Sunday, February 17, 2019

While Miz Kittling Knits: Jonathan Creek



Have you ever had a nemesis? I've had several over the span of my lifetime and expect to have a few more, but the most recent one happens to be a knitting pattern. Yes, you heard me correctly. A. Knitting. Pattern.

I liked the look of the forest glade cowl in the photo, and the pattern itself wasn't complicated even if it did have a profusion of yarnovers and knit-togethers. I also liked the fact that it was knit on circular needles "in the round" so I wouldn't have to sew the ends of the finished cowl together.

My simple lacy pattern gave me a bad headache. It gave me a bad headache three times. I don't know what my problem was, but I began to get the impression that I was not meant to make this cowl. And that made me mad. I started to improvise. Something about the size of the needles and the thickness of the yarn didn't feel right, so for my fourth go-round I chose bigger needles. 

It worked! And just to make sure that the pattern knew I had beaten it, I made it a second time using the same size needles and a thinner yarn to bring out the open weave of the pattern. So there, forest glade! You have no more power over me. HA!


The cowl on the left is made with Caron Simply Soft Paints acrylic yarn in "Passion." The variations of green make me think of dappled sunlight on grape leaves and the purple of juicy grapes hanging on the vine. I love Caron Simply Soft yarn because it is so soft, so easy to care for, and comes in some delicious solid and variegated colors. The "Paints" line is nice because the colors are not self-striping. (I've never liked stripes!) In looking this up, it appears that this particular color has been discontinued, which must be a recent decision because I bought the yarn less than a year ago.

The cowl on the right is done with a discontinued in-house brand of Michael's yarn, and since I used larger needles and a thinner weight yarn, the lace is more open and easier to see. You can click on the photo to see more detail.

Now... what have I been watching while fighting my way through all these forest glades? I'm glad you asked! I've been re-watching one of my favorite British crime series, "Jonathan Creek." I first saw it years ago on BBC America, and the entire series is now on Britbox.

The crime-solving duo consists of investigative journalist Madeline ("Maddy") Magellan and magician's assistant Jonathan Creek (Caroline Quentin and Alan Davies). They are complete opposites: Maddy very much in-your-face and Jonathan very much an introvert who enjoys living alone in his windmill and concocting brilliant stunts for his magician boss to perform. Quentin and Davies play well off each other, and I love these howdunits. (You see, the question isn't whodunit but how they did it.) There's also a good sense of humor throughout the first three seasons.

I do want to give you a word of warning, however. I'd only seen the first three seasons with Caroline Quentin. Quentin's star was on the ascendant, and she went on to other projects. "Jonathan Creek" went on for another couple of seasons with two different female leads. One lead was Julia Sawalha (of "Absolutely Fabulous" fame) and the other, Sarah Alexander. Although a good actress, the chemistry between Davies and Sawalha just didn't click. Sarah Alexander was a disaster in my opinion-- Jonathan's wife Polly, and a more mean-spirited person you'd never want to meet. Was having Jonathan saddled with such a creature supposed to be funny? If so, it certainly fell flat, and both actors seemed to be suffering mightily.

So watch the first three seasons, but beware the fourth and fifth!

I have other knitting projects done. I just need to rinse them out and block them. Sigh. (This blocking is the bit I wish would do itself!) If I can get myself in gear, you'll be seeing more episodes of While Miz Kittling Knits!



6 comments:

  1. Oh, those knitting projects are beautiful, Cathy! And I couldn't agree more about Jonathan Creek. The first few seasons are great - interesting plots, good characters and chemistry, and so on. But then...

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  2. I bow to your knitting skill - of which I have none. LOL

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    1. That's okay. You have an audiobook gene that I totally missed out on! LOL

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  3. Beautiful knitting, and I love the colors on the right.

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