#March

It is the first day of March and man does this month have a lot of group activities included. At midnight last night/this morning, anxious knitters around the globe cast on carefully planned and strategized projects for Malabrigo March (kind of like March Madness here in the States only better, because it's yarn not college basketball). Malabrigo is a highly valued and hoarded yarn that the knitting community celebrates every year by knitting as much as possible in a single month. I didn't think I was going to participate because I don't really have any Malabrigo in my stash. But last night I was playing around on Knitty, as I am wont to do at times, and noticed Quest for the first time. It's a really pretty cloche pattern that I instantly realized would be beautiful in this one lone little skein I had sitting in the closet.

I have not really had this yarn for very long. It was a Christmas present this year that my knitterly friend bought for me because she could not justify buying it for herself. She told me she could not leave it behind because it is the perfect shade of Tardis blue.

And it totally is! I have been saving it for something special and that something special has appeared! So now that I'm suddenly participating in Malabrigo March I think I'm going to pull out my leftovers and see what else I can knit up.

March is also a big month in the world of Dollhouse fans. On Wednesday March 30, the first of the new Dollhouse comics will hit stores. In celebration of this fact, we over at Echo Alert have issued a challenge -- to watch both seasons in 4 weeks. So, maybe if you're like me this isn't really a challenge because I often go through a tv season a day. But this is a community effort. Frank and I will be tweeting as we watch the episodes and are encouraging listeners to tweet and email in their thoughts no matter if it's their first viewing or fiftieth. Then every Saturday I will write up a blog post incorporating everyone's thoughts on that week's episodes. If you'd like to join us, you can find all the information in the shownotes of our latest episode.

Speaking of community efforts, March 28 will mark the kick off of the second annual Knitting and Crochet Blog Week!

I discovered the knitting blog community through last year's blog-a-long and so am very excited to participate this year. If you are a knitting or crochet blogger you can find all the information on the ever lovely Eskimimi's blog and in the Blog Hub Ravelry group.

Ok, so March is going to have a lot involved in addition to my normal writing and midterm grading life. But it's going to be soft Malabrigo and the stunning Eliza Dushku, so I think I am up for the added "work" load.

All That Remains

Things here are so crazy I have not had a spare moment to sit down and blog about the featherweight or my birthday (I do hope to get a WIP Wednesday post out tomorrow), but I had to take a spare moment to make sure that you see this video. Around six months ago (I try not to remember the date, it was too sad), my favorite tv show came to an end. Dollhouse was a powerful show that spoke to a lot of the deep themes of identity and morality that so often get treated with cotton candy lightheartedness on so many other shows. It dealt in moral ambiguity and required an audience that thought through and processed every act. With very few exceptions, each episode was a shot of perspective and even those seemingly throwaway episodes are filled with intelligence. Today the season 2 dvds were released, and while I myself have not purchased them, I too marked today's tainted joy, excited for the product, but saddened because I am once again reminded of what my Friday nights have lost. However, we found out this weekend that the story will live on in the form of a comic series that will debut in February (there is a special issue with the dvds that I hope some kind soul will let me read), so there is hope. There is always hope. That is something Dollhouse taught me.

In the meantime, writers Maurissa Tancharoen and Jed Whedon have released a music video for their song Remains (available on itunes). I think it aired on the show, but I honestly can't tell you for sure (yes, I'm a bad podcaster) [Edited to add: yes, it did. I just went back to check. It's in Epitaph One, ironically the episode that Fox did not allow to air]. The following video does an excellent job of underscoring the core of the show. I hope that you watch, even if you did not watch the show. It is not just about beautiful people being brainwashed, it is about human nature and human needs. Understand that it will challenge you, it will horrify you, and it will make you weep (maybe not this video, but the show definitely could). Today I watch in melancholy because I miss something that was a big part of my life for the better part of a year, but I also celebrate the beauty of something that brought me so much joy.

Watch. Enjoy.

Dollhouse, we miss you.

Placeholder for Future Rockingly Awesome Post

They did it! The guys over at Echo Alert met the amazing Miracle Laurie at Big Apple Con and GAVE HER MY SCARF (I know, tone down the enthusiasm, right)! I really don't have time right now to write up the post dedicated to the episode, but I wanted to give everyone a heads up (see, I said everyone. I know you're out there). Go watch the video cast on the website or download into your itunes, which is really what you should be doing anyway. The scarf itself is the Haruha scarf by Mari Muinonen, whose beautiful pattern can be found on MadeByMyself or on Ravelry. The website is in Finnish, but if you scroll down you can look at the pdf, which is in English and Finnish.

So go! Watch, enjoy, knit. And don't forget to watch Dollhouse Friday nights on Fox at 9/8 central.