Monday, March 21, 2016

While Miz Kittling Knits: Crossing Lines


Denis and I had an absolutely wonderful week with our house guest, and it's time for me to get back in the swing of things. (Yes, I did have posts scheduled the entire time he was here so I wouldn't have the "guilts" if I neglected the blog.)

Of course, one of the ways I get back in the swing of things is to whip out my knitting in the evenings and watch some sort of crime show on television. As a matter of fact, I'm looking forward to the start of season 6 of Vera tonight, but what have I been knitting and watching prior to Vera? (Be on the lookout for her in a future post!)


I've been working on a scarf using acrylic yarn in a colorway called "Kaleidoscope" and size ten straight needles. The pattern is called "Chevron Lace," and in order to show you what it looks like, I had to pin a section of it down on my blocking boards. It's an easy four-row pattern that's attractive and good if you need to practice yarn-overs and knit-togethers.

I definitely think I'm having a reaction to several "made to order" projects that all called for solid, dark colors of yarn. Now all I want to deal with are light and bright shades. I didn't realize that this particular yarn is self-striping, and if I had I probably wouldn't have purchased it. My preferences have always been for more "painterly" shades when colors fade in and out in no particular order or length. But I do have to admit that I like this. For some reason, it reminds me of two things: (1) that striped scarf that Waldo-- of "Where's Waldo?" fame-- wears, even if the colors are far from matching, and (2) a Mexican serape that I saw in a shop down in Nogales many years ago. It was striped using the exact same colors. I'm trying to decide if I'm going to follow the pattern which states that the scarf should be ninety inches long when completed. That is a LOT of scarf! It will also have fringe since both ends curl up if left to their own devices. 

Now... what have I been watching while stitching up this Chevron Lace scarf? The third season of a crime series called Crossing Lines that I found on Netflix. 


   

One of the program's taglines states "A world without borders needs justice without borders." Crossing Lines is set in Europe and features an elite team of investigators who work for the International Criminal Court headquartered in The Hague. If serial crimes are being committed across national borders, this is the team that is called in to hunt down the bad guys.

It's a bit more of a "thriller" than some of the other shows I've become hooked on, but I really enjoy it. The two actors who are regulars are Donald Sutherland (third from the left above) and Tom Wlaschiha (on the end at the far right). If you're a Game of Thrones fan, you're going to recognize Wlaschiha. 

Now let me try to run through a few reasons why I enjoy this program so much. One, you get to see a lot of Europe throughout the series. Secondly, the cast of characters is fluid, which makes it much more realistic. This is high-stress and very dangerous work. Some members of the team are going to burn out-- and some are going to come to harm. Each character also has his or her own backstory. These personal histories add a lot of texture and interest to each episode. The acting is uniformly good, and I like the mix of different accents. (None is hard to understand at all.)

Then there's the whole crime aspect and how this team manages to catch (or not catch) the bad guys. Add the fact that they also have to deal with all the various governments and police forces involved, and the entire series just becomes addictive. 

If you're looking for something a little different that has some European flair and scenery, I recommend Crossing Lines-- with or without a knitting project!  

  
 

8 comments:

  1. I really enjoyed this series too - a few of the plots are a little over the top in terms of how much action takes place at once but the issues that crop up seem realistic enough and the acting is really good

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    1. Sometimes I think thrillers are all about "over the top," and I've always considered this series to be a bit of a thriller. From what I've read, the issues are realistic, and-- as we both know-- the acting is good. I hope there are more seasons of this.

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  2. I've seen this one pop up on Netflix, Cathy, but haven't (yet) watched it. I'm not usually one for 'thriller TV,' but it does sound interesting. And that knitting is gorgeous!

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    1. It's not a total thriller, Margot. I think it's safe for you to try. ;-)

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  3. We've watched some of this show too. I think left off in the middle of season 2 and I'm glad to know there is a season 3. We usually watch shows on Netflix in the summers, when the regular TV is hiatus. Look forward to catching up with all these characters and I agree that it is well done. I've enjoyed all the different countries that each character belongs to and learning about what brought them to the combined team. Love the scarf. Very pretty.

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    1. Our consumption of Netflix and Acorn programming rises in the summer, too, but I've become rather adept at finding myself good knitting series to watch while Denis is at work.

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  4. Very lovely knitting. Whoever receives this scarf will be lucky indeed.

    This series sounds good, will add it to my list. I'm watching so many dvd's that I'm not reading! Acorn is addictive.

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