Wednesday 13 February 2013

Inspiration Shall Strike

Forgive me for being such an absentee blogger, my karma for this? Well I'm feeling a little rusty on the writing front. So before I jump back into frequent blogging, I thought I'd do a post on something other than knitting. "Something other than knitting?" I hear you cry, yes, dear reader, I'm afraid so!

Knitting is all well and good, but what is the point of creating if you aren't inspired? Given that inspiration can strike at any moment, where do I begin? I figure with my reading material as of late and then proceed to films I've seen lately, though in some cases these may intermingle.



Given the film's release this winter, I chose to reread The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien. The thrill of going back to the Middle Earth of my imagination was wonderful! I can see Bilbo's perfectly round green door, his homely hobbit hole, the landscapes and the caves, for me it was like going home. Then I went on an adventure of my own; to the cinema to see The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, though my journey there wasn't unexpected, I've been anticipating it for years now. That first glimpse of Hobbiton, along with the score, actually brought tears to my eyes!
After seeing this again I chose to cast on my Hitchhiker in the green and yellow of Bilbo's front door.


Another book I've recently finished reading is Jam by Yahtzee Croshaw, an internet reviewer of video games and rather hilarious. It's about a Jampocalypse, really, strawberry-scented-man-eating-jam. I urge you to read it. It's rather refreshing, in a sticky-jammy way, given the recent rise of zombies in the media to have an apocalypse so sweet!


The weekend just passed I took Craig to see Wreck it Ralph at the cinema as an early Valentine's gift [it's only just opened in cinemas here in the UK]. My love of video games comes from character, story, history and art, and I am nowhere near the gamer my other half is, but that isn't to say I didn't grow up with Lara Croft, Pokemon and Sonic the Hedgehog. So this film was a real treat for the both of us, getting the in jokes, noticing characters in the background, being amazed at everything/everywhere in general, of course it had it's Disneyisms but that was easy to put aside. It really reminded me of what I was knitting when I started; pokemon characters and using 8-bit sprites as colour work charts. I miss doing that. One of my New Years goals is to knit what I feel, and I feel nostalgic.


It's no surprise that I'm inspired by Deadpool, I get so excited waiting for each new issue, I even knit a doll of him recently. I adore the merc. with a mouth, he's my favourite in the Marvel roster.


 Yesterday I watched Midnight in Paris. My stars! This film is magical! Given that I adore the 1920's anyway, it made me want to visit Paris more now than ever. I loved seeing all the notable figures of that era, and the clothes and the music. That's the magic of film, you can bring anything to life. I am on a Tom Hiddleston kick as of late, but he's such a fantastic actor! He's so eloquent and has a voice meant to listen to. He acts with such a passion that I find myself so inspired by his performance. Doesn't hurt that he plays Loki, either.


So, this is my inspiration lately.

Until next time. xo

Thursday 7 February 2013

Festive knitting, sadness and kindness

Note: I wrote this a while ago but never posted it for some unknown reason, though I thought I'd post it non the less to get it out into the world.

I have to begin this post, like so many others have, with a tribute to KnitPurlGurl. Karrie was a lovely lady and a pretty prominent figure in the online knitting community. Although I didn't know her as well as others did, I did enjoy our tweet exchanges. She had such a sunny personality that made watching her podcasts so enjoyable, so kind too, starting the RAP movement (Random Acts of Pattern) which has been continuing in her memory and it is wonderful to behold.

I received my first RAP last week from LittleRiaHen which was the Hitch-hiker, which got cast on as soon as I got it. It's brilliant, thank you again!
I've knit up my first skein but at the moment I'm too lazy focused on finishing other WIPs before the new year to wind up the 2nd skein. It's a really enjoyable knit too.

Hitch-hiker wip

This may actually be a picture heavy post, woohoo! Okay, titular subject, Festive knitting. The two sweaters I was knitting as gifts have been completed! I am very happy with how they look, I love them!

Craig's sweater is knit out of Hayfield Bonus Aran and is a size Large. Accomplishment achieved, he said he wouldn't wear cables until he was 30 (ha!) but now he buys them of his own accord. He looks very handsome in cables, I can't wait for him to wear this sweater.






Brandon's sweater is knit out of Stylecraft Life DK and is a size Small. I hope he likes this when he gets it, I mean teenagers are choosy, right? I know I was. He chose the orange shade when he saw it in my stash, but it had to be softened with the brown else he'd look like an Oompa Loompa [doobidy doo].


I've knit myself some more socks! These are also my first after thought heel socks, fit great so I'm proud. They're knit out of Regia World Color in Italy, though I bought it because it looks Christmassy. I don't think I'll ever be bothered by mismatched socks, I'd rather let the yarn do it's thing. 'Happy accidents' I used to call things like this at art college.





There are a few other things I've finished, but these are my favourites. So I'll leave you with Gort, the biggest monster I've knit so far. He's knit out of Robin Paintbox DK on 4mm double pointed needles.