Yet another change of plan. The current one is, go to London next Wednesday, stay through the weekend.

My husband is determined on another arty visit. There’s much to be said for getting it over with. For one thing, the weather is abominable here (snowing this morning) – the later in the month we go to Strathardle, the better my chances of actually getting something done on my vegetable patch.

Plus, I’ll enjoy playing in the garden more without London looming over me.

Plus, it means we can visit C. in her hospice on Monday, when her daughters are at work, instead of today when we would only swell the crowd.

Plus, there is the whole anxiety about how near she may be to the end. I don’t know whether my husband will be wanted as it approaches, but I want to have him available if requested. London is a long way away.

The move to the hospice went well enough yesterday. Our niece said that her mother seemed sicker than anybody else. They were going to give her some oral morphine last night (is that possible?) for a good night’s sleep.

In London, they’re having spring. Rachel fears this will work against Scotland in the Calcutta Cup match tomorrow – we tend to do better in the sleet. I was wrong when I said that we hadn’t won at Twickenham since the war – we won as recently as 1983, and before that in ’71. I learned only yesterday that in ’83, as in 2011, we went to Twickenham after losing to France, Ireland, and Wales. So it could happen.

There was an interview in the Scotsman yesterday with one of the heroes of ’83, David Leslie. Scotland mustn’t be intimidated by the location, he said: “Twickenham was just another gin joint in another town that you don’t want to live in.”

Knitting

Here is the RtB, coming along nicely as you see. I hope to nip in to John Lewis to get some buttons after I book our rail tickets this afternoon. I seem to have done all right with the six corners at the neck, but the bottom curve doesn’t entirely want to lie flat. I think blocking will subdue it, but blocking will certainly be necessary. The edging is rather narrow-looking. EZ and Meg point out in the Knitting Glossary that one can perfectly well have a double row of i-cord. That might have been good here, but it’s too late now because of the button loops.


This is the detail that nearly had me ripping on Thursday evening, that little ridge of greenery alongside the i-cord. (This is the right side.) At least it’s consistent and tidy.


I’ve now got a copy of my own of Setsuko Torii’s wonderful book. I got it from knit-purl.com who keep sending me emails. This morning they have filled me with desire for Madeleine Tosh’s yarn, and specifically with the desire to knit the Effortless Cardigan (Ravelry link) in her Merino DK. There are more than 200 Effortless’s on Ravelry – and the pattern was only published in September. Many of them were knit in the Tosh yarn as recommended – and I’ve rarely seen a pattern about which so many knitters are so wholeheartedly enthusiastic.

My rule is that I can buy any yarn I like whenever I like – but only if I am going to knit it more or less NOW.