5.07.2016

so very very...

it was a deadline week in our tiny studio, and tension tends to run a bit high at such times. apparently, i add to the stress by asking difficult questions (like, "how is it going?"), so i have mostly been keeping the teacups overflowing and generally excelling in my (wholly unpaid) role of assistant, junior, support-staff trainee... second-grade... because i am fairly certain that at least one of the cats outranks me.

i used some of that trying to stay out of the way time to work on the orange sherbet cardi from last week's post, which is pictured here with a zucchini leaf that was broken by someone climbing over my plants to get outside. my favorite animator claims it was a cat, but i am not convinced.


the lace goes by very quickly. i am already a few inches shy of completing the back, so (hopefully) i will cast on the front panels in the next day (or more, no rush). my striped-pajama covered knee/thigh is included for scale, as i was holding the camera with one hand and using the other hand to keep Baby Bear out of the way.



earlier this week, i took some detailed notes regarding the many dimensions of my favorite animator's feet, so i may be possibly trying to talk myself into considering looking into perhaps weighing the likelihood of potentially knitting him some socks... maybe.

one pretty awesome thing did happen this week. i got to spread a little bit of absurdity halfway around the world. some years back, i was relating my tales of squirrel-fear to some gaming associates, when someone made an unreasonable request. "can you knit me a sweater..." (that is not the unreasonable part) "with squirrels" (yep... that is the craziness). clearly, i need to keep better company, but i welcome any excuse to play with wool. it took me precisely three(ish) years to get this done, and there may have been two previously abandoned models, so this is technically the Squirrel Cardi... Mach III.




it is equally exciting from the back.



there was no real pattern. it is a very basic top-down raglan cardigan with a bit of stranded knitting around the chest and a few accent stripes. i adapted the squirrel design from some charts i found on the interwebs, and i tossed in some sheep... because baaaaaaaa!!! seriously...  i knitted a sweater covered in squirrels. did i really need an excuse to add sheep?



and speaking of squirrels... the grey pair have returned to their favorite knot-hole in the large maple.



the lives of our local pests are filled with drama that rivals anything on television. there was an attempt by a newcomer from a neighboring tree to usurp that prime bit of real estate, but the greys proved triumphant. the victors have been dragging bits of twigs into the hole for days now, and they seem to have added some sort of fluffy insulation (which looks like tufts of their own fur), so i assume it is just a matter of time before the next generation of pests emerges.



i kinda feel bad for the usurper. all he can do at this point is look on from a distance with envy. however, based on some of the antics that have been going on outside my window in recent weeks, i fully expect that next generation to be sporting chocolaty-brown tails. drama!



in other (equally pointless) news, my love affair rages on with all things Asian cinema (which i recognize is a poor descriptive term for movies that span such a wide range of genres). i have an indescribable fondness for detective books and films (Poirot, Marple, Holmes, Inspector Wexford, and all the rest), so that has influenced most of this week's watch list. tonight's highlight will be revisiting The Bullet Vanishes, which i have seen more times than i care to admit, as it is quite enjoyable (plus, Nicholas Tse is so very very... pretty much). i will be watching it this time followed by the sequel, The Vanished Murderer, which i have never seen, but i was forewarned that it might disappoint. i took the precaution of lowering my expectations by watching a whole lot of rubbish this week, the low-point of which had to be Adventure of the King, which is what i get for taking recommendations from IMDB. the only noteworthy thing about that film was the (too brief, uncredited) appearance of Hark-On Fung, who will be eternally referred to in our home as the rapist (in reference to his role in The Iron-Fisted Monk and Magnificent Butcher). i also rather enjoyed the character of the royal historian, because he is so very colorful in the wielding of his pen, and that really is the mightiest weapon of them all.

1 comment:

  1. thats a very impressive sweater, squirrels and sheep notwithstanding. And of course, sheep. They fit the blank spaces perfectly.
    I love your squirrel saga. I agree, that poor lone squirrel has a bit of a rogue look about him. I can hardly wait for the next instalment.

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