Almost over

Well, I have Emma on DVD from Netflix, but I have not yet watched it. I am looking forward to it though. Here are some pics of the projects I've been working on throughout the KAL (and in between). I made some lacy fingerless gloves requested by my sister. I modified a feather and fan pattern (created my own decrease and everything). I turned them into short finger gloves per her request. I used a wool/bamboo blend from Germany called Trekking Pro Natura that she picked out from her LYS. She doesn't knit, but seems to have a yarn addiction like our mom and me. I liked the yarn. It was very soft and had a good drape. I liked her gloves so much that I'm making some of my own but with Louet Gems in teal. They are lovely, and I'm going to finish them (hopefully) while I watch Emma.

I also made a baby blanket for my boyfriend's sister's new baby (due the end of April). No one knows if it's a boy or a girl yet, so I made it yellow and green variegated. As it turns out, her nursery is yellow and green...how fortuitous. I used Cotton Tots for this (and all my baby blankets) because it is mommy friendly...machine washable and already shrunk. I lined it with cotton flannel because they live in Pittsburgh, and I hand stitched the lining on.

It's been fun. I'm sorry that it's over already and wish that there was more Jane Austen.

I liked Sense and Sensiblity, but I like Persuasion the best. S&S had beautiful music and scenery. I think someone mentioned that you get to like Marianne. True, because she was a bit annoying at first. I did like the true sisterhood the actresses seemed to have, and the badness that is Willoughby. Col. Brandon was wonderful in his true devotion to Marianne, and I've always felt bad for Edward F. He is shy, loving, and caring, and just seems to be a victim of circumstance. This actor really brought that out. I think that I still like the Emma Thompson version better, but almost any will do for me.

Good to meet and knit with you all. I'm now on Ravelry (stitchtwister). Hope to see you around.

Lynn

Sense and Sensibility

I did really enjoy this version of the book-maybe even more than the movie version. I am still working on fingerless gloves-onto my 10th pair now- but I did at least work on edging the squares for my sister's afghan a little bit. here is my Ravelry secret spring swapper wearing the gloves I made him

All that Lace

I was watching Sense and Sensibility on Sunday while knitting my Socktopia March socks and was consumed by the desire to knit lace. Could it have been all that feather-light stuff on the small screen in front of me? I just adore the lace collars and small shawls all the characters wear in this production. So I put away my socks and pulled out my poor Mystery Stole 3 that I've been ignoring. It took me a good half hour to figure out where I left off (I had to keep one eye on the t.v.) and it took another half hour to decide the pattern was too complicated to work while watching something new. I then cast on the Estonian Shawl and that worked much better! I must say that I am really enjoying this season of Masterpiece. I've just about decided to purchase all the DVD's (of course I already have P&P) even though I have been recording them as they air. I've re-watched Persuation, Northanger Abbey, Mansfield Park and Miss Austen Regrets every week since each has been on. I think that's a pretty good clue that I should have the DVD's. Happy knitting everyone!

More Austen...Hooray!

For some reason, my stupid DVR deleted Emma before I had a chance to watch it. Not to worry, I've been able to find the episodes of Persuasion, Northanger Abbey, and Emma that I missed. I may have to wait a while, but I'll still be able to watch. Right now I'm watching Northanger Abbey, but I really enjoyed Persuasion. I was happy to see Anthony Head from Buffy, and Alice Krige from Star Trek: First Contact in it. I hated Anne's sister Mary, but Anne was just lovely, and the whole "I shall never be persuaded to the contrary" scene at the end had me on tenterhooks. I found myself jumping up and down in my chair saying, "Just kiss him ALREADY!" Wonderful.

I'm looking forward to watching Sense and Sensibility, but I too love the one with Emma Thompson and may find this one hard to compete with.

Pics later today. I've finished some lacey fingerless gloves for my sister that I worked on throughout several movies, and a baby blanket for my boyfriend's sister's new baby.

Lynn

Sense and Sensibility

I wasn't sure how this could top the movie version (with Emma Thompson and Kate Winslet and High Grant) but it is actually pretty good. Marianne grew more appealing as the show developed. I'd like to watch it again-all at one time. Didn't get any knitting done though except for sewing together some fingerless gloves for a swap. This week I also watched the Kiera Knightly version of Pride and Prejudice and found it really insulting. No character development--Darcy looks like a kicked puppy throughout--Wickham was cuter. The only part that was probably more realistic was all of the backstage stuff-like Mr. Bennett following the pig through the house and the people working outside in the rain and the fact that every room shown wasn't decorated to the nines. Still- a waste of time in my opinion!

Emma watching but little knitting done

Pride and Prejudice (the real one) is my favorite, but I do like Emma also and I liked this version better than the one with Gwyneth Paltrow. I also like the movie version of Sense and Sensibility (with Kate Winslet and Alan whatshisface) so I am very dubious about the new version. But I will watch it. My recent knitting has been limited to fingerless gloves; so I have to get back to the afghan. Here are the gloves I made for people at work.

Finally....Pics

Here they are. The pics I've been promising. And we get to watch Emma on Sunday. Emma is my favorite. In order to keep my Jane Austen love going, I just watched Sense and Sensibility with Emma Thompson and Kate Winslet. I (heart) Col. Brandon. Yum-yum-yummy. Alan Rickman's voice just does it for me. I watched the Jane Austen Book Club a few weeks ago, and felt that it was just okay at first. Now I find myself thinking about it more and more. "Life with out Jane Austen is not worth living," and "We could do worse than to use Jane Austen books as guides for living," are some good lines fromt the movie that have been staying with me. Besides, one group member is always knitting, and even starts to teach someone else how to knit. I reccommend it

First pic: Socks for my dad. My first toe-up socks, and my first men's socks. Pretty good. I used Lion Wool and a mixture of techniques that I've looked at over the years. I just used a simple rib in order to keep me from getting too confused.








Next pics: Monkey socks (Cookie A. pattern from knitty.com) for my sister. She found some yarn that she wanted socks out of from her LYS. She doesn't knit, but I think that she might have a yarn addiction. These are hand dyed and the colorway is called "Muppets in Space." I love the colors: blues and purples. The color didn't set well, so my fingers were often tinged with a faint dark blue hue. These were also toe-ups and I had to take out the cuff in order do a better bind off. I like the result. They look big in this pic because my feet are smaller than my sister's.


Here they are closer:




Looking forward to Emma,
Lynn

Some Austen Better than No Austen?

While flipping through the TV channels this weekend I realized that "Pride and Prejudice"with Kiera Knightly was on a cable channel that I didn't even know we had. This is NOT my favorite rendition ofan Austen novel; the storyline was altered. (Who messes with Jane Austen?) On the plus side, Dame Judy Dench was Lady Catherine and that was brilliant!
Did anyone else stumble across it?

so sad

I've just discovered today that I'll have to wait until the 23rd in order to see more Jane Austen. I searched my DVR for the last installment of P&P, but I think someone deleted it accidentally. So, I looked for new Masterpiece recordings scheduled, but did not find it for today. I was mad a PBS for stupid pledge drive time. I'm bad I know.

Luckily, this TV hiatus will give me time to finally post some pics of what I've been doing. I've queued up the last episode of P&P in my Netflix, and I've also added Emma Thompson's Sense and Sensibility, Jane Austen Book Club, and others. Some are on very long wait though.

I just watch Becoming Jane with Anne Hathaway this last week. Has anyone else seen it? I thought it was just allright. I don't know too much about Jane's early adult life, but I love Anne Hathaway. I think she's just lovely.

Pics this week, I promise.
Lynn

I enjoyed PRIDE AND PREJUDICE. It is hard to forgive Mr. Darcy for interfering with Jane and Mr. Bingly, but really I should be mad at Mr. Bingly for allowing himself to be interfered with. Mr. Bingly is difficult to be mad at. It would be like kicking a puppy.

My favorite episode so far has been MANSFIELD PARK. Is it really written in first person, or was that a just a device to introduce Fanny's circumstances? It's one I still haven't read of listened to yet. It's the only one so far where I immediatly recognized any of the actors. Billie Piper played Doctor Who's assistant, Rose, for a couple of seasons. I haven't seen very many DOCTOR WHO's, but I did see one where she and the Doctor had to save Queen Victoria from an alien were-wolf. Seeing her star in a work of Jane Austen's was a pleasant surprise.

Mostly I too am working on wrist-warmers since they are fast. I'm getting in a few rows here and there on my alien scarf too. I managed to get a picture where you can see the completed alien pretty well. There's about two-thirds of a second alien next to him. I can make out the eye, but I've spent A LOT of time looking at it from different angles. I'm always sceptical that strange patterns will work. Then I feel surprised and clever when I get the proper results. It's always so nice when things work!

I couldn't get the pictures to work right, they aren't where I wanted them. Still, I think it's important to show both the front and the back.

More afghan avoidance

These are so much quicker than finishing that darn afghan! We watched our own copy of the end of P&P this weekend-so missed the commentary. Still as wonderful as always. Grrrrrrr-back to the afghan from now on and there's a lot of knitting to ice skating time coming up in March as well.

They Must Be Kidding

Well, I don't have much to say about my knitting progress, but I did imagine all of us sharing a collective giggle at the objectionable material warning before Pride and Prejudice this evening!!! Considering all the trash on television these days, I had to wonder if they meant we might object if we lived in the 1800's! Too funny.

Pride and Prejudice and avoiding the afghan

I love this version of P&P and I am cheerfully watching it in sections with my daughter instead of viewing the whole thing at once on the DVD I own. I am also avoiding the afghan and getting into fingerless gloves-much quicker and more fun. Plus I got suckered into one of the Ravelry groups (earlier mentioned by other posters on this blog) and I am totally into it now. I only have 5 more sets of handwarmers to make for people at work...These are straight knitting, size 8 needles- quick as a flash.

two finished beauties

My mom was visiting this past week and we hit the movies twice - giving me lots of time to knit. I LOVE to knit at the movies! So I was able to finish up my Jane project plus start and finish another project.

The top two pictures are of the soft, fuzzy wool sweater I made for my baby. It's a maybe fit for next winter. I embroidered it a bit and added some knit flowers. It still needs to be blocked but it's a very simple pullover, based on a classic that Garnet Hill used to sell for kids. I love how it turned out. The bottom pictures are of a simple hat and legwarmers made with the fabulous Socks That Rock yarn - so fun to knit with. I am a bit obsessed with matching caps and legwarmers for Little Miss.

I don't know what my next project will be. I've been loving watching P&P in the three distinct parts the way it was originally aired on the BBC. I have the dvd and always pop it in while doing some organization project around the house so it's more often background than something I am focusing on. I am concentrating on it much more with this Sunday night ritual. And I find so many people watching the series outside of this kal - I love getting to talk Jane with people I never knew loved her.

I am enjoying Jane Austen very much, but I haven't found a knitting project that relates to her at all. Last week I started a scarf that, if all goes well, will be full of hidden aliens. By knitting purls and purling knits they should only be visible from certain angles. They are very visible on the wrong side of the scarf. I hope that means it's working. I've been meaning to knit these scarfs for my cousins for Christmas for at least the last two years. My sister would probably like one too.

Seeing Gillian Anderson every week makes me miss THE X-FILES, although I think she's sounded very flat in her introductions. A couple of times she sounded like she was reading off a card. Does she always introduce MASTERPIECE THEATER? She starred in HOUSE OF MIRTH and I was wondering if that made her an American authority on Austen. If it was widely believed that all costume dramas are the same and no one knows the difference. Isn't that a horrible thought?

Once I started thinking about it though, I think Austen and Wharton were a little similar. I love the way they both handle narration. The narrator is always my favorite character because she's so clever. I imagine that's what they were like in real life. MISS AUSTEN REGRETS seemed to agree with me, at least as far as Jane Austen is concerned.

beginner projects

I've been working on two beginner knitting projects while enjoying the PBS series.  The first project is laughable. I started an afghan when I was pregnant with my first son...who is now 23! I picked it up again this year and got help from my knitting diva friend to finish. The original pattern had three complicated (for me) panels...and I only finished part of one as pictured. (Don't ask me what I've been doing all this time--you know, life.) I just couldn't concentrate enough to quit making mistakes : (  The 'new' pattern is to do two simplified outside panels, then hopefully ramp up to finishing the center one.

In the midst of the outside panel, I had to take a mental break and do another project. I did a simple prayer shawl. It's really a nice color, and fun to wrap up in while knitting on the other. I'd like to hear comments on those that like to work on one project at a time...or have a few going at once. Thanks for getting me back into the knitting world, even if it as an aged beginning! It's very inspiring seeing all that the group is doing. 

Vote for your favorite Austen hero

Darcy, of course!-----Even though I own this version of Pride and Prejudice in video and DVD, and have watched it at least 2 dozen times, I still had to watch again Sunday night. I can't really imagine another Mrs. Bennett, or Mr. Collins (!!!!) never mind Lady Anne de Bourgh when we get to her. I am almost done edging the lacy squares for my sister's afghan--now I just have to finish the embroidered squares, edge them, and put it all together. This is the point where I start looking at starting new projects! Here is the link to vote http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/austen/menofausten.html

P&P

I thoroughly enjoyed the first installment of Pride and Prejudice last night and spent most of the evening working on a scarf that I knit when I don't feel like working on other projects. I am so glad that PBS did not remake this show--this version with Colin Firth is wonderful (of course I say that about anything he is in). I started thinking of all the P&P sendoffs though. I expect everyone has seen Brigit JOnes but has anyone seen the Bollywood movie Bride and Prejudice?

Miss Lynn Regrets

the utter lack of pictures. I lent my camera to someone, and I don't have it back yet.
I did start a moebius scarf (FIVE TIMES) through Miss Austen Regrets. I finished it through the CSI mini marathon later (does that count, I just couldn't stop knitting). I won't have pics of that because it was a commission and I needed the money, so I already gave it to the person who is getting it, but I will take a pic of mine as a model.

I loved the detail in Miss Austen Regrets, too. I had to pause it at the scene where she's writing at the window and her sister comes in. Did you see the handknit lace scarf she had on her head? It was beautiful. now I know that my next project will be a lace one. I love it so much and I've been wanting to do more lace anyway. I already have the yarn, now I've got to find the right pattern.

Looking forward to settling down with my DVR to start P&P and the lovely Colin Firth. I'm a Colin fan more than a Mr. Darcy fan. I relate to Emma much more, and I love Mr. Knightly. Actually, did you notice the relationship between Jane and Rev. Bridges. He points out her mistakes and she thanks him for it: just like Emma and Mr. Knightley. I can't wait.
Lynn

miss austen regrets

Miss Austen Regrets was my favorite of the series so far. I loved the boldness the creators took in imaging this story. And did you notice the domestic details? There was lots of camera shots lingering on shoes, interiors, and bedroom scenes. I reveled in that.

I am still working on a pretty simple sweater for my Little Miss. For the first time I am trying some embroidery and adding knit flowers to girlie it up. I just may get inspiration from P&P this Sunday to finish it up.