A is for Aran Afghan

I'm a little bit late getting started, but I did sign up for the ABC Along this year. As I said,

A is for Aran Afghan



As you may recognize, this is the Great American Aran Afghan from Knitter's magazine. I chose this for A because Aran knitting is my favorite. Cables are my favorite technique - a little bit of challenge to follow the chart, but not super hard to do. I also just love a nice Aran sweater. I'm half Irish, so I think part of it is just my attraction to all things Irish. I sort of got stuck on this project because I ran out of the yarn I originally bought for it (Berella Muskoka, which is now discontinued). I've tried to buy more on eBay over the last few years, but this color just never comes up. I've picked up a few other skeins of natural colored worsted weights and I'll probably just mix the rest of the squares in those yarns around with these and hope it all blends together well enough. Maybe I'll take this up again one of these days!

I did get some other yarn this weekend - my sock yarn club selection for January from Amazing Threads.



As you can see, it's Lang JaWoll Color Aktion. I haven't knit with this yarn before, but I've heard great things about it.

I also had Talk Cinema this weekend and saw an Israeli film:



This is a really charming film. It's about an Egyptian police band that goes to Israel to play in a cultural center and ends up in the wrong town. They get off the bus and find themselves in a tiny little town in the middle of nowhere, with no more buses for another day. They meet a woman and two men sitting in a cafe and the Israelis sort of take them in for the night. This could be a set up for a really cutesy, corny film, but the first-time director does a really great job of showing these people from very different cultures learning that they have far more in common than they do different. It's really a hopeful film about the future of the middle east, but also rather sad. I just loved it. I would really recommend it - it'll be playing at a Landmark Theater locally next month if you're interested. Quite a bit of the film is in English because that's the language both "sides" know and can communicate in, if you don't care for reading sub-titles. In fact, Israel submitted it to the Academy Awards for best Foreign Language Film, but it was disqualified because too much of it is in English. It did win the equivalent of the Oscar in Israel and has been a big hit on the film festival circuit.

Still Stuck

I still haven't been knitting much. I have stuff going on every night and when I get home, I'm having a hard time picking up the needles and knitting. I really think it's because I'm not inspired by these projects and they're taking too long. It's an endless loop - I'm not knitting them because they're taking too long and they're taking too long because I'm not knitting them.

I didn't even knit at my knitting group last night because instead of meeting to knit, we went out for dinner at Ngon. This is a charming little restaurant on University Avenue in St. Paul. It's simply and beautifully decorated and everyone loved their food. I had a lemongrass beef lettuce wrap appetizer that was delicious and then the Pho Tai. Servings are generously sized. We all got desserts and I tried everyone's and they all were really delicious.

Since I haven't been home that much, I haven't been watching much tv, either, so I have plenty of shows saved up for when the re-runs start. Here's a nice list of how many episodes are left to air in a lot of the current shows.

I also finished reading this book:



I outlined the plot of the book when I reviewed the movie, so I won't go into that again. I loved this book, just as much as the movie. I wish I had gotten off my ass and read it before I saw the movie so I could have had a "clean" reaction to it. The structure of the book is different than the film. The book is much more linear - the film kind of skips back and forth in time, which I think works very well in the film. The book answered some of the questions I still had at the end of the film, so I appreciated that aspect. It was really well written - totally absorbing even though I aleady knew what was going to happen. I think I got a little fuller picture of Chris McCandless from the book - clearly Krakauer admires McCandless as much as Penn does, but he also isn't afraid to show his weaknesses. Krakauer inserted himself into the book quite a lot - he writes about his own experiences in mountain climbing as a man about the same age as Chris. On the one hand, I felt like it was pretty egotistical - this is supposed to be Chris' story, not the authors. On the other hand, I really did feel like his own story illuminated Chris' and helped me to understand Chris better, since chucking everything to live off the land is something that doesn't appeal to me in the least. There's a chapter where Chris' sister finds out what happened to Chris and I was literally sobbing. I know part of that comes from my own relationship with my brother, but Krakauer really does a fine job in telling this story and getting the reader invested in it. I highly recommend reading this book - it's very quick and easy to read.

Since I don't have any knitting to show, I thought I'd post some of the yarn I bought at last year's Treasure Hunt LYS Hop. Since it's been a year and I haven't knit it yet, I think it's time to officially call it stash. I did knit up a fair amount of the yarn I bought last year though. I haven't knit a stitch from this year's purchases yet, but that will change once I get ONE Of these Christmas projects done.

Coldwater Collaborative had a sale on all of their Alchemy Yarns, so I stocked up on some of these lovelies:



This picture looks kind of blue, but it's actually purple. It's Synchronicity, a silk/wool blend. I have 6 skeins. I was thinking of making a shell sweater for myself with the yarn, but I probably need another skein or two to do that and I haven't been able to find it so far. If you have more of this yarn hanging about and what to sell it, let me know.



This is called Silk Purse - it's 100% silk in a lovely green and blue variegation. I thought maybe a pair of wristers or something small and close to the skin like that.



This is Synchronicity. I was originally planning to make a baby hat if my sister had had a baby girl instead of a boy. I may still make a cute pink hat for my next friend that has a baby girl.



Another skein of Silk Purse, with the same intentions. Either a baby hat or some sort of small accessory. I just couldn't pass up my favorite pink in lovely soft silk!

Stash Enhancement

Tuesday night was rainy as heck and it's getting dark too early to go to the park any more anyway, so we headed over to the Mall of America so that Red and Michael could ride the rides in the Park at Mall of America (formerly known as Camp Snoopy). They are doing major renovations to the park, switching it over to Nickelodeon and adding some new rides. In the mean time, several of the old rides are shut down, so there were only a few of the big rides open for the big kids. Just a warning in case you were thinking about taking your kids out there. The boys were perfectly happy going on the Timberland Twister over and over again.

Last night I had dinner and then saw "Speed the Plow" at the Jungle Theater. It's a David Mamet play about a Hollywood movie executive being lobbied by his best friend at the studio to make a prison film that might be a blockbuster and his temporary secretary/girlfriend to make a film based on a novel about radiation, maybe artsy, but probably not a blockbuster. It's also about power - everyone is trying to get it and keep it, in different ways. It's a good scenario to think about - art or commerce? The Mamet language is as fun to listen to as ever and the three actors all do a fine job with it. It's a pretty dark look at Hollywood and the world, though, and I felt so depressed at the end.

I've been doing pretty well with my vow not to buy more yarn - it's been almost 2 months now. I thought I'd share a couple more skeins that I bought BEFORE the pledge.



This is one of the last skeins that I bought. I was on the west bank for the Fringe Festival and I had about a half hour to kill between shows, so I stopped by Depth of Field, just to browse. Well, I couldn't pass by those gorgeous bright colors. It's Jitterbug in the Mardi Gras colorway.



This beauty is Handmaiden Silk Cashmere 4 Ply. When I bought that Smooshy yarn I threw this in the cart because it sounded delightful and the shipping wasn't going to be any extra, so I might as well make it worth it, right? Besides being so pretty, it's also really soft. Much too nice to make a pair of footies, like I was planning. It'll probably end up as wristers or something like that, that I wear close to my skin.

Music Meme and more yarn

I started a new project, but I'm not very far into it, so I'm going to wait to post about it until I can post a nice picture. I finished the body of the Tomato sweater and I'm very happy with how it came out. I picked up around the neck for the neckband. I had 10 more stitches across the front than the pattern called for, so I decreased some of them in the first row. Hopefully that will draw it in and make it a little less revealing than it has been in my progress photos, without looking all gathered up and weird. Pictures of that after I finish the neckline. Second Pineapple sock has been started, but it looks exactly like the first, so that's boring. So, let's come clean on another yarn purchase. Some of us in one of my knitting groups decided to jump on the bandwagon and go in together on an order of Kauni yarn. It's gorgeous!



You can see some of the darker blue and red peeking through in the middle of the upright skeins. I think I'll make the standard Kauni cardigan, since I love the geometry of it. Those horizontal stripes and the boxy construction aren't going to be super flattering on me, but I still think it'll be a fun knit.

That's about it around here. I'm serving beer tonight at the Minnesota Music Festival. I'm volunteering on behalf of the Irish Faire. If you're there, stop by and say hi to me. One of my favorite bands, Soul Asylum, is playing. I'm hoping I might be able to catch the end of their set when I'm done.

Speaking of favorite bands, since I don't have a lot else, today, I thought I'd post this meme I got from Susan's site. Here's what you do: Copy this list; leave in the bands you’ve seen perform live; delete the ones you haven’t, and add new ones that you have seen until you reach 25. An asterisk means the previous person had it on their list. Two asterisks means the last two people who did this before you had that band on their list.

1. New Order* I saw them in 1989 with Public image Limited and the Sugarcubes with my brother. We were there mostly to see PiL, but I liked New Order pretty well. We left early during the Sugarcubes, show, though. I'm not a huge Bjork fan.

2. Sha Na Na* I can't remember where I saw them, but I remember it was outdoors. Like Susan, I have strong memories of Sha Na Na from my childhood.

3. Public Image Limited* See #1 above.

4. The Violent Femmes* They're from Wisconsin, so I've seen them a few different times - at outdoor festivals, at First Avenue, but my favorite was the time I saw them at Target Center in September, 2005. I posted about it here, so long time readers may remember. It was a fundraiser for Katrina victims that had been put together at the last minute. The Femmes were the headliners and Cowboy Mouth were also supposed to play, so Greg and I decided to go. Cowboy Mouth couldn't make it, so Dave Pirner from Soul Asylum stepped in. There were only a couple of hundred people at the show, so even though it was in this huge arena, it felt like a small, intimate show.

5. Bruce Springsteen - I've seen him a few times, alone and with the E Street Band. I think my favorite is the first time I saw him with the E Street band. They all just seemed so happy to be together and playing again. I had obstructed view seats behind the stage, but it was an open stage, so I could see everything perfectly well. It was November so he sang "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" and threw candy canes into the crowd and I got one, which I still have. Bruce and the E Street Band are coming back this fall and I just got tickets this morning - can't wait!!

6. U2 - I'm a little bitter about U2 because on their last tour I just missed getting tickets because I was behind a scalper who was there with his wife and kids and each of them bought 8 tickets. Oh, I was so mad! But, I've seen a few different U2 shows and they're always entertaining and big.

7. Pearl Jam - I've seen them a few times. The first time I saw them was 9 years ago in 1998 at Target Center. I was kind of glad I didn't have fantastic seats because I loved the show and Eddie Vedder so much that I think if I had been close up, I might have quit my job and just followed them around for the rest of the tour.

8. Paul McCartney - I've seen Sir Paul twice now. The first time I just wanted to see him because he's the cute Beatle for goodness sake! I was absolutely blown away by the show, though. That man has written some amazing music. So even though he charges a ton for tickets, I jumped at the chance to see him again.

9. Paul Simon - Speaking of amazing songwriters, I've seen Paul Simon both alone and with Artie Garfunkel. I'm continually amazed at his way with words and the way he explores all facets of music.

10. Green Day - I don't know what took me so long to list Green Day. I've seen them a few times and every time it's fantastic. They rock hard, they care about the country and they're sexy. What else do you want?

11. Fleetwood Mac - I saw them once at the X. It was one of those things where my friend wanted to go, so I thought what the heck. I'm so glad I did. I forgot how much great music they made. And Lindsey Buckingham is one sexy man.

12. Soul Asylum - Duh. That's who I started this thing talking about. They're local, so of course I've seen them quite a few times. I can't help but get happy and sad whenever I hear them play. And even though Dave Pirner needs to brush his hair most of the time and usually looks like he could use a shower, he's always very sexy.

13. Sting - Speaking of sexy. Oh, boy. Most of the times I've seen him in concert, he's wearing a vest with no shirt underneath. Oh, those biceps. As you may recall, I also saw him with The Police.

14. Harry Connick, Jr. - Always charming, always sexy, always fascinating. His piano playing is marvelous, but I could just get lost in his voice.

15. The Smithereens - Some of you may not remember this group who never really hit it big. They had a few big hits in the 80s. I've seen them in concert quite a few times - they used to tour a lot in the 80s and 90s. I just love their music and they always put on a great show. I haven't seen them in a while, so I'd love to see them again.

16. David Bowie - I've seen him a couple of times. The first time was at Metrodome of all places. It was in 86 or 87, so he was still pretty big off of Let's Dance and Tonight. In high school I just worshipped him - in fact one of my senior pictures was me with a David Bowie poster. So shortly after I moved up here to the big city Bowie was in concert and I was thrilled. I saved up my money to go to the show - it was my first time in Metrodome. It was a big spectacle of a show and I loved it.

17. Counting Crows - I've seen them a few times too, and a lot of the time it just hasn't worked out well. Last time I mentioned that they played a weird mix of songs. The time before that was at the Basilica Block Party and it was so crowded, I was just very unhappy about being pushed and shoved. I'm still a huge fan of their music, though and I'll probably pick up the new album.

18. R.E.M. - Another band I always look forward to seeing. They always play a good mix of stuff from throughout their career. The most memorable time I saw them was at Midway Stadium, where our minor league baseball team plays. At the very end of the show, it started raining a torrential downpour. I was so wet by the time we got to the car. It was all worth it, though. The next time they were in town, they mentioned it, so it was memorable for them, too.

19. Tom Petty - I've seen him a couple of times, now, I think only at the X. I wasn't a big fan when he was really popular, but I dated a guy who loved him and you know how you sort of start to catch on to things when you're dating someone? I went to see him the first time because my friend is a big fan and it was such a great show, I'll always make an effort to see him if he's in town.

20. Bonnie Raitt - She's one of the coolest women on the planet. Just love her shows. She usually plays my favorite of her songs, You Can't Make Me Love You" toward the end of her shows. One time we saw her at the fair and this woman next to me took a cell phone call just as Bonnie starts this song. She sings it with so much soul your heart just breaks - I couldn't believe this idiotic woman could talk on the cell during something like that. Good thing I'm not a violent person.

21. Prince - Even though he's the Godfather of Minnesota Music and I love him, I've only seen him once. It was a fantastic show at the X - he played all his old music, some great newer stuff, awesome show.

22. Lyle Lovett - I've seen him a couple of times and it seems like we've had some really good seats for his shows. He's always so dry and funny and his songs are great. My favorite show was probably that show at the State Fair with Bonnie Raitt that I was just talking about.

23. Robert Randolph & The Family Band - I saw these guys opening for Eric Clapton at the X. I'm listing them instead of Clapton because Clapton was ok, but RR was AMAZING. Such an amazing musician, fantastic energy. I would love to see them again.

24. Bob Schneider - Bob is a musician from Texas. He plays sort of straight forward rock n roll, with really smart and funny lyrics. He's pretty good looking and he puts on a good show. I've seen him a few times - I like the vibe of his outdoors summer shows the best. He's been playing at The Fine Line most of the time he's been in town lately and I'm not that fond of that place.

25. Cowboy Mouth - And of course, I had to save the best for last. My favorite live band. I've seen them probably about 6 or 8 times now and every single show is so much fun. The music is great, the band is awesome. I'm hoping they'll play another outdoor free event again so that I can convince some of y'all to come out and see them.

So, that's my 25. There are a bunch more that I've seen once, but I tried to pick shows that I liked so much I'd come back again and again. Just for fun, do the meme yourself and then let me know, so I can see how much overlap we have!

The Best So Far...

It's the midway point of the year, although in movie terms, it's not really. In January and the first part of February almost all of the films I saw were actually released in 2006. As pretty much everyone knows, the movie studios release most of their best films in November and December so that they'll be considered for the Academy Awards and will be fresh in voters minds. But those releases are often just in New York or LA, so we don't see them here in the middle of the country until the beginning of the next year. Chances are, then, most of my favorite movies of the year haven't been released yet. But, I thought it'd be fun to make a Best of the Year So Far list. You know, to encourage you to go see some good movies over the summer among all the sequels. So, without further ado:

5. Waitress - I thought this was as sweet as the pies the main character makes in this movie. Charming and quirky, with a lot of heart.

4. Hot Fuzz - I don't think this is in theaters any more, but make sure to catch it on DVD. Hilarious send up of American buddy cop films that ends up being a really good buddy copy film itself.

3. Knocked Up - Equal parts hilarious and sweet. It's a romantic comedy for people who hate romantic comedies.

2. Sicko - It's funny, gut wrenching and frightening. Not much is more compelling than real life. Maybe if everyone sees this film, there will be enough political will to fix our broken healthcare system.

1. Once - Oh, I love this film so much. I wouldn't be surprised if it's still my favorite film of the year at the end of the year. A modern day musical where the music is an organic, compelling piece of the story.

Those are some pretty light films, eh? Even Sicko, which can be pretty dark and depressing, is funny enough to earn the description of comedy. I'm sure my final list of the year will include some real drama and tragedy.

In knitting news, I got my latest selection from the Sweet Sheep Project Spectrum Club. The colors for this go around are red, black and metallic and we had red last month, so I was wondering what she'd come up with for July. Black is fantastic and I knit with it all the time, but it's kind of a bad choice for a hand-dyed sock club. But metallic, that wouldn't really work either, right? WRONG! I squealed when I opened this package:



It is indeed golden and really, really lovely. I am feeling the need to grab a gorgeous purple and start some sort of Vikings themed item to wear to the games this fall. Afterall, training camp starts in less than 2 weeks.