Today's walk has been cancelled. The end-of-term collapse has manifested itself as a bad cold for our niece. We've rescheduled for the 17^th. It's a disappointment, but it takes the pressure off this morning. James and his two daughters will be here late on Monday, and we will proceed to Strathardle on Tuesday. No sooner do we get back here, than the Greeks arrive. Lots going on. I'm just as glad to take it slow today.

Knitting proceeds well. I've done 26 bumps of the edging of the Unst Bridal Shawl, and the first corner is fast approaching, since I started somewhere in the middle of one side. That will be a good point for a photograph, once I'm around that corner. Maybe there are 50 bumps per side. Does that sound familiar?

Here's a thing, though. Sharon says to attach the edging by knitting one stitch from the border at the end of every inward row, and then, at the beginning of the next row, knit it again, and knit the next stitch, and pass the first one over.

I'm not doing it that way. I have added a stitch at the edge of the edging. Its sole function is to liaise with the border. At the end of every inward row, I knit it together with the next stitch from the border. At the beginning of the next row, I slip it.

This is producing a very nice, neat join. The only thing is, it is also producing a fold line. The edging wants to lie neatly down on the wrong side. I have fair confidence that blocking will take care of the problem. Confidence, but not certainly. And what will happen in future years when there is no one around who knows how to block lace? Will the edging revert to folding?

So I've learned something, It's a completely useless piece of information for me, since I will never knit a shawl centre-outwards again. Perhaps the better lesson to carry away is, do it Sharon's way. I hesitate to change techniques in mid-stream, although that would be a possibility, after the corner.

CSJ0423: I found and enjoyed the NPR article about Shetland, but I can't make the audio perform. Maddening.

There's something in Zite this morning about a forthcoming book to be called Vintage Shetland. The photo-shoot is scheduled for “a remote island off Shetland later this summer” – and the author is appealing for people to knit up some of the patterns, now. in July. Talk about living on the edge! Here's the link, if you're interested.

Non-knit

Foggy Knitter, I'd love to have that reference from Sackville-West or Jekyll about a planting scheme for a window box, if you ever come across it again. Or maybe I could Google? We have a north-facing window box off my husband's study. He has abandoned that room of late in favour of colonising the dining room and the window box has run to weeds. It would be good to take it in hand again under expert guidance.