Saturday, November 29, 2014

Oh, Skeindalous! Oh, Ron! I think you have probably sold me the Tokyo Shawl. After all, if I keep on knitting steadily forward as at present, I will (I think) be clear of present responsibilities by the end of February or so. That's not too far away. I do want to attempt a Fair Isle vest, and start the Queen Ring, but...

A substantial number of the Tokyo-shawl-knitters on Ravelry, write about it in Japanese. That's an added inducement, if one were needed.

But there's also the annual danger that Scotland might win the Calcutta Cup and I'd have to knit a commemorative sweater – or two, this time, for the little boys. It's not terribly likely to happen, as the match will be played in London, and Scotland haven't won there since Late Forty-Eight (not an historical statement, you can look it up if you're interested, but a quotation from Guys and Dolls). But Scotland have been playing with a new spring in their step recently, and England haven't been all that sharp, so it's possible.

The match is on March 11 – too late, I hope, to incorporate the cup in either of my current projects. Hellie, an Englishwoman, wouldn't want it in her bridal veil anyway, but Archie, at a rugby-loving school, might not mind having it in a very inconspicuous place such as one of those reverse-side hems.

Yesterday went well – another two scallops on the edging of the Bridal Shawl, without further disaster. That hole from Thursday evening is still there, still mysterious, and still, apparently, secure. I finished the third skein (of 12) on Archie's sweater. I did wind another – the fifth – and will continue to alternate it with the fourth. The trouble with the fourth is that, although the colour is fine, there isn't as much undyed near-white as elsewhere, the quality that gives a madelinetosh fabric such wonderful life.

Non-knit

I did get my order in yesterday for a new Resident's Parking Permit – I'm sure I wouldn't have done it if I hadn't promised you guys. The to-do list is every bit as long, but for a moment or two, less terrifying. If we get the Disabled Parking Badge we applied for earlier this week, we will no longer need to pay the hefty annual fee for Resident's Parking.


But today I leave the to-do list behind and go walking. I got a letter from the dr yesterday saying that my bone density isn't too bad, I don't need to go back to taking those weekly pills, but I should eat calcium and go in for “weight-bearing exercise”. Does that mean walking? I bought myself some Dunsyre Blue cheese, for the calcium.

6 comments:

  1. Yes walking is weight-bearing exercise, and go for the cheese - it is the tastiest form that calcium can take! Just don't imagine that milk can help, unless it has it's full quota of cream. You need the vitamin D as well, and that is in the fat.

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  2. Anonymous11:30 AM

    Broccoli and kale (and other greens) are good sources along with tinned fish (including the bones) and blackstrap molasses (used in deserts). An easy and calcium-rich supper dish might be salmon fishcakes (made with tinned salmon, bones and all) served with lightly cooked broccoli or kale. You could make the fishcakes in bulk and freeze some.

    I'm off now to pour over Ravelry...........

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    Replies
    1. Anonymous12:51 PM

      ......read desserts in place of deserts!!!....

      ..and I should have said that in the case of calcium fresh is not always best for salmon, sardines, etc as you need to eat the bones which are softened by the canning process rendering them palatable when mixed in with other things......

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  3. Anonymous1:59 PM

    Jean, have you considered buying the shawl kit from Sommerfuglen in Copenhagen or maybe a German company? The dollar price in your link is higher than what Sommerfuglen charges. The shawl is really beautiful, and the combination of alpaca and a wool single would make a nice fabric both to knit and to wear.
    Best, Inge

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  4. I am sure it is a bit too far to walk to Aberdeen, but a walk around the museum to see this might be fun - a gansey exhibition http://www.aagm.co.uk/Exhibitions/Current/Ganseys.aspx

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