Tuesday, June 11, 2024

While Miz Kittling Knits: Mr. Bates vs. The Post Office

 

 
It's been quite some time since I shared any of my knitting with you. I've had posts about going to the Desert Botanical Garden and the Phoenix Zoo and visiting with Daisy and Suzanne that took center stage instead. The lack of crafty posts doesn't mean that I've stopped knitting in the evenings-- heavens, no! I have a backlog of projects to show you, so I'd better get started!

This time I want to share a completed baby blanket.
 



I'm so used to knitting multi-strand, big-needled-- US sizes 13, 15, 17-- adult-sized afghans that this single-strand, US size 8 needled baby blanket took some getting used to! Knitting it made me realize that a lot of the pain I was experiencing in my thumbs and other finger joints was due to the weight of the all-in-one-piece adult-sized afghans I've been making, so it looks as though I might be concentrating on smaller items from now on. We shall see.

I found the pattern ("Look for Happiness") on Etsy, and used Red Heart's With Love 100% acrylic yarn in a lovely blue-ish purple called "Iris." I've purchased yarn to make more baby blankets that I will be donating to the hospital that's across the street from the clinic where I go every Friday.
 
(By the way, the yellow afghan underneath the baby blanket now resides in the UK.)
 
What was I watching while my needles were clacking away?
 
 

 
Firstly, here's a brief synopsis: "One of the greatest miscarriages of justice in British legal history where hundreds of innocent sub-postmasters and postmistresses were wrongly accused of theft, fraud and false accounting due to a defective IT system."

Lately, I've been in the mood for films representing "the Little Guy versus The Man." I want to see justice prevail. I don't want to see car crashes, gory violence, or hormones gone berserk. I want to see films about ordinary people prevailing against great odds. 

Let me tell you, did Mr. Bates ever fill the bill! If you haven't watched this, I highly recommend it. If you don't find yourself talking (or even shouting) at the television screen, I'll be surprised. If you visit IMDb's page for Mr. Bates, you'll find more information and some good reviews of it. It's available on Amazon Prime, YouTube, Google Play, and PBS Masterpiece.

It is unbelievable what the British government put these poor people through, and one of my friends in the UK told me that no one had really been aware of what was going on until this film was released. Now there is a tremendous hue and cry-- as well there should be.

Okay, now that my blood pressure has been elevated just by typing this, I'd better go sit down and do some knitting. It's been a long time since I've been so worked up over something I've watched on television, and I think I like it. I'm hoping all of you will watch it, too.

12 comments:

  1. That baby blanket is lovely and what a color! Beautiful. Thanks for the suggestion of something to stream that will make me yell at the British government on a streaming service There are cutbacks in the NHS which make me yell at the Guardian home page.Very lucky babies will receive those blankets.

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    1. Yes-- my friend in the UK has played a role in the NHS, and she's not very happy either.

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  2. What a beautiful blanket, Cathy! That rich shade of blue, that softness... it's just gorgeous. And about the whole post office scandal? Grrrrr!! I try to refrain from profanity when I comment on posts, but what happened there makes it hard for me to do that...

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  3. Love that blue color! What a cute baby afghan. :D

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  4. We watched the first "Mr. Bates" episode last night and will definitely be watching the rest.

    Lucky is the baby who will be wrapped in that beautiful blanket!

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    1. I had to stop myself from watching the whole thing at one sitting.

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  5. Cathy, your baby blanket is really lovely. How kind of you to donate baby blankets to the hospital. I do know that they and the families that receive them will appreciate them. My daughter is a labor and delivery nurse at one of our local hospitals in the area and they all can use things such as this. :-)

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    1. If I have to knit small, I want to make sure someone benefits.

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  6. I love the color and pattern of that baby blanket! So beautiful. I hadn't heard of Mr. Bates vs. The Post Office. It sounds quite good, especially considering my husband worked for the USPS. But it just might get his blood boiling a little too much 🙂.

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    1. It might. I haven't ever worked for the USPS and my blood boiled!

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