Wednesday, March 16, 2011

I’ve lost a follower! I didn’t know such things happened until yesterday, when the same misfortune came to kristieinbc. I never expected all those people to go on reading, but I thought the defectors would just tiptoe away leaving the total apparently unchanged.

We’ll go to see C. today. Our niece thinks more ground was lost yesterday, and that we should keep things brief. All visitors are to be kept away tomorrow, in hopes of rallying some strength for the weekend when Greek Helen will be here (Friday) and then on Saturday Rachel and her husband Ed and Little C., C.’s beloved namesake granddaughter. Little C. is in her final weeks at Bristol university. She will go to London and join Rachel and Ed for the drive north.

Alexander drove over from Argyll yesterday to see his aunty. He had a good visit, tearful on both sides at the end. That’s a turn of the screw I hope we might be spared – as long as she’s there, we’ll obviously keep going back. Maybe we won’t have to know which is the final goodbye until afterwards.

Knitting

Anonymous, with the red Chinese “cashmere” I’m going to knit “Granny Cheyne’s Shetland Shawl” for our niece, from Margaret Stove’s new book “Wrapped in Lace”. In shape, it’s a bog-standard square Shetland, perhaps a bit awkward to wear formally – although it looks nice on the model in the book. But with square, I figure, you can drape it over a piece of furniture like a small afghan, or cosy up in it when watching television. And our niece should cut a dash in it at my funeral, when I want as many as possible to wear something I knit.

I have re-done the i-cord on Round-the-Bend, making loop buttonholes instead of Meg’s elegant figure-of-eights. This morning during my osteoporosis-pill-half-hour (no coffee allowed, nor going back to bed) I sewed the buttons on. I’m clumsy with buttons – worse with zips – and hate doing them, but I think the result will pass muster.


So today I should be able to finish tidying, and probably start the Japanese shirt swatch. Blocking tomorrow. My main problem with the Japanese shirt is to choose the existing garment to take the measurements from. I think the sleeve seams should be at the shoulder and not somewhere else.


Tamar, I couldn’t bear the fuss of selling yarn. What I need is a Deserving Cause on which I can dump some lace-weight. I figure the charity knitters in Alyth (who have received a fair amount of my general stash) wouldn’t want lace because they knit stout little garments for babies.

Speaking of which, a friend sent me this yesterday, for using up sock yarn. Isn’t it a sweetie? Patricia Arrotin’s cache Coeur (Ravelry link). Now all I need is a great-grandchild.

8 comments:

  1. Anonymous10:02 AM

    Jean, I'm so sorry to hear about your sister in law's deterioraton, I just pray that the Hospice will do what they do best and keep her alert for as long as possible and comfortable to the end. It should be possible and will be a comfort to you all.
    As for donations of wool, have you condsidered p-hop (pennies per hour of pleasure)http://www.p-hop.co.uk/ who suppport MSF, who work worldwide and are currently involved in Japan I believe. There are knitters who would probably pay vast sums for your gorgeous lace weight yarn. Not that I'm saying I might be one of them of course!
    Christine

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  2. Jean, I'm sure your follower is still reading. What I didn't realize when I became a follower, was that now your blog appears elsewhere in Google reader. I didn't care for that, but as long as I know where yours is now, I've accepted it. I won't follow others though because I want them to stay in alpha order in the reader. It is certainly not a comment on the quality of the blog, I'm sure.

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  3. Let's hope that it is peaceful and pain-free for C. to the end. I don't know if you see "The Times", but I was struck by the artwork relating to the dying, featured in yesterday's edition.

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  4. Your sister in law's decline reminds me of a similar situation in our family. The hospice were marvellous and she slipped away peacefully one night without stress or pain. I hope the same is true for C.

    I was going to suggest p/hop for your yarn (find their group on Ravelry) but I see Christine has beat me to it!

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  5. I'm keeping your family in my thoughts and prayers. I so admire all of you for coming to say your final good-bys. I'm sure C is feeling very loved by the visits.

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  6. =Tamar4:58 AM

    The cache-coeur looks like what I've heard of as a sontag, very popular pre-20th century. It's very pretty with the variegated effect.

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  7. Jean, I'm praying for C and feel confident that the tenuous cross-referencing won't be a problem in the place where the prayers are received and applied.

    The cache-coeur is also known as a hug-me-tight, but I love the French translating to "hide-a-heart".

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  8. What can anyone say at a time like this - remember to breathe and thank goodness for the soothing effect of knitting. And even if knitting goes wrong, at least you are getting annoyed at something trivial, rather than the whole unhappy situation.

    I have a question - where can I get the pattern for the Cache Coeur? I saw similar in a book, ages ago - it was in one of the 40-50's Odhams book that have arrived here or passed through my hands. I have been unable to find it again, and though I should, in theory, be able to work it out for myself, the truth is, I can't.

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