Tuesday, October 11, 2016

I want to hear every detail about Rhinebeck. Next year in Jerusalem.

(I just google’d that phrase, in the hope of using it roughly right. I found a touching question in an online forum – What do you say at that point in the Passover Seder if you’re actually living in Jerusalem? I remember reading somewhere once that Princess Margaret, as a small child, asked her father how he dealt with the national anthem: “God save our gracious me”?)

(The answer to that one has to be that in Britain – surely alone in the world – the Head of State doesn’t sing the national anthem.)

My new credit card arrived yesterday. It came by courier and arrived, as I was sure it would, while I was at the hospital. But, miraculously, it was posted through the door. Wisely, at that: there’s not much a Bad Man could have done with it. I had to phone one of those numbers to activate it – and I had to do it from my land line. And then type in numbers which I didn’t know myself and had to go look up. I got the job done, on the third call, but haven’t been brave enough to use the card yet.

Knitzi first. But perhaps the simplest thing will be to give Amazon the number and buy a book and see if it works. And then I need to renew my patronage of Knitty – I’ve had a sad email from them saying that they weren’t able to claim their money from the old card.

I would recommend changing credit cards as an efficient way of sweeping out old standing orders. I look forward to further such sad emails, each of which will be judged on its current merits.

Knitting went well again yesterday. Uncia’s Chart F is much easier than anything that precedes, because the repeat is shorter and can be more or less memorized, row by row. Shandy, you mean that a one-over-one cross can be done by inserting the right-hand needle in the stitch it needs to knit next, from behind or in front as appropriate? And then knitting the other one? I’ll try.

But I also succeeded in finishing the Hansel Hap. In dealing with the loose ends, I probably created a few more kn*ts than Gudrun would like to hear about. So this morning’s task is to block it, which may cut into Uncia-knitting-time. It probably won’t be completely dry by tomorrow, so I may not be able to post it to DC before the weekend – that’s if I get to London.


The Care Package didn’t turn up yesterday. I now dread every phone call. Today is crucial – even from tomorrow, I could suggest that my husband stay in hospital until Monday. I’m taking an early train back that day, and there are people who could cover in the morning. Helen will be away.

6 comments:

  1. Next year in Jerusalem, indeed. The plan I laid out still works for me.

    Congrats on the Hansel! Can't wait for a pic!

    Fingers crossed that the gears of health care bureaucracy continue to turn slowly....

    Beverly in NJ

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  2. Someone - was it Mary Lou? - suggested You Tube the other day for the twisted stitches question. If you literally put "you tube twisted stitches" into Google, up will come a really helpful demonstration of left and right leaning twisted stitches, if you don't want just to drop the stitches and trap them with your left hand, as I will be doing. Especially if you are trying to knit this section on the train, it will be good not to have to faff about with a cable needle each time.
    What amazes me is that over a hundred people have completed Uncia and yet the discussion thread about it on Kate Davies' Ravelry group dried up some time ago, where people hit the first charted section. I had real difficulty identifying the difference between some of those symbols to start with - between a dot and a squiggle, for example. It's a work of pure genius, but hard.

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  3. I've been saying Next Year in Jerusalem about Rhinebeck for years. FInally! I'll try to manage some blog posts soon.

    Here's my version of RT and LT, there are others out there, I'm sure.
    LT: left twist (skip 1 st, knit into back of 2nd st,
    leave on needle, knit skipped stitch, slip both sts from needle)

    RT: right twist (knit 2 tog. leaving sts on LH needle, then knit first stitch again, slip both sts off needle)

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    Replies
    1. Anonymous5:29 PM

      We await your report on Rhinebeck!
      -- stashdragon

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    2. Anonymous12:37 PM

      Mary Lou, will you have a booth at Rhinebeck? Would lve to make sure I stop by.

      Beverly in NJ

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  4. When I was in Israel over the High Holy Days, living on a kibbutz, some young people from the UK were there as well, and highly indignant that no one was fasting. The program instructors arranged for someone to come speak to us about it. I've never forgotten what that man told us; that they didn't need to, as they had met the requirement of "next year in Jerusalem" and didn't need the rituals as a way of preserving the traditions while in exile. Btw, the most vocal girl was *not* satisfied with this explanation! In her world, her immutable law of nature must apply to everyone.

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