A Little of This, A Little of That

Sometimes life is like a box of chocolates…

I have been all over the place this week. One day I’m soft centers, the next day I’m all nuts and chews. If you're reading this looking for a cohesive theme, let me apologize in advance (sorry, Mom). This just hasn't been a week for thinking BIG THOUGHTS. But there has been an abundance of little thoughts, and a new pattern release.

First things first: I published the pattern for the hat I designed in Knit Picks Altiplano. It's called the Parquet Hat. I decided on this name because the colorwork pattern reminded me of Parquet de Versailles.

Paid subscribers received a link to download a complimentary copy of the pattern in a separate email earlier this week. For free subscribers, I'm happy to offer you 20% off this pattern in my Ravelry store with coupon code ParquetHat. You can redeem this offer by clicking the button below. The coupon code is good for one-time use only, and expires on March 7, 2024.

I hope you enjoy knitting the Parquet Hat. If you don't have an appropriate yarn in your stash, I highly recommend Altiplano. This isn't an affiliate link; I bought the yarn I used, and I have no obligation to review it kindly. I enjoyed working with this yarn, and I think it makes a beautiful, warm winter hat. It's also a good value—with two skeins, you'll have plenty of yarn to make at least two hats. You can reverse the colors if your family isn't the matchy-matchy type.

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I finished the design commissions I've been working on for the past couple of months, and have sent them off to the yarn companies for tech editing, photography, layout, etc. That means I'm free to work on a few independent projects. I was gifted a couple of skeins of a new yarn that Purl Soho will be launching later this month, and I'm having a grand time with it. Here's a sneak peek:

I can't share any details until the yarn is released, but I'll be writing a full review of this yarn soon, along with a new pattern. Stay tuned. I think you're going to love it.

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My 65^th birthday was this past weekend (Does this mean I’m officially a senior citizen? I don’t feel like a senior citizen. What is being a senior citizen supposed to feel like?). I treated myself to two movies to celebrate. January and February are the months when I am most likely to visit a movie theater. I like to see the Oscar nominees on the big screen before the awards ceremony. I want to form my own opinions and be able to either nod in smug agreement or shake my head in disgust when the statues are handed out.

The first film I saw was American Fiction.

This is a terrific movie. The wonderful Jeffrey Wright plays a frustrated writer confronting a publishing industry which only wants Black writers who rely on offensive racial stereotypes. But it's the women who surround Wright that make this movie sing. Leslie Uggams is the mother, Tracee Ellis Ross is the sister, Erika Alexander is the girlfriend, and Issa Rae is the writer who embodies all he struggles against. Each of these women shine in these roles.

The movie is funny, thoughtful, and beautifully crafted. Don't miss it. If going to a movie theater isn't your thing, this film would work equally well on the small screen. You can stream it (not free) on Prime Video.

American Fiction was based on the novel Erasure by Percival Everett. I added the book to my queue after seeing the movie.

The second film I saw was Poor Things.

In this revamp of the Pygmalion-Galatea myth, Emma Stone plays a woman whose brain has been replaced with that of an infant by a mad scientist, played with appropriate creepiness by Willem Dafoe.

Stone is brilliant in this very physical role, portraying the intellectual maturation of a woman who has not been trained to conform to social norms. But I can't give this movie the same whole-hearted endorsement I gave to American Fiction. Poor Things does a solid job of conveying an important message (without a sense of right and wrong, without social norms, without empathy, who will we choose to become?), but the visuals are often very disturbing. The film is unflinching. I flinched.

For a different take on the ancient myth, I very much enjoyed reading Galatea by Madeline Miller.

This is a beautiful little gem of a book (4" x 6", only 64 pages) in which Galatea is a mature woman fighting for her freedom and that of her daughter.

Have you seen either American Fiction or Poor Things? What did you think? I'd love to hear your take on these films in the comments.

Finally, I read another book we can add to the list of Books for the Endlessly Curious: A Short History of the World According to Sheep by Sally Coulthard.

The title might lead you to expect a well-researched exploration of the impact of sheep on human culture, from their first domestication through the present time, with forays into sheep breeds and the uses of wool, meat and milk. You'd be right. But this is no dry, academic treatise. The author brings a cheeky tone to the subject that makes this book a delight to read.

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As always, thanks for granting me this space in your inbox. I trust you found something appealing in this buffet of thoughts. Coming up next week: BIG THOUGHTS! Cohesive themes! More knitting!