L&L Book Club: Austenland

I’ve been having trouble writing this post this week. It seems selfish to lose myself in a fun silly book, when terrible things are happening here and abroad. I live a sheltered life. It’s pretty much just me, my yarn, and Mabel the Merciless all day. I watch more Sesame Street than CNN. I get on Facebook, but not all day long, usually just once or twice, and some days I don’t go on it at all. I’m out of touch with the outside world most days. The outside world is basically a dumpster fire right now, and being out of touch with it is a privilege. I have the luxury of putting down my phone and knowing that me, Jac, Mabel, and our husbands are safe. It weighs on me that some, or even many of of you do not have that luxury. Jac and I talk a lot about whether or not we should broach “real world stuff” on Lattes & Llamas. We have an audience and with that comes a specific responsibility to speak out. On the other hand, we are a knitting blog and yarn company. We are in the industry of escapism, so is it our responsibility to provide that escape? I still don’t have the answer, and probably never will. Our hearts and thoughts are with everyone who’s safety is compromised just because of who they love, how they look, or how they pray. We will be here, full of yarn, and fun, and silly socks, and book club, because you deserve kiddie pools full of cashmere to roll around naked in.

The Book

I read Austenland this week. Even I’m surprised I hadn’t read it before since I LOVE the movie. In some ways, I have reverse

*sneer* the book was better….

syndrome. If I see a movie first, I tend to prefer the movie. The Magicians is a great example of that. The show is so good. The books, which I didn’t read until after watching the first season of the show, are not that great. But I might have liked them more if I had read them first. Anyhow, Austenland must be a great book, because I liked it just as well as the movie. It’s different, but the changes in the movie work better on camera, and the stuff in the book works better as a book. It’s a light, easy read, and the audiobook was well done. 5 out of 5 stars both to knit to or just to read.

It’s easy to identify with Jane, the main character. I have spent an inordinate amount of my life, imagining that some of my favorite characters were real. I’m not nearly ashamed enough of my long standing love affair with Captain Nemo.

The Project

I’m working on a ton of things right now, but most of them are top secret. I’m working up a second sample of this month’s SOCK club sock, because I love it so much I wanted a pair for me. Most of the samples I make belong to the company, and I can’t just wear them willy-nilly since I have to keep them nice for display. So when something is really good, I make a second pair. I’ve dropped clues about what’s in the box, and I’m dying for them to ship so I can talk about it. Or, I guess, fan-girl incessantly about it. ;) There are still 4 slots left in this month’s club, so check the listing, because you can probably still get in on it. I’m also furiously dying away in the studio for something super special and top-secret for Jimmy Beans Wool that I’ll be able to tell you about in October. AND I’m working on some final pattern details for the September MKAL, Hunting Sasquatch. Which I also can’t show you. But soooooooon.

The one thing I can show off is the baby blanket I’m making for my friend’s soon-to-be baby. The shower is in two weeks, so I actually really need to get my butt in gear on it.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BX6PuAGHPEn/?taken-by=doctor_llama

https://www.instagram.com/p/BWth9EXjCsv/?taken-by=doctor_llama

https://www.instagram.com/p/BTEqrMQDOQn/?taken-by=doctor_llama

I’m making the Hue Shifting Blanket by Knit Picks in Lion Brand Modern Baby Brights. It’s turning out really well. It’s got about 1 million ends though, so I’m probably going to put a fabric back on it, because laziness. But it’s being gifted to a non-knitter, so she won’t know it’s just me being lazy. Bwah ha ha ha!!!

Next week I’m going to read The Dressmaker of Khair Khana by Gayle Tzemach Lemmon, which is a little different from what I usually pick in that it’s non-fiction. But I feel like learning something.

~Megan-Anne
We’ve discussed the practicality of bringing a kiddie pool to yarn conventions, filling it with something extra squishy like Escape Yarn, and encouraging customers to take a dip.