FO: Fishtail Wristwarmers

Pattern: Fishtail Wristwarmers by Alexandra Brinck

Yarn: Tosh Merino Light in Steam Age

Needles: US#2 Hiya Hiya Sharp Interchangeable

Mods: I knit three repeats of the pattern before beginning the thumb gusset since I was using a partial ball of Tosh and didn't want to run out. It turned out that this project used up the remaining partial with a couple of yards to spare! Since Tosh Merino Light is a single and has a tendency to fuzz I wanted a pattern that had design elements to limit that fuzziness. The ribbing on these is twisted rib and the palm (not shown) is in a twisted broken rib pattern which has the added benefit of looking extra crisp in this soft yarn.

Horror with Humor

Dead Alive is Peter Jackson's campy cult horror classic about a controlling mother, her son Lionel, and the son's romantic interest, Paquita. On a trip to the zoo the mother gets bitten by a Sumatran rat monkey, dies, and comes back to life only to feast on small pets and her neighbors. Paquita and Lionel join forces to fight against the contagion (spread by bite) that spreads through the town. This movie is disgusting - I mean, really, really gross in parts so if you're at all squeamish about body parts falling off or death by lawnmower I would suggest passing it up. However, there are some incredibly awesome fight scenes, a handsome Fair Isle vest, and a priest who "Kicks ass for the Lord", not to mention the generally campy dialogue.

Socktober Update

I totally missed the short window of nice weather and sunlight this afternoon in order to take update pictures on my Socktober projects. Here's a crappy evening photo taken as proof of progress. I finished the first Neely O'Hara sock by the October 16th deadline and completed the second sock yesterday afternoon. I received the second pattern, the Sock Thief, and am deliberating on the yarn choice. Do you remember that I had planned a pair of socks for my sister in law for Christmas? I've decided on a two birds/one stone approach and am going to knit the Sock Thief socks for her instead of the BFF socks by Cookie A, hence the deliberation. The first of my Fireweeds socks is complete as well (3 flippin' days!) and the second is cast on. I have until the 31st to complete the pair and get it posted to the Hazel Knits group on Ravelry. There you have it, one and a half pair complete and one and a half pair to go. I better get knitting.

Horror with Humor

This is a new one, but a great one - The Cabin in the Woods. This film takes the traditional "college kids at a creepy cabin" theme and throws some wrenches into the works. It's got a lot of quotable dialogue and pop culture references and gives a refreshing new perspective on a fairly overworked plot type. Be warned, there is gore and blood and more gore and surprising deaths that may (in my case, will) evoke shocked laughter. If you're a Joss Whedon fan you'll be happy to know that he is one of the writers, and it shows.

Horror with Humor

You may be aware that I have a deep-seated fondness for Horror movies. I watch them all year long and don't mind the gore, the screams, the tension and everything that goes along with the genre. But sometimes I want a little more from my Horror movies...I want comedy. Inspired by Andi over at Untangling Knots who is doing a month of Horrible movies in the Horror genre I thought I'd post some of my favorite horror movies that are intentionally (or unintentionally) funny.

 

First on my list is Shaun of the Dead. It's a 2004 zombie movie starring Simon Pegg and Nick Frost as two friends who somehow miss the impending zombie apocalypse and go on a quest to save Shaun's (played by Pegg) girlfriend and his mother. Gore ensues as Shaun and Ed travel through the zombie-infested city and hole up in a pub with their companions. While there is definitely violence and gore I find that the level of comedy does much to alleviate the ick-factor and the whole movie ends on a positive note.

FO: Rockefeller

 Remember this? It was a Mystery Shawl KAL back in July. Mine has been finished for about a month but I was finally able to grab a daylight picture. I've already worn this shawl several times and I think it's going to be a favorite this Fall and Winter.

Pattern: Rockefeller by Stephen West

Yarn: MC - Black Trillium Fibre Studio Lilt Sock in Hedwig (cream color)

CC 1 - Sincere Sheep Agleam in Neblina (gray)

CC2 - Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in Chocolate

Needle: US #4 Hiya Hiya Sharp Interchangeable

Mods/Notes: It's pretty obvious that I ran out of yarn knitting the second wing of the shawl. I grabbed the brown out of my stash and continued to knit the stripes. I ran out of the gray and put this shawl aside for a time and then emailed the wonderful Brooke at Sincere Sheep and she dug some gray out of her stock and sent it up my way. At first I was unsure of the stark contrast between the brown and cream but it's totally grown on me along with the two shades of gray. It looks more like a design choice than an accident.

That October Feeling

I love October. When I lived in California October meant crips mornings, warm days, and cool nights and even in Seattle where there is approximately 2 weeks of Fall weather before everything turns nasty I always get that October feeling. The past couple of weeks have been especially nice weather-wise and I've been feeling the urge to cast on all sorts of woolly things. Last night I caved and cast on for the Neely O'Hara socks by Feministy which is part of her sOcktoberfest KAL. I'm using US #1 needles (the pattern calls for #0) and Sincere Sheep Keen in the Epiphyte color which I picked up at the 2011 Sock Summit. The BFL makes for great stitch definition with the textured pattern of the sock.

The plan (formulated since late last night/early this morning) is to knit four pairs of socks this month. If I finish this first pair by the 16th I'll receive the Sock Thief pattern for free. The Hazel Knits group over on Ravelry is also having a KAL for Fireweeds by RoseHiver. I purchased the kit when Wendee had them on her site last month and just need to wind the yarn and dig out my needles. Finally, my SIL requested a pair of socks for Christmas and since she has tiny feet I thought I'd knit a pair of BFF socks out of some stash yarn. After writing that all down it seems kind of crazy but Socktober fits in nicely with my efforts to downsize my stash and my sock yarn. I'll update with progress...I hope.