hearts & daggers

"Elizabeth reached down to her ankle, taking care not to draw attention. There, her hand met the dagger concealed beneath her dress. She meant to follow this proud Mr. Darcy outside and open his throat."

Okay, how many of you wish this had happened in the original? 

The excerpt above comes from Seth Grahame-Smith's take on Jane Austen's time honored classic: Pride and Prejudice. He's titled his version: Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.

I must confess that when I first heard about this new version of the original I was shocked and very disturbed, but I've come round. 

Everyone needs a good laugh now and again. This take is hilarious. The Bennet sisters are now fierce zombie warriors, the much hated Lady Catherine, a deranged ninja queen, and Darcy (proud as ever) is quite undone by Elizabeth's sharp tongue and skill with a double-edged sword. 

As for the plot, a horde of "unmentionables" has invaded the countryside and its up to the Bennet sisters, and the aloof Mr. Darcy and company, to save the village and perhaps the entire Regency world. Zombies make every one's life extremely disagreeable. Young ladies of privilege are now expected to master all the social arts, plus the art of war. 

Can't wait for the movie version, though, please believe me, the original text will always remain the closest to my heart. 

Working on a new project, as you can see. I finally cast on my After Hours Shawl. The pattern was written by Cynthia Joseph and is distributed by Briar Rose Fibers. 

I had the pleasure of visiting the Briar Rose booth at Shepherd's Harvest last month. This particular pattern was sold out, but Chris, the color-savvy designer who creates Briar Rose's yarns sent me a copy - for free! (Thanks Chris.)

My version will be made out of Mountain Colors Yarn. I'm using two colorways, so I'm alternating the yarns every odd row. 

This shawl should be the perfect thing to wrap around my shoulders on late summer evenings when I settle in with a good book and a glass of wine - or perhaps a bowl of popcorn and a horror flick.

I'd better get a handle on my yarn though, right now it's heaped on my desk like a pile of putrid zombie guts.