My Latest Addiction

As a lot of stitchers do, I like to have the TV on while I'm stitching.  Sometimes I watch & stitch and sometimes I just listen while I stitch.  

One of the downsides of scaling back my cable programming (and bill!) is the limited choices available when you only have around 15 channels.  One night a few weeks ago I was dealing with that exact dilemma; nothing on TV I wanted to watch, no DVDs in the house that I hadn't already seen several times, and nothing too appealing to choose from on Netflix.  I was typing everything I could think of into the search feature on Netflix and everything I wanted to watch was coming up a big goose egg.  As I was sitting there going through my memory banks of possible choices to look for I remembered there is this show on PBS (at least here in the States) that people are just raving over...Downton Abbey.  I typed it into the search and there it was, 7 episodes from Season 1.  I decided I'd give it a go and see what I thought.

The beginning of the show starts with Laura Linney welcoming you to Masterpiece Theater.  I remember my mom watching Masterpiece Theater shows when I was a kid and they were soooooo boring.  I instantly said to my dog, "This isn't going to be good."  Well, with nothing else available I took a deep breath and started watching.  I was instantly hooked after the 1st episode!!!

They put together a great cast for it, which includes one of my favorites, Dame Maggie Smith.  She is a hoot and a half!  She has some of the best one-liners, and always has the best facial expressions to go with them.

My favorite so far inspired this piece..."What is a weekend?"  I feel like that every Monday morning when I have to go back to work and I wonder where the weekend went and what it really is.  Unfortunately, that's not the way that she meant it.  You can see the video clip here where she asks the question.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhfpBW-nUWk

So the bad news is, Netflix only has the first season available.  I've been very impatiently waiting my turn for the Season 2 DVDs that are on reserve at my local library, and then Season 3 doesn't start until January 6th.  What am I going to do until then???  Arrgghh!!!  LOL!

Also, as I was perusing Etsy before I stitched my weekend piece (wanted to make sure no one else had done it), I found a couple of other cross stitch lovers that seem to be as enamored with the show as I am.

This one is a design of the manor house / estate they live in, with all the household staff.

Cross stitch pattern available from Cottage Nest Interiors

And this one is another quote from the Dowager Countess (Dame Maggie Smith's character)

Cross stitch pattern available from Book Pilgrim

I guess I'll have to be a little more patient while I'm waiting for those DVDs and keep stitching away.

P.S.  I've already been asked by one person to sell the pattern for my "What is a weekend" in my shop.  I'm trying to judge interest in it before I print the patterns.  If you'd like one, drop me a comment and let me know.  :)