Slow Sewing

Monday I set up the Featherweight in the dining room where it's cooler to continue working on the Blooming Nine Patch. Yes, I'm still working on it; I sometimes think I'm the world's slowest quilter.

I decided to fire up Netflix just to have some background noise while I was working. The first movie that popped up as a recommendation was The Rape of Europa, a documentary about how the Nazis looted art treasures during World War II and the efforts to save and reclaim the art during and after the war.

After about 30 minutes I had to stop sewing because I became so interested in the movie. I watched it all the way through, then restarted it (because I thought I had missed a lot of the beginning) and watched it all the way through again. I can't even remember the last time I watched a movie all the way through once, never mind twice in one day.

It's beautifully photographed and it does what a good documentary should do--it gives you a good overall view of the subject, then zeroes in here and there on a few details that help give you a clearer understanding of the whole. Efforts continue TO THIS DAY to find and return the art treasures to their original owners and to restore other treasures that were damaged during the war.

It's based on a book by Lynn H. Nicholas published in 1994. I actually own this book, but it's one I just never got around to reading. Now I think I will go back and try it again. One more for the to-be-read pile.

If you're more interested on the Hollywood take on this, try The Train, a 1964 movie with Burt Lancaster and Jeanne Moreau. It's the story of French resistance efforts to prevent a German colonel from stealing a trainload of French art treasures as the allies bore down on Paris.

Or better yet, make some popcorn, fire up the 'puter, and watch them as a double feature. The Train is available on Hulu.