Sunday, October 09, 2022

While Miz Kittling Knits: Recipes for Love and Murder

 

The past couple of months have felt a bit strange. I'd gotten into afghan-making mode in such a big way that when I switched to doing other things, it just didn't feel right. I know that probably doesn't make much sense, but there you go.
 
I've even gone through all my yarn cubbies and weeded out quite a bit of "dead wood." By "dead wood", I'm referring to yarn that I've had for fifty years and haven't used (and have no plans of ever using) and to yarn that I purchased, dreaming of grandiose patterns that I would make that I now know I have absolutely no interest in ever making. Do you ever do things like this? Please tell me I'm not alone!
 
What happened to the dead wood? I donated it to a group of octogenarians who get together every week to make things for various charities. They were thrilled (and a bit stunned) at how much yarn I was giving them and downright gobsmacked when I told them that what they were receiving was a small drop in the bucket compared to when I donated my mother's humongous yarn stash to another group almost thirty years ago.  
 
Even though I have purchased yarn for three more afghans and a scarf, I still have seven empty yarn cubbies and no plans to fill them any time soon. I have some new yarns to try out, and if I'm happy with them, those empty cubbies will be filled.
 
At the beginning of September, Mary Jo, the woman who used to come weekly to help Denis and me with things around the house, told me that she was going to be blessed with a granddaughter in December-- would I please knit a baby blanket for her? After telling her my particular strengths and weaknesses as a knitter, Mary Jo chose a pattern called "Hearts, Kisses & Hugs" as well as the type of yarn and its color. I got to work, and this is the result...
 
The completed baby blanket

 
Closeup showing the hearts, X's, and O's

 
The pattern is from 60 Quick Baby Blankets. I used US size 9 circular needles and one of my favorite yarns: Lion Brand's Feels Like Butta® in a color called Dusty Pink.

I used a different color of this yarn to make one of my favorite "snuggle under" afghans. It machine washes and dries beautifully, and has the wonderful feel of chenille without the headaches that chenille can give you.

I certainly hope that Mary Jo and her granddaughter enjoy it!

Now... what was I watching while I was knitting hearts and X's and O's? Acorn TV's new series, Recipes for Love and Murder, which is based on Sally Andrew's first Tannie Maria mystery of the same name. I loved the book as well as the one that followed, so I was eager to see how they would televise it.
 
 
I enjoy the South African setting. Some of the scenes remind me a bit of trails Denis and I have taken here in Arizona. I also like learning a bit about the food and culture. Did I say food? I love to eat, hate to cook, and enjoy watching cooking programs. (Go figure.) The cooking scenes in Recipes for Love and Murder are gorgeous!

Denis and I will be watching the last two episodes of the first season this evening. There's a lot to like about this series, and I do enjoy it, but I haven't fallen in love with it, not like I did with the books. On that note, I'll leave you with the storyline from IMDb:
 
"Meet Tannie Maria. She's fifty-something, short and soft (perhaps a bit too soft in the wrong places). Tannie Maria is our irresistible narrator, a woman of hearty appetite and formidable culinary skills. Tannie Maria lives in the small town of Eden in South Africa and is obsessed with food. She's a bit of an oddity in this very hot and dry farming region of the Karoo, having arrived ten years ago from Scotland, when she inherited her great aunt's house. Along with her co-worker, Jessie - a kick-ass young black investigative journalist - she gets drawn into a murder mystery. When The Karoo Gazette insists on replacing her recipe page with an Agony Aunt column, Tannie Maria discovers she has a gift for helping people to deal with their heartaches and confront their fears - with just the right recipe in the mix every time. When a woman from the village is viciously murdered, Tannie Maria and her feisty young reporter colleague Jessie can't resist being drawn into the investigation. Martine's murder shakes up the whole town, skeletons come flying out of closets, and danger lurks around every corner. A murder mystery series with a spicy comedic flavor, based on the best-selling Tannie Maria books by Sally Andrew, and set in the breathtaking landscapes of South Africa and Scotland.

16 comments:

  1. I do enjoy reading about your knitting endeavours, Cathy. You do such gorgeous work. Not heard of that TV show at all but it sounds like my perfect programme. If it ever comes to me sitting and watching TV all day, cooking shows would be my drug of choice. I adore them. Hubby loves those awful salvage hunter shows. Oh my God.

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    1. My mother used to spend every Saturday morning watching cooking shows on our local PBS station. I became hooked on a few of them, too.

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  2. That is so beautiful, Cathy! You have real skills. As for Recipes..., I felt very much as you do when I watched it. I love the South African setting, and the characters are interesting, but I'm not in love with the series. I'm not exactly sure why, but something just keeps me at a bit of a distance, if that makes sense.

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    1. Yes, I feel as though I'm on the outside looking in.

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  3. You're not the only one who has grandiose dreams only to realize later you're never going to do them. I have a few bags of yarn in a back closet along with some totes of fabric that I was always going to do something with, but never have. And probably never will. ;D

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  4. I was not aware of this new series so thanks for cluing me in. I'll have to check it out! I'm not a knitter so I can only wish you luck with all that yarn.

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    1. Give me a good supply of books and yarn, and I'm raring to go!

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  5. Oh, now I can get into the comments. I love the baby blanket. That baby will be warm under a beautiful patterned and colored covering. I don't know about the show you were watching. I'm so far behind on stremaing.

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    1. I was gobsmacked when the designer of this baby blanket pattern contacted me through my blog's Facebook page. She told me that she'd been following my reviews for a long time. Wow!

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  6. Wow. You are now a famous knitter. Well, that baby blanket is special.

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    1. No way am I a famous knitter! But I am now marginally acquainted with a designer. That's special, just like the baby blanket she designed.

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  7. I just looked at the blanket closely. That is a very complicated pattern. Congratulations.

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