Another exciting
afternoon of rugby. France beat Ireland by a whisker. I cheer for France as
long as they’re not actually playing US.
We’re having a bit
of a thaw, but not enough that I ventured out. 1218 steps – a miserable total.
However, I finished knitting the Evendoon. That final cuff was awkward.
(Franklin in his latest podcast talks of the awkwardness of the sleeves of a
top-down sweater, as you spin the whole thing around on your lap.) And picking
up stitches for the neckband was more awkward than I expected. But it’s all done.
I have still to tidy up, and obviously there are lots of ends. Then blocking. I
have been known to skip that step before passing an adult sweater forward into
circulation – that’s as bad as confessing to reading a book about the Princess
of Wales. But in this case, Kate Davies says that I must pay particular
attention to the neckline while blocking – so I guess it can’t be skipped.
And, as you can
see from the sidebar, there’s plenty to occupy me if the Polliwog yarn hasn’t
arrived when all that is done.
Reading
“Sense and
Sensibility” relied too much, for my taste, on long passages of exposition. I
loved Colonel Brandon, and was disappointed that he didn’t end up with Elinor.
I didn’t care much for her final choice. And I felt cheated that we had no
love-talk for either couple, nor indeed talk of any kind, at the end of the
book. I thought sadly of Mr Darcy’s
magnificent speech: “You are too generous to trifle with me. If your feelings
are still what they were last April, tell me so at once. My affections and
wishes are unchanged, but one word from you will silence me on this subject
forever.” We all swoon at his feet. Even Austen cannot report what Elizabeth
actually said in reply.
But that’s more than
a bit schoolgirlish of me. Your criticisms are much more serious, Shandy.
It is that item at the top of your list that worries me Jean.It has not shifted for a very long time. Have you given up on it completely?
ReplyDeleteI have never listened to Franklin, but I do prefer bottom up for the reason that the sleeves and body may be worked before joining and you are not struggling with turning it for the sleeves. I'm currently nearly finished the Keynote Pullover is some deep, deep stash and am glad for the warmth on my lap as I work the final neck rounds. It is so cold I may not block it either, Jean, and just put it on. I am reading Transatlantic, by Colum McCann, and am smitten with his writing.
ReplyDeleteDid it come to your attention Jean that there was a new Fruity Knitting episode earlier in the week?
ReplyDeleteThank you for giving your opinion. I am studying Austen lately and I think Sense and Sensibility may be Austen's most scandalous, sensational novel. It is also one of her darkest. That may be why it has been continuously in print since 1811.
ReplyDeleteI am circling around 'Emma', I'd like to read it but am too aware of some of the excruciating scenes, Box Hill for one, which are like scenes on TV where I have to leave the room because they are so toe-curlingly embarrassing. Unfortunately if I leave the room when reading the book stays at the same page. Turning over six pages just doesn't feel the same.
ReplyDeleteEZ Knitting Workshop (I am a newly arrived convert) is inspirational; any day now I will find myself knitting something solely for the purpose of cutting a steel in it... Any recommendations for a suitable yarn for this adventure?
May I suggest an easier way to go about learning to steek? Buy a sweater at a thrift store. Preferably wool, but anything will work. Now start by machine sewing an opening. Try hand sewing. If it is a sticky wool, try skipping the sewing entirely. You have this whole canvas to cut into steeks until you are comfortable. Superwash wool, non-wools, and really smooth wools aren't good choices for steeking without sewing. So, when you are ready to try it on your own knitting, make sure your technique matches your fabric! It is so much easier to cut something up that you haven't spent time making!
DeleteThank you, Eileen. You got it exactly right. And another vote for Persuasion! Everyone must be reading it because I could not find it either at my local library or bookstore. Pride and Prejudice, of which there are always many copies, was the only Austen title remaining. I put it down to the pandemic. Chloe
ReplyDeleteI'm on "Phineas Redux," at the point where our hero is incarcerated on a charge of murder, not something I was expecting from Trollope. One of the reasons I like "Sand S " is that we have watched the film so many times we can recite the dialogue.
ReplyDeleteI think I've seen the Ang Lee/Emma Thompson adaptation of S&S too many times to be able to separate the book from the movie. Perhaps it's time for a re-read.
ReplyDelete