Saturday, March 17, 2012


Progress, all round. Alexander rang up yesterday to talk about arrangements for Easter. Maybe Lent will end, one day! The sky is blue again this morning. I should finish Ketki’s socks this weekend. Athens sounds pleased with the idea of my knitting kilt hose.

In more detail…

Lent

Tomorrow is Laetare Sunday, the traditional day for mid-Lent relaxation (if you’re keeping the Sundays at all, as I am – strictly, they aren’t part of Lent, and if you count, you’ll see that there are 40 days between Ash Wednesday and Holy Saturday without them). I’ve got some cider lined up. Rachel’s daughter Hellie and her lovely boyfriend Matt will be in NYC, for reasons which I hope to fathom when we meet on the shores of Loch Fyne. Something about work. My sister and her husband are going down to the city to have lunch with them, and looking forward to taking a glass or two of wine.

Socks

I’m round the heel and cruising down the foot of Ketki’s second sock. I have decided what to cast on next for the emergency bag. Whatever it is, should progress considerably over the Easter weekend. Well: it will be the Crazy Zauberball Kristie gave me, for myself, with an afterthought heel.

I figured that was something I could master and not have to worry about peering at an instruction book while the party happens around me. I’ve done it, just now, although it took a while to find a tutorial that cut to the chase. Everyone seemed to want to be cute, or to take up a whole 15 minutes (plus loading time) on YouTube. But here’s a good one.

The Van Gogh "Bedroom at Arles" yarn, and the Italian flag, arrived yesterday. What treats are in store!

Kilt hose

Helen writes: “Socks knitted by his grandmother will blend in much better than a pair of bought ones which will only be striving in their bought-ness to look as if they were made by someone's grandmother. You can ask him what colour he'd like and we'll scour the Merchiston on line photo albums to make sure the colour is more or less what everyone is wearing.

I haven’t yet found a European source for the solid-colour Schoeller & Stahl Fortissima Socka recommended by the Kilravock pattern-writer (link yesterday). Lots and lots and lots of self-patterning. Buggered if I'll order from America and pay tax to re-import it into the European Union.  Robeedoo, I like the OnLine yarn you recommend and will go for that if one of the colours turns out to suit.

Vest

I'm beginning to look forward to getting back to it. The interval has been just right. Ron, thank you very much for the Zimmermann references. I've now read Meg's newsletter – how did I ever get unsubscribed to that? I have rectified the omission – and am ready to roll. 

7 comments:

  1. Jean, Opal has a line of solid colors in 4ply sock yarn - so that's another option if you don't find what you want in the Regia.

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  2. Anonymous1:16 PM

    If the yarn for the kilt hose is available in the US, could Hellie and Matt pick it up on their trip and bring it back with them?

    Beverly in NJ

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  3. skeindalous2:24 PM

    The kilt stockings you mentioned yesterday are quite elegant. Almost worth making a pair for myself to go with a tweed skirt, if I could size them down! Is there a female equivalent of the kilt that is authentic? So many of the 'celtic' shops one sees on line go heavy on the cute and light on the authentic. It would be very satisfying to make such stockings for a grandson. Or granddaughter!

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  4. Theresa I2:45 PM

    I wonder about laundry facilities at the school. It would be a shame to have a lovely pair of kilt hose ruined.

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  5. There's a wonderful book at Schoolhouse Press, actually on sale right now...all patterns for kilt hose!
    http://www.schoolhousepress.com/booksale.htm

    Makes me wish I could wear a kilt (and not incur wrath for doing so)

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  6. skeindalous3:18 PM

    Had to mention the pair of hose posted as Saxon Kilvarock on Ravelry. The substitution of the braided edge on the cuff is marvelous

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  7. Jean, have you tried here?
    http://www.bastelundhobbykiste.de/en/Knitting/Wool-Sock-Yarn/Stahl-Fortissima/Fortissima-Socka-Uni-und-Melange.html

    (page is english, you can also contact Martina in english via email)

    don't know which colour exactly you need, but the no. 2090 from the knitty pattern is available from a german ebay source here:

    http://www.ebay.de/itm/schoeller-stahl-Fortissima-Socka-2090-jaeger-mouline-420m-100g-2803312090-v3-/220908795392

    the knitty pattern is from 2010, maybe this particular yarn colour has already been replaced? they sometimes change colour lines very quickly:(

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