Black Sheep Review

I promised a review of Black Sheep. I did go see the 1st showing on Friday. I loved it. It was very funny and the sheep were lovely, except of course when they were mauling people. It is EXTREMELY gory. I took The Girl with because she said she wanted to go. I warned her it was going to be gory, but she pooh-poohed the idea. Had she not seen those Saw movies? (She saw them at her friends’ house; I had nothing to do with that decision.) Anyway, part way through she turned to me and asked to go home because she felt like she was going to barf. So if you have a queasy stomach, be warned, this movie may not be for you. That said, when the sheep attack people, they do not look very realistic. Although, there are real sheep eating what appears to be human entrails. I do not know how they got them to do it, but it is pretty funny, just because, well they’re SHEEP. The plot has to do with genetically altered sheep and a hero who is afraid of sheep. I must say, that sheep that is the “new” sheep breed, is a lovely sheep and I thought, oohh look at that lovely wool. Oh, and did I mention Weresheep?? Overall, if you like dark comedic horror movies and can appreciate sheep; this is a movie for you. Have fun and bring your knitting. I did.

Finished Objects

Here are the mini stuffies I made for a swap on Swap-Bot. It is a Lobster and a Chubby Bunny. I thought they turned out pretty good. I hope you enjoy them.

Just some random stuff

I was on my own earlier in the week. It was supposed to be all week, but The Girl called in tears and wanted to come home. So I gave in and went and picked her up at my brother’s. Last Friday DH and I picked 35 lbs of strawberries and I finally got them all cleaned yesterday. So tonight I intend to make some jam and finish freezing the rest. I know, you are all jealous.
Yesterday I went and saw “Live Free or Die Hard”. It was good. I could knit through the whole movie. There were some really good explosions. And, of course, it had that guy who plays the Mac on the Apple commercials. I think he is too cute! So it was a good movie, especially to go to on a hot fourth of July. I did not go see the fireworks because I have to work today.
I have some FOs, but I do not have the picture with me, so I will have to post it later.

I saw this Power of 4 Meme on http://knitorious.typepad.com/knitorious/ and I thought I would do it too.

4 Jobs I have had in my life (other than being a mother/aunt)
-- Nursing assistant
-- Learning Resource Clerk (at U of MN Library)
-- Legal Coder (basically data entry)
-- Buyer

4 films I can watch again and again
-- Jaws
-- The Godfather
-- The Godfather II
-- This is Spinal Tap

4 places I have lived
-- Kenyon, MN
-- Faribault, MN
-- Minneapolis, MN
-- Richfield, MN
I know the variety is stunning, but I hope to add another state someday.

4 TV series I watch
-- Lost
-- Supernatural
-- What not to Wear
-- House

4 places I have been on holiday
-- Ireland
-- New York City, NY
-- Aruba
-- Bonaire

4 things I do every time I go on the Net
-- Check my e-mail
-- Go to Swap-Bot
-- Read some knitting blogs
-- Check out the new headlines

4 things I would NOT eat for anything in the world
-- Haggis
-- Brains
-- Kidney pie
-- tongue (I do not want to eat anything that has been in someone’s mouth)

4 places I would love to be right now
-- Fondly yarn at a lovely LYS
-- Sitting on a beach, knitting
-- Scuba diving
-- At the movies

4 people to tag
- up for grabs, folks

Big weekend

My second oldest niece was married on Saturday. It is hard to believe that she is old enough to be married, but as my DH pointed out, she is older than we were when we got married. Scary huh? A good time was had by all. My DH & I danced a lot and so I have been sore for the last two days. I am really out of shape, but I love to dance. We were complemented on our fine Twist skills. It is the one dance I know how to do really well. I was working on knitting a pillow for my niece, but I realized on Friday that I needed more than a week to complete the pillow, so I will just have to finish it up and mail it to her and her new spouse.

Movie Update
Yesterday I went to two movies in two different theaters! First I went to see “Even Almighty” with The Girl and one of her friends. It was pretty good, you know so long as you did not think much about it. It was good mindless entertainment. Then I went home and DH and I went to see “Day Watch (Dnevnoy dozor)” at the Lagoon in the Uptown. Normally, I try to avoid this place since it is really quite small and very expensive because it is “ARTY”. However, DH really wanted to see this movie, it is the sequel to “Night Watch”, which was excellent. It is Russian, so I did get to hear people speak my favorite foreign language. But I digress… The movie was good and we did make in time, in spite of leaving the house later than hoped. But the very best news is that I found out that “Black Sheep” is going to be playing there starting 7/6! It will be there only one week. I am so excited. I can’t wait! Expect a full review right here after I see it.

Baaad Sheep

I really want to see this movie.




It is about sheep that became flesh eating zombies (basically a knitter’s nightmare). It opens this weekend in the States, but I have not had success finding out if it is playing here in the Twin Cities. I think it looks hilarious. I love Animals Gone Bad Movies. One of my favorites is FROGS from 1972. Nothing more terrifying than frogs, except maybe sheep!

On other knitting news (I consider zombie sheep knitting news), on Tuesday night at the MN Knitter’s Guild meeting, Amy Singer (from knitty.com) came to speak to us. She was awesome. She was informative and fun. What more could you ask for. I bought her “No Sheep for You” book and it has some great stuff in it. I can’t wait to try several of the patterns. There is a tank in there that is to die for. Also, it will come in handy if there IS a zombie sheep plague. I will be ready to continue knitting!

Last night I went to my finishing class. I learned a lot in the class. Plus, I actually finished the little cardigan… okay, I still need to weave in and add the buttons, but that is nothing. I will try to get a picture to post on my site. Okay, I can not connect this bit to killer sheep, but as Meatloaf said “two out of three ain’t bad”.

Little Update

So by last Thursday The Girl’s lip had swollen up and started to turn purple. She said it hurt a lot… go figure… and I told her to take it out. She said it hurt too much to take out so we headed down to Walgreens to get some canker sore stuff to numb her lip. She did say she learned the valuable lesson “of not to pierce your own lip”. Kids.
My mom stayed until Sunday and we had a really good time. She has taken up jewelry making, so we went to a rock and mineral show over at the Fairgrounds. It was a lot of fun. We also went to The Bead Monkey, where my mom entertained the staff. She spent a bunch of money and paid in cash. As is her habit, The Girl informed her she should not carry so much cash because she could get robbed. My mom just laughed.
Last night I went to my finishing class over at The Yarnery. It technically started last Wednesday, but I was dealing with getting my mom etc.
It did not matter too much; I was able to catch up with the rest of the class since there were some things I have already down. It was nice to be able to just sit and knit.
I did finish the hat for the Ships Project. It is big enough for a head my size, but it was a little tight on my hubby. So it will have to go to a smaller solider, but I am sure someone will fit into it. My head is not too small.
I also picked up some yarn to make a pillow from my niece which is getting married next weekend. I do not know if I will be able to make a pillow in a week, we will have to see.
I also need to make some mini stuffies for swap bot. I just bought some patterns from Crafty Alien, so I think I will use one of those. All of her (?) patterns are too cute. I bought 3 of them. I will make sure to get some pictures posted when I make them.

Motherly stress

My mom came into town last night, of course, what better time for The Girl to pierce her lip. Yes folks, she went in her bedroom yesterday afternoon and pierced her own lip! She is going to be the death of me. I know my mom is forming all sorts of judgments. I know that it shouldn’t matter, because she will not actually say anything to me, plus I thought I was past caring what she thought, but it bothers me. I did tell her I was impressed that she managed to get 6 kids through the teenage years. I have been totally stressed all week knowing she was coming. I was excited too, because she is fun to have around. She is not a bad mother, just different and in some ways that is what is so stressful. However, she has never been very affectionate and I have found myself attempting to impress her that I am a really fantastic person. I have not had much time to knit, but I did cast on a hat for the Ships Project last night at the airport, just to take the edge off. God, I sound like a junky! Oh well, it could be worse. I should be able to get through the hat in fairly quick order. I am also plugging away at my shawl; my mom was impressed with what I had so far.
Mom is only staying with me until Saturday. I think the chaotic nature of my household bothers her. It is funny what you get used to in life. I am so accustom to the dogs and cats making noise and running around, I do not hardly notice until people come over and I realize that my house is a zoo. Oh well, The Girl will be spending the next week with her Grandma and I think that will be good for her.
Mom is up for the rest of the month. She will be going between the various siblings homes. My second oldest niece is getting married on June 23rd, which is why she came up to start with. I had dreams of getting my shawl done by the wedding, but I do not think I will. Oh well, when it does get done, it will be awesome and I intend to wear it somewhere, even if it is work.
I need to get a new camera so I can download pictures of my WIPs. Or of any projects I actually finish!

knitting update

So I discovered that I have been knitting on my Sweater O’Doom with a 5 instead of a 6. I almost have an entire sleeve done with it. Should I rip it up? It does seem to fit my arm, so I do not think size is an issue in that regard. Should I just keep knitting and do both sleeves with the 5. Would anyone notice that the body stitches are a different gauge than the sleeves? God I hate this sweater. I have totally put it aside. I have been working on my rib warmer, which I think is going to be huge. I don’t think it will be too a big a deal though, I would be wearing it over stuff anyway. It is a very pretty color. Although I do not think I will have enough of the Cascade 220 I am using. Sigh.
I am also working on my lace shawl. It is going pretty well. I know I have some mistakes in the beginning, but I have not had too many. I do not think anyone will notice since it is at the top. I am too far to rip it out. I have done about 7” or 8”.

Here is one last picture from Mostly Male:


Look out Ladies… I am ready to prowl the scene in my completely knit outfit.

Even the belt is knit!

Groovy!

Memorial day weekend

I had a great weekend! My Beloved Husband (CD) gave me the best anniversary presents. In the morning, he gave me Destroy All Humans 2 and said the other one had not arrived yet. I was still really happy with the game and played it until it was time to take the animals to the vet.
We always take all 4 at once, so it is really chaotic, but we get a 25% discount, so it is worth it. They all received a clean bill of health, even our oldest cat (she will be 17 this August). They did do some extra blood work on her and we will get the results today, so hopefully it will be okay. But the vet said they all looked good and were good weights…yeah!
After that, hubby and I went to lunch and then picked up The Girl (she had spent Friday night at a friend’s house). She was dressed like a pirate in celebration of “The Pirates of the Caribbean” movie, which she went to see with her girlfriend. We all went over to St. Paul to visit a scrap booking shop. She got some piratey paper so she could make some ATCs. CD and I have been making them for Swap-Bot and she wanted to join the fun. It was a really nice time.
When we got home, my other present was there! CD bought me Barbara Walker’s “Treasury of Knitting Pattern”! He is the best husband ever!
Then CD and I went downtown Minneapolis to one of our favorite restaurants, Vincent. We ordered the tasting menu. It was pricy, but divine. If you are ever in Minneapolis and looking for a good meal, I would highly recommend it. On weekdays, they have a prix fixe menu that is very reasonable and always good. I have never had anything bad there. The chef, Vincent, is from France and was trained there. The roast chicken is to die for.
So it was one of the best anniversaries ever.
The rest of the weekend was good too. I played a lot of my new game, worked on ATCs and did not do much knitting (which was the only downside).

Feeling Low

I am feeling a little off kilter today. On Tuesday I went and saw “28 Weeks Later”. It was a good movie, but very depressing and upsetting. It was not really scary in the traditional horror movie sense. I left feeling sad and queasy. I went by myself, since it was between work and the time I have my knitting group. I was glad DH was not there since he would not have liked it at all. It brought up all sorts of issues of family and survival. Not to mention military occupations. Would I die trying to save my loved ones? Or would I run like hell to save myself? Stuff like that is brought up.
No one showed up to my knitting group, so I just sat a knit on my lace shawl, which was okay. I was able to get through 8 rows without having to go back to my rescue line. Yeah! This is my 1st real large lace project. It is really kind of daunting. I was hoping to get it done for my one niece’s wedding (June 23rd), but I don’t know if that will happen.
Then last night’s Lost added to the feeling of melancholy. I love Lost. It is one of my all time favorite shows. We all watch it together as a family. Last night though, Charlie died, which of course was to be expected, but I sort of hoped that maybe there would be a reprieve. It looks like they are going to be rescued, but then there are 3 years left of the show… so perhaps not. But overall the worst part was the flash forward. Knowing that they get off the only to have it screw up Jack completely is really depressing. Perhaps it is an allegory for life in general… you know… we try to escape something in our lives only to find out that it was the best thing we ever had. Whose funeral was it? No doubt someone from the island and someone that no one would even attend their funeral… I think Ben.

On the plus side, my anniversary is on Saturday. I will have been married for 17 years. Wow. How did that happen? 17 years is a really long time.
Here are the recommended gifts according to About.com: Traditional Gifts: nothing, Modern Gifts: Furniture. Who the hell give furniture to your loved one? Here honey, have a chair! I don’t think so. That is a really bad gift.
According to wikipedia.org, here is the tradition gift from Britain (Turquoise) and the Modern (Watches). Now receiving either one of those gifts would be nice. I of course, bought my sweetie books, which is in fact the best gift I can get him. Oddly, books are nowhere on the lists unless you count paper in the 1st year. Hmmm I give books almost every year. Go figure.

8 random things

I was tagged by Paula at bassetknitter.blogspot.com

8 Random things about me.

1. I do not know enough people on line to tag anyone
2. I always thought that the life David Banner was leading in the Incredible Hulk was cool.
3. I am more responsible than anyone I know, in high school more than once I did not kill myself because I had to go to work that night and I did not know who they would get to fill in for me on such short notice.
4. I think my husband is the greatest man to walk the face of the Earth.
5. I still miss my grandmother who died 17 years ago.
6. I love dogs and can image why anyone would be cruel to them.
7. I wish I could have chickens, but my suburb has an ordinance against farm animals.
8. I love fresh watermelon and could eat it everyday.

More from Mostly Male…

Here are some more pictures from Mostly Male.
Here is one of the unisex sweaters. The one they show for the woman’s sweater is slightly better colors, but really this one is too bright for anyone over the age of 6.
Check out the cigarillo. He is TOO cool!













Is this guy getting in the pool? Shouldn’t he take off his sweater first? Although he really looks like he should be getting out, but then his sweater would be wet…
Either way, the sweater does not really go with the swim trunks and why would he need a sweater at an indoor pool?

Knitting's past

When I took up knitting, I started to look for patterns everywhere. I now have more patterns than I will ever knit, but I find it enjoyable to look at them, so I keep collecting. I love history and anything which gives a glance into the past… old books, old magazines, old pictures, etc. So naturally, I started to collect old knitting patterns. Sometimes they are things which I think I will knit when I learn how to convert them to my size (large American) or when I get a 26” waist, whichever comes first. Others I buy just because I love the pictures. It might be the outfit or it just might be the expressions which the models have. So I have decided to share some of these pictures with you out there in the blogsphere.
The first one is from a 1971 Brunswick pattern book called “Mostly Male”. This is the back cover.
One word… Shazam



I will post some more pictures tomorrow from this fine publication.

Mother's day weekend

I had a wonderful Mother’s day. The Girl made me a card declaring me the best mom/aunt in the world. How can it get better than that? Well, then we went and got our hair cut together! Her idea. And my lovely husband made my favorite grilled meal.
The Girl and I also went out and she drove me around a parking lot. Her first time behind the wheel. She did alright.
That was my Mother’s day.
On Saturday I went over to Shepard’s Harvest. It was great fun. I bought some llama yarn and a kit to make a tea cozy that looks like a sheep. I talked to some Alpaca farmers(?, not sure what they call themselves). I looked at a variety of sheep and goats and llamas. Next year I am going to drag my husband with. He had his improv class at noon and could not come with me.

Sweater of Doom

I am still knitting on my sweater. I am on the first sleeve. I swear to God that it is not getting longer no matter how much I knit. Arrrrhhh. I am also working on a shadow stripe hat. It is slow as well.
I am trying to think of something to knit for the “Joy Luck Club”, which was our reading selection for April on Knit the Classics. I have absolutely no inspiration. I am thinking of knitting my mom something for Mother’s day and submitting that, but I have to get in gear since the deadline is May 6th. I was far more inspired by “The Historian”, which we read right before. There is a shawl mentioned in that book that I want to create. I even bought some yarn at Yarnover I could use.
I had to rip out my rib warmer and start over, because it look odd with just the mohair. So now it will be Cascade 220 and mohair. I have not really worked on it lately because I was trying to get my sweater done. I hate that sweater. I know I will love it when it is done, but right now it is nothing but a black hole of doom.
The Girl is flunking out of school and has refused to go at all so far this week because she is sad. I have to say I am disappointed that she thinks so little of herself that she can not do better in school. I do not know how to fix this problem. Of course, one of the therapist at the hospital told us that we have solved too many of The Girl’s problems. It has not been easy to raise someone else’s kid. No matter what we do, we seem to be screwing her up… sigh. It is probably just as hard to raise your own kid; I just am not in that place.

New design and other news

I finished my hat I designed for my Swap-Bot partner. I personally think it is very cute. The picture does not due it justice. The skull and the stripes are both a very nice pale pink. It was knit in RYC Cashcotton DK. It is for a girl in CA and I thought it would be a little cooler than wool.

I have to give props to The Girl for the design idea. She suggested that I have a tilted skull off center. I did the rest.
The Girl seems to be doing better, although she was laid low with a head cold last week.
I went to the MN Knitter’s Guild Yarnover on Saturday. It was totally awesome. I had been on the committee, just a small part. I was not sure what to expect, but it was a really fun time.
I would highly recommend it to any one. Next year’s is on April 12th. So plan ahead.
I had a lace edging class with Jackie E-S and a wire knitting class with Annie Modisett. They were both excellent. The Girl was terribly impressed with the knitted wire and bead bracelet I made. She wants one. Plus she said that everyone at school would think it was too cool. Kids are too funny.
I am still working on the sweater. I do not know if I am really a sweater knitter. I need to figure out how to make it a quicker process. I am losing my interest.
I started a mitered dog blanket out of Annie Modisett’s book, “Men Who Knit And The Dogs Who Love Them”. I love this book. It is so hard to find nice men’s sweaters and vests. I intend to make the cabled vest that is in there for my Husband.

Updates

The Girl is doing okay. The meds are already helping; she starts back to school today. She was supposed to go back on the 30th, she got out of the hospital on the evening of the 29th, but she found out everyone at school knew and she could not face them all right then. Then last week was spring break. I did knit her a wrister; she only wanted one for the damaged wrist. I knit it out of Debbie Bliss Cathay (cotton, silk and viscose) so it was soft and breathable and of course red and black. Her colors! She wore it to cover up her stitches and cuts. She has a new therapist, whom she likes. So I think we are on the road to recovery. I was talking to her one night and she said that this boy she did this over had been in the psych ward twice. She then said that she would never have to say that because she never wanted to go back there. I see that as a good sign.
Other knitting news, I have the front and back done on my perfect sweater. I have one side seamed up and have started one arm. I see an end in sight. I have also cast on a rib warmer out of purple mohair. I do not know if it will be big enough. Obviously, Elizabeth Zimmerman was much smaller than me.
I have designed a hat to knit for one of my swap partners on Swap-bot. When I showed The Girl, she asked if she could design her own hat for me to knit. What a great sign! Maybe I can convince her knitting is cool!

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Sad news

Things have not been going well this week. The Girl sliced herself open over some stupid boy. I could kill him. Large portions of Monday and Tuesday were spent at the hospital. She is in the adolescent psych ward. On the plus side, she is cooperating because it is awful and she wants out. She actually misses school! She starts on medication today, hopeful we will all get through this mess.
On the knitting front, I have been too exhausted to knit much the last couple of days, but I need to get some wristers done for The Girl before she gets out so she can cover up her cuts.
One of the psychologists at the ward told us we have been enabling her by not giving her more stuff to do around the house. Of course, he also told us we could not tell her what to do. Therefore, I am not sure how these things will be completed, but we will see.
I am also working on my first sweater; it is the Mason-Dixon perfect sweater. I am taking a class. I missed Monday night’s class, and I am not a far as I had hoped to be. I have the back done and part of the front. I need to get cracking on it. I hope to have the front done by next week so I can start the arms, but I do not know if that will happen.

Here is a picture of a beret I knitted. It is from Folk Hats. I love that book!


I hope to start writing again on a more regular basis. I have been very busy the last couple of months.

A completed project

I have completed Chalk the mouse from Simply Knitting Spring 2006. It was fun to knit up, although I had the darnest time with the arms. All I could do was make right ones. I do not know what I did wrong, but I finally just made a right one with the opposite directions. I don't know if that sentence made sense. Oh Well. I knit it for my Knitting the Classics blog. It was one of the mice from The Woman in White. It was a pretty good book, but a little long in parts.
I finished my husband's mittens. They turned out lovely. I am now going to knit myself a scarf. I have already started.
I have had a productive month. I have already knit 2 scarves, a pair of mittens and a mouse. Not bad.
I am having camera problems, but I do have a picture of my mouse.


I also have some pictures of my loved ones wearing some of my gifts.