Claire Lace Shawl (free pattern download)

The Claire Lace Shawl, designed by Yvonne Senecal, available at the Caffeineated Knitter for download at NO cost... is... ta da.... finished! Yvonne was kind enough to answer a few of my questions while knitting this little jewel.

The fiber was purchased in Dunedin, New Zealand and is 40 % possum fur, 50% merino wool, and 10% silk. This acquisition was blogged about in February at possum-fur-and-wool-fiber-blend and again at a later posting. Eight skeins were used in the body of the shawl (100 yd/skein).

Some minor modifications that I made to the pattern were to finish off the sides of the shawl in a coordinating multicolor wool and silk fiber. Then a single crochet stitch was added to the top of the shawl, covered over with a four stitch I cord.

This is the top of the shawl shown in greater visual detail. Thanks, the Caffeineated Knitter (Yvonne) and Ravelry, for such wonderful technical support.

Now I'm on to the next shawl project from Meg Swanson's A Gathering of Lace.

"The Scream" by Edvard Munch; Again Surfacing in Grand Junction, CO

Remember the theft of the iconic art ("The Cry", or "The Scream") representing existential angst in the form of a screaming face? That piece of art was created by Edvard Much around 1893. Its actual title is "The Cry", according to Web Museum Paris:

(b. Dec. 12, 1863, Löten, Nor.--d. Jan. 23, 1944, Ekely, near Oslo)
Norwegian painter and printmaker whose intense, evocative treatment of psychological and emotional themes was a major influence on the development of German Expressionism in the early 20th century. His painting The Cry (1893) is regarded as an icon of existential anguish.

A gifted Norwegian painter and printmaker, Edvard Munch not only was his country's greatest artist, but also played a vital role in the development of German expressionism. His work often included the symbolic portrayal of such themes as misery, sickness, and death. The Cry, probably his most familiar painting, is typical in itsanguished expression of isolation and fear.

And from Munch_Museum, a description of the theft almost five years ago is given:

On Sunday, 22 August 2004, two paintings by Munch, The Scream and Madonna, were stolen from the Munch Museum by masked men wielding firearms. The robbers forced the museum guards to lie down on the floor while they snapped the cable securing the paintings to the wall and escaped in a black Audi A6 station wagon, which police later found abandoned. The paintings were recovered by Oslo Police on August 31, 2006.

Above is a picture of "The Cry" and then a close up of the face by Munch is below:

...now look at a rock found on a neighborhood street in Grand Junction among a pile of bigger stones:

Do you see a similarity?

God has a sense of humor, if only we take the time to look carefully.

China Court & Other Read Aloud Books

Written by Rumer Godden in 1961, China Court: The Hours of a Country House was reviewed by The Book Diva at Viewpoints with this quick summarization:

Rumer Godden spins a complex and delicate tale of family, and time, and love. Past, present, and future weave around each other in layers of story centering on an old family home and the generations who live and hate and love there. I first read this story many years ago, and I still find many of Ms Godden's strong characters and unique turns of phrase vivid in my mind. I would recommend this book without hesitation - a re-readable joy.

Prolific reader, blogger, and all around marvelous personality and strong soul Julie, who writes at Forgotten Classics (and two other blogs!) has recorded this book on audio. I have recently downloaded her readings of China Court from this site: complete-episodes-listing, starting at episode number 23.

When downloading, each episode (a chapter or two) is copied automatically into my iTunes account. For some reason, it is saved to my "music" folder. But when saved onto my iPod, it is easy enough to pick up the first episode in that folder and begin listening to the book either in the car or my favorite easy chair (while knitting, of course).

These audible books in the public domain are easy to record onto a CD, or you could listen to the recorded podcasts/books on your computer, although those venues are not so portable.

Julie has recorded the entire China Court: The Hours of a Country House book (over 14 hours of recording time) in a clear voice, that although is not a professionally trained reading voice, Julie's tempo and lack of regional accent is very easy on the ears. What a gift to hear this read, and at no cost to the listener!

Try Julie's website, Forgotten Classics, and spend some time poking around there. She has a lot to offer.

Another of my podcast favorites, Craft Lit, hosted by Heather Ordover from Arizona, spends some time each week talking about things going on in her life (actually, quite interesting) and then either she or other readers read one or two chapters of a book each week. The past month or so, Heather has been reading The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne. As a literature teacher, she has lots to add from her literary background which aids in content understanding.

Here is a listing of books which Heather has read/reviewed since 2008:

Frankenstein; Little Women; Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, The Scarlet Letter (and probably one or two others I have forgotten or missed over the past 18 months)

You can find Heather's recordings at Craft Lit; just look on the left hand side under "Library".

Since April of 2006, Ms. Hardover has recorded many books in the public domain that have been read aloud by faithful followers of her blog. Like Heather says, "If your hands are too busy to pick up a book, at least you can listen to one." She is another amazing woman who has so many stars in her crown, like Julie at Forgotten Classics, it would be a full time job just to shine them.

There is a wealth of goodness at the sites of these two podcasters, and I encourage you to take advantage of them to increase your knowledge of the classics.