10.6.08

almost there! really!

i've been actually getting things done lately, believe it or not. totally inspired by ravelry i am almost done an argyle cardigan for young marmaduke (just in time for the warm weather!), and have found the long-ago in the mood for love sweater, blocked it, and begun the ornamentation phase! sooo excited.
of course, i have no idea what happened to the flowers i started knitting ages ago, or how i made them. so i've knit more, just making them up as i go along. i'll post the pattern later:

here's a sketch of what i'm trying to do, roughly:

whee!

22.4.08

ha!

after double-checking that yes, russell brand is indeed in forgetting sarah marshall (the film with the most annoying ad campaign ever, hence no linky), i noticed that he is also in a remake of st trinians! that started me thinking - if they are remaking that, then a carry on revival can't be far off. and yes, there is something in the works - although apparently they've been promising to start production since 2003.

but all that is beside the point. the exciting news is that this led me to discover the best discussion thread on the internet ever:

Why London will fail like Columbus
by matthew-reynolds2 (Wed Feb 13 2008 09:59:44)
Just see my review on Amazon.co.uk ( that you can vote on ) on the VHS of Carry On Columbus which states why the failure of the 1992 revival means that the 2008 endevour is also doomed . To avoid writing the same stuff again I just thought that I would direct people to my review of the Carry On Columbus VHS which I have written under the name Mr Carry On Fan . I have also written reviews of Carry On Dick , Carry On England , Carry On Behind and Carry On Emmanuelle as well as Carry On Laughing and Grace & Favour aka Are You Being Served Again . To save me writing it all over again I thought that I would just direct people to Amazon.co.uk where under the name Mr Carry On Fan I have written reviews of these films & TV shows . I hope that they are of interest .

I find Amazon.co.uk very useful as you can read other peoples reviews & vote them as part of deciding whether or not to make a purchase . It is very helpful indeed !

Re: Why London will fail like Columbus
by Kagey_B (Thu Mar 13 2008 06:16:51)
Please note, other online retailers are available.

Re: Why London will fail like Columbus
by WesJones-1 (Tue Mar 18 2008 12:12:36)
you could, of course, just simply copy and paste.

Re: Why London will fail like Columbus
by matthew-reynolds2 (Mon Mar 24 2008 10:03:05)
Good point ! I am still a learner when it comes to computers !

oh, internet, i love you so.

21.4.08

whee!

i am so excited. i have been wanting and wishing to find one of these, but hadn't actually looked for one or anything. imagine my delight to see them while waiting for my order to be filled at my beloved lee valley! now, there is nothing to stop me from heading over to the leather & sewing supply depot on my lunch and digging through their scrap bin... yay.

and speaking of the supply depot, here is a good list of similarly useful supplyers for all your crafting needs.

2.4.08

how come i've never seen this blog before?

this morning i came across the blog of gillian rode while looking for something else (instructions on how to wear an olena zylak shawl). she's a props maker among other things and has great shots of what goes on behind the scenes at the canadian opera company. which apparently has its own craft show in november and december! why didn't i know that?

24.3.08

ravelry!

okay, so i finally joined ravelry! it is kind of shaming to see how much yarn i have that i haven't done anything with. and i have only input a small portion of my stash. and that's not even counting fabric and lumber and seeds and everything else. bad, bad, bad.

but!

i am thinking maybe i can unload some things which have been hanging around unused for far too long.

that, or i can actually get to work and get some stuff made. this weekend i pulled out the recycled sari silk i got via a swap (i think? i can't remember even, it was so long ago... all i really remember is that i got it from an individual stash-addict as opposed to a store) and i'm close to half-done a little sweater. so there!

17.3.08

so near and yet so far...

for years i have this vague image in my mind of the ideal man: dashing, squinting into the distance, a lovably rascally look to his curling lip, arms folded across his chest as his scarf blows in the wind, pencil moustache...

moustache?

okay, i have to say i have no love for the stache. except, of course, on clark gable, the sexiest man ever to have lived. well, at least he's near the top of the list.



so when my lovably rascally baby boy started eating his hearing aids regularly, turning him into a dashing aviator seemed the obvious option!

but this would be no average balaclava helmet. this one would have special features for my little guy: mesh over the ears (no point in putting expensive hearing aids on a kid and then covering up the microphones), and a button at the back (out of reach!) to ensure that the hat could be snug enough that he can't take it off, but still put-on-able and get-off-able with a parent's help.

i thought about it how to begin, measured my guy's head, selected my yarn (kroy socks - wooly warm, durable, washable) and began. i should have thought more. the mesha was loosey goosey, the hat was all over the place. i frogged and began again. i got something that looked like it might work, but after a short time on an actual babyhead, got all stretched out of shape and was soon backwards, and the aids were getting chewed once again. then i frogged and ended up working on the wrong sized needles. more frogging.

finally, i thought i had it sorted. i switched to smaller needles for the mesh bits so they weren't so floppy. i ribbed around the hole where his face would go, to have a snug firm edge. finally, it was done! i put it on, and it was snug. really snug. but doable. and maybe it would stretch? or not. i have the perfect hat for a baby the size he was six months ago. yeehaw. so do i frog and start again? or say to hell with it and forget about it until the fall?

meanwhile, i did manage to keep it on his head for one little walk:




the matching mittens he's not so keen on.

9.3.08

almost there

well i can't seem to upload photos today on either of my blogger sites, grr. but, i am just about done something i have been working on for ages. i have knit and frogged and knit and frogged and knit and frogged and i seem to have finally worked the bugs out and am close to finished! it seems almost impossible with the amount of frogging i have been doing, and i can't offer any photographic evidence at the moment, but i swear it is true...