think. I think we have a new yearly tradition! I even managed to get out of the store without buying anything - a first for me. Although I did ask for a couple of skeins of laceweight yarn to be ordered in for me. I think we're all going to do our first knitalong, too. That doesn't count, though, because I haven't actually bought the yarn yet.
Sunday was a disappointing day at the Metrodome. I'm seriously considering not renewing my season tickets for next year. It's such a huge production to get to the train, ride into downtown, get through security and the packed stadium to get to your seat, watch the game, then all the madness in reverse. The team's inability to play well for the last couple of years have just sucked all the fun out of it. Of course nothing can top the high flying, record-setting, 15-1 team of 1998 and the great fun of those Sundays, and I don't expect that every year, but it's just becoming ridiculous. There aren't even many players that I delight in seeing play, like I used to look forward to seeing the long strides of Robert Smith, gliding into the endzone. I guess we'll just wait and see what happens.
rdladd@arnan.com
