 A few of the many projects floating around in my head. Starting from the top left, we have Raspy from Rowan's Denim People, the Norwegian Stockings from Folk Socks, Gentleman's Fancy Socks from Knitting Vintage socks (ready to go on these - lovely shade of Schaefer Anne!) , Steph Japel's Forecast from Knitty, Kaffe Fassett's Brocade from Rowan 38 (super-excited about this one, I'm going to save up for the Yorkshire Tweed DK), Northern Lights mittens from Knitpicks, Eunny's Deep-V Argyle Vest, Retro Rib socks from Interweave, and the Union Square Market Pullover from Interweave.
I started on the Northern Lights mittens today. Still on the cuff (I love corrugated ribbing) so I'll get some pictures up once I'm into the colorwork. I'm still working on Brian's gloves, pretty much flying blind, but he doesn't care if they're not perfect.
On to the raves: I cannot say enough good things about Beaverslide Dry Goods. I placed an order yesterday for some of their worsted weight wool/mohair in Indian Paintbrush, which looked, to me, like a bright red. Once I saw the color elsewhere on their site, I realized it was more of a bright... pink! I emailed them right away to switch up my order, deciding instead to go with Prairie Coneflower yellow. Leanne was so lovely and understanding! They only had two skeins of Prairie Coneflower left, so she offered an alternative (Barley Heather) at the same price, even though the replacement color cost $1.50 more per skein. I opted to wait until Monday for the new batch of Coneflower, but I was touched by her offer. What a wonderful experience. I'm really itching to work with their yarn! And I expect to return to them many times in the future - their colors are, I think, quite uniquely perfect.
Rave the second: Last night I watched Three... Extremes, a collection of three short "horror" films directed by some of Asia's most prolific and innovative filmmakers. I'm already a (huge) fan of two of the directors, Japan's Takashi Miike and Korea's Chan-Wook Park, so it was pretty much a given that I'd love this film. And I did! I loved each segment for different reasons.
 Fruit Chan's "Dumplings" was a very straightforward, no-fuss story, but it's realism worked very well and made it even more creepy.
 Chan-wook's "Cut" fits in with the director's body of work, focusing on vengeance. While Miike's film is the most visually-driven of the bunch, there are images from "Cut" that I won't soon forget - this woman at the piano, for example, and the whole look and feel of the room.
 If you've seen any of Takashi Miike's most popular films, you know his style - very over-the-top, limit-pushing, graphic stuff. There are subtleties in his films, of course (and I love him for that) but many people don't see it. Anyway. "Box" convinced me that Miike is capable of anything. To me, "Box" is unlike anything I've seen from him before, yet it fits in perfectly with the rest of his work. What struck me the most was how quiet the film was. Dialogue was minimal, visuals were absolutely stunning. My friend Dana called it "atmospheric and creepy," which is more than fitting. I would post hundreds of stills if I could; instead I just recommend that you track this film down and watch it. |
