Monday, June 04, 2012


Rachel and Ed went to the river-bank yesterday. They waved to the Queen, and she waved back. Everyone had a splendid time, Rachel reported, including the police.

The weather was much more regatta-like in Edinburgh, bright and breezy all day. But the effect wouldn’t have been the same on the Water of Leith. Ed is glad to be able to stop watering his vegetables for a few days.

We watched most of it on television. As far as I could see, the Queen (86) and the Duke of Edinburgh (91 next Sunday) were on their feet the entire time, although thrones had been provided.

Knitting

Here is my first toe-up sock, and the beginnings of my second. I’m happy with them. I’m beginning to take the wonderfulness of Zauberballs for granted. I'm about half-way from toe to heel with the second sock, bearing in mind that Strong-Fleegle involves a lot of knitting and it is important to start on time. 


I am thinking about the next pair of socks. They will have to be toe-up, so that I can practice the Turkish cast on. But that still allows some latitude in the shaping of the toe (I think) and, of course, in the choice of heel. The main candidates there, at the moment, are another Sweet Tomato – that’s a technique I want solidly in the repertoire; and a basic whatever-you-call-it heel, flap and gusset, upside down. Might as well master that. 

Some of the heels I wrote down at the beginning of this project are beginning to group themselves. Fleegle and Strong are nearly identical, and Andersson is not much different (I think).

This morning I looked up Sherman, and found to my pleasure that there is a good tutorial by Mel himself. But “Sherman” is a total sock concept, and requires a provisional cast-on. Will it prove similar to Candace Strick’s revolutionary idea? I have got far enough with her to discover that she, too, requires a provisional cast-on, and that, as with the Sherman, her toe and heel use the same technique.  Many excitements to come – but first, that Turkish cast-on.

Joe has been knitting a baby blanket. Gosh! I had never heard of Poems sock yarn, and am beginning to feel that the discovery of ever-new and ever-more-wonderful sock yarns will last forever. And the pattern is free on Ravelry. I haven’t been paying much attention, as Joe posted progress reports, except to admire, but now (with a baby looming in DC) I am beginning to wonder. Perhaps I’ll trawl back though his recent posts.

So much one would like to do.

7 comments:

  1. Goodmorning Jean,
    Frankie's patterns are real gems, I have made several of them including the ten stitch triangle(Trekking XXL sockyarn)which became a fast favourite with the old ladies in my life, including myself. Very easy to knit and very quick once you've mastered the knitting of the corners. .You will like it too I am sure. Marcella

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  2. Anonymous2:42 PM

    Hello Jean, Joe's blanket is done in tunisian crochet, not knitted, if that makes a difference to you. It's quite lovely, yes?
    Marilyn in Minneapolis

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  3. Anonymous3:24 PM

    Oh, that blanket has been calling me too! In the examples on Ravelry there are a few done in sock leftovers, and at least one where 3 strands are combined and a larger needle used. I think that might be good for blending of otherwise disparate colorways. The ones with long colorways are really the most attractive to my eyes, though.

    Beverly near Yosemite CA

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  4. Do you reckon the Queen just never saw the thrones? I can imagine her watching it on TV later and saying well .....gosh ......there were some seats round the front there just for us!

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  5. I was very happy that BBCAmerica broadcast the pageant. I, too, was impressed that she stood throughout the whole pageant - and also that 90 year old Prince Philip doesn't seem to have lost much height and how straight his bearing is.

    My only criticism of the broadcast is that I wish the TV announcers had more historical information about the Dunkirk boats and that the TV interviewers would have spent more time telling the stories of the WWII veterans that were on the moored HMS ships.

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  6. Hello Jean,
    Your discussion of sock bind offs came in good time for me, I just tried Jeny's amazingly stretchy bind off - and it is! The bind off was the only thing I had a problem with for toe up socks.

    I do Wendy Johnson's short row toe, with a crochet chain for the provisional cast on (though I may try Judy's magic cast on again, since the discussion on your blog).

    Currently I am using Knot another hat's sock formula for the gusset and slipstich heel. Though I am thinking about a deeper gusset, my husband has such a high instep.

    Thanks for sharing your sock adventures, Jean.

    all the best
    Dawn in NL

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  7. I am torn between envy and sympathy for Rachel and Ed for being able to view the Queen's flotilla. It would have been quite something to have seen it in person, but I have to admit sitting here in my warm, dry house and drinking a cup of tea while I watched seemed way more comfortable. I am amazed so many people turned out, and that they stayed when the weather turned so foul.

    A friend and I were talking yesterday about the fact that the Queen and Prince Phillip were able to go for that length of time without using a washroom. (These are the kinds of things people with small bladders and equally small minds ponder.) Then I saw today's headlines saying the Prince is in the hospital with a bladder infection. I'm not surprised, but how sad that he has to miss the rest of the celebration.

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