Saturday, October 16, 2010

Not much, today. I cleared out the other larder shelf and was left, not with a glow of virtue this time, but a depressed awareness of how much is undone, on all sides. And Christmas looms. Perhaps it’s time to start taking Vitamin D again.

Sharon M. has posted a wonderful defence of shawl-knitting to the Heirloom Knitting Group. She used to do 1000-piece jigsaw puzzles, she says. She concludes with the observation – it’s a good one – that tidying up is like doing a real-life jigsaw.

Mrs Posh Yarn signed up to be my friend in Ravelry the other day! It’s no use looking at the site at the moment, actually, because they’re off to Rhinebeck like everyone else in the world. It sounds to me as if they couldn’t possibly sell more yarn than they do right now, but, hey! what a wonderful place to be.

All continues well on the Amedro shawl front. It remains near-compulsive, despite being so easy. Amedro writes out and of course numbers all the pattern rows. And today I should pass the half-way mark, as far as the patterns in the body of the shawl are concerned. A significant landmark, especially as the rows are getting shorter.

The body patterns aren’t the whole story. There’s a top edging to be negotiated -- back up to 431 stitches, more roundels, and finally moss st., which won’t be fun. I hope my silly system for the sidebar has left enough percentage points to cover it.

I’m beginning to push the Next Project question around in my mind. Christmas? Hasn’t everybody got all the scarves and hats they could want? Round the Bend? I got the pattern out yesterday – it sounds challenging. Technique-wise, it’s sort of a brilliant development of the EZ ribwarmer. Back to the Green Granite Blocks? The finished back piece is on display over the sitting-room sofa, a constant reminder of my dereliction of duty.

Non-knit

Yesterday’s Economist is good on the question of how the Chilean mine rescue was done. President Pinero ordered his government to take charge at the beginning, dismissed the useless mine owners, brought in a state-owned copper-producing company called Codelco. He deserved his prominent place on the happy day of the rescue. Think of Bush and New Orleans.

And there were a couple of paragraphs, at least, in the Telegraph yesterday about the man I’ve been wondering about, the rescue worker who was the last man in that hole. He was also the first one to go down in the capsule.

6 comments:

  1. I too was thinking much about the last man to come up, without realising that he was also the first rescuer to go down. To have done that required a special brand of courage.

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  2. The medical advice I've been hearing recommends Vitamin D all the time in Northern Climes. I think it has helped my energy level for sure. Must see if I can find that Economist article. Have been making that Bush/New Orleans comparison in my mind while watching the story unfold.

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  3. My Mom and I went a couple years ago to Rhinebeck. It is quite a treat and hard to leave without yarn or fiber. Many demonstrations to watch.

    I used to live on the westside of New York state. Now, I'm almost 3000 miles away in Tucson. Was hoping to get up there and visit family on the way to Rhinebeck, but it wasn't in the cards.

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  4. To be the last man up must have been a terrifying experience...to be alone and wondering if that capsule was going to make one last safe journey...and then to leave it all...
    I like the look of the back of that garment! May we eventually see the rest?

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  5. Anonymous5:19 AM

    Jean, you really need to finish that Green Granite Blocks!! It is too beautiful to be hibernating. And think of how cozy it will be this winter!

    Beverly

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  6. =Tamar5:48 AM

    I wonder if that's why the rescuer stayed to be last - to be company for the last miner, as well as to make sure that the capsule was properly set up. He deserves sainthood, anyway.
    Vitamin D is to be taken any time you don't get a lot of sun, like a cloudy summer. I hear that tests have indicated that sometimes the "fortified" foods don't really have as much in them as they claim.

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