The funeral wasn’t as bad as feared, but emotionally draining, as was inevitable.

There was a good turn-out. And there was a clergyman! He was somebody’s cousin. He wasn’t billed as a clergyman in the programme; he wasn’t dressed as one. But he was a priest in the Church of England, and did the whole thing splendidly, with enormous sympathy and intelligence.

I really don’t think he pressed his views too strenuously on his largely godless congregation. He warned us at the beginning, though, that there would be Christian prayer at the end. And when that moment came, he turned to C. in his coffin and commended him to God in the sure and certain hope of the Resurrection, whether you like it or not. (Those last words, unspoken.)

Apart from him, and two hymns, there was only C’s daughter, who read a passage from Alice in Wonderland. It is the book we reach for, too, in extreme emotional stress. The perfect choice.

Knitting

I finished the Shawlette. I hope I’ll get it dressed and photographed today.

I wound a skein of the Araucania, mentioned yesterday. In my fingers, it felt terribly familiar. Could it actually be just good old sock yarn – dyed in Chile, but not necessarily spun there? I’m not complaining, but I am curious.

They have a fancy-schmancy website, with lots of yarn, some of it quite Malabrigo-like. But as far as I can see, there is no mention of the quality I bought.

There couldn’t have been a worse moment to finish the Shawlette. I needed mindless knitting last night, and needed it bad. So I didn’t swatch. I just took the gauge off a sock-yarn ball-band and ran it through The Sweater Wizard and cast on a boy-sweater in Araucania Ranco. I got enough done to be pretty sure that the gauge is off. The only thing to do is to frog and start again, with a swatch. The fabric looks great; that’s all right. And it’s still going to Strathardle. But I’d like to get the gauge and the pattern established before it goes.

And I need more paper-pen-and-calculator time before I cast on Theo’s gansey. It would be nice to get it done while it’s still cold in Denver, though – click on the link to his family blog in my sidebar, and you’ll see why.

So what about tonight? Frogging and swatching? The Grumperina hat in cashmere Koigu, mentioned here recently? Wouldn’t it be nice if the missing colours of Kidsilk Haze should turn up in the mail – now that we’ve got mail. An evening with the Earth Stripe Stole would be just what the doctor ordered.