Rambling About The Chocolate Factory.

     Four years old. Twelve years ago. That's a long, long time. Sometimes it feels like someone else's life, not my own. But then, sometimes I feel like it was just yesterday. Being three and four years old felt like magic. Every thing was magical! I would love so much to go back to those days....but you can't. However, I can still feel the exact same way as I had back then, and I did today.
        Because of "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory," the 1971 Gene Wilder version. The best version.
    This was my jam back in those days, that and "Annie". This movie was just so darn good! Now I can't remember if I used to watch it before or during the time when I got sick, which was in the age 3-4 bracket. But this movie, along with the town that I lived in at the time, are my favorite flashbacks. Gosh, I love my old town.
    Usually, when you go through Cancer, you don't want to remember anything about that time....and I don't. Somehow I erased a lot of those bad memories (although a lot of them still stick) but managed to keep the golden ones that happened right before I got sick. So watching this is one of my favorite memories from those days.
    The Johnny Depp remake does not stack up. The only thing right that they did about it was the tunnel scene. The original was creepy, the new one, not so much.. But the new one is just creepy all over. Besides, I like Gene Wilder a lot better then Johnny Depp.
   Yes. 16 in 2015 and I am a Johnny Depp nay sayer. In the words of Shania Twain, "That Don't Impress Me Much." Gene Wilder, darn it.
    Plus the original had different people playing those Oompa Loompas, whereas they only had one fella and CGI to do the job in the remake.
    And how can one go wrong with "Cheer Up Charlie"?
      I got to see it again today after not having watched it in a few years, I had completely forgotten how it made me feel, happy and nostalgic!
    The closing line is the best ever:
          “Mr. Wonka: "Don’t forget what happened to the man who suddenly got everything he wanted."

Charlie Bucket: "What happened?"
Mr. Wonka: "He lived happily ever after.”

       Makes me teary.

                          I miss being four.

Superhero Dog Capes!

Now for this one, we switch it up a bit! Instead of making something for a person, I made a few things for dogs!
    My cousin Joe asked me if I could make superhero capes for his three dogs. I thought hard about this. How would I make such a thing? I knew I couldn't sew them, since my inability to use scissors without botching fabric. I am left handed so that would have been crazy for me.
    I searched on Google and came upon something that was in my area of business. This crochet pattern for superhero capes is perfect! Here is the link:
http://poshpoochdesignsdogclothes.blogspot.com/2015/03/super-hero-dog-cape-free-crochet.html
     The colors I used were red, blue and orchid. I had never used the orchid color yarn, it was a treat, indeed.
    It was a very easy pattern to follow and I recommend it to anyone looking for canine gifts.

LET'S GET NAUTICAL!

Time to get a little nautical! Which is one of the greatest things to be! For someone who is scared of going into the ocean, I am crazy about the beach and all sorts of nautical things. I think it is amazing how the ocean brings so many gorgeous shells and rocks to the shore.

   While staying with my family, we got to go to two different beaches. The shells were plentiful there. My sister and I gathered them in a plastic bag and brought them home with us. Now...What to do with these goodies?

    At a thrift store downtown, my Mom found this shadow box type thing. It contained one lonesome starfish. My mother was gathering things to make a beach themed school room. She is a genius! She suggested we beach this shadow box up.

  Using Elmer's white glue, I glued these round pieces of colored glass to the frame. I also glued on some shells and rocks. I am actually surprised it is holding up! I took three of my biggest shells and three photo booth snapshots of my sister and I, and tried to stick them together with a glue stick.

     No cigar. 

      Mom suggested using mounting tape. GENIUS! The mounting tape did the trick. I also used mounting tape to mount those three shells to the inside of the frame. Then I used the regular Elmer's glue to glue the rest of the stuff.  Now that was a super duper fun project!

    Over many midnight episodes of "Three's Company", I finished this Sashay scarf. Aunt Lois showed me the ropes for these. These are a real blast to make too. They look like a lot of work, but are pretty easy, most of the effect is in the yarn itself! :)

Finger Knits, Scarves and Blankets Too!

    Fun new Summer projects here. But first, a little bit of business.
        Bring The Needle Down has a Facebook page now! My Mother suggested this expansion, can't believe I had not thought of it before! So you can find me at this link:
https://m.facebook.com/bringtheneedledown?ref=bookmarks
   Hopefully we can get more people visiting the blog, maybe it will inspire them to make things too! If you have any currant projects that you would like to show me, please post your photos in the comment box, via Blogger or Facebook. Thank you so much!
     Here are two Project Linus blankets that I made, using the Lion Brand "Jonah's Baby Throw" Pattern, which is the standard pattern I use for my baby blankets. The first blue one was made entirely from Lion Brand Pound Of Love yarn. 32x32. Pound Of Love is great.
    The second one was made from Lion Brand and Caron yarns. You can see the Caron brand in the center, in mint. I really like this yarn because it has a really nice shine to it. When I put it on a border, it reminds me of those blanket edges from "The Brady Bunch". Not crochet though. Fabric. If you look in one of the upperhand corners, you will see a tiny hat! I whipped that up at my Aunt and Uncle's house!
    Project Linus is such an amazing organization to be part of. You get to help so many kids, with love in every stitch!
   The black infinity scarf I am holding is for my Grandma. I hope to get it to her by the end of August. You can find the pattern right here:
  http://www.mooglyblog.com/artfully-simple-infinity-scarf/
   Last but not least, a finger knitted necklace! My Mom taught me finger knitting when I was younger, but I sort of gave it up- after all, what on Earth does one do with those long chains? However, the other day, I found this video on YouTube! Really quick and easy. To give it a little spice, I learned how to make a large rose (see video) and I stitched that on there too. Sorry if this photo is a little blurry, my sister and I were in a bit of a hurry!  
   What's next? I have a scarf in the works, a blanket, and hopefully some superhero capes for my cousin's dogs. What is next for you?
 

Hello Again!

      Hello again! It's been awhile. I feel bad, I only gave you guys less then five posts last month. I can't write up everyday, plus, I want to make sure my posts are interesting!
    Just got back last week from staying with my Aunt and Uncle, gosh I miss them a lot! It was a fun week. Also, I spent a lot of last month and June feeling quite under the weather, so those are the two reasons why I haven't written, or even ventured on Blogger to read my fellow blogger's postings! All this is to change soon, I hope.
   Lots of demands and plans for projects,  photos coming soon! I've even made another infinity scarf (also have the pattern committed to memory!) This time in black for my Grandma! Those infinity scarves are pretty fun to make, but a lot more fun to see people wearing the finished product!
     I seriously love to make things for people!!
    So, how is your Summer going? Did you get to go anywhere? Any thing on your hooks or needles? Let me know!