Dress looks more like a dress
Well Friday night I had the place to myself for the evening, so I decided to work on a few projects. I sewed on the cap sleeves on my dress. I still have a tiny bit of work to do there but otherwise the bodice is complete! I sewed the skirt together too. Now all I have to do is attach the two pieces. Hopefully, I will get it right the first time! I may shorten it a little. The dress is a little long on my 5′3″ frame. I also started playing with the crochet blanket (granny square). It looks nothing like the pattern! Frankly, I don’t care at this point. It’s more an exercise to learn different types of stitches.
I have also started on a baby blanket with a crochet border like the kind my mom used to give as baby shower presents. Well, it will be an attempt to be like the baby blankets my used to crochet! I’m pretty happy with it so far. I started late Sunday evening. I have the first short edge complete and 3/4 of one of the long edges done. I plan on having the entire edge done tonight. After that it should get easier. The hardest part is breaking through the fabric for that first row. I have difficulty following patterns still, so I will probably wing this one too. This is my second attempt at making a baby blanket. Hopefully this one will turn out better.
Golden Compass
I saw Golden Compass this weekend. To start the cinematography was amazing. It was a visually stunning film. However, if I hadn’t read the book, I would be lost as to what was going on. I know that in order to adapt a book into a film, the screenwriter needs to make decisions as to what to cut to fit in the time alloted. I get that. However, when huge chunks of the plot are cut out, some kind of transition is really needed. My husband, who has not read the book, felt the missing elements more so. I found myself feeding him information to fill in the gaps. However, the plot gaps are almost forgivable compared to the final incision made in the film. The film ends just short of the book. For those who have read The Golden Compass, they know how dramatic the ending in the book was. The movie does a disservice to the book in cutting out the last chapter. I will not spoil it here for those who have not either read the book or seen the movie.
On the plus side, Lyra is not an annoying character in either the book or the movie, something generally difficult to accomplish when dealing with children protagonists. Secondly, the book was certainly more dramatic and much darker than the movie. I felt after reading the book that this series should not have been marketed to children. It is much darker than even the later Harry Potter books and filled with adult themes. I would recommend that parents screen the book before allowing their child to read it. Know your child, if they are mature enough for a book of this nature. The movie is quite safe. It downplays all the horrible things that happen to Lyra on her way to the North to rescue Roger and then later her father.
All in all, a pretty film with major plot gaps, an interesting none-annoying child protagonist, and an ending that leaves you hanging. I have been told but do know with any certainty that the chances of a sequel are pretty slim. One never knows in Hollywood. Perhaps later movies will correct the major faux pas at the end of the first installment of The Golden Compass.
