While We Were Knitting

This month Nicole and Monica watched the second season of Our Flag Means Death, and discussed second season pitfalls, efficiency in storytelling, new characters we loved, and had some cat interruptions. Nicole knit Pebble Arch Shawl by Karen Hoyle, and Monica knit Sockhead Slouch Hat by Kelly McClure. Opening and closing music by Chris Croarkin. 

Back from hiatus, Nicole and Monica watched the 1998 Parent Trap, and discussed 90s hair accessories, parenting choices, and young Lindsay Lohan. Nicole knit a sample for a steeking class, and Monica knit Planetary Pullover by Skeinanigans. Opening and closing music by Chris Croarkin.

This month Nicole and Monica watched Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, which was so enthralling, hopeful, touching, funny, and beautiful that they both ran into issues knitting stockinette in the round. Nicole knit On the Fence by Anna Lange and a stockinette tube, and Monica knit Musselburgh by Ysolda Teague. Opening and closing music by Chris Croarkin.

This month Nicole and Monica watched Centaurworld, a surprising animated series about found family, insane bits, PTSD, different animation styles, evil blobbiness, and some really great songs. Monica knit ⁠⁠Planetary Pullover⁠⁠ by ⁠⁠Skeinanigans⁠⁠ and Nicole knit ⁠⁠Wee Sherlock⁠⁠ by ⁠⁠Taiga Hilliard⁠⁠ and spun. We snuck it in just before password sharing expired, so this will be our last Netflix show. Opening and closing music by Chris Croarkin.

This month Nicole and Monica watched the first season of Los Espookys, and had a lot of fun discussing the show that follows three best friends (and a little sister) as they set up a company that stages horror scenarios. It has a lot of casual queerness, subtitles, practical effects, no interest in subtly, and is a blast and a half. Nicole knit Two by Two by Anne Gagnon and Monica knit Planetary Pullover by Skeinanigans and a tube scarf. Opening and closing music by Chris Croarkin.

This month Nicole and Monica watched Magic Mike XXL, a movie with a lot of heart and very little plot. It follows a group of male entertainers (read: strippers) as they travel from Miami to Myrtle Beach for a one last ride. If you haven't seen it you should go see it, because it's a true joy and delight. Nicole knit Fantastic Fingerless Mittens by STASH Lounge and Monica knit Brioshi by Carissa Browning and Reisi Shawl by Raina K. Opening and closing music by Chris Croarkin.

This month Nicole and Monica watched the below episodes of Bluey, an Australian show about an anthropomorphic dog family. We talked about life lessons for six year olds and adults, parenting, how both of us got very emotional, the structure of the seven minute episodes, animation styles, our first view of yarn crafts on screen, and imaginative play. Nicole spun and knit Candy Stripe Shawl by Christina Werge and Monica knit Great Hall by Irina Anikeeva.  The Beach Pirates Bumpy and the Wise Old Wolfhound The Adventure Camping Hammerbarn Sleepytime The Show Escape Flat Pack Bus Piggyback  Granddad Octopus Baby Race Curry Quest Pavlova Pizza Girls Faceytalk Opening and closing music by Chris Croarkin.

Please forgive some audio issues on Nicole's side.  This month Nicole and Monica listened to Every Heart a Doorway, a novella written by Seanan McGuire and read by Cynthia Hopkins. It a murder mystery set at a school for teens who have returned to our world from portal worlds and desperately want to go back to them. We talked about fantasy novellas, content for and about teens, aesthetics and world building, and how much exposition and explanations should a story have. Nicole knit Candy Stripe Shawl by Christina Werge and Monica knit Snowflake by TinCanKnits. Opening and closing music by Chris Croarkin.

This month Monica and Nicole watched Top Gun Maverick, the 2022 sequel to the 1986 movie. Both star Tom Cruise (who is insane), as a naval aviator at a special school for special pilots. The sequel manages to live up to the thrills of the first movie, with fancy flying, shirtlessness on a beach, men in their feelings, American military propaganda, wild stunts, and absolutely no subtly or exploration of things that the movie doesn't care about. We had a blast. Monica knit White Frost by Babette Ulmer and Nicole spun on a spindle.    Also even if you don't have any plans to watch the movie, the Ringer article on Tom Cruise putting the new actors through a "flight training gauntlet" is extremely worth the read.   Opening and closing music by Chris Croarkin.

This month Nicole and Monica watched Do Revenge, a 2022 high school movie that draws from Strangers on a Train, but takes it up to eleven on plot twists, fashion, emotions, and 90s references. Nicole also attempts to explain thirst tweeting. Nicole knit X-Ray by Marjukka Vuorisalo and Monica knit Rikke Hat by Sarah Young.  New opening and closing music by Chris Croarkin. 

This month Nicole and Monica watched Puella Magi Madoka Magica, an anime with a darker take on magical girl tropes. We talked a lot about storytelling tropes and also feelings. This month Nicole knit Hely by Tiina Kuu and Houndstooth Check Mittens by Sarah H Arnold and Monica knit Honey Cowl by Antonia Shankland. Crazy (instrumental) by SilentCrafter https://soundcloud.com/silentcrafterofficial Creative Commons — Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported — CC BY-SA 3.0

Nicole and Monica watched Turning Red, a Pixar movie about a Chinese-Canadian girl who's entry into teenhood is complicated by the fact that she turns into a giant red panda. We talked a lot about moms, the 90s (even though this movie is technically set in 2002), friendship, and boybands. This month Nicole knit Honeycomb Scarf by Nancy Marchant and Monica knit Honey Cowl by Antonia Shankland. Crazy (instrumental) by SilentCrafter https://soundcloud.com/silentcrafterofficial Creative Commons — Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported — CC BY-SA 3.0

This month Nicole and Monica watched season one and two of Fleabag. It's a TV show, written by and staring Phoebe Waller-Bridge, about a messy woman in her early thirties whose life is falling apart in pretty much every way possible and who's coping with it all by breaking the fourth wall and talking to us, the audience. Nicole knit Honeycomb Scarf by Nancy Marchant and Monica knit Mokume by Jennifer Weissman and Musselburgh by Ysolda Teague.  Crazy (instrumental) by SilentCrafter https://soundcloud.com/silentcrafterofficial Creative Commons — Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported — CC BY-SA 3.0

This month Nicole and Monica watched Snake Eyes: GI Joe Origins. Monica educated Nicole on GI Joe lore, the history of the comics, and we discussed how Monica was really the target audience, but the movie didn't really work emotionally for either of us. We did enjoy the aesthetics though. Nicole spun, and Monica knit Mokume by Jennifer Weissman. Crazy (instrumental) by SilentCrafter https://soundcloud.com/silentcrafterofficial Creative Commons — Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported — CC BY-SA 3.0

In part two of age of sail duology there is real actual queer content, not just in our hearts. This month Nicole and Monica watched the first seasons of the HBO series Our Flag Means Death. It's a series that's very interested in playing with sitcom tropes, and is focused on a romance between Stede Bonnet, former landed gentry who has run away from home, and Ed, who is Blackbeard, who's extremely tired of his own hype. Nicole knit Fred and George Socks by Rosemary Waits, and Monica knit Love Note by Tin Can Knits and Foliage Hat by Irina Dmitrieva. Crazy (instrumental) by SilentCrafter https://soundcloud.com/silentcrafterofficial Creative Commons — Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported — CC BY-SA 3.0