Third Time's the Charm

My first attempt at entering the Royal Easter Show knitting competition = FAIL. Trying to convert an Alice Starmore jumper into fingering weight and getting easily distracted proved not to be a winning combination.
My second attempt at entering = FAIL. Fair isle mayhem (Ivy League Vest) including techniques I'd never tried before (steeking) meant I got scared and wimped out.

HOWEVER, my third attempt I think may be my breakthrough. Bear in mind I am not expecting to actually win anything, or even make it to the cabinet display. My goal is simply to finish the thing and deliver it to the RAS people on time, thereby not forfeiting my entry fee and feeling like a loser.
Why do I think this one will be different? (hello overlap with personal life). I present the following evidence:

- I am in love with the pattern and have owned it for a couple of years now
- The yarn is currently on its way to me from a Ravelry destash
- It's LACE
- It's BLACK
- It's.......THE RAVEN



Yep, it's Irtfa'a. I am confident enough in (a) my lace knitting skillz and (b) my tendency to get really obsessive when knitting lace and (c) my obsession with ravens and (d) my obsession with black lace shawls that I think this just might work.

I will be using Filatura Di Crosa Centolovaggi in Black and some 3.25mm Addi Lace needles.

So watch out, Arts Pavilion - the raven approaches!!!

inaugural michael haneke film festival

Does it count as a film festival when it's conducted in my living room and really just involves me re-watching all of his films in preparation for the release of his new one, The White Ribbon (English language trailer here)?

The other night I watched the English-language remake of Funny Games. Newsflash: not a comedy! In fact, it's probably one of the most brutal and confronting films of the modern era. Haneke constantly challenges the viewer to switch it off, and then forces us to question why we didn't. I think this film may be even more important now than when it was originally released in 1997, and I wonder if Haneke didn't remake it for an American audience at the time that he did in response to the rise of "torture porn" horror genre films and the "pornography of violence" played out night after night on CNN since about 9am on 11 September 2001.

Next up is a re-watch of Cache (or Hidden), which I remember enjoying yet being utterly baffled by. Perhaps a re-watch will reveal the alleged "lightbulb moment" contained in the film's final scene, although it's most likely a red herring.

It must be my month of divisive and confronting film-makers, as I'm off to Popcorn Taxi in a couple of weeks for a preview screening of Lars Von Trier's highly controversial Antichrist. Although it apparently contains a talking fox, I somehow doubt there will be many light-hearted moments in this one either.

damson

Yes I disappeared again, and have returned again. I'm going to stop the constant apologies for almost abandoning the blog. But I will say that due to the re-capture of some much needed free time (due to the COMPLETION OF MY LAW DEGREE), as well as the acquisition of exciting new computer technology (MacBook Pro!) I am planning to post more frequently than I have been lately.
I finished this a little while ago:



As referred to in my previous post, it's Damson by Ysolda. Ravelry details here. Sadly I did not manage to obtain the Posh Yarn, but instead used up some lovely Knittery 3ply merino from the stash, in colourway Bloody Mary.
I've also got an Aestlight finished awaiting blocking, and am midway through the Audrey in Unst Cardigan. The knitting mojo is certainly on the rise.

oh my goth

I can't seem to shake the goth shawlette obsession that has overtaken me recently. Case in point:

WANT:



Posh Yarn Diana in "Cad"

TO MAKE:



Damson by Ysolda

Only problem is in order to get the Posh Yarn I have to be up at 4am on Monday morning. This bodes ill for me, considering I normally struggle to be up at 8am to go to work.

I'M STILL ALIVE (but I have The Clap)

So it's blindingly obvious I am a terrible blogger. Perhaps now I am 99% confident that no-one bothers to check this site anymore, I feel I am able to condense 6 months worth of knitting news into one post and then start afresh.

Too often in the past I'd knit something really nice in a colour I'd NEVER buy as a completed garment. I feel I'm finally getting better at choosing the right tones to suit my personal style.

Exhibit A: The Clap


Clapotis using Sundara Aran Silky Merino in Black Cherry (ravelry link)

Exhibit B: The Emo Ishbel


Ishbel using Sundara Sock Yarn in Night Blossom (ravelry link)

Sundara Yarn certainly seemed to be the flavour of the past 6 months for me. For the upcoming spring/summer 2010 season I have two knits planned using the beautiful Habu Textiles range:

- With the New Cowl Neckline using Kuzaki Zome silk in a champagne colour
- Whisper Cardigan using black Tsumugi silk

empire of the ants?

I don't know if it's just me (highly probable), but every time I go to the Courthouse Hotel in Newtown (which is most Sundays for knitting), I come back with mysterious insect type bites on my feet and ankle area.



They're not mosquito bites, and I don't think they're flea bites, so my conclusion as a scientician is that they might be ant bites. If only they resembled the ants in the film Empire of the Ants, which had awesome tin foil eyes and attacked Joan Collins.

2009?

So will 2009 be the year I actually get my act together and take the blog a little bit more seriously? By which I mean continue to post facetious and outlandish material, but on a more regular basis? We shall see. I'm certainly going to try.

Anyway, here is my last Finished Object of 2008. Considering I'm apparently getting more and more neurotic as I reach the age of 30, it's quite fitting that lace knitting completely absorbs and obsesses me almost to the brink of madness. Even at 3am after a bottle of wine, I am telling myself not to stop until I have 328 stitches on my awesome Addi Lace needles. Some might say I need to get out more, but I go out all the time!



I finally made a Swallowtail Shawl (ravelry link). I used Handmaiden Yarns Mini Maiden, which is a glorious wool/silk fingering weight blend in Indian Summer colourway with 3.5mm Addi Lace needles.



delightful!