Monday, October 31, 2016

While Miz Kittling Knits: Agatha Raisin


Denis and I have been back from vacation for a few days, and I just finished going through all the photographs we took (which means all new wallpaper for my three monitors). I'll be sharing some of the photos with you at a later date, but this post isn't about sightseeing and photography; it's about knitting and television.

I bought a new knitting "bag" for the trip, and I'm happy to say that it was a complete success. It even fulfilled extra duties. It's on wheels, has a telescoping handle, plenty of pockets, a zippered top, and folds up when not in use. After saying that, I suppose you want to see pictures, don't you?




Here you go. It's not easy to see the fabric, but it has a traveling motif. What's in those two bags, you ask? The only major purchases I made while on vacation: yarn. 





Here's a photo of the inside. The back (empty) pocket housed Denis's iPad and keyboard. The pocket on the left housed my two Kindles. (I only needed one, but I was nervous about not taking any physical books.) The pockets on the right housed knitting needles, magnets, and pens. The pocket in the front held knitting patterns, hotel confirmations, and notebooks. As you can see, the main compartment had plenty of room for yarn, two knitting projects, a pouch for my charger and knitting tools, and a large economy-size bottle of "Honey, I walked too much" pills. There was room to spare for one bag of my yarn acquisitions, too.

I thought I'd show you photos of the scarf project I completed just before we left. The pattern is called the "Best Friend Lace" scarf, and the yarn I used is absolutely wonderful. Artyarns silk and mohair with sequins and Murano glass beads in a color called "Just Peachy."  Let's take a look--


Isn't it gorgeous? The yarn is so soft it's like handling clouds, and I love the color-- so much so that I tried to buy more only to discover that it had been put on clearance and had sold out. Major pout here, let me tell you!

Once you get the hang of knitting two stitches together, knitting two stitches together through the back loop, slipping a stitch then knitting two together and passing the slipped stitch over the stitch you just knitted (along with a ton of yarn-overs), it's a breeze and works up quickly.  Wake up now! I saw your eyes glaze over when I started talking about those different stitches!

I have to admit that this was so much fun that I'm champing at the bit to use more fancy yarn to knit more lace! In fact... let me show you a closeup of the scarf--







Now... what was I watching on television while I was knitting lace? In a post a week or so ago, I mentioned that I'd read at least four of M.C. Beaton's Agatha Raisin mysteries, but had stopped because man-hungry female characters just do not do a thing for me. However, when I noticed that Acorn TV had the first season of "Agatha Raisin," I just had to see what changes the producers had made to the original storylines.

I am quite happy to say that Agatha the Man-Eater was toned down quite a bit, which let me enjoy the characters and the stories much more.

You can't beat a television series that's filmed in the Cotswold area of England, and when Agatha left London for there, she said she wanted a "chocolate box" cottage. She got one. I almost went into shock when I saw what she did to the inside of the place, but I remained calm, only dropped one stitch, and held on to see my patience rewarded

Ashley Jensen is Agatha Raisin in the series, and I could listen to her Scottish accent all day long. She's equally skilled in comedy and drama and brings a lot to her role. (I just took another look at her resume. I knew I'd seen her somewhere before-- "Ugly Betty"!)

Knitting lace with a little bling to it certainly fit Agatha, and I have to admit that I'm looking forward to season two. I'll have plenty of lace patterns to choose from!



3 comments:

  1. That knitting bag is great, Cathy! And your knitting project is absolutely gorgeous! I can just imagine how soft and comfortable it is. As to the TV series, I'm glad it toned down that aspect of Agatha's character. I haven't seen it yet, but I may give it a try.

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    1. The show's not rocket science, but it is a very pleasant way to spend an evening.

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  2. Thanks for the heads up about the show, I had no idea!

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