Tag Archives: PBS

Inspiration: Grantchester

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Have you been watching Grantchester on Masterpiece Mystery?  On my PBS station, it’s been airing at 10:30 on Sunday nights (after Downton Abbey and after the horrifyingly bad Downton wrap-up show), in what is possibly the worst time slot available.

Despite that, it’s a really good show.  (And available to watch online.)  It’s a fairly standard, slightly dark, amateur-detective show (one of my favorite genres), set in the charming British countryside, where a charming country vicar and a slightly-less-charming-but-still-quite-charming police detective team up to work together to solve the surprisingly high number of murders that happen in their sleepy little village.

But, like with most period dramas on PBS, my favorite part are the costumes.  I mean, who wouldn’t want to wear dresses like these:

Bz0BRLOIMAAa8oX[1]Totally gorgeous!

And, I have to say, the knitting game for this show is simply top-notch.

Example 1: A fantastic crochet bed jacket.

Grantchester-S1-E3-Slideshow-BTS-04-scale-690x390[1]Example 2: A gorgeous graphic-knit cardigan.

Grantchester-Scene-Icons-Episode-1[1]Example 3: Not one, but two beautiful (and practical) cardigans.  I particularly love the geometric trim on the one on the right.

Grantchester-2014-imagini-4[2]This show makes me want to start on a new cardigan of my own.

This one is sort of 50s-by-way-of-80s, with a pretty lacy pattern.

Poppy by Patons

Poppy_Cardigan_medium[1]And this one is totally sharp.  I love the pinstripes and mitered corners.  Very cool.

Jasper by Louisa Harding

3978086382_1d8e60c1d8_z[1]Do you have a favorite decade of fashion?

Inspiration: Call the Midwife, Fetus Edition

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You all know that I love me some Call the Midwife.  And you know that my eye for knitted objects on TV is absurdly over-developed.  So it should come as no surprise that while watching the second episode of this season, I just about jumped out of my chair with delight.

Look what Chummy’s holding:

Fetus 2And let’s take a closer look:

Fetus 1It’s amazing! A knitted fetus and uterus model.  How fantastic is that?  I love seeing knitting used in unique and useful ways!  I think I might have to take up midwifery, just so that I have an excuse to make my own fetus model.

Or, I suppose I could just work on one to keep myself busy while watching Call the Midwife.

Fetus Coin Purse by Sarah Hood  (This one is slightly less developed than Chummy’s.  But it’s more practical for us non-midwives.)

1233545803_230c48ccae_z[1]Womb by MK Carroll  (Sure, it’s not a fetus, but who could resist a knitting knitted uterus?)

362111420_89c3d18566_z[1]

Inspiration: Downton Abbey

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I, like everyone else in America, am a huge fan of Downton Abbey.  If you’re not watching it, you are missing out.  Sure, it’s basically just a soap opera, but it’s on PBS, it’s vaguely historical, and they speak in posh British accents, so it feels like you’re watching something with a little more substance than your average soap.  Also, Maggie Smith as the Dowager Countess is pretty much the best thing in the history of TV. Just saying.

Unfortunately, while the costumes are historically accurate (and gorgeous) there is a definate lack of yarn-related garments.  I’ve been on the lookout for a scarf, a sweater, or a pair of socks since the first episode, and frankly have come up almost entirely empty.  There was one episode where they played cricket and wore sweaters, but that was it (and not terribly exciting).

That was, until last night, when the under-cook Daisy rocked this crocheted hat when she went to go visit with her father-in-law.

UntitledIt’s an odd sort of a hat, to be honest, but she looks adorable in it.  (But Daisy is adorable no matter what, so that could be part of it).  It’s somewhere between a beret, a cloche and a potato sack.  Untitled2I like to imagine her sitting in her dormitory, working on her hat in the few moments she would have to herself between meals.Untitled3If you want to make yourself a daisy-inspired crochet hat, try one of these patterns:

Beret by Columbia-Minerva

india.arie_beret_medium[2]Slightly Slouchy Hat by MK Carroll

9131453318_000e73673b_z[1]

Inspiration: Chummy’s Afghan

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Now, if you’ve read any of this blog, you know that I have a major thing for costume dramas.  I don’t know why, but I think they’re just great.  And “Call the Midwives” is one of my favorites.  The stories are great, the costumes and sets are beautiful, and I want to be friends with all of the characters.

Also (and possibly most importantly…just kidding) the characters are all involved in “handicrafts,” and are always making things.  Chummy sews, the nuns knit toys for charity, etc.   The makers of the show (the director?  the producer? I don’t know about these things) are really good at making sure that the actors know what they’re doing.  For example, when the character knits, the actor doesn’t just wave her needles around like someone in a cartoon.

I was very excited when the creation of an afghan was a major plot point of the Season 2 finale.  Until I saw this:

blanket 1

And this:

blanket 9

Holy anachronism, Batman!  If you’ve done any fiber arts, you can probably recognize that the blanket squares the ladies are making are Granny Squares.  These are super-traditional, basic building blocks of many afghans.  And the number 1 thing about them, is that they are CROCHETED.  Not knitted.

You can’t just go to the store and buy Granny Squares.  So, the props department for the show must have gone through the trouble of crocheting all the squares, then decided that it would look better on camera if they were stuck on knitting needles in the show.  Blows my mind.  (But maybe that’s why I’m not a props director.)

Anyway.  I’ll get off my soap box now.   *Deep breath*

Despite the clear issues with the knitting vs. crochet  thing, the story that accompanied the blanket was just beautiful.  (If you missed it, Chummy ends up in the hospital, and all the women of Nonatus House band together and put together the blanket for her.)

blanket 2

Jenny and Sister Juliene deliver the blanket, and through the magic of love (doesn’t that sound like something the narrator would say?), Chummy wakes up and everyone is happy and healthy again.  Awww.

blanket 3

Inspiration: Call the Midwife

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Have you watched this show?  Holy crap, it’s so good!  It’s one of these BBC costume dramas that show up on PBS sometimes.  Beautiful costumes and sets, great characters, compelling stories. Look for it. Watch it. It’ll make you cry. Every. Episode.

It really should be called “Call the Midwife: Why You Should Never Get Pregnant.”  Seriously, nothing ends well.  Actually, that’s not true.  Most things end well, but they are very scary, gross, and/or painful in the middle.

But, really, the stars of the show are the fantastic hand-knits the babies are all wrapped up in.  Look at these!

Gorgeous, right?

Feeling inspired?  Have a friend who’s expecting?  Considering a career in midwifery? Try these patterns for a similar result:

Baby Cardigan/Shrug by Julia Noskova

Saartje’s Bootees by Saartje de Bruijn

Lullaby Layette by Lion Brand Yarn