The Movies we watched in August

Here is August's run down of the movies we enjoyed

Deliverance 

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What better way to start of August to continue with our Burt Reynolds "season" and watch Deliverance. A great movie that has all you could possibly want: a good story, humour, thrill and tears. And not to forget the "Duelling Banjos"....it's such a great scene between Jon Voight and the lil' dude. I cannot help but think of Deliverance whenever I hear Banjos - one of these days I am going to get myself this T-Shirt:

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by the shirt HERE

Crochet Art - Lillian Crespi

When I have been looking across the net for some crochet art, I came across this awesome spider web:

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This is something I would love to attach to my bamboo fence as I think it would look awesome. The pattern looks totally doable:

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I tried to find out more about the artist, Lillian Crespi but to be honest the only thing I can find is the entry accompanying the above image on the Sculpture Key West site. It's a shame because I would have liked to have seen some more of her work.

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WIP - Selbudeath Socks

I am currently loving {this sock pattern} - the Selbudeath socks totally rock my world.

This is my first attempt at working with a pattern that required two colours and I am excited to see if I can work it.

So far so good:)

For more WIP's check out {Tami's Blog}

Perfect Crackling - Layout

I did it again....and I am stinkin' happy about it.

Actually it is two thing I did again and I am equally happy about it.

1. For the first time since November 2011 - and eight weeks since my operation - I have been able to power walk again. I am over the moon that I can get back into my health regime now without doubling over in pain. But for the moment there will be no running, just walking. I don't want to overdo it in case I jinx our upcoming holiday.

2. I scrapped yet again.....wahoooooo. And I still enjoyed the whole process of getting my fingers dirty with glue and paints. Life is good :)

Papers: Donna Salazar Designs, Making Memories

Stamp: Donna Salazar Designs

Inks: Donna Salazar for Clearsnap Inc

Mists: Donna Salazar for Clearsnap Inc, Cosmic Shimmer

Pearls: Want2Scrap

Stickers: Jillybean Soup, Jenni Bowlin

Picture frame: K&Company

Other: Doily, Embroidery Floss, Gesso

Hope you all are having a most enjoyable Sunday and a wonderful week ahead.

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FP - The Fishtail socks

Today I have another pair of finished socks to share that never even made it to my WIP list as I finished them so quickly :)

Following my "success" of completing two pairs of socks in a short amount of time, I felt brave enough to design my own pair.

When I say designing, I mean that I have taken the general measurements for a medium sized sock, found myself a knitted pattern I liked (the fishtail) and worked the sock design around the pattern.

I made a slight mistake though in that the cuff on one sock is two rows shorter than the other....but I can live with that considering that the cuff will be hidden under trouser legs anyway.

You can find all the details about the Fishtail socks {here}

For more finished projects hop over to {Tami's blog}

Knitting failures...again

Well, it had to happen at some stage. After I finished my delightful {hoodie} and a few pairs of {socks}, I believed the world of finished garments would be mine.

Uhm, yep - THAT worked out well...

'memba {this fella}?

The knit itself was finished within the matter of a few days and it looked promising - until I came to sew it all together. Despite me doing a gauge swatch AND still going one size up, the arms almost cut my circulation off and believe you me, my arms ain't that fat.

And the bottom bit was also way too tight and there was no way I would ever wear that jumper.

So my most expensive yarn was unravelled and put deep in my stash box until I feel confident I have found the perfect pattern.

To be brutally honest, I was never really that excited about the pattern in the first place. All I wanted was to knit with that luscious yarn and after searching for a pattern for two weeks without success I chose what looked easiest. Should have just waited.

Then the amazing {Candy Skein came into my life} and I so wanted to work with it straight away as I have been drooling over it for months.

One evening I just started on the magic loop the same way I would for socks and quickly decided that I wanted to knit some {fingerless gloves}:

The first glove was already too wide and I was not so hot on the striping of the yarn, I did what I do best: frogging :)

Sourcing online patterns for hours on end I found {this} scarf which I hoped would bring out the rainbow colouring much more,which it did:

But as always, the story didn't end there, when I came to the halfway mark I realised that the scarf would not be as long as I expected it to be (even after blocking) and it was much narrower than I would have liked.

I decided to frog this scarf also and banish the yarn to live together in darkness with my Rowan Cashsoft for the time being....

It is getting a little frustrating now as I will not spend any more money on yarn until I have used up all my stash. Maybe I try my luck with the Rowan Milk Cotton next

Sunny Days on the Isle of Wight

I only just realised that I forgot to share the picture of our days out when we had the marvellous sunshine last week.

First off, we decided to go the Hythe, which is two ferry rides away but always looks so quaint and sweet from the shoreline. When I had to call into the office one day to discuss my return to work, Mr P and I decided that was the prefect excuse to stop by and see what Hythe has to offer.

For starters, I was famished as we arrived around 13:30hrs and I had not eaten that day - so we went and got us some wonderful fish'n'chips.

There is something very comforting about this traditional dish, and there were happy faces all around.

Afterwards we started walking around the town centre but there was not really much to it, so we made our way to the opposite suite and checked out the Marina.

picture by Mr P

To have a sailing boat or yacht in this kind of weather would just be bliss...

But to be honest, that was all that was to Hythe and while we found it pretty and very clean after an hour there was not much more to do or see, so we made our way back on the quaint little train, which rides between pier end and town centre.

picture by Mr P

Only two days later we had more excitement as her Majesty, the Queen came to set foot on the Isle of Wight. This was to conclude her Diamond Jubilee Tour and seeing that it was just a ten minute walk away from our house, it would have been rude not to go.

Cowes seafront was packed and everyone got really excited when the 21 gun salute started. We did not see the guns but the firing smoke drifted over to us.

picture by Mr P

I could kick myself though, because while I remembered to take my super zoom lens, I only freaking forgot to put the battery in my camera....gnaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhh.

So the only shots we have of the Queen are the ones taken with out point and shoot. The Queen and Prince Phillip are the wee spots in the circle.

picture by Mr P

It was a great occasion and the wave of cheer and love that emerged from the crowd made me all teary. Definitely the best day this summer!

FP - The Tadpole Socks

The tadpole socks are done...YAY!

In fact, they have been almost worn to bits by now as they were finished Mid-July already, I just didn't get a chance to upload the pictures earlier.

There is something about red socks that I love...

It's a good thing that I still have a lot of red and orange yarn left - I see many more bright socks in my future :)

You can find all the details about the socks {here}

For more finished projects hop over to {Tami's blog}

The movies we watched in July

Here is July's run down of the movies we enjoyed

Spiderman 2 

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Yes, we have already watched this movie in March BUT in our defense, this time we watched the movie with additional scenes...and BOY oh BOY are they fantastic. I really do not understand why they were deleted or re/shot as they totally work and some of them were actually kind of important to explain something that happens later on the movie. The only scene that worked better in the final cut is the one in the lift. The deleted scene is funny but not as good.

See for yourself, here is the final scene first:

And here is the deleted one:

Too much talk for my liking, the final lift scene is much more awkward moment for both and that's what makes it work, I think.

Jaws 2 

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Jaws is Mr P's favourite movie of all times and it was shown again in the cinema the week I had my operation. Needless to say that Mr P went to watch it, so it was only logical that we would end up one evening throwing Jaws 2 into our DVD player. It is not half bad for a sequel, even though nothing will ever match the way in which Spielberg made Jaws work and how Scheider, Dreyfuss and Shaw played perfectly together. But again, this sequel works and is quite enjoyable to watch.

The Sound of Music 

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As we are taking Mr P's mum on a holiday to the Bavarian Alps including a visit to Salzburg, and seeing that she never saw this Classic from start to finish, we felt it only fitting to sit and watch the movie. It never gets boring and it doesn't even seem its running time is almost 3 hours.Perfect combination of music and pulling at heart strings without being too soppy.

Murder, She Said 

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My favourite Miss Marple  movie - ever! I just love how Margaret Rutherford portrays Agatha Christie's  sleuth. The cast is brilliant and I only wish that Margaret would have done more than just four Miss Marple movies...

Smokey and The Bandit

Another movie that we already watched {this year} but after I listened to the title song the other day, I fancied watching it again and Mr P thankfully agreed :)
And of course, when you watch this one, the sequel is inevitable, so we watched this one again as well:

Smokey and The Bandit II

And because you cannot watch those two without following it with another Burt Reynolds classic, we could not finish this month without a movie we already watched in March:

Cannonball Run

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Well, I wonder how many repeat movies we are going to see in August - any guesses? 

Candy Skein - Yarn Love

I have been drooling over the gorgeousness that is {Candy Skein} for months now but I could not warrant paying $20 plus postage for one skein of yarn. It is worth every penny but just not in my budget.

However, I was lucky enough to earn some money recently through some sales in my {Etsy} and I did not hesitate to get my hands on this skein of happiness:

I absolutely adore how happy this colour combination makes me feel and I could spend all day just looking at it and stroking it.

My initial thought was to knit some socks, but this yarn is much too gorgeous to be hidden away and contaminated with my cheesy feet. So I am thinking either a shawl or save up some more $$$, get another skein and create a little cardigan or vest....what do you think?

If you have a pattern you think would work great for this yarn, please link me up in the comments section - if create a project from the link you suggested I will send you something pretty as way of saying 'thank you'

FP - The Dude's Socks

Hu??

Where the heck did these spring from? They were never even mentioned as a WIP....

One of my goals for this year was to knit a pair of socks and I never thought I would manage it quite so quickly.

See, {I did crochet quite a few pairs} previously and while I like to wear them in the colder months around the house, they are not really that comfortable inside shoes. And to be honest, knitted socks look so much nicer.

There are many blogs I follow which showcase wonderful knitted socks and I have tried a few times to cast on a pair only to fail at the gusset. Whenever I picked up the stitches I was left with visible holes and no matter what I tried, it just did not work out.

So I checked online tutorials, looked for various different methods on how to best to the heel turning and just like it did with the granny square (after months of failing to grasp it) all of a sudden it clicked and was no longer an issue.

And I even mastered the Kitchener's Stitch so much better than for my {Hoodie}

The only problem I have with the socks is that they are a touch too loose for me. They look fine in the picture but as soon as I walk a few steps they start to ride around and will give me blisters.

The good news is that they are a perfect fit for Mr P - so he is a happy bunny with his first pair of knitted socks.

You can find all the details about the Dude's socks {here}

For more finished projects hop over to {Tami's blog}

WP - Off The Shoulder Jumper

It's a good thing that the Summer in the UK this year is nothing but ridiculous....wind and rain has been our daily dose for months now.
So, why do I like this? Because it makes me want to continue to knit - that's why!

Generally, when it's hot outside, I cannot bear to have anything resting on my knees that adds to the warmth. Therefore, in the summertime I generally don't knit or crochet that much.
Not so this time however - I am knitting up a storm!!!

No sooner was I finished with my last project, the {Tadpole socks} that I dug into my box'o'stash and cast on the {Off the Shoulder Jumper} from Vogue Knitting. I really love their patterns which are so easy to follow and as of yet have not let me down.

It's also great that I found a pattern for which I was happy to use my most expensive yarn to date -  {Rowan Cashsoft}. I bought it in March with vouchers and cash I got from friends and family but I was very reluctant to use it until now. Mainly because I know my history of frogging and I just wanted to be sure I am not unravelling this yarn over and over again.

The ribbing for the jumper looks TINY but it stretches like crazy, so it should fit me. Just in case I cast on for size "L" rather than "M". Should it be a little too loose, I can always tie a belt around it :)

For more WIP's check out {Tami's Blog}

Posh Shopping

After five weeks of recuperating after my op, I thought it was time that we tackled the ferry journey over to the mainland to prepare for the end of the month when I get back to work.

So, Mr P and I decided on a quick shopping trip - which had me squealing in excitement when I got into this amazing changing room at Tesco home:

It looked just like a posh front room, with another plush chair, chandelier and other furnishings to the right hand side. I didn't want to come out of there and the carpet was just soooooooooo fluffy and nice. All I would have needed was a bell to ring for the butler to bring me some bubbly :)))).

We got a few bits and bobs, mainly herbal stuff for me from Hollands & Barrett to help my recovery and hopefully keep the hot flushes under control. After two hours I was done - knackered to no end so we decided spontaneously to grab a lunch meal from one of the pubs on the way to the ferry.

What a great deal we got - plain steak and chips together with a pint of beer for only £7.69 per person. The nosh was delightful, even though we could have done with a few more chips...but hey!

I was a happy bunny because for the first tie in about 10 years I got my greedy little hands around a pint of {Tuborg Beer} - it used to be my favourite back in Germany!

Can you say thirsty?

And Mr P didn't hold back either with his fave pub drink - a pint of Guinness.

When we made our way back, I was actually so knackered that I had to have a little lie-down on the ferry and once we got indoors I had a little sleep. But I am feeling great today - no pains, so I am on the right track.

FP - The Tappan Zee Cardigan

And another one done and dusted...woot, woot!

My {Tappan Zee} is finished and it is another well fitting garment - I am so excited that I could almost wee myself...but let's leave that for the time being :)

**click on images to enlarge the view**

Well, ok - strictly speaking I haven't found the perfect buttons for the top yet. But I still class this baby as completed.

For more finished projects hop over to {Tami's blog}