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Ten years into widowhood, after one year of incredible happiness and nearly 14 years of single blessedness. Retired, and mostly enjoying it. Still knitting. [Zen]tangling.again after a brief hiatus.

Monday, March 24, 2008

Is the Peep Catholic?

[With my apologies to any of you who are devout Catholics. I have great respect for that Church, for the way that it kept the cultural and spiritual lights on during the Dark Ages, and for the goodness of many of its members.] I found this link on Mason-Dixon Knitting. This was my favorite, before I gave up and went to bed way too early this morning. Hence the ditziness of my title today. [It’s #25 in the series; I hoped that the link would take you directly to it, but no such luck.]

Thoughts on “The Jane Austen Book Club”: I mostly liked it. The movie is definitely better without the deleted scenes, some of which were just squick.

There is knitting in this movie. There is teaching-of-knitting in this movie. Without giving away plot points, there are lunacy, temptations, marvelous visual cues as to how women communicate with one another [useful for any male reader who wants to understand us as a species], great costumes, and an opening montage that is only rivaled by my memory of the opening sequence of “Local Hero” [another lyrical and wonderfully subversive movie; one of you told me a few months ago that Mark Knopfler did the soundtrack].

That being said, there are a number of “oh please, please do not go there” moments. This is not a movie for children, although I think the love scenes are discreetly handled. This is not a movie I would be comfortable watching with a date, or with my friends from the dinner group. I don’t know if this is a movie that my daughters would enjoy; I know that at least one of them has no patience for the leisurely, meticulously-crafted plots so characteristic of Jane Austen. But I would not be embarrassed to watch this with any of them, or with my best friend, who like me is an Austinophile [is there such a word?]

I was delighted to learn from a quick glance at the screen while listening to the bonus material, that there is a “Jane Austen for Dummies”. Appearing soon on my wishlist for Amazon. And it’s obvious [to me, at least] that one of the things I will be doing when the dust settles after the move, is joyfully re-reading every blessed one of Jane Austin’s books.

When I finished the movie, I had two pattern repeats to go on Middlest’s sock, before the toe decreases. Which means that I should have a picture of the finished pair before bedtime tonight!

And which also means that I will be down to one project on the needles. I will want to do something on larger needles, which might mean Fetching in the red Cashmerino Aran I have been hoarding for over a year since knitting four pairs in green or tweed in late 2006. Or maybe I will unvent something to use up the last of the Smooshy leftover from Mal’s Mitts last December.

I still have no idea what I want to make from the charcoal grey Denim Silk. Happy Monday, everybody!

1 comment:

Jenni said...

Like I don't know you mean me! I need my books to be written as movies and my movies to move fast enough to keep the attention of a four year old.
We bought and watched Enchanted this weekend. Way more my style with the singing and the silliness. Not to mention tiaras and glitter.