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Frederica Shawlette by Susanna IC
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| Camden Place Cardigan by Marianne Hobart |
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Middleton Waistcoat by Kristi Schueler
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A note from Kathleen: My sister is back from a year in Egypt. Hooray! She and I share a wonderful relationship that reminds me of Jane Austen and her beloved sister, Cassandra. We jokingly call each other "dearest," just as Elinor and Marianne Dashwood did in Sense and Sensibility.
But the scene in the movie where Marianne is on death's door about kills us both. The first time we saw Sense and Sensibility we reached over and grasped hands, tears in our eyes. We couldn't live without each other, either! We are each others' confidants and biggest fans.
What made me reflect on this relationship with my sister is the new Jane Austen Knits. It's just as fabulous as the premier issue; full of interesting articles about the Regency period in England, Jane Austen history, and beautiful knitting patterns that evoke Jane Austen's novels and her place in history. The new Jane Austen Knits is full of lace knitting, sweater knitting, knitted accessories, and much more. Oh, and the settings for the photos are fabulous!
Here's editor Amy Clarke Moore to tell you all about it.
"I'm an unabashed reader of novels, sir,
but I don't think it has clouded my judgment."
—Fanny Price in the 1999 film adaptation of Mansfield Park
I've always loved this scene in the movie when Fanny defends her decision to reject Henry Crawford's chameleon attentions as well as her preferred reading material while holding a woolly shawl around her shoulders. And yes, the movie portrays a hardier, less distraught, and more self-assured Fanny than we know through Jane Austen's novel published 198 years ago, but still (at least in my mind), the actress captures the mettle of Fanny Price.
The scene would have been even more perfect had her shawl been handknitted. I can imagine Fanny knitting symbols of her secret love for Edmund into her shawl—symbols to give her strength and forbearance during days when she was plagued by her Aunt Norris's persistent nettling or when she had to watch quietly as Edmund was falling in love with Mary.
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Beloved
Baby Bonnet by Kathleen Sperling
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A Book Cover for Edmund by Melissa
J. Armstrong
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I was thrilled as we were selecting projects for the Summer 2012 issue of Jane Austen Knits that several of the designers noticed that Fanny was sadly neglected in our 2011 premier issue, and they rose in defense of Fanny, wanting to make sure her voice was heard in the 2012 issues.
It is the personal connections to the stories that give these knitted garments depth—each one tells a story with yarn. How often in our lives as knitters do we use yarn to communicate rich narratives? Jane Austen playfully dismisses the importance of fashion in her letters to her sister, Cassandra, and yet the details of wearing and making garments are contained in nearly every letter that survived.
We—in this era of ready-made clothing—have to stretch a bit, though, to really grasp the importance of cloth and garment-making at the turn of the nineteenth century, just as the Industrial Revolution literally was changing the way cloth was made. But as knitters, our understanding is probably greater than that of the average twenty-first-century person—we know the pleasure of making something from scratch as well as the disappointment when things don't go as planned.
We can only hope that with hard work and persistence, as well as a bit of luck, we'll achieve the same potential bright futures with our knitting endeavors as Jane Austen's heroines gain at the ends of her novels.
Jane Austen Knits will be out soon; reserve your copy today so we can
send it to you as soon as it hits our warehouse!
Happy knitting,
P.S. Do you have a favorite scene from a Jane Austen book or movie adaptation? Let us know about it in the comments!