bleh busy

I have been so busy these past couple of months. Stuff has been exploding everywhere.

I promise to try to post more often. But for now I give a couple of book and movie reviews

Book: Guenevere Trilogy by Rosalind Miles.

Good series. I have had the first book for a couple of years but I never managed to read it. The series is told from the perspective of Guenevere mostly with Arthur, Merlin and others taking their turn at it too. The book starts before Guenevere and Arthur meet just before he pulls the sword from the stone and goes until the last battle where Arthur falls. At times these books (there are three) are a bit hard to read just because they are a bit overly wordy but they are still good and quite entertaining. I do recommend leaving some time in between books other wise you might end up not liking the books.

Movie: One Missed Call (American Version)

Yet another rip off of a good movie. I think the original was Korean though I am not too sure on that right now since it has been awhile since I saw the original. This one did have a couple of scary moments though. Be aware Spoilers follow. If you do not want to read them skip ahead to the fourth paragraph.

The basic plot is that people start getting calls where they hear the last minute or so of life but the call comes from some time in the future which is when they are going to die. The deaths were so fake. At least in the original most of the deaths were plausible though unlikely. At any rate, the main characters friends start dying so she investigates and eventually she gets the call. She thinks she has it all figured out. There was a woman who disappeared after a hospital fire and the deaths mostly relate back to that hospital. So she thinks that the woman was never found and is angry about it. But she is wrong. She runs into the hospital (no flashlight as usual) and finds the woman who had crawled into a duct to hide holding a phone. Yay! It's all over.

Or is it... It's not. After going to the see surviving daughter of the dead woman the cop (who was involved before, his sister died and he is helping the girl in question) realizes that the bear the girl has is a nanny cam. After watching the disc inside he realizes that the girl's sister, who died of an asthma attack while calling for help, was the one hurting the girl and that the mother was not abusing the girls like everyone thought. It was really the other girl who was killing people. He goes to help the main character was is in danger from the dead girl. He messes up and dies. The girl tries to kill the main character but the freed dead mother stops her and sends her back into the phone to continue the cycle.

All in all an ok movie. Not very good, not bad. Just ok. It did have a couple of scary moments and I suppose if you have not watched a lot of asian horror movies you might be scared and maybe like it. It is along the same lines as the Ring. Scaryish if you have not seen the original or if you only really watch american movies. However it is worth a bit of a laugh if you do like asian horror movies since it is similar to the original. Whatever you do don't take it too seriously if you decide to watch it.

Can it be sleepy time now?

So i thought it was busy before but the last month and a half has been so ridiculous. First it was midterms and essay time. That went over alrightish and I suppose I did alright. Then there was the snow. For anyone that did not know Ottawa got dumped on in the snow department. It snowed for like 2 days straight and we got 30 cm of snow or something. We came seriously close to breaking a record. And to top it off I have been traveling in the city in every major snowstorm this year. Then just last week I had about an hour of notice to move. My boyfriend and I moved in with his brother. His parents who were living there moved into their new place which allowed us to move in. The new place is great and living with Alex's brother is not at all weird.

Sorry about the sort of bad quality here but these were anniversary and valentines gifts for my boyfriend. I bought both on etsy. The notebook is so cute and perfect for carrying around and writing stuff in and the shot glass is amazing and the cutest thing ever, not to mention booze tastes better coming out of robots.





Now on to the things I have been making.

So I have made a couple of little cotton wrist warmers and arm warmers from old t shirts





This are a couple of examples. There are others and they are all for sale on etsy. They are super cute and comfortable. These were hand sewn but soon I am getting a sewing machine which will make things much easier.

These are socks I knit for my cousin. They were supposed to be for christmas so they are late but at least they are done. I knit them in Merino Big Print. It is soft and machine washable. They turned out so well. I used Knitting in Colour's Caledonia Socks



I also knit a pair of mittens for me. I got a fleece artist easy mitten and sock kit for my birthday from my mother. I choose to knit the mittens. They are knit with a strand of mohair and a strand of blue faced lancaster wool. They are so soft and warm. I love these mittens so much. Alex wants a pair as well so I am going to knit him a pair in black and silver/grey.



I made a pair of mittens for my friend Rac when I found out he had no mittens. They are super simple and I knit them using Lamb's Pride Bulky in charcoal. I also knit Tudora from knitty for my mother's birthday. I also got two of the harmony guides to knitting. I have cables and aran and the knits and purls books. They are totally worth the money.

That is about all of the things I have made. When I finish more I will put up more things.

I have read lots of books lately but they were all books I have already read so I am not going to bother reviewing them right now.

I guess that is about it right now. But I will post a pattern or two in the next couple of days I swear. TTFN

New Stuff

It has been mighty busy the last couple of weeks. Classes have started and are class-like. I am taking Children's lit (still) and the books for that class are longer then last semester so they take longer to read. I am also still taking Historical Theory and Method. And that class is still tedious and troublesome. I am now taking Death and the Afterlife which I find very interesting. The last class I am taking is the End of Caribbean Slavery and that class is very interesting since I haven't really studied much of the history of this area of the world. These classes are making me busy since I have a couple of essays and exams in the near future but I am still managing to get stuff done.

Anyway, on to the knitting. Since the last post I have finished a couple of things. My boyfriend's mother loved her scarf as did my sister. I have finished my boyfriend's brother's cigar gloves.



This is a pic of my boyfriend wearing them. He now wants a pair as well. So I will be knitting a pair in artyarns supermerino in colours of black, brown, grey and I think white. The brother loves the gloves and thinks they will be good for photography and stuff.



This is the hat that I knit myself from the Knitting Little Luxuries book my sister got me. I knit the hat in Mission Falls Wool. I love this hat it is cute and cozy and keeps me very warm when wandering the city.



I have also started the exchequered scarf from knitty for my boyfriend's other brother. I am knitting it in knitpicks merino style yarn. I really love this scarf it is soft and the pattern is really cool. I now know how to double knit and I think I will try to knit two socks at once now.

I am also working on another pair of the thuja socks from knitty for my dad since he will likely wear out the first pair I made him in a month or two.

I have also gotten an etsy shop where I sell handknits and handspun and hand dyed yarn. You can visit here.



This is a pic of some of my yarn that I am selling in my store. It is all handspun, hand dyed and plied by me using plant dyes. Some of this stuff is lace weight in lovely solid colours and the rest is about a Dk weight in different colour combinations. This stuff is fantastic for felting because of the two colours in each skein of yarn, so when you felt it you get a beautiful marbled effect on the fabric.

I am also selling all kinds of handknits. Right now I have some baby sweaters up for sale.

I think that is it on the knitting front although I am probably forgetting something since I always am.

On to the books.

Eragon by Christopher Paolini. I had read this book when it first came out a couple of years ago but I decided to reread it so I am read the rest of the series. This book is about a boy who finds a dragon and becomes a dragon rider but this ensures that he will be hunted by his king who wants to control all the remaining dragons. This causes him to have to run away and seek rebels to protect himself and his dragon. I enjoyed this book and I know everyone else who has read it (including my mum) has loved it. The second and probably third are out at this point. I recommend this book for people who are looking for a good book and I think many of the young adult crowd would like this book as well.

The Dawn Stag by Jules Watson. This is the second book to the White Mare. I liked this book as much as the first although it did not end as I expected. In this book Rhiann and Eremon both work to stop the Romans from taking over Alba (Scotland) I really can't say much more about the book or I will spoil it. But this is a very, very good book and a good and possibly accurate look at the picts and their side of the conflict with the Romans. Read it.

The Dark Mirror by Juliet Marillier. This woman is one of my favorite authors. I have loved every book she has written so far. This book is about a boy who is being trained to become the next king. This book is also about the Picts. The boy is being trained by druids and takes in a child of the fair folk. This book is about his life and road to becoming the next king. This is a very good book and a very enjoyable read.

The Blade of Fortru by Juliet Marillier. This is the second book to the Dark Mirror. In this book Bridei is now king and is preparing to fight the Gaelic invaders from his land. To this end he sends a girl who lives at court to marry a chief to help secure his borders. She finds out that the chief is working with the enemy and escapes to help Bridei. This is also a very good book which I also recommend to anyone who enjoys a good book or a historical fiction.

Garden of the Purple Dragon by Carole Wilkinson. This is the sequel to the Dragon Keeper. This book is about the girl Ping and the baby dragon Kai. The Emperor finds Ping and the dragon and Ping goes back to live with the Emperor. But she does not realize that there is still danger there for her and the dragon. This is also a good book which I think young adults would like but I think fewer adults would like this book but give it a try anyway.

That is all for book. This past weekend was my birthday and much fun was had. A bunch of my friends had a party and we hung out and chatted and listened to much and had much fun. There was much fun. Also loot was gotten.



My aunt got me Runway Knits. There are many cute patterns in this book. The only problem is that the designer is from Karabella yarns so all the patterns use Karabella but that's fine. The patterns are still cute and there is a substitution guide in the back of the book.



And this is my new beloved PSP. My boyfriend got my friends together to get me one and I loves it so much.
I have several games as well. I have Daxter which is a good game but challenging at times. This game is the next in the Jak and Daxter series. In this game Jak is in jail and Daxter has to pose a bug exterminator in order to save him. This is an enjoyable game though hard at times. One if the best parts is there are dream sequences which are based on movies like Braveheart or the Matrix.

I have Harvest Moon: Boy and Girl. This is a remake of the For Boy for the Playstation 1 but with a girl version of the game. This is also a good game but like the other harvest moon games.

There is Gurumin which is a lot like the dark cloud series of games. You play as a girl who has to help the monster village which is under the town she lives in. There is tones of stuff to do in this game and lots of secrets. You have to go through dungeons to find all the lost stuff for the monsters and stop the Phantom Prince. I think this game is a remake of a Japanese computer game. I recommend this game for anyone cause it is fun but it is a good game for younger kids (its rated for kids over 10) .

I have another game that I have not played yet but when I have some info on that one I will put it up.

I guess that is all for now. I must get back to my knitting

TTFN

New year it is.

So, it is finally 2008 and again I made it through the Christmas season, somehow. It was busy with trying to finish all of my knitting and exams. I made it through my children's lit exam and did somewhat well I think. After that it was christmas knitting and I did not finish but since then I have finished a few more things and people understood that not all was ready.

I finished my boyfriend's mother's scarf which is like the scarves that I made my mother and aunts but wider and knit in a hand-dyed alpaca from Uruguay which I bought on ebay. I like this yarn cause in some light it looks bright purple and golden yellow but in other light it looks dark purple and kind of green-yellow. Everyone agrees that it will be loved by the recipient.



I finished this one off a few days ago and my sister loves it. It is from Knitty a couple of years ago I think. Its called the Marly's Ghost Chain. It is super simple to knit and comes out looking like an iron chain. I knit it in knitpicks Wool of the Andes onyx heather which makes it look rather like old iron. It is supposed to be felted but I don't have access to a washing machine in which I can felt or full if you are fanatic about that kind of thing. It goes perfectly with my sister cause she kinda dresses like a punk/goth/anime character.



Next is a pair of kind of gloves for my boyfriend's brother. He does a lot of photography and stuff where he needs access to his fingers so I decided to knit a pair of cigar gloves from Knitty summer 2005. They are really neat cause they have the thumb and first two fingers as fingerless and the last two fingers covered. I knit these in knitpicks swish superwash since machine washable is a big plus for any hand knit gift for a guy. The colour might look a bit off but that is cause I wanted to order the colour merlot heather which is a heathered red wine colour but they were sold out, on the website this colour looked more blue/silver but he likes the colour anyway. I have one glove finished and one with one finger done and another nearly done which means I will probably finish it tonight.



I am also knitting a giant pirate toy for some friends and it is terrifying when it is done I will post pictures so everyone can see how creepy it is. I am also knitting a bunny toy from the webcomic Bunny which I am excited about since I have wanted a bunny toy since I first saw the comic. A friend knows the artist who does bunny so I have permission to knit a bunny toy. Once I have a basic pattern I will modify it for different sizes and different bunny characters. That is about it for knitting news. I have other projects barely started which when they are more done it will post about.

I got much happy loot from christmas.



These are cookie cutters my 9 year old brother got me. I like the idea of sad looking partially decapitated cookies. I am so making gingerbread men soon. I was also thinking that I now need a Cthulhu cookie cutter to make the best set of ginger bread men ever.



My two aunts got together and got me a full se of knitting needles and crochet hooks since I am learning to crochet. This is good since I appear to have lost some needles in the last move and my boyfriend also knits so he happens to be using some of my needles.



These books also came with my sets of needles. I like the crochet stitches one. It is super hardcore. I have a lot to learn apparently. I am thinking that I might learn the motifs and stuff by making a bunch of granny squares and circles and then crocheting them together to make blankets or something. There are also a few circle motifs which I might try to make in wire to sell as pendents or earrings. But I am not sure how that will work.



My boyfriend's nunna got my this thrummed mitten knit and I am soooo excited for it. The colours are so loud and me it is crazy. The yarn is also so soft. As soon as I have time those mittens will get started.



My mum got me this louet yarn. Two skeins in each colour. I am thinking maybe a striped tunic or something in these colours would be nice but I am not sure yet.



My younger sister gave me this book with I recommend. Knitting Little Luxuries has a lot of cute, girly, pretty patterns. I have plans to knit the Emma Hat which looks kind of like a jester hat with tassels in lavender and teal

These colours. I think it will be super cute and warm.

Christmas was busy like it is for most people. I had to divide my time between my family and my boyfriend's family which made for things being very busy. Now my new classes have begun. Once I know what they are going to be like I will probably be venting slightly about how busy I have gotten. In the meantime I have finished many books over my christmas break.

Ophelia by Lisa Klein. This book was about the character of Ophelia from Hamlet. I thought I was a good book which kept close to the plot of the play while telling her story. I think some adults would like it while many girls would like it as well for its good story and romance which was not overly dramatic and sweet.

Viking Warrior: The Strogbow Saga book 1 by Judson Roberts. I did not particularly find this to be a good book. I know a lot about the Vikings as I should being a history major. I found that there were lots of misconceptions about Vikings used and I writing I found could have been better. I think though that some teenage/young adult boys would like it since that is probably the audience that this book is aimed for. Be aware that this book is about the Vikings. This means that is necessarily violent. So don't say I did not warn you.

Esther by Sharon E. Mckay. This book is about the first Jewish girl to make it to the New France when it was illegal to be a Jewish in New France. It is another decent book which teenage girls would probably like. I was kind of ambivalent to it since I read many books like this when I was young but it was still a decent book.

Piratica by Tanith Lee. I was not sure what I thought of this book for most of the book. It is about a girl who eventually remembers that she was raised a pirate and escapes the finishing school she was put in by her father. She finds her mothers crew only to discover that they were really actors and not pirates. But she gets them to go pirate with her and go off on adventures. I found it hard to read until I got used to the book. It seemed like it was supposed to be an old book so the language used reflected that but I found it stilted and kind of painful to read until I got used to it. It ended up being an alright book which I think would go over well with the young adult/teenage crowd.

Piratica 2: Return to Parrot Island by Tanith Lee is the continuation to the first book. I found it was better then the first but still really only a book that the young adults and teenagers would like. In this book Piratica gets drafted to be a privateer for the Brits in their war against the french. Again it was alright but nothing fantastic.

Stravaganza: City of Stars by Mary Hoffman. It is the second in the series with a girl who loves horses and who is tormented by her brother gets to go to the alternate universe and helps the characters from the previous book keep everything the way it should be. I like this series. It is a neat idea and well written for a kid/young adult book.

Stravaganza: City of Flowers by Mary Hoffman. It is the last in the series with a boy who has to care for his sick mother getting to go now. I would say the same things again but I don't really want to. Good book, decent series. Just make sure not to read them too close together or they get kind of annoying.

The Burning Crown by J Fitzgerald McCurdy. I like the idea of this series but I don't really like this book as much as I liked the first one. The kids from the first book have to go back and help find the crown which has been stolen by the forces of evil in order to save the universe as they know it. In this book the kids have gotten kind of annoying but maybe kids/young adults would like it better. You never know.

The White Mare by Jules Waton. This is a book about the Picts whom no one really knows anything about how they lived or their religion ect. This book centers around a Pict princess who has to marry a Gael (Irishman) in order to save her land from the Romans. I would say more but there is a lot going on in this book and I would not want to ruin it for anyone. It is a very good book and plausible as to what the picts were really like. Read it if you like a good book, historical fiction or adventure book.

Well that is it for now. I need to go make supper then do more knitting. In a few days I will be back with news of classes at Carleton, knitting and books. Maybe patterns if I have time. TTFN