Tag Archives: movie

Inspiration: Wonder Woman!

You guys!  I watched Wonder Woman this weekend, and holy cow!  It’s so good!  Back in high school, I used to be 100% in any time they made a movie about someone with superpowers (superhero movies were new and exciting then).  But the last decade or so has so over-saturated the market with too many crappy superhero movies where overly-muscled dudes in spandex level cities in an attempt to show how they’re stronger/better/right-er than their arch nemesis.

Enter Wonder Woman!

I mean, look at her!  She’s amazing!  She fights her way across no man’s land between WWI trenches with a freaking sword! She speaks hundreds of languages!  She fights to end war!  Her whole thing is saving people!  I’m pretty stoked about her.

And, there’s her aunt, Antiope, played by Robin Wright (Princess Buttercup!  The Princess Bride was one of my favorite movies as a kid, and it’s awesome to see Princess Buttercup do some fighting).  She’s a totally bad-ass general.  At one point she flips off the back of a horse while shooting three Nazis simultaneously with the three arrows she had nocked in her bow.  So good!

But it’s not just the good guys that are kick-butt women.  The bad guy, Dr. Poison is a totally creepy mad scientist lady!  She’s got a super icky mask (because she melted the bottom half of her face in a lab accident), and a penchant for inventing chemical weapons.

Of course, there are men in the movie, too, but it’s just amazing to see women headlining a superhero movie- and totally kicking butt!

So, let’s tie this to something knitting-related (this is a knitting blog after all).

This tiny Wonder Woman will save the day using her cuteness!

Wonder Woman Amigurumi by Clare Heesh

I love this classic Wonder Woman-style hat!

Great Hera! by Jensen Reyes

And this sweater would be perfect for days when you need to feel your most Wonder-full!

Wonder Woman Jumper by Kirsty Lothian

Have you seen Wonder Woman yet? If not, what are you waiting for!  (Just be aware, you’re going to go around kicking things and sword fighting after you see it.)

Inspiration: Chicken Run

I don’t know what you’ve been doing since the holidays, but we’ve been hanging out at home, eating the last of the Christmas cookies and watching old favorite movies.  (If you were wondering, What About Bob? and Galaxy Quest are still delightful.  And, after watching Die Hard, I discovered that apparently I have a fear of elevator shafts. Who knew?)

Do you remember Chicken Run?  It was one of my favorites when I was a kid, but my husband had never seen it!  We had to fix that.chicken-runAnd, it totally holds up!  I mean, it’s claymation chickens doing The Great Escape, how could it not be great?  It’s exciting!  Sweet!  Full of knitting!

What’s that?  You don’t believe me?  You don’t think that chickens knit?  Well, let me prove you wrong.

Chickens wear sneaky balaclavas (and not-so-sneaky balaclavas) when they are sneaking around, making secret escape plans.balaclavasAdd a pompom to this one, and you could make an adorable chicken-balaclava for your favorite kid.

Elf Pixie Ribbed Balaclava by Agnese Iskrovail_570xn-857359661_hovs_small1Ginger, the heroine of the movie and chicken escape mastermind, always wears a very cute little green hat.  It’s a rolled-brim beanie with two little I-cord nubbins on top.gingerI’d totally rock a Ginger Hat, too!

Ginger’s Hat by Becky Veverka37215300_8b600e4c0a_m1And, of course, the lovable (and loveably daffy) Babs is a character that every knitter can identify with.  With her constantly clicking needles and ever-present knitting, she might be one of the most accurate depictions of knitters I’ve seen on TV.  She’s always got something on her needles, especially when she’s trying to hold it together in the face of certain death.  (I don’t face certain death often, but if I did, I’d totally want my knitting with me.)babsMake yourself a flock of tiny chickens in honor of Babs, Ginger and the rest of the gang.

#29 Tiny Chickens by Anna HrachovecPIRATES- Amanda Vines BLAZERS U6-Rick BarrettHave you seen Chicken Run lately?  What old favorite movies do you love to revisit?

Who You Gonna Call?

GHOSTBUSTERS!

I just saw the new Ghostbusters movie, and oh my goodness!  I loved it!Melissa McCarthy;Kristen Wiig;Kate McKinnon;Leslie JonesIt was funny, and a little scary (but I’m kind of a weenie when it comes to this kind of movie), and the four Ghostbusters were totally (pardon my French) badass! They are portrayed as wildly intelligent, brave and scrappy women who don’t stop fighting for what they believe despite the entire city thinking they’re frauds. They save New York, expecting no recognition, doing it only because they know it’s the right thing to do. (And they do it with style, and some really killer (ha!) weapons.)  They’re scientists who know they’re working for the greater good (and even Patti, the only one who isn’t technically a scientist, is incredibly smart and resourceful).

Sure, it’s still rare to see women getting different, interesting roles, much less four women in the same movie, but I love that we’re starting (slowly) to move in that direction.  It’s so important for kids (boys and girls) to see that women can be just as interesting, intelligent, brave, and (sorry again) badass.

So in honor of my four newest favorite characters, let’s play imaginary dress-up.Ghostbusters-2016-02[1]Erin Gilbert, played by Kristen Wiig, is a prim-and-proper scientist.  She is an assistant professor of Physics at Columbia, up for tenure.  Unfortunately, due to her involvement with the paranormal, she not only fails to get tenure, but is booted from the university entirely, prompting her to fight ghosts full-time.  She’d totally rock this knitted blazer, especially with a blouse and a tiny bow tie.

Triangle Jacket by von Hinterem Steintriangle-hinterm-stein-_medium2[1]Abby Yates (Melissa McCarthy) is also a physicyst, but she is unabashed in her study of the paranormal.  She’s been exploring the field for years, working away on the fringes of academia.  She has a less-formal wardrobe, focused on comfortable, practical pieces that are still pulled-together, like this super cute sweater.

Climb Every Mountain by Heidi Kirrmaier15439833162_7ff9e3897d_z[1]Kate McKinnon plays Jillian Holtzman, a crazy-smart (or maybe crazy and smart) nuclear physicist.  She spends her time creating amazing weapons, traps and other awesome ghost-fighting gear.  She marches to the beat of her own (slightly syncopated) drum and is unapologetically her own person.  (She might be my new hero.)  Holtzman would rock an oversized sweater like this, paring it with something unconventional, like overalls and welding goggles. (But she wouldn’t have the patience to knit it herself- not enough explosions.)

Garter Stitch Hooded Wrap by Audrey WilsonHGSW2STAR2_medium2[1]And last, but certainly not least, is Patty Tolan (Leslie Jones), a former New York MTA employee.  Patty knows just about everything about the history of the city (which comes in very handy, dealing with the undead), and is incredibly brave and surprisingly cheerful in the face of an unpleasant public and a horde of unhappy ghosts.  This adorable crocheted miniskirt (especially paired with big gold earrings and a silk bomber jacket) would be perfect for Patty’s bright, un-selfconcious style.

Mini Skirt by Jane Greencrochet-skirt-pattern_medium[1]So, who wants to say it with me?

I ain’t afraid of no ghosts!

Inspiration: Divergent

I watch quite a bit of TV and more than a few movies, I admit.  But, what else am I supposed to do while I knit?  Honestly.

Sometimes those movies aren’t great (like Divergent).  But, sometimes those movies have great knitwear (coincidentally, like Divergent).

Divergent is a less-coherent cousin to the Hunger Games.  It’s not terrible, but it’s not great cinema.  If you look at it a little too closely, it kind of stops making sense.

So, in a not-so-distant future where America has become a post-apocolyptic wasteland, the last bastion of civilization is Chicago.  (Because… who knows.)  In Future Chicago, everyone has been divided up into five factions (they all have names, but I don’t remember them. In my head, they’re “The Smart Ones,” “The Bad Asses,” “The Truth-y Folks,” “The People Who Take Giving To Charity A Little Too Seriously,” and “The Fifth Group That I’ve Forgotten About.”).  When kids in Future Chicago come of age, they take a very complicated test that involves mind control and hallucinogenic drugs (because Science Fiction) which sorts them into the faction that’s right for them.  (Think: Harry Potter meets The Giver, but more complicated.)  The heroine ends up getting a result that says she could belong to any faction, and she has to go into hiding because Kate Winslet wants to kill her.  Or something.

And this all happens in the first 20 minutes of a more than 2-hour movie.

Like I said-it’s not great with the logic.  (Which is a shame.  I always root for good sci-fi with female leads.)  But, it does have some great knitwear.

Look at this sweater that the main character wears during her hallucinogen-fueled Sorting Ceremony.  From the front, it’s a light, simple pullover.

Divergent2From the back, it’s totally cool and modern.DivergentYou could totally wear a light sweater like this over jeans and a tank-top, or with a sundress.  It would be a perfect coverup for chilly summer nights, or a nice, thin layer under a denim jacket in the fall.

I’m kind of in love (and I don’t even like angora).

I couldn’t find a perfect match to the Divergent sweater, but these could come close with a few tweaks.

#102 Comfy Pullover Lite by Phoenix Bess

Mohair_Pullover_Lite__medium2[1]Spook by Sarah Hatton

2329365350_573f2e0371_z[1]Hawkmoth Pullover by Debbie O’Neill

KS_hawkmoth-pullover_medium[1]Have you seen Divergent?  What did you think?

Inspiration: Stardust Shawl

I was poking around, looking for a movie to watch this weekend, and I stumbled upon Stardust (free on Amazon Prime).  It was one of my favorite movies for a while, but I hadn’t seen it in a few years. I watched it again, and was happy to find out that it’s still amazing. it’s got everything:  true love, not-so-true love, a cross-dressing pirate, image-obsessed witches, a unicorn, and a guy who gets turned into a goat.  It’s pretty perfect.

A few minutes in, I noticed something else it had.  One of the background characters in an early scene was wearing this shawl:

stardust1Totally gorgeous, right?  I love the gradient stripes made with the natural wool colors and the delicate lace pattern.

Want to make something similar?

Encyclopaedie by Maria Steiner

encyklopaedie__11__medium2[1]panta rhei by Maria Steiner

hm2_medium2[1]Svínavatnshyrna by Sigridur Halldorsdottir

2879446291_18002a43b5_z[1]