Finished, more or less.

The lace knitting on the body of the veil is done. I have 1 ½ more plain rows to do, in order to incorporate the twisted stitches Bridget Rorem wants me to do in the second row above each YO in the lacey initials. Then back to the top and start edging. A photograph is promised for tomorrow, with the stitches safely secured on a length of yarn.

I took “Heirloom Knitting” off the shelf yesterday, to choose an edging. Gosh, that’s a good book. I was interested to discover, or more likely re-discover, on p. 53, that Sharon’s Shetland lace career began with the old Paton’s pattern designed by Mrs Hunter of Unst. So did mine. (It’s mentioned in Hazel Carter’s bibliography, too.) I knit it for Rachel before she was born, when we were so poor that I bought the yarn one ball at a time, as required. The bits are all knit separately – four trapezoids, the centre square, the edging. Incredible. Rachel took me by surprise when there was still a bit of edging to do. I finished it in hospital, and a dear friend sewed it together so that I could carry her – Rachel – home in it. The bottom one, on the pattern leaflet.

I think I’ve chosen the Wave Lace Edging on p. 118 for the veil. It has the advantage of being only eight rows long. I’m not going to plan the edging in advance. I’ll just start, attaching it as I go. So the shorter the repeat, the easier it will be to fudge things as necessary when I get around to the starting place again.

I’m a bit alarmed at its four-star rating, but hey! if I can knit the Princess Shawl edging, I can do anything.




Other

I haven’t forgotton the report on the year’s knitting. In fact, I did a bit of work on it yesterday. But my main goal in life, apart from blogging, is to translate the files of my husband’s magnum opus into a modern format, to send to the publisher this month. I’ve done hundreds, and the end is in sight. The end of the first phase. Then I’ll have to update the files he’s been altering recently, be instructed about what to include that I’ve left out, organise them all and burn a CD.

The only non-knit blog I read much is Dooce. She writes well but gets a bit repetitious, what with the toddler she dotes on and her problems with constipation and the Mormon church. And no knitting. But she has this, this morning, about sweaters, and I like it:

"Jon also bought me a inoffensive sweater, which might sound bad to you but is perfect for me. Sweaters should not smile or portray emotion. They should not be yummy. They shouldn’t glimmer or shimmer or reflect particles of the atmosphere. Sweaters should just exist without getting in anyone’s way, and the one he bought me serves its singular purpose for existence: I can wear it five days in a row and no one will really notice."

Just what I hope to achieve for Alexander.