Tuesday, August 26, 2014

We watched the Great Debate last night. I set myself to get all the way through without commenting or responding to my husband's outrageous remarks, and I succeeded.

It's all pretty scary. It's not something we can undo in four years time. This is forever. We saw an old friend at the Games, a distinguished advocate, now retired. He's a Yes. I would like to spend an hour with him, talking about the things that worry me, currency and university pensions among them. I know other Yes's but none of them (including my husband) much given to thinking about such thungs.

Generally speaking, the Range-Rover-Country-Casuals crowd are No's and seeing them out in force at the Games with their perfect picnics was enough to drive anybody into Alec Salmond's arms.

If Scotland votes Yes, England will never have a Labour government again (they don't seem to have realised this yet) nor Scotland a conservative one. I fear talent will leave, as Ireland has lost the Protestant Ascendency. Good riddance, you may think, but with it have gone Yeats and Shaw and Joyce and William Trevor.

Cathy's new book is out, “Splintered Light”, another young-adult title like her last one, Carnaby. I'll tell you about it when I've read it. She's good. She is full of gloom, however, about the business of writing.

Knitting

Again, not much. Meadow Yarns have been on holiday so I'm still using a 150cm needle on the border of Rams and Yowes. I should get the new needles this week, maybe even tomorrow – I've ordered both 100 and 120 cms. The corners are sort of reluctant to be pushed along. I think it will go better on a shorter needle. I am about to finish the fourth of the nine stripes on the outward-going side.

Sue sent me this interesting link to a YouTube video of garter-stitch-in-the-round done by wrapping and turning. The turn-line is obvious but very neat. For now, I'll carry on purling alternate rounds, but once I have extricated myself from these eternal sheep I'm going to do some serious swatching of both that system and Fleegle's brilliant one.

Archie will be here tomrrow. I must assemble a little portfolio of gents' sweaters for him to contemplate. Rachel's son Joe appeared at the Games in his Grandson Sweater, surely a candidate for the title of the most successful sweater I've ever knit. I will consider something Scandinavian for Archie.



My husband has another dentist's appt today – another bump should be added to the edging of the Unst Bridal Shawl.

5 comments:

  1. Dear Jean, I will email you this evening with some info over currency, pensions etc in an independent Scotland.
    Regard
    Dawn

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  2. There was an interesting piece on the radio the other day on Edinburgh as a financial capital and what may happen if the vote is yes. Unfortunately, I had to get ou of the car before it was half over, and plan to track it down and listen to the rest of it. I do the wrap and turn garter sometimes. I just did a jogless garter in the round, but purled. It was only the cuff of a hat, so not the endless rounds of your shawl or blanket.

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  3. Ellen1:28 PM

    There may be something that I missed in the time before I began to read this blog, but I have to say (as a former knitting teacher) that it seems to me that it would be easier to become more comfortable with purling, than to go through all these machinations to avoid it. There are lots of ways to purl, and perhaps it would be helpful to try another one. Look on YouTube.
    In my household, there are topics that we have agreed we will not discuss. I find that it is much easier for me to abide by this rule, than it is for my husband!

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  4. Have you tried knitting back instead of purling? Meg and EZ are advocates of it. I purl much worse than my knit and use that instead of garter in the round. Also great for sock heels as it eliminates all that turning

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  5. I am intrigued as to how Dawn in NL can find out about the details about currency and pensions in an independent Scotland when our politicians and newspapers cannot be clear on it. It's going to be some years before the effect on things like pensions become clear. What about the RAF and other armed services all stationed in Scotland? I cannot find any discussion about them. All very interesting but the debates seem all heat and noise and no clear information.

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