Wednesday, November 15, 2017

All well here, and the Soutache has progressed slightly. The stitch count continues sound. I wonder what I was doing wrong. I may yet find out.

Dear Carol, thank you (link in comment yesterday). That’s “my” duchess all right. Goodness, I hope I get to meet her. In our exchanges she mentioned that she lived for a while in Glasgow. Her written English is certainly faultless.

Knitting news is all on-the-brink, nothing actual. The package from Jamieson & Smith should be here soon, I’m hoping for tomorrow. Will the yarn be “fawn” or will I have a tedious return on my hands? And on Friday, I can sign up for Kate Davies’ new club.

Brooklyn Tweed has a holiday brochure up, and unlike all the other examples I know of that genre, it includes two (rather delectable) sweaters, as well as the expected – and also delectable – hats and cowls and scarves. I don’t think there are any mitts.

Non-knit

I’ve gone on watching “The Crown”. Your fault, Mary Lou. Today it was 1954, and the destruction – that certainly happened – of the Graham Sutherland portrait of Churchill, considerably to the old man’s discredit. I hope the sketches survive. Two remarks:

1)    They can’t include everything, obviously. But you’d never suspect, from what is shown, that Churchill went to Washington to see Eisenhower in the summer of 1954. I was young then, and world events get remembered as they entangle themselves with one’s own life. I had a summer job at Life Magazine, cutting up the day’s newspapers and filing them. American presidents were expected to turn out for church every Sunday – are they still? – and there was always a paragraph or so on the subject on Monday. I was impressed to learn that Churchill gave instructions to be called in time for lunch.


2)    A few years ago, Alexander saw a Sutherland in the window of a charity shop, tagged at £10. He went in and tried to buy it, but the man behind the counter had another look and withdrew it from sale. I don’t think, strictly, that you’re allowed to do that. Alexander didn’t really like the picture all that much – he was just hoping for a quick buck.

3 comments:

  1. Anonymous9:59 PM

    My family went to a church on Capitol Hill in the 50s and 60s, and we went to see both President Kennedy coming out of his church in Georgetown, and Lyndon Johnson coming out of his, also on Capitol Hill, where my cousin was married a few decades later. We also occasionally drove past Nixon's house, and saw one of his daughters on their trampoline once. Different times!
    CarolG

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  2. Anonymous3:16 PM

    Oh great grief...that gives me food for thought. When was it that America compromised our principles on church involved presidents? Could it have been when we learned that JFK (Catholic) had an affair with M. Monroe- that was years after he died? maybe it was Viet Nam (sinful involvement in a NON-war and full of lies), or the fact that we will castigate one president for committing a crime with full knowledge of others doing the same, but better able at blaming someone else. maybe it was the atheist revolution of M.M. O'Hair and people like her who disrespected god, government and our symbols of them and ripped them from public view. good God, it has been hard to be an American believer since the 60's. American Presidents religious beliefs are neither here nor there nowadays. This would make a good article for a magazine or Sunday news paper or just a research for personal interest. Thanks for mentioning it! pgnitter

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  3. =Tamar4:33 PM

    "Fawn"... Defining color terms has always been fraught with peril, especially since different people have different genetic abilities to perceive colors (red, especially). I know I have seen someone claim that two strands of yarn were nearly the identical shade, when to me they were different as pumpkin orange and maroon.
    Here's hoping the yarn is the color you want it to be!

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