A Bluestocking Knits

This is a bit old, but I was weeding out the images file on my computer this morning and realized I'd not posted these yet.  They are from the late "Home Fires" — yes, it's been cancelled — which I watched sort of half-fascinated, because Blitz-era England is one of my fascinations, and half-guiltily, since it was not a little soapy at times.  I do love Francesca Annis, though, in just about anything.

Part of these photos, I admit, are for the aprons and pinnies as much as for the knitting, though!  Above we have the ladies of the village out blackberrying — Pat on the right (Claire Rushbrook) has a fairly typical cardy in a basketweave stitch.  Each of the women has a different yet very typically-1940s apron, Erica (Frances Grey) a wrap-around, Frances (Samantha Bond) a scoop-neck, and Pat a full one, probably H-back but we can't see this.

 An apparently favorite slipover worn by the butcher's son with the overprotective mother (Will Attenborough and Claire Price respectively), who has presumably knitted it herself.  Don't get me wrong, I completely understand not wanting to send your son off to shoot and be shot at, but she's a bit mad about it at the same time.  She herself has an interesting raglan-sleeved cardigan in a rather lovely sea-foam green.

Curiously, Frances's apron seems to have no ties, which I think would be fairly annoying, with it dragging in things.

An absolutely bang-on perfect 1940s pullover in chevron stripes on the blind Isobel (Gillian Dean).  If looks could kill, the entire Luftwaffe would have simply dropped stone-dead from the skies at this glare from Mrs. Cameron (Francesca Annis).

A very pretty green lacy cardigan worn by Kate (Rachel Hurd-Wood).  I think her sister Laura (Leila Mimmack) is also wearing a knitted cardigan of some sort, but in this picture it isn't quite clear.

The man we love to hate, the thoroughly-nasty Bob Simms (Mark Bazeley) in another perfectly-period slipover, this one a classic faded Fair Isle.

Sarah (Ruth Gemmell) has this very pretty cardigan in the famous King Charles brocade stitch, accented presumably with embroidered flowers inside lines of the diamonds at the front.

The wardrobe for this series is really excellent — full marks, especially for including lots of period-looking knits!

And if you like the soundtrack, it was composed by Samuel Sim, with the haunting title track sung by Synergy Vocals, and for the time being at least, you can listen to the whole album on YouTube —