Floaty Puzzle Finished

I've finished the Puzzle Wrap for the second time. It's four repeats longer and has a couple of hundred crystals in it, which are resolutely refusing to twinkle in this photograph.

It's 92 inches long at the monent, which is, em, quite long, but I'm hoping to make it wider in the blocking so it might not grow too much. I think I'll have to block it folded in half: cross your fingers for me.

There's a new adaptation of Emma on BBC just now. I can be very unforgiving about telly Austen but Emma isn't one of my favourites so I'm less impatient about it. And the lead actress is at least trying to look as if she isn't wearing any make-up. Jonny Lee Miller is Mr Knightley and once one gets past his boyish looks, I think it's an interesting interpretation. He is nearly 40, after all. But Mr Elton is too good-looking; I think I would have swapped him with the actor who's playing Frank Churchill. I wouldn't swap Michael Gambon with anyone.

The point of interest here, though, is that there's some nice knitting, although I can't find any photographs of it. Michael Gambon as Mr Woodhouse has a wide grey scarf knitted in alternating bands of garter stitch and seed stitch. I can't work out how it is straight at the sides and doesn't go in and out when the stitch changes. Perhaps it's some very floppily spun wool of great authenticity. Someone else had a rust-coloured scarf knitted in rib, which was rather nice too. I'll look out for photos.

I met another knitblogging Helen last week when she came to Edinburgh for the day. As well as having the same forename and following the same profession, Helen and I both have an Aunt M_______ who lives in the County of N___________ . We managed to talk without interruption from 1.00 till about 5.30, so we must have a lot of other things in common too. There was a brief lull while we investigated K1 Yarns, which had some new things since my last visit, including Reggae Ombre sock yarn with very slow stripes in it and their own K1 Laceweight Linen in absolutely beautiful shades. If I hadn't already bought some fine hemp yarn at Woolfest which remains unknitted, I probably would have got some of that.

I've posted before about the Big Picture site that the Boston Globe maintains, and they've got a series just now about Autumn.

Caitlin Snow, 2, walks through a Gladiator Pumpkins on Wednesday, September 30, 2009 on Connors Farm in Danvers, Massachusetts. Connors Farm owner Robert Connors had to ship the pumpkins in from Michigan because of his low yield this year. Heavy summer rains encouraged black rot (Didymella) and Phytophthora Blight among his crops. (Pat Greenhouse/Globe Staff)

They're the usual mix of the expected (but brilliantly executed) and the staggering but I thought this one was particularly relevant to a woolly blog.

A shepherd leads his herd to grazing grounds down from the mountains along a tunnel in Zakinskaya hollow, about 70 km (44 miles) south of Vladikavkaz, Russia on October 5, 2009. (REUTERS/Kazbek Basayev)

I think one of those sheep is a sheep dog - click through to see it more clearly. And do go to the site to see the whole series - definitely worth taking a moment.