Again, no knitting. I got as far as selecting a ball of yarn
from that Shetland bagful, and a plausibly-sized circular needle, with the
thought of casting on a swatch. I read through the first of Meg’s EPS articles
in Knitter’s Spring 2000 to see if there were any instructions about
swatch-knitting. No, you’re meant to know how to do that, although there were
some tips on circular swatching which I’m not going to bother with.
What a good magazine it was in those days! Nancy Thomas was
editor.
But that’s as far as I got.
Today should have been the first day of our cruise. We would
have sailed out from Oban past Ardnamurchan Point by now, and be enjoying our
supper. I think I’m probably the saddest of the four of us (my sister and her
husband were to have been there). C. has got her new grandson Hamish to occupy
her thoughts. At least I don’t have to worry about my cats, and they don’t have
to worry about my absence.
Here’s a picture of the new grandson, with his South African
shawl:
They’re home from hospital, which must be sort of scary for
first-time parents with not much in the way of home visits from nurses at the
moment. C. herself is not with them, although she had been staying for about a
month previously (under lockdown), and is self-isolated, so it would probably
be safe for her to go back and provide support.
I had another good Italian lesson this morning. The 75th
anniversary of VE day was very touching yesterday, but I wondered about Italy.
Paris and Moscow and even Berlin were mentioned on the news, but not Rome.
Federica (my tutor) says that May 8 isn’t very big there. There’s a date in
April which is celebrated as “liberation” – when fascism fell and Mussolini was
famously hung by his heels in Milan (after death). And another in June, when
there was an election for the new Republic – the first time women voted. Italy
had a pretty dreadful war, suffering from both sides.
Sourdough
Christine, it is a great comfort to know that your starter
doesn’t rise and fall yet either. Mine responds to feeding with great alacrity,
but I don’t see bubbles lower down, and it doesn’t rise. I think maybe it's a bit spongier than it was. Tamar, I went to
theperfectloaf.com, where I don’t think I’ve ever been before, and read the
excellent account of starter-making which I feel absolutely sure I have read
somewhere else very recently, like yesterday.
Lovely shawl and lovely baby.
ReplyDeleteI relate to your emotions regarding your lost cruise. We would have been leaving in two weeks to cruise from Ft. Lauderdale to Montreal with knitters and knitting classes on board, and stops at yarn shops and yarn mills. I also agree with your sentiment about not having to worry about the cats. At least we still have yarn and Ravelry.
Another cruise-less reader, here. We were set to go to Alaska, for the second time. Last time, in September, I fell and broke my hand which put an end to that trip. Now this. I wonder, am I not supposed to take that trip? The shawl is lovely, and so is Hamish!
ReplyDeleteOh a sweet baby and shawl photo, Jean. I must admit, that except for colorwork or fancy stitch patterns, I don't generally swatch in the round. There isn't that big a difference for me in the flat vs. circular. You have done so much knitting in the round, I'm sure you have a good idea of what needle to use and what results you will get with Shetland yarn. When i am feeling fairly confident, I start with a sleeve, and use that as the swatch.
ReplyDeleteIf you put a teaspoon of starter in a glass of water and it floats, it is ready to make bread.
ReplyDeleteI managed to bake two successful loaves of sourdough today using a pretty new starter. I was surprised at the length of the process. My little jar of cabbage is also bubbling away and smelling decidedly of sauerkraut. Two pandemic successes.
ReplyDeleteRe: sourdough - I too started the sourdough journey during this strange time. Having not eaten much bread for several years before, I now happily eat my own bread. It took my starter about three weeks to rise and fall - I had to start keeping it in my oven with the light on to have any luck. My house is currently around 18C most of the time. It did work though, and now I keep the main starter in the fridge between uses. I’m pleased with the results I’ve had so far, but I have a lot to learn. For something so simple, it’s going to take a long time to master. Some other sites I’ve used are
ReplyDeleteWildyeastblog dot com (click on recipes, sourdough then scroll down to sourdough starter) and littlespoonfarm dot com where the starter recipe was on the first page in a selection of popular recipes. Also Kingarthurflour dot com - which I think someone else mentioned. Keep us posted! I too switched to Chrome to see if my comment will make it onto the blog!
Anna in Toronto