Knitting Pretty

So on the 20th of June, which was a Saturday, I was all excited. I was all excited because I was getting ready to go out to the cinema and watch the new Harry Potter film, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Now, anyone who's in the know about this film will have realised that I was off on the release date by an entire month. That's right, until I was looking up movie session times on the website for my local cinema, I thought that the release date was 15th June, not 15th July... I felt like such a mushroom bonce.

So, now we are only eleven days away from the release, and I am really excited. I love the books, I think they are very well written and heaps and heaps of fun! In anticipation of the film, I thought it would be only be right to do a post here with a bunch of free HP knitting projects!

Okay so first off, one of the best free patterns for anything Hogwarts related is this wonderful set of fair isle purses which depict the mascots of the four Houses. The Gryffindor purse looks especially good, if you ask me. Next we have a group of book marks, or book scarves, actually, which also show the four house mascots... well sort off, for some reason Hufflepuff's book scarf has badger tracks, rather than a badger. Then there are four sock patterns - I personally don't knit socks, but I know a heck of a lot of knitters do - one for each of the houses. The Gryffindor pattern looks good, the Hufflepuff pattern looks great, Ravenclaw's is actually in the correct colours for the book rather than film, and Slytherin's works well too.

Now here are some items that aren't house specific, but rather are more tie-ins to the HP world. This is a fabulous felted bag, which happens to have some groovy quazi-latin saying on one side, and embroidery on the other. The embroidery is supposed to be personalised, so don't worry about the lettering on the front. Next is an illusion dishcloth. I have been meaning to do up a few illusion pieces to do an entry about them, but yeah, still working on those acorns. This particular piece is showing Hedwig, and as she is such a pretty bird, I thought I would include it here. Plus, out of all the projects I have listed, this would be one of the easiest and quickest, and those sorts of projects are always appealing to this lazy knitter. On the other end of the lazy spectrum, we now move onto a wonderful felting project - for those who haven't tried their hand at felting before, you have to knit your item a heck of a lot bigger, no really,  huge in comparison to the size you want it in the end - of a beautiful witches hat. I have to say, the original is so inspiring, I love the vine motif on the hat. This is one of those projects I will someday put a lot of heart and soul into making, because I have always loved this pattern. The last little dainty for today has to be one of the most iconic images from the series, a Golden Snitch.

Well I hope that some of you are inspired to go and knit some of those awesome patterns up, because they are really all quite fun. Except the socks, but that's just my personal preference. Until next time, keep the magic flowing!

I have to say, I love a good cartoon. Among my absolute favourites is The Powerpuff Girls. So I figured, where better yack endlessly about PPG than here! I first noticed this cartoon when promos were being shown for it on Cartoon Network. I didn't have cable back then myself, but my aunt did, and I happened to see that the show was coming, but then didn't get to see it when it actually started. A year or so later, I happened to catch the show, and have thought it great ever since! I am going to go through some of my stand out episodes from the 80 that have been created.

In season one, there is an episode called 'Cat Man Do' where a really cute - seriously this cat is obsurdly cute - who is evil uses some form of mind control to have the Professor help it to steal a diamond and try to shoot Townsville with a lazer. When the cat is using it's claws to cut the class case housing the diamond, it is just so very, very cute, that this has always been a favorite episode.

Two episodes that go hand in hand as stand outs here, because the centre around the same amusing topic. The way Mojo Jojo talks. His redundant double-talk is hilarious, at times, and both these episodes really play on that. In Season two, there is an episode called 'Los Dos Mojos' Bubbles - my favourite character -  is hit on the head, and when she awakes, she believes she is Mojo Jojo. So she talks like him, steals his clothes, and has a confrontation with Mojo about who is really Mojo, with the both of them repeating themselves over and over. Mojo's adamant denials of speaking in this way is pretty funny, but honestly, it's Bubbles with her attempt at a sinister voice that really makes me giggle in this one. The other Mojo episode I was referring to is in Season six, called 'Mo' Linguish'. Mojo has been ordered to teach a class at a community collage, so he teaches his pupils, and eventually the entirety of Townsville, to talk like himself. I thought this was pretty damn funny, if at times somewhat irritating. I really liked the way they ended the episode, with Talking Dog teaching Mojo to speak properly. That's very much a giggle inducer for me.

The other PPG episode that has always been hilarious to me is actually the special 80th episode, 'Powerpuff Girls Rule!!!' which I personally thought was just awesome. I really laughed when Blossom detailed her plans to the other two about how to stop all the bad guys getting their hands on the 'Key to the World'. It was just so funny, a really tightly crafted episode, I thought. So there you have it, my favourite episodes! Now go watch some of the show, you won't regret it!

Do you have a film that you put on and it just whisks you into an imaginative reverie? A film that makes you feel happy, peaceful, and emotional all at once? I absolutely do! For me, this film is My Neighbour Totoro. I saw this film only a few years ago, but it is one of those that just seem to fit right in with me.   This is a brilliant offering from the acclaimed animator  Hayao Miyazaki, who is probably more famous for Sprited Away - another awesome film - and Howl's Moving Castle.

I know that not everyone find Totoro as enchanting and joyus as I do; my fiance for instance finds it a little sad and depressing, because of the mother's illness. I understand that, but those aspects of the film draw back for me, what does stand forward and gains my attention is the forest, the spirits, and the Totoros. This celebration of life, from the exuberance of Mei, to the staunch Satsuke, to the giant  Camphor Laurel tree, and of course the larger than life Totoro is more than a little magical to me. It is uplifting to have the movie on, even if I am not actually watching it! 

I actually prefer to watch the film in English dubbing because I think Dokota and Elle Fanning did absolutely wonderful jobs with the voice acting. Elle as Mei couldn't be more perfect, she has such a wonderful little squealing voice that is a delight to listen to, and they work so very well together. There is a little video on You Tube of the English dubbing cast talking about their work on the film, and this really shows the wonderful rapport between the two little girls, and how that aspect of their personalities carries through the film. Also, I would like to travel by Catbus for the rest of my life! They have a real one (well, sort of)  in Nagasaki!

So if you haven't seen it, go and see it now! Right now! I have the DVD and you should too!  Now on to today's knitting pattern. I thought today's pattern has to be a Totoro of some sort. Now, this pattern is actually a toilet paper cover, but when I make it, which I will, it will be a stuffed toy.