Anne Of Green Gables

I finished watching the Anne of Green Gables films with Megan Follows in the title role. What a great series! I already want to watch them again.

For those of you who have not read the books, the series follows Anne Shirley, who is an imaginative orphan. She is adopted my Marilla and Mathew Cuthbert. They live at Green Gables, which is in Avonlea on Prince Edward Island.

Anne is an outspoken child. And she is always imagining. Everything has to be romanticized. Barry's Pond becomes the Lake Of Shining Water. And Anne wishes her name was Cordelia because it sounds so much more distinguished than Anne.

The one thing Anne longs for more than anything else (even more than having black hair rather than red) is to have a bosom friend. She finds that person in Diana Barry.

Anne also creates an enemy in Gilbert Blythe. Well, she sees him as an enemy after he calls her "Carrots", a capitol offense. It takes a good long while for her to forgive him, even though he is always apologizing.

The first two films follow the books pretty well. There are trials and tribulations as Diana, Anne, and Gilbert all grow up. Anne always seems to get herself into muddles, no matter how hard she tries to behave.

Regardless of if you have read the books or not, the films are a lovely way to pass the afternoon. (I should mention that the third film does not relate to the books. I personally like the first two films better, but the third is worth watching)

The filming is gorgeous. A good portion was filmed on Prince Edward Island. And, boy did it make me want to go there. I may just have to plan a trip. (Anyone want to go to Prince Edward Island with me?)

What I wasn't expecting was to see so many lovely knits in the films. Anne has several sweaters. I particularly wish I owned the blue one.

And maybe Marilla's sweater as well. All the sweaters looks so flattering on each wearer.

Even the baby blanket got me. I haven't seen any films with so many beautiful knits. I'm going to venture a guess that all the knits were in fact hand knits. It wouldn't surprise me if some were even made specifically for the film. I only wish there was a pattern book full of Anne of Green Gables knits. But that leads me to my next point.

I watched the films in preparation for a new knit. I won't reveal much more than 1) It is a shawl, and 2) it is inspired by Anne of Green Gables.

Scooter Has A New Friend

Scooter has a new doggy friend! Her name is Sassy. They look like they could be relatives. (They even have the same silly eyebrows.) She is half his size. But that is to be expected, she's only 8 months old. It was so cute to see them playing together.

Scooter needs all the exercise he can get. He's gotten a wee bit chunky. It might have something to do with his love of cheese.

Appalachia KAL

I just wanted to let everyone know that there is going to be a KAL (Knit along) for Appalachia. For those who join the KAL, the pattern will be free. You heard me correctly. FREE!

Here's what you have to do:

1) You will need to be a part of Ravelry, if you aren't already.

2) Join the group 11 Hats In 2011!

3) Say you'd like to make the hat on May KAL thread.

4) Cast on the hat May 1st.

The pattern will only be free to those who join the KAL by April 30th, 11:59PM PST. After that, the pattern will be for sale.

I will be sending the pattern out to those who join the KAL on May 1st. Probably around 1PM PST.

I'd love to have as many people as possible be a part of this KAL. The hat is made from a skein of Mini Mochi (Lake Trail) and a skein of Malabrigo Sock (Chocolate Amargo). But any sock weight yarn would do, preferably with a high wool content. The needle sizes needed are 2 (2.75mm) and 3 (3.25mm). I used small circulars, but dpns would be fine too.

Move Over 365 Project, Here Is My 730 Project

Today marks the two year anniversary of the day I started writing my diary comic. That's right. For the last two years I have drawn a three panel comic of what I was up to that day. I now have three sketchbooks filled with 730 comics. That's 2,190 panels!

It started off as a project to help me de-stress from school. I could spend days building a cube (or something else that seems rather pointless) for a class. I'd feel like I hadn't accomplished anything. By doing a comic a day, I felt like I had done one creative thing. (My housemate also started a comic, but went about 6 months before he decided it wasn't for him. He still does rad drawings though, which he posts at Skellington's Day Out.)


The rules were simple. Three panels, black and white, and no penciling. I just freehand draw the panels and comics. It takes about 5-10 minutes each day to complete. Also, I made a point to recount only positive things. I wanted to only remember the positive. Or at least, mostly positive. There were the days where the most significant event was a bit sad. The comic also seems to document my different hairstyles.

I've considered putting these comics on the web. They aren't particularly personal, i.e. my parents have read them and it wasn't weird. They are more like a memory. Only two things stand in my way. 1. Having to scan 730 comics. 2. Having to decided on what format/color balance will need to be done to 730 comics. So, for now, you'll have to come over to visit me if you want to read them all.

North And South

Because of all the knitting I do, I watch an awful lot of movies and TV series. I thought I should start writing about some of them, because I know how hard it is to find a good movie or series.

I'm currently stuck on BBC period pieces. Recently, I watched the BBC's North And South, which is based on a novel by Elizabeth Gaskell. This four episode series was so good I watched them all in a row. (At the time of this writing, North And South is available to watch for free on netflix)

It centers on Margaret Hale, who left the south of England for the north with her family. They move to Milton, an industrial textile town. There Margaret tries to find her way between the rather frigid upper class and the needy lower class. She makes friends with mill worker Nicholas and his family.

Her father's friend, Mr. Thornton, runs his mill to a higher standard than the rest of the mills in town. After Nicholas' daughter Bessy becomes ill working at Hamper's Mill, she changes mills to work at Marlborough Mill, which is Thornton's Mill. Despite the better working conditions, Nicholas works to organize a strike to improve conditions and wages at all the mills.

We come to find that Mr. Thornton is an honorable man, but it appears to Margaret that he has no kindness in his soul. Can Thornton convince her otherwise?

This series has everything. Great acting, lighting, costumes, and something I wasn't expecting, beautiful music. The series made me wish I could visit England, more than I already do. (I wouldn't be all that disappointed if I happened to bump into Mr. Thornton, either)

No Longer Having A Yarn Emergency

When I was in New Zealand, back in September, I bought 10 balls of Tui to make a sweater. After casting on for the sweater, I decided that it wasn't my style, so I cast on for a different one. What I hadn't thought about is that I might not have enough yarn. (Yes, that is a big oversight. And yes, I felt stupid.) Seeing how I can't just fly over to New Zealand at any old time, I asked a favor. One that I wasn't sure would work out. But thanks to a blogging friend, Kiwiyarn Knits, I have enough yarn for my sweater!

She went out of her way to get me one more ball of Tui. And whats more, she sent me some stitch markers that she made. I've never had proper stitch markers. I always have used bits of yarn. There may have been an audible gasp when I ripped open the parcel.

I sent something back, of course. I'd been waiting to post it here because I didn't want to give away the surprise. I spun up a 2oz moonrover mystery batt. I love my moonrover batts, but this one truly could not have gone to a better person.

Sneak Peek - Appalachia

I just wanted to give you all a sneak peek of my next design: Appalachia. I plan to release it on May 1st. The pattern will contain information on how to make a regular and slouchy version.