Wednesday, December 07, 2016

While Miz Kittling Knits: Deep Water


Now that it's actually cooled down here in Phoenix, I've found that my knitting speed has increased. In December, I've already begun making gifts for next year. 

Giving a handmade gift to someone last week generated a request that I'm working on right now. I'm really getting a kick out of using different types of yarn-- especially "luxury" yarn that's either a high class fiber like silk or cashmere, or a yarn with the added bling of sequins and/or glass beads. 

I have to shake my head and smile though. Of course, I'm enjoying working with luxury yarns-- they're expensive! Fortunately I've found a few places online where I can keep an eye peeled for good sales. (And I don't know whether or not I should admit this, but I've found a company that sells yarn made of yak hair. Why does this intrigue me so much?!?)

This time around, I'm going to show you the scarf I made for the woman who cuts our hair. The pattern is called Mae Geri, and it's a lace pattern.

"Mae Geri" on blocking boards.
   
I thought I'd show one photo of it when it was still pinned to the blocking boards so you could see the pattern from a different angle. The last two or three times we went for our haircuts, I was wearing a shirt that had some shade of purple in it, and every time I walked in, Tucker would tell me how much she liked my shirt. "Tucker likes purple," I thought to myself. Then I remembered a favorite yarn that I'd stocked up on, knowing that I would have a use for it one day: Patons Lace Sequin yarn in a color they call "Amethyst." Purple sequins are scattered throughout the yarn, but they do an excellent job of hiding in the photos!

I knew I wasn't taking a chance on the color, but I was in unknown territory, since I didn't know if Tucker liked wearing scarves or not. Well, the first thing she did when she pulled it out of the gift bag was to put it around her neck, and since I got three big hugs, I think the scarf was a hit!

When Tucker made the comment that she'd never get a chance to wear it once she took it home because her daughter loved scarves and always "appropriated" all of hers, I said, "I could always make her her own. What's her favorite color?" Come to find out, burgundy is Taylor's favorite color, and I have just the yarn for something special for her. I'm working on it now! This yarn is also a specialty-type yarn, but it's not expensive. It just has its own quirks that makes knitting with it interesting. As we always said back home, this yarn is "slicker than snot on a doorknob," so I really have to ensure that no stitches slip off the needles while I'm working with it. (I've always wanted to know the origin of that doorknob colloquialism....)

Now... what have I been watching while knitting with lace yarn and sequins?  It's a four-part Australian crime drama called "Deep Water" that I found on Acorn TV.  

Here's the synopsis of the program from IMDb:

"When the mutilated corpse of a young man is found in a beachfront apartment in Bondi, Tori Lustigman [Yael Stone] and Nick Manning [Noah Taylor] are assigned the case. Is this brutal murder a domestic, a robbery gone wrong, or a gay hate crime? As other ritualistic murders occur, they discover the killer is using THRUSTR to procure his victims. Any local using that app is now at risk and it's a race against the clock to catch the serial killer before he strikes again. 

With mounting evidence to suggest the perpetrator has killed before, Tori and Nick start digging through old investigations. The discovery is shocking. In the 80s and 90s they uncover up to 80 possible murders of gay men in NSW - unexplained deaths, 'suicides' and disappearances. Many of these killings were linked to gay bashings by youth gangs, a blood sport that went largely unpunished. As they meet more victims from the uninvestigated past crimes, they become convinced that the current killer is somehow connected. In reopening the cold cases the detectives reveal the hidden truth about the past murders and uncover critical evidence leading to the serial killer. In doing so they finally give closure to the victims' families by bringing the killers, both past and present, to justice.


The female detective (Tori) often went swimming out in the sea, and that always made me cringe. I have Steven Spielberg's "Jaws" and reports of shark attacks off the coast of Australia to thank for that.  I would also like to add that it's a good thing to watch programs filmed in another country. Why? Not only do you get to see some lovely scenery, you can also find out how the natives pronounce things. In watching "Deep Water," I learned that I've been mispronouncing the "Bondi" in Bondi Beach my whole life. It's not BON-dee, it's Bon-DYE. Live and learn!

Filming a scene on Bondi Beach.

"Deep Water" really held my interest throughout, especially since I didn't have the whodunit figured out at all. This investigation turned out to be very personal for Tori, so I got to watch her try to get her hands on the evidence that she needed without anyone finding out her connection to the case. Also interesting and infuriating were the people who tried to stop the cold case investigation, the old "why dig up the past?" batch of nonsense. This is some really good television that I'm very glad I decided to watch while creating a bit of lace. I hope you get a chance to watch "Deep Water," too.


 

4 comments:

  1. OK< I will have to try Deep Water, Cathy. I've heard a lot about it, but haven't yet turned it. It does sound really good though. Oh, and that scarf is gorgeous!

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  2. That hand-knitted scarf in purple is beautiful. Lucky recipients of your craft.

    And I must try to find Deep Water. Will add it to my list and will check the library and Netflix.

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