Knitting

I finished Rachel’s socks, as hoped, and embarked upon Thomas-the-Elder’s, which will be even slower and more boring as involving more stitches and leg-length. I have included the left-over yarn in the photograph to show how generous the monthly Yarn Yard sock club allowance is. Rachel’s feet are small, but not negligible, and there seems to be enough left over to knit another pair.

In finally working to the bottom of the pile of accumulated mail from our few days away, what should I find but another knitting magazine, the spring VK, in a brown paper envelope, the last thing one expects these days.

A question: the editor, Adina Klein, says in her opening letter that her time at VK has “come to a surprising and heartbreaking end”. What’s up? Someone must know.

It is an interesting issue, I thought: nothing for me to knit, but plenty to read and think about. I like Mari Lynn Patrick’s “Blue Lagoon Redux”. I like quite a few other things, too: it’s just that they’re Not Me.

Two more questions, about books: I didn’t buy Donna Druchunas’ “Arctic Lace” because it sounded as if the lace patterns were recently-introduced and simple, to provide people with something to knit for the tourist trade. (I could be wrong: I’ve never seen the book.) What about the new one, “Ethnic Knitting Discovery: the Netherlands, Denmark, Norway and the Andes”?

I collect books about ethnic knitting seriously, and I don’t mind overlap. On Fair Isle, I’ve got Don AND McGregor AND Starmore AND Feitelson, and wouldn’t part with any of them. But Druchunas, again, sounds trivial, “info-packed workbook”; “worksheets and diagrams are many”. But “regional knitting history” is at least touched upon. Has anyone seen it?

I was half-way through writing a similar paragraph about the next book review, “Cables, Diamonds, Herringbone: Secrets of Knitting Traditional Fishermen’s Sweaters”, when I realised to my embarrassment that I’ve got it.

Non-knit

Anonymous and Alltangledup, thank you for nailing that Biblical reference for me. And Mel, thank you for the link to Blue Letter Bible. I couldn’t make it work for me, probably because I couldn’t remember which translation provided the half-remembered phrases in my head, but it’s clearly an extremely useful resource. (I voted on your shoe-question, and am glad to see that my choice is in the lead.)

Mary Lou, sorrel is much used by the French, I am told: they don’t understand why the Anglo-Saxons don’t seem interested. It is used in soup and sauces and can be cooked like spinach. The leaf I ate while I was planting mine was delicious, with a slight lemony tang.

My sister phoned last night from London where she and Roger have briefly and mysteriously appeared. She says that in CT, you don’t chit potatoes, you just plant them. If I had to do that, 10% at least would be the wrong way up. But they’re tough little tubers and it probably wouldn’t matter.