Well, that’s November out of the way, only three more weeks to the solstice, ‘tis the season to be jolly.

I spent much of yesterday searching in vain on line for a particular object I have acquired this year. I love it, and want to give it as a Christmas present. I will be no more specific – you never know who might be reading this. The website of my American source is no longer available. Much tedious Googling produced no results.

But I knew that the thing I want can be bought in the UK, because I had seen it mentioned in a magazine article in the summer. The sort of magazine people keep back issues of (mine are in Strathardle). I appealed to a relevant newsgroup, this morning someone sent me the answer, I’ve ordered three of the things, Christmas is pretty well sewed up. I’m feeling cheerful.

Back to my knitting…

Here is the Calcutta Cup sweater. Those yellow blobs are the beginnings of the cup itself. A couple more days should make things much clearer.



I am interested and surprised that FI is so tiring for you, Lene. Mine is not much fun at the moment, because it’s irregular and has long stretches of the background colour. (“’06” will begin on the next round; that will help.) But I confidently expect that when I reach the actual Fair Isle part and the pattern settles into a rhythm, everything will be as blissful as in the old days. Time will tell.

I ordered a bit more charcoal grey and black from Jamieson & Smith. It arrived yesterday – and look at that! They wind it for you these days! I got a new shade card, too.



I still haven’t done anything about mending those little-boy sweaters I brought back from Thessaloniki, and now I have another mending job.

This is a qiviut scarf I knit for my mother, ten years or so ago. Blind follower that I am, I didn’t notice what is probably the only mistake in Gladys Amedro’s book “Shetland Lace” until the scarf was being blocked. It’s the Fine Lace Scarf pattern. At the beginning, she establishes the Ring Stitch pattern and then says, “work as rows 35 to 58 a further three times.” After the centre portion, she says, “continue with the Ring Stitch and Edging Lace, working as rows 35 to 58 three times." You see the difficulty.



I wrote to Mrs Amedro, c/o the Shetland Times, and she phoned me within the week, apologising in considerable embarrassment. Accuracy meant a lot to her.

Anyway, my sister now has the scarf, and the CT moths have been at it. I don’t seem to have any more qiviut – I never throw anything away, but I have a dim half-memory of having given it away. However, I have bought some J&S lace-weight which arrived in yesterday’s order and matches surprisingly well. Now all I have to do is get to work. The scarf badly needs blocking, too.