Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Yarn Along: Cranford

I've been absorbed in Cranford.
The book by Elizabeth Gaskell (I enjoyed librivox.org's free audiobook too)
The miniseries, in spite of all the creative license they took.  Pete was shocked when I told him that most of the compelling  and memorable story lines were invented by Masterpiece.
The same is true of its sequel, Return to Cranford.  Still lots of fun, though...
One of my favorite moments in the story has been especially inspiring.  I thought I'd share the two versions:
When oranges came in, a curious proceeding was gone through. Miss Jenkyns did not like to cut the fruit; for, as she observed, the juice all ran out nobody knew where; sucking (only I think she used some more recondite word) was in fact the only way of enjoying oranges; but then there was the unpleasant association with a ceremony frequently gone through by little babies; and so, after dessert, in orange season, Miss Jenkyns and Miss Matty used to rise up, possess themselves each of an orange in silence, and withdraw to the privacy of their own rooms to indulge in sucking oranges. I had once or twice tried, on such occasions, to prevail on Miss Matty to stay, and had succeeded in her sister’s lifetime. I held up a screen, and did not look, and, as she said, she tried not to make the noise very offensive.


This pattern for a citrus-inspired shawlette and a skein of bright orange laceweight Malabrigo yarn demanded to be made into a tribute piece.
Here's the very beginning...
(Join our Yarn Along at small things!)

6 comments:

Nin-Carol said...

Great story about your inspiration for this shawl!
Stopping in from Yarn along. My link is http://blog.mymummyknits.com/yarn-along-32/

Ellen said...

How perfect is that! I have not read the book, but we watched both dvds. LOVED them, especially the first. So much so, that I want to purchase them (and that rarely happens with dvds). Loved the scene that you mentioned. We actually tried sucking oranges like that afterwards.

Knitters Notebook said...

We watched Cranford on DVD it is hard not to get hooked on that show...smile..

~~Renee

Unknown said...

I have the mini series Cranford. I cried at least once during each episode (my excuse was hormones I was pregnant and the second time I watched them my baby girl was two weeks old). But I love how you picked the shawls color from the mini series/book.

Martha said...

Okay, guess I'll have to check that out...I've thoroughly enjoyed the PBS tv series...so did my husband, too.

Jennifer said...

Hello! I just discovered you through a blogroll, and am thoroughly enjoying your blog. I, too, just finished reading "Cranford," and I have to say that for my money, the book was better (aren't they always?). Always thrilling to find someone "of the race that knows Joseph".
JNCL
The Beauty of Eclecticism
(http://eclecticismjncl.blogspot.com)