CraftLit

Ep. 686: Cranford | Chapter 8

Book talk begins at 15:54

Lady Glenmire (a real baron's widow!) is in town, and the Cranford ladies can't decide whether to curtsey or completely ignore her—Mrs. Jamieson prefers the latter.

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00:00 Episode start

1:55 - MAY RAFFLE - Sir Walter Scott Cross stitch from Rebecca S (Of Book it with Becca)

2:25 - Send your crafty videos: https://bit.ly/craftlit-be-crafty

4:45 - Plum Deluxe Tea-CraftLit's Discount Code! https://bit.ly/craftlit-pdtea

5:05 - Doom and Bloom book,

5:35 - Struthless's YouTube channel

8:01 - ELSIE BLOUSE on WEARING HISTORY wearinghistory.com

8:50 - American Dressmaking Step by Step book. Hope that helps!

10:40 - cool pollinator info to be found on sites like this! And Two-spotted Bumblebee on Coreopsis from Donna Schmidt

13:48-Anya's voice mail

BOOK TALK—Re-hash Notes

15:57 - Last week Visiting - RE-LISTEN

Pre-hash Notes

17:00 - Your Ladyship. Ended with Cherry Brandy (ha!) And Mrs Jamieson blurting out to everyone she would be hosting her SIL Lady Glenmire soon.

17:50 - shared subscription to newspaper. SOME REALLY CLEVER Austen-like wordplay in today's chapter. A lot of fun!

Characters in *Cranford* (Updated for Chs. 6–8)

• 18:25 - County families—the landed gentry in the county - you know…the only important people in the area :(
• Miss Pole "I'll think of something to say back to her… tonight…"—nothing changes HA!
• 18:40 Peerage - prob refers to Burke's Peerage and Baronetage (first pub was 1826!!!) Only 16 Scottish peers were SELECTED to sit in the House of Lords; 19:00 -comparison to Job - God takes everything from him then torments him some more.
• 20:40 - The Arley's - we learned that Lady Arley shopped at Betty Barker's milliner shop last week and was part of why the shop eventually only served the well-to-do of Cranford ——which lets us know that there WAS a well-to-do set and our ladies are not they!
• 22:00 - Fourth at pool - another card game
• 22:45 - Sedulously-Dedication, diligence
• 22:55 - "thought you might want a description of Mrs Smith, Her being a bride". B/c often a bride's 1st appearance in society after honeymoon she wore her dress.
• 23:15 - ***nipped up her petticoats*** -
• 25:10 - Mr Milliner - introduce him to listeners - ignored back door (GASP)
• 25:15 - candle lighters as an excise LOL ALSO what's she making them out of?!??? - EXCELLENT WAY TO USE OLD BILLS & LETTERS!
• Assumption no one will go LOL -
• Poole's rationalization to go to party 🤣 - don't give her the satisfaction of hurting us (but mostly I HAVE A NEW CAP!!!)
• 27:23 - Phlegmatic - Mrs Jamieson - of the Four Temperaments: sanguine, choleric, melancholic, and phlegmatic - UNemotional
• Very smart cap - Miss Pole -
• Duty was to FIRST buy a new cap - everyone does b/c
• when wearing a new cap, Cranford ladies were like Ostriches and didn't care what was on their bodies - lol -
• 28:00 - Brooches - popular now??
• Dogs eyes -
• Hair insides - Mausoleum/weeping willow
• Stiff muslin - like brooch mounted on florettes
• We're brooches out of fashion??!? -
• 30:00- LISTEN to the description of Miss Pole! HA!
• Scotch pebbles - not really timely. Victoria bought Balmoral in 1848 and suddenly Scottish agates (found in stream beds with other semi-precious stones) were VERY popular
• 30:45 - Hair powder Over his coat collar - started in 1715 and was WAY out of date by now
• *St James' Chronicle* is a 4-way shared subscription with Cranford ladies - Quarter share -
• Mr Mulliner —ADD to cheat sheet -
• He looked like a Sulky cockatoo. lol -
• 31:25 - her furniture—Era predates-Louis 14th (1638-1715) - remember people were cheap, furniture was not
• 32:12 - pembrook table - drop-leaf table
• 32:45 - Kaleidoscope - invented in 1817 by Sir David Brewster; Conversation Cards and Puzzle Cards - seen in the Doctor sub-plot of the Mini-series/"Mr Harrisson's Confessions (1851)
• 34:30 - Drawings on tea chests - Might be Tole painting? might be like this (which happens to be ***japanned!*** A tinplate tea chest, c. 1760, painted with naturalistic flowers and containing two tinplate tea canisters and a sugar box. Private collection)
• Essential guide to tea chests and caddies
• 36:35 - torpid - mentally OR physically inactive
• Agreeable and not formally - seated
• 36:40 - 10£ - would have purchased her whole ensemble - see below
• A Lord, yet NOT a ***Lord*** - had become a common turn of phrase (A __- but not A ____), kind of like "because Reasons" has become shorthand in conversation.
• Lady Glenmire and Mrs. Jaimeson - SIL
• 41:05 - Small lumps of sugar - b/c sugar was lumped in-house, not purchased in pre-squared form
• Preference, Ombré, Quadrille, ***Basto***, Spadille - card games and Basto=Ace of Clubs is 3rd highest trump card in Ober and Quadrille. By playing it, Misss Pole makes Lady GLenmire use up the highest trump spadrille - the Ace of Spades
• 41:50 - Mrs Forrester's (of Cow fame) LACE STORY!
• 43:00 - Catholic Emancipation Bill = 1829 gave Catholics access to certain public offices from which they had previously been barred. This would have exactly ZERO impact on the making of Brussels Lace.
• 42:30 - Emetic + top-boot *(in the early 1800s, Wellingtons were sometimes referred to as "top boots". 42:50 - The term "top boots" was used for high-cut boots, often associated with riding or military wear, and Wellingtons were a popular type of boot in that category)* - emetic causes vomiting (NOT as done in the mini-series)
• 43:30 - astronomy/astrology - Francis Moor's astrological predictions

Post-chapter Notes

• Martha no family in town?
• LOVE the "How do we address a Lady - I forgot!"
• HA! Mrs Jaimeson seems pretty desperate for company by the time the ladies visit! HA!
• - LOVE Mulliner relationship with All The Women - ugh…mansplaining.
• miss Pole's triumphant first comment -
• The DOG gets the cream!!?!? We were as intelligent and sensible as the dog - HA!!!
• Mrs Forrester is wearing VOMIT LACE! HA!
• LACE EPISODE PUT "PLAUSIBLE" on screen like mythbusters
• LEANNE LACE VIDEO

Additional notes for the lace video at the end:

• Lace of Long Ago
• 1920s Belgian Lace Makers
• Nalbinding
• Kerouac's manuscript

Miscellaneous

Clothing costs research (some)

• MeasuringWorth.com
• Cunnington, C. Willett. *English Women's Clothing in the Nineteenth Century* (1937)
• Ribeiro, Aileen. *Dress and Morality* (1986)
• Recollections: Victorian Clothing Costs
• Don't forget to send us your crafty videos
• BOOK/WATCH PARTIES coming up in 2025: Last Thursday of every month, 8pm Eastern:
• Jun—Princess Bride (book—there are many versions - Heather has notes on which Forward to read)
• Jul—Princess Bride (movie)
• Aug—The Last Unicorn (book)
• Sep—The Last Unicorn (movie)
• Oct—Random Harvest (book)
• Nov—Random Harvest (movie)
• Dec—Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal (book)

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Ep. 685: Cranford | Chapter 7

Book talk begins at 17:04

This week, we're invited to one of the most exclusive tea-and-card parties in all of Cranford.

The guest list? Curated with surgical precision. The food? Shockingly abundant. The social stakes? Sky-high—especially when THE Mrs. Jamieson dozes off mid-soirée and then drops a bombshell: her sister-in-law, Lady Glenmire, is coming to town! Cue the wardrobe panic.

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00:00 Episode start

5:09 - Plum Deluxe Tea-CraftLit's Discount Code! https://bit.ly/craftlit-pdtea

Send your crafty videos: https://bit.ly/craftlit-be-crafty

Also, MAY RAFFLE - Sir Walter Scott Cross stitch from Rebecca S (Of Book it with Becca)

8:12 - the Joanne's video links - https://youtu.be/fetutHjc91A?si=_0DxToB4PzQrGaLh - there is a more complete, longer video, too: https://youtu.be/YgAw_3zosXU?si=Hqs9kjmfmHPA8gSC

8:35 - Explaining TARIFFS with a Textile History Lesson with Jillian Eve: https://youtu.be/2qALHS-QJ28?si=fyQx1Lk8vZ1Rdw0A&t=160

17:04 - Poor Peter last week - ends with Martha…KISSING!

17:41 - the Cranford Character Cheat Sheet through Chapter 7: https://bit.ly/cranford-characters-1-8

19:36 - Anyone know—was she the queen who may have suffered from an eating disorder? Queen Adelaide - Wife of William IV who reigned 1830-37

25:03 - Bombazine - a twilled dress fabric of worsted and silk or cotton - black bombazine was classic for mourning clothes.

26:38 - Spadille (the game is also known as "Spades") https://www.usatoday.com/story/graphics/2024/06/15/how-to-play-spades-card-game/72260535007/#:~:text=In%20Spades%2C%20players%20bet%20how,10%20cards%20to%20each%20player. and Manille https://www.extremis.com/en/playing-manille

27:58 - The Rake's Progress all paintings AND engravings are all visible on Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Rake%27s_Progress#/media/File:William_Hogarth_021.jpg)

28:57 - Seed cake - recipes please!- A Seed Cake – History in the Making

30:24 Damson tart - and apparently a fun way to use leftover damsons from gin making! Anyone have any Damson tart recipes?

31:05 START OF CHAPTER AUDIO

58:35 - Don't forget to send us your crafty videos SEND US YOUR CRAFTY VIDEOS

59:10 - Thin Man Watch Party Thursday, May 29, 8pm Eastern time

BOOK/WATCH PARTIES coming up in 2025 https://craftlit.gumroad.com/l/craftlit-party

Last Thursday of every month, 8pm Eastern: - May—Thin Man (movie)

• Jun—Princess Bride (book—there are many versions - Heather has notes on which Forward to read)
• Jul—Princess Bride (movie)
• Aug—The Last Unicorn (book)
• Sep—The Last Unicorn (movie)
• Oct—Random Harvest (book)
• Nov—Random Harvest (movie)
• Dec—Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal (book)

*CraftLit's Socials*

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*SUPPORT THE SHOW!*

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——Walter Harright - $5/mo for the same audio as on App

——Jane Eyre - $10/mo for even-month Book Parties

——Mina Harker - $15/mo for odd-month Watch Parties

*All tiers and benefits are also available as*

—*YouTube Channel Memberships*

—*Ko-Fi* https://ko-fi.com/craftlit

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Ep. 684: Cranford | Chapter 6

Book talk begins at 15:15

Oh, you're not ready for this one. This week, Miss Matty lets us in on a long-held family secret—and you know when the ladies of Cranford whisper, it's worth leaning in.

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00:00 Episode start

01:45 Plum Deluxe Cinnamon Nourish Black Tea—part of the Winter Collection

Also, MAY RAFFLE - Sir Walter Scott Cross stitch from Rebecca S (Of Book it with Becca, who wrote the wonderful post: "What do you do with a problem like Emma?"

03:30 Parkrose Permaculture video on unintended consequences. Then I found that I'd watched several of her videos on the subject of Individualism:

• Toxic Individualism #1
• Toxic Individualism #2 Rugged Individualism (and another video on the same topic from Robert Reich) Pioneer Women book

8:20 Bug and Bee house (I love this guy's VERY DIY attitude) and Ladybug Hotel #1 and Bug Hotel #2

12:00 Barbara Edelman show - BEE EPISODE

15:15 Read all the letters and ended with "poor Peter" which will be where we begin today

15:30 Reminder From Ch 5: Bonus Bernardus non video omnia* The Blessed Bernard does not see everything - maybe said by St Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153)— This quote is often attributed (possibly apocryphally) to Peter Abelard, the 12th-century theologian, as a gentle jab at St. Bernard of Clairvaux, with whom he clashed theologically. Meaning: Even the wisest man (here, Blessed Bernard) can be wrong sometimes.

16:00 Hoaxing - slang when it first came in to use 1796 but by 1820 it was common use. So by 1840-50 it was no longer improper to use.

16:44 St James's Chronicle - Library of Congress

18:00 Rhododendron - in late 1840s and in to the 1850s, Botanist Sir Joseph Hooker bro und exotic species back from the Himalayas which was VERY exciting and the reason that the Rhododendron Dell was put in at Kew Gardens… IS IT STILL THERE? [email protected] or 1-206-350-1642, or speakpipe.com/craftlit

20:10 Queen Esther and King Ahasuerus - ONLY BOOK THAT DOESN'T MENTION GOD

LOOK! ⬆️ It's a Whole Megillah! 😂

26:00 No overland route for Poor Peter - this clues us in on when Peter went to India. [An overland route via the Red Sea was opened in the late 1830s](https://englishhistoryauthors.blogspot.com/2017/06/full-steam-ahead-overland-route-home.html

27:30 "Some Great War in India" - probably the First Anglo Burmese War (1824-26)

28:54 here's your chapter summary: Summary: Miss Matty shares the story of her brother, Peter, who left Cranford after a disagreement with their father. His absence left a lasting impact on Miss Matty, highlighting the deep bonds of family despite misunderstandings.

Post-chapter Notes

01:02:29 "Jack and Jilling it" is shorthand for when Heather refers to this article: Journal of Reading, Volume 24, No. 2, November 1980, p. 101, William H. Smith, "What they didn't tell you about Jack and Jill"

Don't forget to send us your crafty videos SEND US YOUR CRAFTY VIDEOS.

BOOK/WATCH PARTIES coming up in 2025 https://craftlit.gumroad.com/l/craftlit-party

• Jan—All About Eve (Buckle up!)
• Feb—Rebecca (book)
• Mar—Rebecca (movie —if requested, a double feature of Hitchcock's version vs the 2020 remake)
• Apr—Thin Man (book)
• May—Thin Man (movie)
• Jun—Princess Bride (book—there are many versions - Heather has notes on which Forward to read)
• Jul—Princess Bride (movie)
• Aug—The Last Unicorn (book)
• Sep—The Last Unicorn (movie)
• Oct—Random Harvest (book)
• Nov—Random Harvest (movie)
• Dec—Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal (book)

*CraftLit's Socials*

• Find everything here: https://www.linktr.ee/craftlitchannel

• Join the newsletter: http://eepurl.com/2raf9

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• Previous CraftLit Classics can be found here: https://bit.ly/craftlit-library-2023

*SUPPORT THE SHOW!*

• CraftLit App Premium feed bit.ly/libsynpremiumcraftlit (only one tier available)

• PATREON: https://patreon.com/craftlit (all tiers, below)

——Walter Harright - $5/mo for the same audio as on App

——Jane Eyre - $10/mo for even-month Book Parties

——Mina Harker - $15/mo for odd-month Watch Parties

*All tiers and benefits are also available as*

—*YouTube Channel Memberships*

—*Ko-Fi* https://ko-fi.com/craftlit

—*NEW* at CraftLit.com — Premium Memberships https://craftlit.com/membership-levels/

*IF you want to join a particular Book or Watch Patry but you don't want to join any of the above membership options*, please use PayPal.me/craftlit or CraftLit @ Venmo and include what you want to attend in the message field. Please give us at least 24 hours to get your message and add you to the attendee list.

• Download the FREE CraftLit App for iOS or Android (you can call or email feedback straight from within the app)

• Call 1-206-350-1642

Ep. 683: Cranford | Chapter 5

Book talk begins at 9:31

A mysterious stranger arrives in town, and you just know the ladies of Cranford are ready to investigate... politely, of course.

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00:00 Episode start

01:28 2:42 Plum Deluxe Full Body Reset green tea. Plum Deluxe's CraftLit tea collection is here: https://bit.ly/craftlit-pdtea

Also, MAY RAFFLE - Sir Walter Scott Cross stitch from Rebecca S (Of Book it with Becca, who wrote the wonderful post: "What do you do with a problem like Emma?"

04:25 Gardening!

09:30 - START BOOK TALK: Last week, the lovely Mr Holbrook and his very sad passing.

12:06 Joint- Stock bank: > A bank owned by shareholders, operating under a charter or act of Parliament, and offering services to the public.

• Unlike older private banks (run by individuals or families), joint-stock banks were corporations, meaning shared risk and more capital.
• How bank books worked— A bank book (also called a passbook) was given to bank customers to record all transactions in their account—- Every deposit and withdrawal was manually written into the book by a bank clerk. The customer's copy was their only proof of the account's balance.

14:12 Envelope usage / turning inside out (ETSY doing this NOW)

• Whole vs half sheet and crossed letters

16:36 STRING and Indian-rubber rings

17:24 "India-rubber" was the 19th-century term for what we now just call rubber—and India-rubber rings were small rubber loops or bands like we use today.

• Came from the latex of tropical trees (especially Hevea brasiliensis)

18:42 TONQUIN beans: TONKA beans: Tonka beans are the wrinkled, black seeds of the Dipteryx odorata tree, native to South America. Chefs outside the US use them in desserts and to replace nuts. AND ILLEGAL in the USA since 1954 due to the presence of liver damaging "coumarin" - video on the beans - and this video was released just after I recorded this episode!

20:54 Full bottomed wig:

22:43 PADUASOY: heavy, rich corded or embossed silk fabric, From French - peau de soie, a cloth resembling serge (twill fabric with diagonal lines/ridges on both inner and outer surfaces per a two-up/two-down weave.)

24:19 Bottom of page a small "T.O." = turn over / Molly's writing is full of spelling like "Bewty" which is a subsequent joke line

25:49 Dum memor ipse Mei, dum Spiritus regift artus - Virgil, Æneid, IV.382, "While memory shall last and breath still control my limbs"

25:28 Carmen (lowercase) like CARMINA (song poem or verse)

26:54 Gentleman's Magazine 1782—Kind of an Atlantic Monthly—guess who contributed? Samuel Johnson!

27:18 M. T. Ciceroni's Epistolae: The letters of Marcus Tullius Cicero (106-43BCE) Roman statesman, orator, philosopher, and writer with 800+ letters surviving

Heather before recording, in garden, with skewer pack:

28:41 "Rod in a pickle" - rod, method of punishment; pickle, something preserved for future use.

29:42 Life is a vale of tears: Psalm 84:6 also, description of a helicopter parent feels marvelously modern

30:21 Mrs Chapone (1727-1801) Contributed to the Rambler AND Gentleman's Magazine and wrote "Letters on the Improvement of the Mind (1773) and Mrs Carter (1717-1806) many languages and in 1758 published first translation of Epictetus THE Stoic Philosopher.

31:32 "Before Miss Edgeworth's 'Patronage' had banished wafers from polite society…": Patronage was a book (1814) with a character who was offended by a letter she received that was sealed with a wafer: "I wonder how any man can have the impertinence to send me his spittle" (I, 248)

33:06 "Old original post with stamp in the corner" not exactly the right watermark, but you get the idea…

34:30 "Sesquipedalian" writing - foot and a half long sesqui = 1-½ pedalis =foot looonng polysyllabic words

35:13 Buonaparte (Bony)1805 invasion fears - In case you still need to build your own BUG OUT BAG

36:55 David and Goliath, son of Jesse (I Samuel 17)

• Apollyon (Greek version) and Abbadon (Hebrew version) are names for an archangel In Revelation 9:11—> _"And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon." (Revelation 9:11, KJV)
• Meaning:
• Abaddon (Hebrew) means "destruction" or "place of destruction."
• Apollyon (Greek) means "destroyer."
• It's overblown biblical satire—calling someone "Apollyon" in Cranford is like referring to a strict schoolmarm as "Beelzebub."

38:08 Bonus Bernardus non video omnia The Blessed Bernard does not see everything - maybe said by St Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153)— This quote is often attributed (possibly apocryphally) to Peter Abelard, the 12th-century theologian, as a gentle jab at St. Bernard of Clairvaux, with whom he clashed theologically.

• Meaning: Even the wisest man (here, Blessed Bernard) can be wrong sometimes.

Post-chapter Notes

• Chapone and Carter and Bluestockings (see below for big notes)
• real historical women writers, both part of the 18th-century English Bluestocking movement—educated, literary women who promoted female intellectualism and moral development. Gaskell is absolutely name-dropping intentionally here for Cranford's themes of domestic gentility, moral seriousness, and self-improvement.

⸻

Mrs. Hester Chapone (1727–1801)

• Best known for Letters on the Improvement of the Mind (1773), addressed to her niece.
• It was a conduct book for young women, offering advice on moral character, reading habits, and proper behavior.
• Hugely popular—Cranford-adjacent readers would know her by name.

⸻

Mrs. Elizabeth Carter (1717–1806)

• A respected scholar, translator, and poet—a genuine intellectual heavyweight.
• Famously translated the Discourses of Epictetus from Greek in 1758—the first English translation by a woman, and one of the first of Epictetus at all.
• She knew multiple classical and modern languages and was close friends with figures like Samuel Johnson and Hannah More.

*CraftLit's Socials*

• Find everything here: https://www.linktr.ee/craftlitchannel

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• Previous CraftLit Classics can be found here: https://bit.ly/craftlit-library-2023

*SUPPORT THE SHOW!*

• CraftLit App Premium feed bit.ly/libsynpremiumcraftlit (only one tier available)

• PATREON: https://patreon.com/craftlit (all tiers, below)

——Walter Harright - $5/mo for the same audio as on App

——Jane Eyre - $10/mo for even-month Book Parties

——Mina Harker - $15/mo for odd-month Watch Parties

*All tiers and benefits are also available as*

—*YouTube Channel Memberships*

—*Ko-Fi* https://ko-fi.com/craftlit

—*NEW* at CraftLit.com — Premium Memberships https://craftlit.com/membership-levels/

*IF you want to join a particular Book or Watch Patry but you don't want to join any of the above membership options*, please use PayPal.me/craftlit or CraftLit @ Venmo and include what you want to attend in the message field. Please give us at least 24 hours to get your message and add you to the attendee list.

• Download the FREE CraftLit App for iOS or Android (you can call or email feedback straight from within the app)

• Call 1-206-350-1642

Ep. 682: Cranford | Chapter 4

Book talk begins at 10:00

A mysterious stranger stirs up gossip, secrets slip out over tea, and Miss Matty's world gets just a little more complicated.

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00:00 Episode start

01:56 MAY RAFFLE - Sir Walter Scott Cross stitch from Rebecca S (Of Book it with Becca, who wrote the wonderful post: "What do you do with a problem like Emma?"

2:42 The dimensions of the cross-stitch are 9"x11" (23cmx30cm)

Also, Plum Deluxe's CraftLit tea collection is here: https://bit.ly/craftlit-pdtea

03:55 - Gardening Olla DIY video 1 and a plastic bottle version and gardening video with fake drip irrigation

06:12 Send us your crafty videos!

07:18 - Thin Man Movie Watch Party, May 24, 2025. If you need to level-up to join us we've made it easy!

09:54 - Re- hash Chapter 3: A Love Affair of Long Ago - Miss Matty Jenkyns reminisces about her past romance with Mr. Holbrook, which was thwarted by her family's disapproval.

• Miss J couldn't SUCK an orange (then by ch 3 she was gone from us)
• Martha, the new girl of all work trying to learn how to do her job and nudging Major Jenkyns when he didn't serve himself fast enough

11:00 Miss Matilda SATE bolt upright (not a typo)

11:16 Poetry today from George Herbert—selections from will be featured at the end of the episodes, Euan Bartlett is the reader

12:00 "Pudding before meat" and "no broth no ball; no ball, no beef"

14:00 Yorkshire Pudding, a Humble History

15:32 Old fashioned forks - like 16th Century/1500s - were two-tine forks.

16:44 "Aminé at her grains of rice after her previous feast with the Ghoul" - from "The Story of Sidi-Nouman" from One Thousand and One Nights (1765-8) Aminé is wife of Sidi Nouman who notices she only eats rice with a bodkin. He figures out she's a Ghoul who goes to cemeteries at night to feast on the newly-buried dead so rice was pretty 'meh' for her.

17:48 "Unbecoming calashes to put on over their caps" - threw me b/c of the Caleche's in Dracula - turns out they're related! Retractable hood to put over a cap!

19:34 Tennyson - a line about cedars from 1842's "The Gardiner's Daughter" and in the original text It's missing from the published version so a conversation turn would have been less of an utter non-sequiter in the OG version.

20:30 Headsup for the crocheters in our midst.

20:48 "Locksley Hall" by Tennyson - not included accidentally.

21:04 Visiting rules - more

49:40 '"My cousin might make a drive, I think," said Miss Pole, who was afraid of ear-ache, and had only her cap on. '— spectacular set of non-sequiters (p41)

53:30 I saw, I imitated, I survived - Mary Smith as Cæsar - using rounded knife tip as a spoon-ish food delivery device

Don't forget! SEND US YOUR CRAFTY VIDEOS

George Herbert's poetry often draws on the natural world, gardens, and quiet reflection:

1. "The Flower"

Theme: Renewal, the seasons of the soul, joy in growth Perfect for July because: It celebrates the resurgence of beauty and hope—after cold or darkness, flowers bloom again.

"Grief melts away

Like snow in May, As if there were no such cold thing."

"Who would have thought my shriveled heart

Could have recovered greenness? It was gone Quite underground; as flowers depart To see their mother-root, when they have blown."

"Thy garden is not bare;

And I shall find once more The sweet communion with thy saints."

2. "Easter"

Yes, it's tied to the holiday, but it also celebrates light and blooming.

"Rise heart; thy Lord is risen. Sing his praise

Without delays, Who takes thee by the hand, that thou likewise With him mayst rise."

Pair this with literal rising things—morning sun, lilies, tall foxgloves.

3. "The Pulley"

Theme: Why God withholds perfect rest—so we seek Him. This works well in summer, when life feels abundant, but still leaves a twinge of longing.

"When God at first made man,

Having a glass of blessings standing by…" (and yet withheld rest, to draw man's soul back to God)

A beautiful idea for a reflective pause among too-perfect blooms.

4. "Love (III)"

Theme: Divine love, human unworthiness, and acceptance It's more theological, but gentle and moving—great for a quiet bench moment in a shady corner.

"Love bade me welcome; yet my soul drew back…"

"You must sit down," says Love, "and taste my meat." So I did sit and eat."

It pairs beautifully with the hum of bees and the hospitality of a garden.

If you want a very short quote for your garden journal or bench-musing: • "Thou hast given me this herb of grace to smell and taste." — from "Grace" • "Sweet rose, whose hue angry and brave…" — from "Virtue" • "He that in mirth and youthful jollity keeps measure, is more temperate than he that lets his sorrow flow out without check." — from his prose The Country Parson

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Ep. 681: Cranford | Chapter 3

Book talk begins at 15:00

A mysterious gentleman caller? A missed dinner invite gone socially sideways? Things are getting awkwardly entertaining in the most delightfully proper way.

---------------------------------------------------------------

00:00 Episode start

03:00 Knitting Comfortably: The ergonomics of knitting by Carson Demers https://bit.ly/april-raffle

"Wuv. TWOO Wuv…"

04:16 BOOK PARTY WAS Thursday, April 24th, for The Thin Man by Dashiell Hammett - the Watch party will be May 29th. If you need to level-up to join us we've made it easy! Hammet biography for you

05:00 Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid trailer

05:36 Plum Deluxe Hunnybush Herbal--I found out this was a special blend that might no longer be available but you can take their quiz to find YOUR perfect cup! **Go here to get your CraftLit listener discount!

07:08 You can call the show from the App or 206-350-1642 or speakpipe.com/craftlit

8:05 SEND US YOUR CRAFTY VIDEOS and let us know what text you want on the screen during your video (promote your shop!)

10:45 Bookshop.org's CraftLit list from Farley's also check out other indie online bookshops https://thriftbooks.com/ and AbeBooks.com or Powell's.

OLD FARLEY'S (with the cat older than I am)

Pics of The Salt House

13:28 Heather attempts gardening on a deck without a hose. Sympathy and/or hints are welcomed ;) [email protected]

15:35 START OF BOOK TALK

19:20 Hortus Siccus - an arranged collection of dried plants

20:19 Judi Dench as Miss Matty in the miniseries

21:14 Articles of Engagement - rules for your servants (a contract)

22:00 wine and dessert (really wine and nuts)

22:44 Recondite - something difficult to understand

23:15 Army Lists

23:42 Bluebeard by Charles Perrault (who did NOT write the version of Tristan and Isolde we listened to)

• Moral: Curiosity, in spite of its appeal, often leads to deep regret. To the displeasure of many a maiden, its enjoyment is short lived. Once satisfied, it ceases to exist, and always costs dearly.
• Another moral: Apply logic to this grim story, and you will ascertain that it took place many years ago. No husband of our age would be so terrible as to demand the impossible of his wife, nor would he be such a jealous malcontent. For, whatever the color of her husband's beard, the wife of today will let him know who the master is. (Heather's note: I just had to add those here as I found them after I recorded)
• Andrew Lang, The Blue Fairy Book (London: Longmans, Green, and Company, ca. 1889), pp. 290-295.
• Lang's source: Charles Perrault, "La Barbe bleüe, "Histoires ou contes du temps passé, avec des moralités: Contes de ma mère l'Oye (Paris, 1697).
• And just for fun because I've mentioned it before: Blue Beard. Additional folktales of Aarne-Thompson types 312 and 312A and - The Robber Bridegroom. Another tale by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm about a sinister bridegroom (Aarne-Thompson type 955).—The **Aarne-Thompson**-Uther Index is wrapped around the Bluebeard story like a tourniquet!

24:50 "Leave me to repose…" from poem "The Descent of Odin" by Thomas Gray (of "Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard")

25:55 "Pride which apes humility" from "The Devil's Thoughts"

• "The Devil's Thoughts" is a satirical poem in common metre by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, published in 1799, and expanded by Robert Southey in 1827 and retitled "The Devil's Walk" (Heather: AH HA! Now it makes sense). The narrative describes the Devil going walking and enjoying the sight of the various sins of mankind. Wikipedia Originally published: 1799 Authors: Robert Southey, Samuel Taylor Coleridge

27:24 Yeoman vs Esquire

29:15 Castle Building (aka, wool-gathering) - the Castle in the Air

30:17 CHAPTER AUDIO BEGINS - Heather makes wool slippers using The Crossover Slipper pattern from YouMakeItSimple.com

52:46 POST-CHAPTER CHAT

53:45 Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management, Mrs Beeton's mitts from Brenda Dayne

56:25 Serve from the Left details:

• Serving: - Plates: Plates are served from the left, using your left hand to place the plate, allowing the server to use their right hand to avoid crossing in front of the guest.
• Beverages: Beverages, such as water and wine, are poured from the right, as glasses are typically placed to the right of the guest's plate.
• Sides: Sides like bread and vegetables are also served from the left.
• Clearing:
• Plates: Plates are cleared from the right, using your right hand to remove the plate.
• Exceptions:
• If a guest is obstructing the way on the right, or if there is an object on the right side, a server may need to serve from the right.
• Some restaurants may have their own protocols for serving, whether it's to the right or left.
• Why Serve from the Left?
• Serving from the left is considered less intrusive for right-handed diners, as it avoids the server having to reach across the guest.
• It also allows the server to carry the food in their left hand and serve with their right hand, without crossing their arms in front of the guest.

57:20 Madeline Khan in Blazing Saddles

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Ep. 680: Cranford | Chapter 2

Book talk begins at 6:13.

This week's chapter is a sobering reminder that small towns sometimes carry the heaviest stories.

Also, we get another battle over Dickens vs. Johnson (yep, that again).

---------------------------------------------------------------

• 02:40 - ME/CFS info: Listen to "The Blog" (4 min vs 19 min on "The Gist—yes, he titled them in reverse). This is one of the Long-Covid papers we've been waiting for. PEM—post-exertional malaise is "feeling tired/sore a day after a workout" on crack.

• PEM pain and brain fog can last up to two weeks after exertion…The Rank Study he mentions is the group saying "duh m'dude. If you've been in bed for a year yer gonna be tired after a workouta. You gotta get back on your exercise routine and qitcherbellyaching" —a theory that's led to permanent patient paralysis. The other study is big because it indicates that the damage is mitochondrial, not systematic (i.e., we're getting plenty of blood to our muscles. The muscles just can't do anything WITH that oxygen)

• —and podcast episode from the People who created the Visible app that has saved my life (MakeVisible.com)

• 03:20 Snake Oil!!! https://www.snakeoilgame.com/

• 04:03 RAFFLE of "Knitting Companion," the amazing ergonomic book. Join the raffle here: bit.ly/april-raffle

• 06:13 BOOK TALK BEGINS

• 06:40 - Re-hash Ch 1

• 09:35 - Humor and Gaskell

• 10:40 - I'm drinking Plum Deluxe Bookshop Blend White. To pick your own from The CraftLit Collection of Plum Deluxe Teas, visit bit.ly/craftlit-pdtea to learn more.

• 11:20 - Who's the narrator?!

• 12:26 - Bakehouses

• 14:20 - Flints haberdashery in London (UPDATE - apparently NOT a real place! But the meaning is the same.)

• 15:15 - Biblical DebORah (the pronunciation that should be used ahem) read about her in Judges 4:4.

• 15:36 - "Strong minded" women - yeah, that was an insult. Kinda like "She was warned. She was given an explanation. Nevertheless, she persisted…" when Elizabeth Warren tried to read a letter from Coretta Scott King into the Congressional Record in February 2017. See Mary Wollstonecraft on masculine women on CraftLit's Weekly Constitutional playlist

• 17:50 - Sampler from Irish museum - this is not the one I remembered (they haven't digitised their entire collection) but it DOES have a shocking poem in it—by a 14 year old girl.

• 18:50 - Just a heads up: Gaskell sort of doesn't really quote things accurately—at this time code she's sort of quoting Hamlet, she also makes up words like Brunonian

• 20:02 - Sort of quoting Alexander Pope "Imitations of Horace" 1733

• 20:17 - Sort of quoting/sub-referencing Spenser's "The Faerie Queene" IV:3;32, 1596

• 20:55 - Nasty cruel Railroads. Yup.

• 22:17 - The guy who got a railroad spike through his head - Phineas Gage (podcast dispelling myths with SCIENCE!)

• 23:13 - Bonnet as helmet

• In fashion in 1820. Not in fashion by the 1840s:

• 24:50 Galignani's Messenger

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*SUPPORT THE SHOW!*

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——Jane Eyre - $10/mo for even-month Book Parties

——Mina Harker - $15/mo for odd-month Watch Parties

*All tiers and benefits are also available as*

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*IF you want to join a particular Book or Watch Patry but you don't want to join any of the above membership options*, please use PayPal.me/craftlit or CraftLit @ Venmo and include what you want to attend in the message field. Please give us at least 24 hours to get your message and add you to the attendee list.

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Oops! I totally forgot to tell you, when I've done this in the past I left the premium episode alone and re-uploaded it to be SNEAK PEEK —free for you: MOBY DICK!

Ep. 679: Cranford | Chapter 1

Book talk begins at 16:10.

We're diving into a brand-new book, and this one's got all the charm, wit, and genteel gossip you could ask for!

The reigning queen of propriety, Miss Deborah Jenkyns, has thoughts about everything—from how to properly serve dinner to why men are mostly unnecessary. But when a certain Captain Brown dares to disrupt the delicate social balance, will Cranford's ladies be able to keep their composure?

---------------------------------------------------------------

• 03:20 - Actually, we announced the raffle on 4/4/25. More info and entry information here: https://youtu.be/5-G_UP1AL38

• 04:50 - Elizabeth Gaskell's biography

• Chelsea in London and before the embarkment

• 05:50 - Knutsford, Cheshire

• 06:07 - Young Mr. Gaskell

• 06:37 - Ruth by Elizabeth Gaskell

• 06:44 - Other books of Elizabeth Gaskell: North and South, Sylvia's Lovers, and Wives and Daughters

• 07:31 - Ellen Nussey was THE friend

• 07:50 - The Brontës: Wild Genius on the Moors: The Story of a Literary Family and the bookshop.org link

• 10:25 - Penguin Classics Cranford

• 10:42 - The Lawn - her home she never enjoyed

• 12:34 - Gaskell's house

• 12:41 - Rev. Gaskell's portrait

• 16:20 - Cranford mini-series

• 16:43 - Imelda Staunton at the musical, 'Gypsy' and THIS

• 17:39 - Count of Monte Cristo CraftLit book and The Three Musketeers

• 20:00 - Gigot sleeve

• 21:00 - Crinoline

• 23:26 - Old Manx Laws

• 24:00 - Elegant Economy post WWII book

• 25:05 - Breakfast in Jane Austen's England by Tasting History with Max Miller

• 25:43 - Mrs. Beeton's Household Management book

• 25:52 - Mrs. Beeton's beaded cuffs designed by THE Brenda Dayne

• Alderney cows—now extinct

• 1857 Manual of Domestic Economy

• How to play Preference

• How to play Whist (4 player) and (2 player)

• Jock of Hazeldean

• The Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens

• Rasselas by Samuel Johnson

• The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary

• Boswell's Life of Johnson by James Boswell and a cool video about it

• The Rambler

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——Jane Eyre - $10/mo for even-month Book Parties

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• Call 1-206-350-1642

• 00:00 Raffle Announcement & Cranford Start Date
• 00:21 Special Book Raffle: Knitting Comfortably - bit.ly/april-raffle
• 04:17 Personal Update: Long Covid and Lecture Gigs
• 08:01 CraftLit Podcast Updates and Future Plans
• 12:14 Technical Issues and App Information - bit.ly/craftlit-newsletter
• 14:51 Upcoming Events and Watch Parties - craftlit.gumroad.com/l/craftlit-party
• 16:45 Final Thoughts and Farewell