Tribute to People with Attitude

Ok so I was watching Maggie Smith in the movie version of The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie and in all honesty I thought the movie and everything about it was really odd... and it annoyed me how Jean Brodie was martyred for enjoying her life even though she never did so at the expense of others but others tried to condemn her anyway. Also, the artist Teddy Lloyd that she had an affair with was never martyred, yet he was the worst of all. Yes like Jean he was a great lover of life or whatever but he, unlike her, did so at the expense of others. I have never read the book so I do not know if it was the same case in the book... but this was how it was in the movie which irritated me. The movie was however still worth seeing for the pure love of seeing Maggie Smith with her amazing acting and a whole lotta attitude. So it got me thinking about people with attitude and... well here we are.

The women of Harrison Fisher paintings:

Sibyl from "Fawlty Towers"

Ummm... let's see Maria Theresia of Austria (Marie Antoinette's mother)

Mary and Marshall from "In Plain Sight"

And representing the male symphonic metalist community we have Nightwish's Tuomas H. and Emppu V.

Maybe I'm a Traitor

Ok so I went back to "made-in-pieces". I just can't give that up. I saw "Brocade" by Kaffe Fassett and I was just in love. It's a beautiful masterpiece of colorwork!!! I haven't done colorwork in years... wow not since the very first sweater I ever tried to make. I got frustrated with that one and didn't finish because I was still relatively new to more advanced knitting and couldn't get used to the complicated chartwork. I have never tried again with that sweater but maybe someday I will since I laugh its chartwork to scorn if I compare it to the one for "Brocade".

"Brocade" is gloriously beautiful and romantic. I also chose to do it in two colors that have very good contrast so the intricate pattern will be very apparent. It was kind of a pain on first beginning because I (most foolishly) tried to work the chart without enlarging and recoloring it so that my eyes were crossing trying to distinguish between green and blue boxes that were... probably a square millimeter!!! If that!!! Wow. When doing complex chartwork I have to actually scotchtape a piece of paper across the row I am doing just to be able to see what row I'm on without getting confused and knitting into another row.

I don't mean to be flaky with my projects but I was looking through pattern books and magazines and I saw "Brocade" again... I have flipped through Rowan Issue #28 many times but I had never really paid much attention to "Brocade" but when I saw it again and examined it and realized that it was stuck in my mind and not leaving I decided that had better go ahead and surrender. So I looked in my yarn stash in the closet to see what I had to work with and found black and cappucino Zara by Filatura di Crosa, one of my all-time favorite yarns. I had never meant to use those two color together and I was really surpised at just how well they go together! I guess this project was just meant to be... it was completely unplanned for!!!

Well other than the complicated chartwork the pattern is quite easy so far... and I am happy to say that it is coming out quite nicely... I have just finished the first 20 chart rows... the bottom-most scrolls... on the back so this sweater is at its very beginnings still. Anyway wish me luck...