Back in the swing.

So I had been delaying posting because I wanted to post some great pictures of my newest finished object. However, the weather hasn't been cooperating (it's the Midwest, who's surprised?) so I'm back with projects and all sorts of reviews (books, movies, etc.)

First things first. This past weekend I finished my first big lace project and I'm absolutely in love with it!


The Pattern: Shoalwater Shawl

The Yarn: Malabrigo Laceweight, 3 skeins, Pagoda

The Needles: US 6's

The Verdict: I LOVE this shawl. This was a pleasure to knit, even though it took me over a year. The Malabrigo laceweight yarn is light and soft and creates the warmest, softest fabric I've felt in a long time. And using my new lace blocking wires (courtesy of my wonderful husband!) blocking was a snap. Stay tuned for more pictures of this one!

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I haven't been posting much of late. I think it's a combination of lack of funny tales to tell, lack of time to knit, and lots of time spent at the department store job. I'm still looking for full time employment, but so far I haven't had much luck so I've been staying on. I seem to have made it through a variety of books and movies though.


* Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - I ripped right through this one and enjoy it as much, if not more than the previous books. I don't know why I couldn't get into the series the first time, but I'm really enjoying it now. I'm looking forward to reading the sixth installment soon. It will be the first book of the series that I read without having seen the movie first and I think it will be great to experience the book with no clue about what will happen next.


* New Moon - Yes, I'm hooked on Stephenie Meyer's series. I don't know what's more bizarre for me - that I'm reading vampire books and loving them, or that I'm reading teeny-bopper fiction and ripping right through it. Again, I think the most interesting part of the books to me is how the author takes all the common legends and stereotypes about vampires (and in this book werewolves) and turns them on their heads. I still haven't seen the movie and part of me doesn't want to, because I love the way I imagine the characters. I'm sure I will though.


* The God Delusion - The third book I'm still working on is Richard Dawkins'. I borrowed this from Dad when I was home for Christmas. Though the theory is sometimes a bit much for me, I'm enjoying reading his arguments against the existence of god. The book is humorous too - I find myself laughing aloud fairly often. I suppose if I'm going to be damned to hell I might as well have a good time getting there.

* Death at a Funeral - I Netflix'd this one after hearing great things about it and we weren't disappointed. This was truly a zany British farce and if you're up for some insanity I'd definitely recommend it!

* No Country for Old Men - Despite the fact that this movie won so many Oscars, and I'd been anxious to see it, neither Wes nor I enjoyed it very much. I found it hard to watch with all it's scenes shot in low light that were barely visible. We both found the dialogue kind of forced, and at the end we kind of wondered what the point was. Overall, I can't recommend this one.

* Burn After Reading - I laughed out loud at this movie. The cast was excellent, the material crafted very well, and the end result a winner. If you're up for some inappropriate situations and whole movie about the stupidity of people, you have to see this movie!