Big Scarf

After looking at some of the chunky knitted items in this Etsy shop, I was inspired to make an oversized cowl that could also be pulled down over my shoulders as a little shrug/poncho hybrid. I found this Lion Brand pattern for something similar that seemed like it would work:

I was a little uncertain as I was knitting it. It seemed like it might be too stiff and bulky to work out, but I'm actually pretty happy with the finished product:


I'm imagining wearing this as a cozy bit of extra warmth, even when I'm just sitting around at home.

Emma

One of the few things to look forward to during post-holiday January is the return of Masterpiece Theatre to PBS. Sunday night was the premiere of a new BBC adaptation of Jane Austen's Emma. (If you missed it, you can watch it online. The series continues for the next two Sundays.)

I really loved it! So far, it's pretty high up there among my favorite Jane Austen movie adaptations. I still think that Gwyneth Paltrow set the standard in her version of Emma, but this Emma isn't far behind. All of the other characters are perfectly cast and the times when the movie veers away from the book, like when it shows the characters as children, actually seem to improve upon the original story.

The movie's website also has a cute little Bachelor's of Highbury quiz to find out which male character you're most compatible with. Although I'm not sure how cute it actually is....my most compatible bachelor is Mr. Woodhouse?!?! Emma's elderly, hypochondriac father?!?! I'm horrified! Aren't these things supposed to be rigged so that everyone gets Mr. Knightly?

A Little Night Music

I just love when I think of nerdy, vaguely-pun-like titles for my posts, like this one about Kazuo Ishiguro's Nocturnes. Perfect for a book made up of five loosely connected stories revolving around music and nighttime, right?

I'd been looking forward to reading this for a while because I love the other two books I've read by the author, Never Let Me Go and The Remains of the Day. The premise of this one made it sound like a cross between one of those and Bel Canto. Instead, I was surprised to discover that the stories were all actually pretty funny. Not quite what I was expecting, but still a pleasant reading experience.

Trip to Purl

My friend Lara gave me a lovely gift for Christmas- a gift card to Purl yarn shop in Soho! Yesterday after work I made my first trip to the store, a bright blue little shop in the middle of a dark street.

I wish I had taken a more centered shot. It's a tiny, tiny store and I felt like I had to be stealthy with my picture taking.

Inside the walls are lined with shelves of pretty yarn.


They had this display showing different project ideas. They were also selling these really pretty shawl clips. I may have to get one if I can think of a good project to wear it on. Luckily, (and uncharacteristically) I saved some of my gift card for a future visit.

I came away with two skeins of purple lupin colored baby alpaca yarn for a hat. Pictures to come once I finish! Thanks again, Lara!

(Note the vintage knitting bag that my mom gave me,)

Let the Great World Spin

I tend to inwardly roll my eyes when I see a blurb that describes a book as "leaving you breathless", but I've finally found an instance where the blurb was true. Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann tells the interweaving stories of several characters set against the backdrop of 1970's New York on the day that Phillipe Petit walked a tightrope between the Twin Towers. The descriptions of the crowds on the street watching the tightrope walker create such a buildup of tension that you really do feel a little breathless after reading them.

At the risk of gushing, I loved everything about this book.- the writing itself, the way the author connects the lives of characters that are worlds apart, the way its pre-9/11 setting takes on a post-9/11 meaning. I'm still thinking about it after finishing it. So many characters come in and out of the story, and some of the most fleeting moments between minor characters are the ones that have stuck with me the most.


I liked this book so much that I watched the documentary Man on Wire about Phillipe Petit's tightrope walk. It's a really interesting movie, and it's amazing how crazy his entire stunt was- beyond the actual craziness of tightrope walking in general. They actually strung the wire by using a bow and arrow to shoot fishing line between the two buildings in the middle of the night, then ran the steel cable across little by little. Crazy!