Wednesday, December 16, 2020

While Miz Kittling Knits: Heartbeat & Fisherman's Friends

 

 
2020 has definitely been the Year of the Afghans for me. I've started knitting the eighth one this year, and I'm happy to say that I've started distributing the finished ones.

Denis absolutely loves his, but I'm not going to show it to you in this post. I know. I'm being mean. But I will be showing you two afghans and recommending two different things for you to watch. It's the holidays after all!

The patterns for both afghans came from Leisure Arts' Big Book of Quick Knit Afghans and the yarn used for both was Lion Brand 88% acrylic 12% polyester Homespun Thick & Quick yarn, which is a departure from what the patterns called for, and that leads to a story.

I wanted to make a lavender-colored afghan and settled on the Homespun yarn I just mentioned. In deciding how many skeins I needed to make the afghan, I completely forgot that the pattern called for a double strand of regular worsted weight yarn, so the amount needed would be doubled. Oops! I made FOUR lavender afghans until I finally used up all that yarn! By the way, the Homepsun Thick & Quick yarn is super bulky which is why I only use one strand for these afghans. The finished products are so lightweight, so soft, and so warm that knitting them is a delight.

Now it's time to show you the afghans.

I made three of these. The pattern is called Sunny, and the color of the yarn is Purple Aster. Very simple, but oh so cozy!

The pattern is called Cozy and the yarn color is Dove.

A closeup of the Cozy pattern.

 

Now that you've seen what I've been knitting, it's time to let you know what I've been watching while my needles are clacking away.

 

 

First up is Heartbeat, which is described as "the 1960s lives and adventures of the police constabulary, medical staff, and residents of Ashfordly and Aidensfield [Yorkshire, England]"

This long-running series is definitely warm and cozy and a bit of a soap opera. There aren't many surprises in the storylines, but the scenery is gorgeous and the cast of characters so likeable that it doesn't really matter. Besides, who needs to watch cutting-edge television all the time? 2020 has not been a good year, and Heartbeat can take your mind off that for awhile.

(Another bonus for people of a certain age? The soundtrack!)


 

I also want to recommend a movie that I stumbled across completely by accident. I don't know how many times I've come across a quiet little film, usually based on a true story, and done to perfection by the British. They have a knack for that, and Fisherman's Friends is the latest one I've discovered.

The film synopsis is "ten fisherman from Cornwall are signed by Universal Records and achieve a top ten hit with their debut album of Sea Shanties." Fisherman's Friends is based on a true story, and it's a story that Denis and I loved.

There's also an added bonus. How many of you are Doc Martin fans? How many of you Doc Martin fans have fallen in love with "Port Wenn"? It's a gorgeous little village on the Cornish coast, isn't it? Well, Fisherman's Friends was filmed there, too, in good old Port Isaac. (And who doesn't like a good sea shanty?)

10 comments:

  1. Beautiful afghans, both of them. The pattern for the one in Dove is lovely.

    I like the shows, and I do like Doc Martin and the village in which it's set. So I will look for that movie.

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  2. Thanks Kathy very much for pointing out Fisherman's Friends. I too ran across it by accident somewhere a month or so ago, and really wanted to watch it. I don't have a DVD player any more - my library has it. Then thought maybe I could play it on my PC - not my favorite thing to do. I only have ACORN for paid streaming service, not there. It slipped my mind totally. Your recommendation today, light bulb went on - and checked my library streaming services Hoopla and Kanopy. Yep, Kanopy offers it. I really wanted to watch this film - THANKS again.
    Ev

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    1. You're welcome, Ev! I hope you enjoy the film.

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  3. Those afghans are beautiful, Cathy! Just gorgeous! And I really would like to watch Heartbeat. I hope it goes to Britbox, Acorn, or Netflix at some point. Some of those streaming services are rediscovering those shows, and it's great.

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    1. I also found parts of Heartbeat on Britbox and Tubi, so keep an eye peeled, Margot. Denis and I have watched the first six seasons. Now we're hoping that later seasons pop up somewhere.

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  4. Love the afghans! I will be looking for your recommendations on things to watch!

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    1. My viewing has been all over the place lately. Who knows what I'll mention next!

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  5. I stumbled across Fisherman's Friends a month or so ago and absolutely loved it. I tuned in originally expecting that the scenery would be great if nothing else...but the movie is fantastic. And the fact that it's based upon real people is an extra bonus. I loved the credits at the end where they showed the real guys involved.

    As for afghans, well those have a tendency to turn into real family heirlooms. In the wintertime, we still use some that my wife's grandmother made in the seventies and eighties. Couldn't live without them. Even our daughters and their families are using some that she...and then my wife...made for them.

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    1. I loved the credits at the end of Fisherman's Friends, too, Sam.

      If things like afghans and quilts are taken care of, they do indeed last for generations. I remember a crazy quilt that my great-grandmother made that went through so many children and so many years that it literally fell apart. Part of me wishes I still had at least a piece of it.

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