It was 1974 and Robert Redford (38) and Mia Farrow (29) were in love on the big screen. The Great Gatsby captivated audiences with the lavish spending, obsession, illicit love affairs, jealousy and mayhem.
This story has always enthralled me. The author F. Scott Fitzgerald and his love Zelda, spent the summer here in Westport and apparently were no strangers to the party animal life. The house they rented is a mere hop, skip and a jump from my home.
So while I watched Robert Redford and Mia Farrow on the big screen, my fingers quickly followed the pattern for the Sampler Blanket that I'm knitting for our guest room. With insomnia, knitting Wednesday, and the start of the football season (Ha! my fingers subconciously typed goofball), I managed to knit the entire first strip, or 20% of the blanket, in less than 24 hours.
Chichester poses with the King Charles Brocade swatch.
Chichester with the Alternating Lace swatch.
Chichester poses with the Banded Basket Stitch swatch.
Chichester with the Knot Pattern swatch.
Chichester with one of my favorites - Wavy Rib swatch.
Chichester's final pose with the Fir Cone swatch.
There you have it. 2 1/2 hours of The Great Gatsby + Cowboys vs Giants +Wednesday Knitting Group +Water for Elephants = first strip of the Great Green Guest Room Blanket.
Very cool! Just bought a copy of Gatsby yesterday for my son's AP English class and was telling him this morning how the books he'll be reading in that class are related to what he'll study in AP US History about the American dream, and the current political discussion about solidifying the middle class. AND there was a blurb on NPR this morning about Fitzgerald's gravesite: http://culture.wnyc.org/npr_articles/2012/sep/07/gatsby-author-fitzgerald-rests-in-a-dc-suburb/
Posted by: elizabeth | Friday, September 07, 2012 at 12:16
You are my knitting idol! Taking the sampler class at WY this fall--can't wait!
Posted by: Allison Allott | Thursday, September 06, 2012 at 22:31
Your blanket is looking great!
Posted by: Beth | Thursday, September 06, 2012 at 14:09
That' crazy knitting. I love the blanket so far.
Have you seen the movie BUCK??
Posted by: kathy b | Thursday, September 06, 2012 at 11:20
Careful, there: Chichester is going to think it is HIS blanket!
Posted by: Barbara Seiver | Thursday, September 06, 2012 at 10:30