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