Moving Truck

Alas, I liked this blog, but I neglected it until it basically died. So, for the new year, I’ve started blogging again, but in a new location. (The new digs make it easier to interact with blogs I follow because they’re over on that other site.) To visit the new blog and see what I’m currently working on, please visit: Crimson Rambler’s Yarn Barn. Thanks!

kiwis for kiwis – donations to the red cross

There was an earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand a couple weeks ago. I was really blown away by the amount of destruction, but, being low on funds, I figured there wasn’t much I could do. Then it occurred to me: people want me to sell my crochet critters all the time. So, I figured, if I sold a couple, I could then donate some money to the Red Cross, which is my favorite charity. Rather than selling something random, I scoured the internet for this specific pattern. I later found out that a lot of people don’t know what it is. So here is your chance to learn about the Kiwi.

Kiwi are flightless birds that are native to New Zealand. The kiwi is the national symbol of New Zealand, and if you’ve ever known anyone from there, you’ll know they call themselves Kiwis. That’s because of the bird, not the fruit. Of course, now that you know what a kiwi looks like, you know why they named the fruit.

So, I made three kiwis that I am going to “sell” so that the proceeds will go to the Red Cross. This is where YOU come in. Rather than get money, and then turn it back around, I decided it would work best to have you donate the money yourself. (This way, you get your donation receipt for your tax records!) Because I really want this money to do some big things, the minimum donation is $20. For more information about the Kiwis and how to become the lucky owner, keep reading.

sue sue sue ’em all

A lawsuit was just filed preemptively by one of my former employers. Bath & Body Works just filed a lawsuit against Summit Entertainment. BBW is alleging that they did not infringe the trademark of the Twilight franchise with their scent Twilight Woods.

Here’s the thing. I love Bath & Body Works, but they are totally in the wrong here. They debuted this fragrance pretty much the same week New Moon came out in theaters. The color scheme is dead on for the New Moon promotions. The woods in the background are dead on for the New Moon promotions. AND, when I was waiting in line for the the New Moon premiere BBW employees came to the theater and handed out samples and coupons for Twilight Woods. Sorry, BBW, but you brought this upon yourselves. I’m Team Summit for this one. And for anyone else who has ever worked at Bath & Body Works, I don’t feel like they are being very Kate-like.

the doctor is in (soon!)

I am SO stoked because Doctor Who is finally being given a premiere date. So, it looks like April 22nd I’ll be at the theaters for Water For Elephants and April 23rd I’ll be on my couch for some 11 goodness.

 

YAY!

why haven’t you seen this movie?

The King’s Speech was my favorite movie of the year. I cannot wait until it is on DVD/BluRay. However, I am desperate to talk about 127 Hours with someone who has actually seen it.

Seriously. I still think about this movie and I saw it weeks ago. It was the only time I’ve ever seen a movie and walked out exhausted by the emotional roller coaster I’d been on. But, like a roller coaster, I walked out majorly excited. I mean, it was a phenomenal movie.

Why haven’t you seen it?

My guess is that the main reason people haven’t watched it is the whole cutting-off-his-own-arm scene. I am NOT good with gore. In fact, there was a point in this movie that I was pretty close to closing my eyes, covering my ears, and humming loudly.

BUT, if I hadn’t gone through it, I probably wouldn’t have had the amazing experience I did. My hope, with this post, is to encourage you, if you haven’t seen it, to go rent it/buy it/download it *I would never encourage anyone to illegally obtain a movie* or whatever method you can find to watch this movie. The yucky part is about three minutes, but the rest is so completely worth it.

Is that not the reason?

Why haven’t you seen this movie? (Or: Have you seen this movie? What did you think?)

There’s a little comment section at the end of this post that you should click on so you can tell me. 🙂

coming soon

 

Very soon, I will have ironed out the kinks in my plan. And then I will post the three kiwi birds I made. And then three lucky people will get the opportunity to buy said kiwis. And the money will ALL go to the Red Cross in New Zealand for the ChristChurch earthquake recovery.  And it will be fabulous.

Alas, I am still working out how to go about that. If you have any suggestions on how best to get the money where it’s supposed to go, I’d be very open to them. I was thinking maybe something along the lines of how the Fandom Gives Back stuff worked.

-CR

polling station

angry bird

I found a pattern online that I was positive some of my friends would go nuts about. I was right. I present to you, the Angry Bird – Cardinal:

Details: He took about 5 hours to complete. He’s filled with a mixture of half fiberfill, half pony beads. The yarn is Red Heart Super Saver Solids. And my Angry Birds Addict friends love him to pieces.

what i’m reading

I’m a proponent for reading books before watching the movies. After seeing the trailer for the upcoming version, I decided I finally need to read Jane Eyre. I will fully admit that I have been extremely prejudiced against this book since I was in high school. Why? Because I hated, no, loathed Wuthering Heights. I am fully aware how ridiculous that is, considering they were written by different people, but I’m not going to lie right now and tell you I just didn’t get around to reading it.

English major moment: I studied a little bit about the author, Charlotte Brontë. She was born about a year before Jane Austen died. Charlotte first published Jane Eyre under the pseudonym Currer Bell because it was so much easier for men to get published. Her siblings all died young, mainly because of tuberculosis. And their last name is supposed to be pronounced Bron-tee, not Bron-tay.

At this point, I am almost halfway through the book. I was a little confused at first about who was narrating, but once I figured it out, I’ve been pretty content. There are some really supernatural themes that I wasn’t expecting. I’m not sure if I’m supposed to like Mr. Rochester or not, but because the name is so familiar in the literary world, I assume I am. I think I like him, but it’s still a little early to know.

Considering how dark it has been so far, and how Wuthering Heights should have been called Misery Loves Company, I should probably prepare myself for an unhappily ever after, but barring any major awful-ness, I’m going on record as saying I might even like Jane Eyre.

(And it may be entirely possible that I feel the need to go back and re-read Wuthering Heights to see if maybe High-School-Me was just being a little bit melodramatic when making my assessment.)

Yarn tie-in: They talk about the girls knitting in the book.

mickey valentine’s bag

We have a contest at work every Valentine’s Day. Everyone (well, the cool people anyway) decorates a bag and then we give out valentines just like in elementary school. It’s super fun. This year I was on the committee, so I decided to make my bag crochet-style. The theme of the contest this year was Cartoonastic. Here is the result:

Details: I used Lion Brand Cotton-Ease in Red, White, and Black. I improvised a pattern for a bag I found in a book, but enough was improvised that it’s not really worth mentioning. It’s about 11 inches tall, not counting straps. And, aside from being a seriously cute bag, it’s really soft.