FO!

I finally finished my first pair of Summer of Socks socks:



Project Name: Leyburn Socks
Designer: Mintyfresh
Pattern Source: Pepperknit Blog
Yarn: Colinette Jitterbug
Yarn Source: Needlework Unlimited
Date Started: 6/21/08
Date Completed: 7/27/08

Comments: I like these socks quite a bit. The pattern is kind of neat and easy to knit. I was afraid about the fit, because it doesn't have much stretch, but they fit me perfectly. It is my first time knitting with Jitterbug and I really like it. Beautiful colors and very soft. I had only a small ball of yarn left, so if you have larger feet or want long legs, you may want to pick up an extra skein. It was also my first time knitting with Knitpicks Harmony needles and I love them too! Very smooth wood with a nice sharp tip, but not as hard on my hands as the Knitpicks Options DPNs. Here's the obligatory sole to sole pose:



and a top view:



I also saw this last weekend:



Let me start by saying I'm a HUGE X-Files fanatic. Like, top five all time favorite show fanatic. I love, love, love Mulder and Scully. So from that point of view, I enjoyed the movie. Duchovny and Anderson slipped right back into their old roles and it was thrilling seeing them interact and hearing some of the old dialog. The story itself was decent, though a bit out there (no pun intended). There is nothing from the alien mythology of the show in the film - it's a stand alone monster episode. It was like a pretty decent episode of the show. But I really would have loved it more if it had explored the mythology and continued from the first film. I'm sure they wanted to draw in people who didn't watch the show and make it watchable to that audience. They were fairly successful - I think you could enjoy it as a summer matinee if you'd never seen the show before and had no idea who these characters were. But if you're in that position, I don't think it's anything special. Not bad, but not fantastic either. I think this will be last X-Files movie, because there were a grand total of 12 people in the theater I saw the film on opening night. Not good box office. I guess it's time for me to put away all those X-Files action figures, books, trading cards and posters for the last time....

Knitting and Wall-E

I finished another piece for the Knitters for Obama, but this time it's part of another KFO project:



Project Name: South Dakota Square (50-State Afghan)
Designer: Rhonda White
Pattern Source: http://www.knittingknonsense.com/people_places.html
Yarn: Vanna's Choice
Yarn Source: Another KFO knitter
Date Started: 7/5/08
Date Completed: 7/12/08

Comments: This is my contribution to the 50-State Afghan, which is going to be a prize in a fundraising drawing by the Knitters for Obama group on Ravelry. There are a ton of fantastic prizes, so if you're so inclined, the details are here.

I've also finished the first of my Leyburn socks:



and here's the side, heel view:



This pattern isn't super stretchy, but it fits me perfectly. You increase once you start the legs since you have the pattern stitch all the way around, but it also made it much wider than the foot, so I was a little worried it would be too big and droopy. But my thick calves came in handy - it fits exactly as I would want it to fit.

I finally got to see the movie that's been raved about so much, too:



Everyone else has probably already seen it, so I won't get into too much detail, but a quick synopsis - Wall-E is that adorable robot. He seems to be alone on Earth (except for his indestructible pet cockroach) after it's been abandoned by us human after we trashed the place like a rockstar in a hotel room. He's eventually joined by another robot, Eve, and they end up both joining the humans on their endless vacation. I absolutely adored this movie. It's funny, sad, exciting, wise, everything you want in a film. It's absolutely gorgeous. The animation is so detailed and beautiful that there were times where I completely forgot it was animated. I really wanted to get into Wall-E's "room" and look through all the little bins of things he had found and saved. Even though Wall-E never says a word and is a machine, you could completely read his every thought and emotion (and he definitely had both). If you haven't seen this yet, please do. I really think it's a movie that's begging to be seen on the big screen so you could truly appreciate the beauty of the animation.

Happy Summer!

Well, it's officially summer and it sure feels like it around here. It's sunny and warm and humid. I've been partaking in the usual summer activities, too. Sunday we went to a baseball game:



Ben's team got to run onto the field with the Saints and participate in warm ups and such:



Ben's #13. The rest of us got to sit back and enjoy the game.







Even though the Saints lost, I wasn't too sad because they lost to the Sioux Falls Canaries and I still feel loyalty to my hometown. Plus, I got to sit outside and knit and watch baseball - how fun is that?

Summer also means Summer of Socks. On Saturday I cast on for my first (hopefully not only) pair of the KAL:



These are the Leyburn socks knit in Colinette Jitterbug. The colorway is Kingfisher and this picture doesn't do it justice. It looks just black and blue in that picture but there's a wide variety of purples and some green in there too. I really love it. It's my first time using Jitterbug and I really like it. It feels nice and soft and I like the fabric it makes.

And because summer is so short, I also picked up this yarn:



It's a Minnesota Vikings colorway from Chestnut Bay Fibers. The picture again doesn't capture the purple very well. It's a true Vikings purple, though. The yarn is a superwash merino and it feels so soft and cushy. I'm putting this one away until football starts in the fall again, though. Chestnut Bay will dye any team colors for you, so if you're foolish enough to support a sports team other than the Vikings and want some yarn of your own, check them out!