Film Festival Socks Part 2

I have turned the heel and I am now onto the main part of the foot.

This pattern (As it always is) is soothing and I am actually loving the colour (it is darker in person than it shows up here - way more purple than lavendar.

Soft and stretchy enough they are going to be nice to wear.

Film Festival Day 3 (Tolerance...bah!)

Late yesterday afternoon I wandered off to the Film Festival for an afternoon and evening of quality cinema.

Film 1 was Werner Herzog's documentary about a trip to Antarctica called Encounters at the end of the World. Herzog's docos are not ordinary and this is the same. It takes a series of quirky encounters and events and tries to contrast the wonder of Antarctica with the human element. A combination of authority imposing order and care (sometimes a little too much) with the fact that most of the inhabitants have run as far as they can from the rest of humanity. Beautiful vision but you are never sure if he is making fun of the people or just giving them a voice.

Film 2 should have been a magic film...but for me it wasn't. Rain of the Children is a documentary film maker trying to make peace with one of his earliest subjects. His story of a woman born around the turn of the century and her life was at times both magical and heartbreaking. What irked me was his constant use of a voice-over as the main subject spoke of her reasons for behaving certain ways. For me this was the most annoying piece of the film. These women kept quiet about their motivations and secrets because that was their way (all our grand-mothers or great-grandmothers were the same). To take a series of stories from the descendents in the community about why she did something and articulate it as if she is speaking drove me nuts. I understand the search for meaning in someone else's actions but don't try to pass it off to me as them speaking beyond the grave. So I walked out about an hour into the film.

Subsequently, rather than wait around an hour and half for the next film...I went home.

Hopefully, todays efforts will be better Three Blind Mice by Matthew Newton and Salute look fabulous.

Progress Update on the Film Festival Socks. I have turned the heel on Sock 1 and now concentrating on the gusset decreases.

Film Festival Socks

Progress on Sock 1 of the Film Festival Socks.


A nice stocking Stitch plain sock. Very neat, very soft.
MMmmmmm... Purple Colourway. This is done using 2.25mm dpns using Araucania Ranco Solid Sock Yarn. I think I might even manage most of the pair over the Film Festival.

Film Festival Day 2

Last night I saw 2 more films on my second day of the festival.

The films were Quiet Chaos & Choke.

Quiet Chaos (Or Calm Chaos) is a fabulous Italian film about grief and family.
Nanni Moretti commands your attention as the self-contained central character who has lost his wife. A magical spell is woven as you spend each day with him as he puts his life on hold to be there for his daughter. One brief jarring interlude seems totally outside the narrative of the film but does not detract from a magical film experience.

Choke is a film based on a novel penned by the same guy that wrote Fight Club. A strange film well executed, Sam Rockwell, is compelling in the lead role of Victor. The film is about the strangely tormented relationship between Victor, a sex-addict, and his mother (the wonderful Angelica Houston) . A Sundance award winner worthy of a look. I enjoyed this film but wouldn't recommend it to everyone. Great for those that like there film earthy and showing the fringes of society.

On the knitting front I have made a few more centimetres progress on the plain socks in Mauve from Arucannia Ranco (Solid) - it is just lovely yarn.

And Now for the Film Festival

As a Sydney Film Festival Subscriber of many years the knitting kind of takes a back seat from around the long weekend in June for 2 weeks.

This year they have extended the festival by a couple of days and the evening subscription @ The State Theatre started last night with Silent Light.

Silent Light is a very slow almost minimal film with long slow scenes and very little or no action to speak of. An interesting choice for the start of the festival. It is a film that probably would have worked with the festival audience better on a weekend or even mid-way through the festival when people have got into the habit of slowing down and tuning in.

As a contrast to a busy day at work I found it difficult to get into and boring in places not holding my interest. I didn't make it to the second film (Funny Games) a USA remake of a French Horror/Thriller staring Tim Roth & Naomi Watts (I suspect it will get a general release here as a result of Watt's appearance).

I have done very little knitting in the last few days.

Socks, Scissors and Dancing

Today we went to see Edward Scissorhands the wonderful ballet by Matthew Bourne...more info here http://www.edwardscissorhands.co.uk.

Utilising the original story and the amazingly haunting original score this is a very accessible entertaining emotional story. From dancing family cars to dancing topiary this is a magical adventure in cinema. If it is coming to a venue near you make an effort to see it.

The cardigan is getting heavy and attention is needed to track the increases and decreases on the sleeves. As such I have cast on a simple sock (In Arucania sock yarn - lavendar) to keep me busy - it should also double as film festival knitting..easy to put down if I need to.

I must say i keep sitting on the plane to and from Brissie at the moment thinking this is ridiculous I should be able to knit...until i see the sign at security that says it is a $10,000 (Gulp) fine for carrying these objects.

Gloves, Gloves and other bits

It's been a season of fingerless gloves.
The pair I made for O for her birthday are so popular they never get to rest (or be washed) I decided to use the yarn from the ballet wrap to knit her up an extra pair.

I ended up starting them in the wrong colour. So i finished them (they might go to my swap pal..or i might knit them up another pair or two...these are basics that fit snugly. I might make up a patterned pair or two later....).

Other knitting has been mainly Dark ivy in small patches. I am getting used to a slightly different commute and Real Estate issues have meant not too much knitting at home.

Intention for winter...More gloves and finishing Ivy and a few other things.

Just for the record the new BMFA package arrived and it is im my all time favourite colour. I love it!!!!!!!!!

Knitting in Fits and Starts

Ok...so my knitting has been a little interrupted lately.

Since last I posted I have

• Knitted another sqaure on the baby Blanket in 8 ply cotton (a lovely dark-ish green shade)
• Knitted a pair of mittens in the same blue as the scarf and added tassles to the blue scarf
• Knitted and completed one side of Dark Ivy and commenced the other almost completing the twisted rib at the base.
• It has all been quite disjointed and the photos have been few and far between.

This matches with our social life which has been a bit of a crazy whirl as well.

• Birthday parties for 2 year olds
• Weddings for lifelong friends

And my work life

• More interviews
• More Travel to and from Brisvegas without knitting!

On the knitting front all the birthday presents have been recieved graciously with the scarf and mittnes scoring big time. Alas no photos...but my niece has apparently worn them all day when she went to see her grandparents.

Swap Pal Awards

The canvas bags have arrived. I spent last night packaging up and labelling the bags. So posting will be today with quite a few arriving tomorrow and some on Monday hopefully.

We have some honorable mentions but I haven't got enough bags to go around a quick trip will help me pull together some goodies for the next group.

Stop the world! I want to Knit

Holy Geewillikers Batman!

I have had a whirlwind couple of weeks...

• 2 trips to Brisbane for work with another one schedule for next week
• 3 birthdays (With a 4th this weekend)
• A last minute invitation to a wedding (due to the lost post policy of Australia Post) for this weekend.

I have only one thing to say. Stop the world I want to knit!

Ok I am loving the family and the birthdays and the work even (new job is tops! - although the remembering the names is a bit difficult!). I just want to spread it out.

I think part of my feeling pushed is also that I am rapidly coming up on the Sydney Film Festival - 2 plus weeks of contstant cinema where i will also need to add in a trip to Brisbane somwhere and WWKIP day (which is smack bang in the middle of the Festival) and the Craft show and...omg it's the end of June where did the time go?

So I have just jumped from mid-may to end of June but that is how my life is travelling.

On the knitting front I have a nearly completed bag for one of the bereft bag swap pals.

Prize packs for the Bag Swap award winners (should go out this week) and some RAK to bestow on the Ravelry Australian Random acts of Kindness group.

Do you think I take too much on some times?

Check out Sparkadia here....there song "Too Much To Do" is now my official theme. http://www.myspace.com/sparkadia

Also if you are looking for something a bit less pop (some hip hop with a message!) check out the herd here... http://www.theherd.com.au (I love these guys...and their gig falls on the same day as WWKIP day!)

Their track The King is Dead is a farewell to Johnny Howard...Fabulous work.