Craftylilly

Why won't this phone work

The Knitting Archeologist has tagged me with a meme, and I thought I'd play along.  I actually think I may have done something like this before on this blog, but as I keep doing silly and inexplainable things, I thought I could add a few strange and random things for your reading amusement.  I'm not going to tag anyone in particular, but I give you the rules in case you choose to play along.

Link to the person who tagged you.
* Post the rules on your blog.
* Write six random things about yourself.
* Tag six people at the end of your post.
* Let each person know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.
* Let the tagger know your entry is up.

1)  Since RM and I got new handset phones, I've been trying to make calls on our TV/VCR/DVR remotes.  I swear, when they are back up, I have trouble figuring out the difference, especially when I'm in a hurry and not paying attention.  I mean look at this picture. The phone is the second from the right.  You can see the problem right?  Sure, the phone is a bit smaller than the remotes, but honestly, mistakes can happen right?  The sad thing is that I've done this more than a couple of times. It doesn't help that the remotes have a number keypad like a phone.  It doesn't help at all.

2)  I have a tendency to state the obvious in regular conversation.  I'm fantastic at summing up a conversation, not as a closing, but as a conversational tool.  I've been informed that my 4 year old daughter also has this trait.  Who knew it was genetic?

3)  I'm a person who likes to get involved and be a part of things.  I don't particularly like to be in charge.  Therefore, I have no excuse or explanation for the two Ravelry Groups that I run, or how I'm serving as Board President for my daughter's preschool. 

4)  I have several cubby holes from my wide variety of crafting supplies.  The knitting projects that I'm working on now inhabit a corner of the piano.  All my projects live in their own project bag.  I tell people that I do this to keep kids and cats out of the project.   The truth is, I'd do this even if I didn't have kids or cats. 

5)  I used to keep all my purse contents organized by small cosmetic bags.  Tylenol, cosmetics and hand lotion in one bag, wallet, cell phone in another, kleenex in a tissue holder.  Bags within a bag, the illness runs deep.

I can't think of a number 6, although I'm sure there's more.    

My pictureless post excuses

I don't take the best pictures, but I don't like to do pictureless posts.  I figure you all like to see what I'm working on, even if the pictures are boring.  Unfortunately for you, I didn't have a chance to take my usual lame pictures.  I've got many and varied reasons for my lack of picture taking, and crafting for that matter.  Here are my excuses presented in handy bullet form:

1)  The Red Ranger stayed home from school for a few days in the past week and a half due to strep throat. 

2)  As a result of this school absence, the RR had a lot of make-up work.  Let me tell you, differences between kindergarten and first grade are varied.  There is a lot more work in first grade, a lot more.

3)  I worked at PQL's preschool two days this week.  Usually I work only once a week, but this week I did double duty.  Interestingly, being around 17 preschoolers for 4 hours can really wipe a person out.

4)  RM has endured a super stressful couple of weeks at his work.  The hours have been longer, and he's been super stressed, and so dealing with that and picking up a some of his chores/jobs at home to take things off his plate hasn't left a lot of time to craft.

So the upshot is, I didn't make too much nor did I have anything to take pictures of.  I hope that things will get more interesting and creative.  The temperatures have been dropping here, and I'm feeling fall.  Fall is usually a very creative time for me.  How have you all been?  Anyone had lots of time to craft?  Do tell, I'm feeling the need to live vicariously.

Of Bacon and Bibs

I had fun reading all of your traumatizing film scenes.  Many of them I had forgotten about.  If any of you are interested in a good scary movie, RM and I just saw El Orfanato (The Orphanage).  It's a decidedly creepy movie in the vein of The Others or The Haunting. 

Speaking of things slightly left of center, take a look at the summer tote I bought at Target last week.  Who wouldn't want a pool tote with a bacon and eggs applique?  Just looking at it makes me chuckle.  The kidlets have swim lessons this summer, and this tote is the perfect size for some knitting, sunscreen and pool cover-ups.  Ah summer knitting, I'm beginning to anticipate the possibilities.  I'm thinking lots of lace, and perhaps a Cece.

And to go back to bacon for a second, have you all seen the latest Anticraft?  It's a bacon issue.  Check out this bacon scarf.  I started laughing out loud when I saw it.  I think I want one.  I've never tried double knitting.  Perhaps knitting myself a bacon scarf will be a good way to try it out and get a laugh at the same time.

In all seriousness, I finished up a couple of bibs for a friend's new baby.  This baby has been kept in the NICU for a week now due to birth complications.  My family, as well as PQL's whole preschool community have been very concerned.  I've been focusing prayers and positive energy into the knitting of the bibs.  I'm a firm believer in the power of positive thought and prayer, so if you are willing, send a little to this family.   

Childhood traumas: the movie edition

The Red Ranger will be 6 years old in a month.  I can't believe it.  It's amazing to me that he's almost 6.  As he gets older, and has more play dates and outings with friends I'm starting to think about how to deal with the increasing non-family influences.  A lot influence comes from TV, movie, and video games.  With that in mind, I started reflecting on the movie experiences that traumatized me when I was a child.  I thought I'd share them with you set up in handy Top 5 form.

Top 5 disturbing film scenes when I was a child:

1)  The Black Hole (1979):  My parents took me to see this in the theater.  I was 5.  This was right about the time that Disney started putting out more mature films than the animated movies or movies like Freaky Friday and the Herbie movies.  My parents were as shocked as I when a robot kills a main character with a rotating blade hand.  I freaked out, and was quickly ushered out of the theater.

2)  Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981):  I think you all know the scene that freaked me out.  Here's a hint, a ceremony, an opened ark of the covenant, and Indy and Marion tied up. 

3)  Poltergeist (1982):  The whole darn movie scared me, and still scares me.  I have a serious fear of clown dolls still.  I'm not even kidding.

4)  Michael Jackson's Thriller video (1983):  I saw this for the first time at a friend's house at her birthday party.  Yeah, very scary for my 9 year old self.  Now, I love this video and the choreography.  At 9, a scary faced Michael Jackson was terrifying.

5)  Watcher in the Woods (1980):  For some reason the ghostly little girl with the bandage around her eyes freaked me out.  Bette Davis is scary!  We used to watch this at sleepovers.  Very good sleepover scary movie.

So now I'm curious, what movie and TV scenes have traumatized you?

Movie Quote Meme answers

So here are the answers to my movie meme.  Scroll down to the previous entry to see the quotes.  I think I stumped some people on a few of them.  Actually, I have tons of favorite movies, and these ten are only a few of them.  You can see my preference for darker stories and comedies though. 

1. Best in Show Wendee got this right!  I love, love this movie.  Another favorite quote is "We have so much in common, we both love soup and snow peas, we love the outdoors, and talking and not talking. We could not talk or talk forever and still find things to not talk about."
2. No one got this one.  It's from Rear Window.  Alfred Hitchcock is my favorite director.
3. Fargo.  Christie you got this one right.  I like the Coen brothers quite a lot too.  I've got No Country for Old Men on it's way to me from Netflix right now.
4. Fight Club.  Christie again!
5. Silence of the Lambs.  Christie one more time!
6. Army of Darkness.  Bruce Campbell, Sam Raimi, an army of undead, hilarious dark humor, what's not to like?
7. Gattaca.  Very interesting story with good acting.  I used to use parts of it when I taught high school ethics class.
8. Ferris Bueller's Day Off.  Stephanie got this one.  So how many of you will watch this movie through the credits just to have Ferris tell you to go ahead and leave as the movie's over?
9. Say Anything. Karen got this one.  There are so many good quotes from this movie, plus I love John Cusack.  Still do, actually.
10. Young Guns.  Guilty pleasure here.  Love this movie, and loved the sequel.

Next post will have some crafting goodness, I promise!

Still having trouble committing

I can't seem to tear myself away from small projects.  I'm to the toe of the first Monkey sock and can't believe it's taken me months to finally cast on for them.  The pattern is just as many other knitters have said.  It's addictive and remarkable quick to knit.  It's probably quick from its addictive qualities.  I'm using some Fleece Artist Merino Sock in the Yarntopia colorway and I have to say that Amy and Sheryl of Yarntopia developed a gorgeous colorway.  The colors are dark chocolate, tan, rich pink, and a lovely blue, just gorgeous!  You'll have to take my word for it, as it's raining again today and thus I don't have any decent pictures.  After I finish this first Monkey sock, I may knit a swatch for the Celtic Dreams Aran.  We'll see if the pull of a sweater project calls to me.  Sometimes I think I avoid casting on for a sweater because of the swatching.  Small projects are their own swatches, you know.

In lieu of pictures, or interesting knitting, spinning, or crafting talk, let me suggest some good movies I've seen lately.  With the horrible weather we've had recently, movies is all I've got, that and the crafting.  So here there are in handy bullet form:

Once - A sweet little movie about two people who find each other through music.  It's a love story, but doesn't go the way you expect it to, and the music is fantastic.

Stardust - I found this to be another sweet love story set in a fantasy setting.  There are some great comic bits too.  Michelle Pfeiffer and Robert DeNiro look like they are having a fantastic time with their roles, and I really like the sweet performance of the male lead, Charlie Cox.

Shoot 'Em Up - OK, this is totally different from the previous two movies.  You will probably hate this movie if heavy violence, profanity, and in your face sexuality bothers you, but if you like movies that don't take themselves seriously and use things like violence and sex for comic purposes, you might like this one.  Besides, I like Paul Giamatti, and he plays a very funny villian.

Eastern Promises - There are problems with this movie, but overall I enjoyed this Russian Mob Drama.  There's a particularly crazy naked fight scene in a Russian bath house with Viggo Mortenson, that has to be seen to be believed too.

Waitress - We're back to sweet here, with a story about an unhappily married waitress who makes special pies for her restaurant.  This movie made me hungry and made me smile.  Plus, for those of you who love Firefly, this movie has Nathan Fillion.  Enough said.

Well, that's it for what I've seen lately.  I've got 3:10 to Yuma and Sunshine on their way to me from Netflix, so I may have another recommendation or two for you after this weekend. 

A movie meme

I saw this over at KitKatKnit's blog and thought I'd play along.

AFI’s top 100 movies.
++ the ones you have seen.
Strike out the ones you couldn’t finish.
* the ones you have seen more than once.
*** the ones you’ve seen more than 20 times.

1. Citizen Kane (1941)++
2. Godfather, The*
3. Casablanca (1942)++
4. Raging Bull (1980)++
5. Singin’ in the Rain (1952)
6. Gone with the Wind (1939)***
7. Lawrence of Arabia (1962)++
8. Schindler’s List (1993)***
9. Vertigo (1958)***
10. Wizard of Oz, The (1939)***
11. City Lights (1931)
12. Searchers, The (1956)
13. Star Wars (1977)***
14. Psycho (1960)***
15. Sunset Blvd. (1950)
15. 2001 : A Space Odyssey (1968)*
16. Graduate, The (1967)++
17. General, The (1927)
18. On the Waterfront (1954)*
19. It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)***
20. Chinatown (1974)++
21. Some Like It Hot (1959)*
22. Grapes of Wrath, The (1940) *
23. E.T. The Extraterrestrial (1982) ***
24. To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)***
25. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)*
26. High Noon (1952)
27. All About Eve (1950) ++
28. Double Indemnity (1944)
29. Apocalypse Now (1979)*
30. Maltese Falcon, The (1941)
31. Godfather Part II, The (1974)*
32. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975)*
33. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)*
34. Annie Hall (1977)
35. Bridge on the River Kwai, The (1957)++
36. Best Years of Our Lives, The (1946)
37. Treasure of the Sierra Madre, The (1948)
38. Dr. Strangelove (1964)
39. Sound of Music (1965) ***
40. King Kong (1933)
41. Bonnie and Clyde (1967)
42. Midnight Cowboy (1969)
43. Philadelphia Story, The (1940)
44. Shane (1953)
45. It Happened One Night (1934)
46. Streetcar Named Desire, A (1951)++
47. Rear Window (1954)***
48. Intolerance (1916)
49. Lord of the Rings : The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) *
50. West Side Story (1961)*
51. Taxi Driver (1976)++
52. Deer Hunter, The (1978) *
53. M*A*S*H (1970)++
54. North by Northwest (1959)***
55. Jaws (1975)***
56. Rocky (1976)
57. Gold Rush, The (1925)
58. Nashville (1975)
59. Duck Soup (1933)
60. Sullivan’s Travels (1941)
61. American Graffiti (1973) ++
62. Cabaret (1972)++
63. Network (1976)
64. African Queen, The (1951)
65. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)***
66. Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966)++
67. Unforgiven (1992)*
68. Tootsie (1982)*
69. Clockwork Orange, A (1971)
70. Saving Private Ryan (1998)*
71. Shawshank Redemption, The (1994)***
72. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)
73. Silence of the Lambs, The (1991)***
74. In the Heat of the Night (1967)
75. Forrest Gump (1994)***
76. All the President’s Men (1976)
77. Modern Times (1936)
78. Wild Bunch, The (1969)++
79. Apartment, The (1960)
80. Spartacus (1960)*
81. Sunrise (1927)
82. Titanic (1997)*
83. Easy Rider (1969)
84. Night at the Opera, A (1935)
85. Platoon (1986)*
86. 12 Angry Men (1957)*
87. Bringing Up Baby (1938)
88. Sixth Sense, The (1999)*
89. Swing Time (1936)
90. Sophie’s Choice (1982)++
91. Goodfellas (1990)++
92. French Connection, The (1971)
93. Pulp Fiction (1994)*
94. Last Picture Show, The (1971)
95. Do the Right Thing (1989)*
96. Blade Runner (1982)*
97. Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942)
98. Toy Story (1995)***
99. Ben-Hur (1959)*
100. Easy Rider (1969)

I've seen a lot of them, but there are many I need to catch up with.  Thank goodness for Netflix.  Play along if you'd like!

"Oh, I'm detecting nuttiness alright!"

It was so hot here on the 4th, that we went to the movies.  We saw Ratatouille.  RM and I thought it was a fun film, but the kids got bored, so we left about 15 minutes from the end.  We'll have to rent it when it comes out on DVD.  I'm interested in how it ended.  I suppose our kids aren't ready for a movie in the theater yet, and at the crazy exorbitant prices, it's fine by me that we don't go back for a while.  It would also be a good idea to wait until PQL becomes a bit more practiced with the potty training.  She didn't have an accident, but I was in the bathroom 3 times in 90 minutes with her.

Although the movie didn't pan out like I had hoped, I did get one really big project done.  I updated my etsy shop!  Along with the totes, pendants, bracelets, and stitch markers I already have listed, I listed 6 more small project bags (3 of which are made from repurposed kitchen towels), and 5 pairs of earrings.  I had a lot of fun with the earrings.  I can see myself making many, many more.  Through July, all orders will receive a complimentary stitch marker or zipper pull, so come on by and check out the wares!

I also finished up my sockpal's Summer Solstice socks!  I think they came out really well.  I like using the Seacoast Handpaint Panda yarn.  The bamboo lends a sheen to the wool yarn that is really nice.  Also the Jewel colorway is just gorgeous.  Only a little bit of pooling happened  right at the heel turn and begining of the gusset.  The pattern, Summer Solstice from the Sock Calendar, is easy to memorize and looks really nice with the variegated yarn.  I hope my pal will be pleased.   

The end of the school year is just

Crazy!!!  I am beyond tired, and still have a week and half before I get a break.  It's a break of sorts, since the kids will be home full time after that.  Eek!  I've been thinking over a variety of things that I want to share, but there's really no central thread, so here it is, in handy bullet form.

• RM thanks everyone for the lovely birthday wishes.  He really did have a good birthday, and is already using the gift the kids and I got for him, a brand new coffee maker.  He's excited because it has a self-timer, and is bigger.  The simple things, I tell you.
• Keep the contest entries rolling in.  I'm enjoying browsing all the talented indie craftspeople out there!  I'm still accepting entries through next Wednesday.  Leave a comment on the official contest post, two posts below this one, or email your suggestions to craftylilly AT gmail DOT com.
• I've started or gathered everything together to start three new knitting projects.  I'm about halfway down the leg of my sockpal's first sock, and I have things all ready to start my kids' Bobbie bears, and my Swallowtail shawl.  Now just to find the time to get going on them.
• I haven't done a shop update in some time, and am working on some bags, beaded jewelry and some handspun for that.  I'm thinking it's going to be another week or so before everything's ready for that.
• RM and I rewatched Raiders of the Lost Ark last weekend for Fiberflix.  I had forgotten what a good movie that really is, and how well it stands up even today.  Karen Allen, one of the stars, also knits so that made it fun, even though she doesn't knit at all in the movie.

Now, excuse me while I go pass out on my couch for a bit, and try to knit a little.  I hope to have a longer, more fun and coherent post this weekend.

Just look what bloomed!

My Bloomin' Socks arrived in the mail yesterday and just look at all the sock and knitterly goodness!  Phoebe knit me the most lovely socks.  She used the Rock the Stars pattern from one of the Scout's Indie Swag packages and paired it with the most lovely, soft yarn from Black Bunny Fibers.  The fit is perfect and are so comfy.  Look at all the other goodies as well!  In the package she sent a lovely and sweet smelling soap, gummy worms, Werther's Original candies, some jam, notecards, fun bath scrubbies for the kidlets, and a mention of something to come that wasn't ready yet when she sent the package.  I feel so spoiled!  Thanks Phoebe!

Speaking of swaps, my Bloomin' Socks pal Mia received her package too.  I'm glad she likes the Bittersweet Dublin Bays.  She's off to the Maryland Sheep and Wool festival.  I'm so envious...

I've also started my Hogwart's pal socks.  I'm using Sunshine Yarns.  I snatched up a double skein of Gryffindor sock yarn from Dani last year.  She dyed the large skein the deep maroon, and a smaller skein the yellow.  I thought about a simple striped sock, but then I saw the lovely mosaic pattern in Sensational Knitted Socks.  I'm using the "maze" pattern.  It brings to mind the Triwizard Tournament in the Goblet of Fire for me.

And in still more swap news, if you haven't signed up for the Knitflix Summer Blockbuster Swap, now is the time!  Sign-ups will end on May 11, so if you're interested drop me an email at craftylilly AT gmail DOT com.  Tell me if you have a blog, and what country you live in.  So far we have about 13 swappers and there's plenty room for more.  Scroll down a few posts for all the information on the swap.

Speaking about movies, RM and I are still plugging away at seeing as many Oscar nominated and winning movies from last year.  We both really enjoyed The Last King of Scotland.  Forest Whitaker is amazing and well deserved his Oscar.  I also saw Notes on a Scandal and really enjoyed it.  Dame Judi Dench can play one disturbed individual.