Saturday 22 February 2020

It's A Wrap!

Or so they say when they finish filming.I'm afraid I never got to see Little Women - there was too much going on in January and I never got round to finding someone to come with me. Which is a shame for lots of reasons, not least because I really wanted to see the wraps [ie shawls] which were worn by the actresses. They were made in the UK just 3½ miles from Cornerstones!
Jenn Mohahan of the Fibre Workshop in the village of Elsing produced around seven pieces for the film - 400 hours of knitting! Here she is with Beth's shawl [and she's wearing Jo's shawl]
Jenn has also knitted items for the films Churchill and 2017.
Wool is part of Norfolk's history - and Jenn champions the "Norfolk Horn" - a hardy little black faced breed brought to the county by the Saxons, around 420 AD. Numbers declined in the 1960s,almost to extinction, but now it is recognised as a rare breed - and there are 79 flocks.
Jenn runs workshops, on processing the yarn and dyeing it - maybe in a few years time I shall be able go to one [it's near enough to cycle]
What a lovely story - and there's a further twist ...
Jenn made a copy of Beth's shawl. She raffled it off for "Barefoot College and the Solar Mamas" - an amazing charity which works in 1300 villages in 80 countries worldwide to empower women. She hoped to raise £250 to help train women to produce energy, reduce carbon emissions and bring lihght, employment and self-reliant solutions for their communities. Her Raffle raised a whopping £4118. 74.
I haven't seen the film yet - but I'm thrilled to realise that there is a connection to my corner of Norfolk. Jenn's determination is helping to maintain a Rare Breed, and her generosity has blessed women across the world. 
That is an inspiring story.

5 comments:

  1. I’m sure the film will be on the tv soon enough or at least I hope so as I missed it too. I love the idea of a local wool producer and knitter making the shawls. Well done to her for her generosity too.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Our local cinema (Odeon) has 'Silver Club Wednesdays', where us 'oldies' pay only £4 admission AND can have a free cuppa and a biscuit before the film starts. There's always someone else on their own who's up for a chat.

    ReplyDelete
  3. That IS an inspiring story! It is good to know that when you aim to help , your wildest expectations can be surpassed! I missed seeing it too. I DID see Great Expectations though which was great!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Oh I do hope you get to see this adaptation - it is beautifully superb, and yes, the costumes are a huge part of how very good it is! Much better than the BBC series a couple of Christmases ago. I went to church the morning after i saw it with my crochet triangle pinned round me like a comforter in tribute to all the gorgeous knitted things. You'd really need to see it twice- once for the glorious treatment of the story itself, and then just for the clothes!

    ReplyDelete
  5. How wonderful, Ang! Oh, the knits are gorgeous in Little Women. I went once with a friend and again with the grands. I love knowing this story. Thank you, friend! (Still preparing Jolly, btw❤️)

    ReplyDelete

Always glad to hear from you - thanks for stopping by!
I am blocking anonymous comments now, due to excessive spam!