Sunday, July 22, 2012

Saturday Evening Book Review - and a movie too!

Sorry this is late guys, I had a bit of an adventure last night and didn't think to post this before it started. I still wanted to share this with you all anyways, so I am just posting a day late.

Knit Fix by Lisa Kartus

Likes:
Solutions to pretty much every problem you will likely encounter when knitting basic patterns.
The author talks about where she started and how she came to write this book.
There are a bunch of techniques in this book I never knew before reading this.
The visuals on how to do things are really helpful.
The way the book is divided up really helps you find what exactly you are looking for.

Dislikes:
A few of the instructions are a bit vague

Favorite Patterns:
There are not patterns, this is just a help book.

Overall, I like this book a lot and it will very likely be added to my library soon. Although everything in this book can be found elsewhere (internet, other books) it's nice to have it all in one place to just reach for when needed.

Stashbuster Knits by Melissa Leapman

Likes:
The detailed section about how to sort, arrange, and store you stash.
The patterns are divided by yarn weight.
She offers different suggested color combos in case you don't like the original
There is a section all about picking colors.
Patterns are varied from using full skeins to scraps -- she is accommodating for everything!

Dislikes: 
I wish that they weren't all colorwork, but then again, using scraps and stash yarns will usually mean doing colorwork patterns. 
I almost wish there were MORE patterns.

Favorite Patterns:

Overall, I like Melissa as an author, her patterns are always pretty cool and fun, and I think there are quite a few things I'd make in this book but I don't have the stash big enough to make many of these yet. So what's the point of doing stashbuster projects if you have to increase your stash to do so. 

So last night's adventure involved going to a local drive - in that just reopened a few years ago. They were playing a double feature of Ice Age: Continental Drift and The Amazing Spiderman (which I have already seen). 


I went home this weekend to sort through things for my garage sale next weekend and I heard they were doing these 2 movies. I saw the Amazing Spiderman last weekend and LOVED it so I wanted an excuse to see it again anyways. The Ice Age movie was an added bonus (I like those movies pretty good). 


So I wanted to share a quick review of The Amazing Spiderman. I really liked the first trilogy when I came out originally, but as time has gone I have lost my interest in that series. When I heard they were rebooting I wasn't sure how to feel, like most people; It had only been a few years! But as the previews came, and the images came and it got closer, I knew I wanted to see this movie. So I went with a friend last weekend and FELL IN LOVE! Andrew Garfield is a very convincing awkward teenager and Emma Stone has such great chemistry with him. The story is a million times better than the first of the other series and the idea of focusing more on Peter trying to figure out who he is and what happened to his parents really works. I almost feel like the bad guy  is a side story to the real story going on. 

So now I've seen it twice. I really want to see it in 3-D, even though I am not a huge 3-D fan (too expensive) but I think I am slowly becoming one because they are finally starting to make 3-D movies better. I think seeing this movie in 3-D would be an amazing experience. But my budget doesn't allow for it. Oh well. I can't wait for this movie to come out!

As for Ice Age: It was really good too! Of all the animated series, thy always seem to make these movies pretty good. You can tell it's running dry, but it was still pretty good movie. 


What did you guys do this weekend? I hope everyone is having a great one. Being at home is sure nice sometimes! 

Happy Sunday!

~Lisa

2 comments:

  1. The Knit Fix book looks great, I'm definitely going to take a look at it when I get the chance! Glad to hear you've had a great weekend!

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  2. I wondered why they had made another Spiderman movie so soon after the last bunch. Interesting to hear that it was so good! I went camping this weekend which was nice but over much too soon.

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