Sassenach

Greetings friends,

Just a quick pop in post to see what you thought of the premier of Outlander? I know there are a bunch of you out there who are Outlander fans -psst! you're safe here, come geek out with me! If you're not a fan, please pardon my indulgence. This might not be the post for you because I'm about to go full-on fangirl.

My friend Lorna hosted a little mountain shindig, and we watched the first episode, Sassenach on her ginormous, awesome TV, felt like the actors were right in the room with is, too cool! We had a great night chatting about the stories, we'd all read all of the books and several (if not all) of the shorter novels and supplementals, or as Diana calls them, "the bulges" and they go deep! There are SOO many layers. Anywho.. we munched, we discussed, we drank whiskey! It was a good night...

Just touching on a few key points here mixed in with the few pictures I took at the party...
I'd love to know what YOU found interesting, please share!

How great was the opening scene, Claire during 1940's wartime, under pressure, fixing someone? Claire is grace & ruthless efficiency under fire - over and over again through out these stories. What a woman!

I put together a little goodie basket for our Outlander evening, a sort of thank you gift for my friend since without her prompting I probably would have never read these stories and happily sunk so deeply into Diana Gabaldon's world. I am forever grateful. ♥

Whiskey, ale, short bread and jam - and more importantly, JAMMF! I made Lorna a Pocket Jamie of her very own. I was also given a few small Outlander posters from a lovely gal in an Outlander FB group I belong to so I passed a couple of them on to Lorna. And neatest of all, I snagged a couple of hankies which were given away as swag at ComiCon this year - eBay is still awesome - sometimes.

It all began with a reuniting-honeymoon WWII was over... Claire & Frank.

I know lot of folks don't like Frank, I do. I think that like all of Gabaldon's characters, he's human and therefore flawed, and that's part of what makes these stories so amazing. He's not a perfect man, but I do believe up to this point (and maybe ever after - I have mixed feelings - but we'll find out more about that later on...) he's a good man. That's just my opinion. I know others have different opinions... bottom line, he loves his wife. What happens further on in the story gets complicated...

Let's go see the witches! Druids, actually...

I liked this scene, it wasn't how I pictured it in the books, it was better!

Here's a little picture of our spread! I popped into my local cheese shop (my town has a cheese shop, ha! So fancy.) and picked up a couple of nice cheeses (a sharp English cheddar and a lovely little herb chevres) , to go along with the fresh oatcakes that I made for snacking. I used this recipe and this one. Each of these rendered VERY different results. I wish I'd taken pictures... generally speaking, I think the second recipe was more enjoyable and versatile. 

 Claire, can you hear the stones?

You're not Frank! Uh-oh, here comes trouble! 

Black Jack Randall, what a cad. I thought Tobias Menzies has started these two very different roles with a bang! To my eyes, these could be totally different actors, although related generations apart, Frank and BJR are nothing alike.

Look what Lorna made for desert, a Craigh na Dun cheese cake! The standing stones were made out of rice crispy treats! 

Here we are in the little cottage where Claire meets Dougal and Jamie for the first time - great scene! Nearly word for word from the book. Loved it. 

On the road with the McKenzie clan, after being unceremoniously dumped from a horse, Claire makes a break for it.

But of course Jamie finds her and gets his first taste of her feisty willfulness. 

And Claire's first taste of the famed Fraser stubbornness, I liked this scene too. Actually, there weren't any scenes I didn't like. I know I'm going to love the entire series!

And before we know it, we've arrived at Castle Leoch and the end of episode 1! 

*wistful sigh*

Episode 2 is this Saturday - which incidentally is my birthday, what a great pressie! I'm so glad that this story is being made into a beautiful, visual feast, and so grateful that the people who are making it are doing so with such love and devotion. We're in for a rollicking good time!

So tell me! What are YOU looking forward to? I have a whole list! I'll answer in the comments so we can all be a part of the conversation!

oxo,

Lisa

Poodle Party!

Hi Y'all, happy Friday!

Today I thought I'd share another little stitchy with you, this one a pet portrait (my first!) for a friend & co-workers birthday. The likeliness of her two boys, Griffin & Riley. These two playful poodles are the light of their mama's life so I thought it would be fun to make her a little hoop in their likeness, and what's more fun than poodles in party hats?! Nothin'!

I used some of my wool stash to make their little hats and the polka dots on them and trimmed two small craft pompoms down to about half their original size to top the hats. I also stuffed some wool roving under the party hats before I stitched them down so they'd be a little bit puffy since the rest of the portrait would have a good bit of texture.

I used turkey work stitching for the tops of their big poofy heads. This was the first time I've ever used this stitch on a project and oh my gosh, I love it. It's a little fiddly but really fun!

As you can see the turkey work does stand up nicely off of the fabric.

I used big French knots for that curly texture on the boys' soft, floppy ears to great effect, what's more, I think that the perle cotton that I stitched them with enhanced the texture even further.

This is Griffin.

And this is Riley, such cute brudders!

I enjoyed making this piece, I think it's really unlike anything else I've ever done before which is cool, and dang it, it's cute!

Now I want to stitch ALL THE DOGS. ALL OF THEM.

Kitties too. I love animals! Animals are awesome.

So what'cha up to this weekend, folks? You DO know that Outlander is premiering on Starz tomorrow night, riiight? Grrrl, you better recognize! Jamie Fraser, the King of Men, right there on your TV screen, eeep! My dear friend, the person who I blame thank for my Outlander obsession is hosting an Outlander Sleepover. Her hubby has even promised to wear a kilt and be our waiter for the evening, yeee! So cool! If I haven't died of happiness I'll report back soon.

Watch this show you guys, watch it!

oxo,

Lisa