Six more rounds of lice needed. The great thing about lice is that they make it utterly easy to ensure that the sleeves are of identical length. Two more sessions should do it comfortably. You may be sure that I’ll return to the ear-flap hat tomorrow. Even so, the Sweater Crisis should come next week. I am tempted to tiptoe in at night and unravel some sleeve, like Penelope.

Janet, I fear you may be right, that I am turning into a character out of Alexander McCall Smith. Scotland Street is just around the corner, as you probably know, and he often mentions Drummond Place. He uses the art galleries on Dundas Street -- why not the auction house in the other direction? And knitting would fit right in.

Here is our little picture. She is somewhat faded, and we have chosen a spot for her which the sun will never reach. We spend a lot of time, this time of year, when the sun is strong and comes in on the near-horizontal, running around closing south-facing curtains and shutters.

(The Fathers of the Birmingham Oratory maintain Cardinal Newman’s room as it was the day he died. It must be rather interesting; women weren’t allowed upstairs, in our day, and so I’ve never seen it. They invited my husband in once to advise on preservation, and the first thing he said was, close the curtains.)

Miscellaneous

A friend on Ravelry sent me this link, suggesting I try to do the same for Drummond Place. It is a wonderful idea, certainly to be added to the HALFPINT list.

I was there thinking about EZ’s Bog Jacket. It would have to wait until the yarn fast is over, because it definitely looks better in one or two solid colours, and that’s what I don’t have, in adult-garment quantities.

I have recently had a note over in Ravelry from Bridget Rorem herself, knowing how I admire her lacey alphabet – I used it last year to sign and date the Princess, and often before – and reminding me of her Lace Alphabets Scarf Sampler at the Schoolhouse Press. (Scroll down a bit.) It is certainly something one ought to have, if one thinks one might ever want to write anything in lace.

I’m glad I’ve got the Piecework where the alphabet originally appeared, however. If ever a wedding is in prospect at which my Princess could possibly be worn, I plan to send the bride a copy of the photograph of Bridget’s daughter (I presume it’s her) in her wedding dress, wearing the amazing shawl her mother knit, just to give some idea of how the Princess might work out in practice.

(I discovered while wandering around the Schoolhouse Press site looking for the Rorem link that they are soon to produce a Knitting Around DVD which will include the Bog Jacket.)