Saturday, March 07, 2009

I am sorry for my moment of gloom yesterday, and deeply touched by all your messages. Even if there were only ten of us, that was enough to save Sodom. In fact, there are still slightly more than 200. It may not equal Franklin’s readership, or Joe’s, but it would fill the sitting room.

I’ve been casting around for new blogs to read, and have added this one, which you pointed me to, Tricia. More medical than knitting at the moment, but knitting is there, and she writes well.

Angel, that is a good question, what will I do when the Princess is finished? I love this kind of knitting with a great love. I sneak into the sitting room and knock off a few pattern repeats mid-morning as I might sneak in for a chocolate. There are two other tempting Sharon Miller patterns: the Unst wedding shawl, and the Wedding Ring. And she’s got a super-fine cashmere/silk yarn which I ache to wind around my fingers.

But why? I can’t knit just for the fun of it, like doing a 5000-piece jigsaw puzzle. (Perhaps that’s why I don’t like swatching, useful though it often proves to be.) The Princess has a goal, however theoretical: to serve as a wedding veil for granddaughters and granddaughters-in-law. The Unst or the Wedding Ring in Bordeaux or gold…too big for any occasion or any person I can think of.

But a future without complicated Shetland lace is bleak.

(Angel, congratulations on finishing the dissertation. And thanks for the by-the-way news that there is a Noro-stocking LYS in Oberlin. My four years there, and the one in Northampton, MA, six years later, were the only ones in my adult life when I didn’t knit.)

I’m presently cantering along row 28 (of 46) of the 12th centre repeat of the Princess. Even with a week out for London, and a near-week for Strathardle, finishing (the repeat, not the shawl) in March seems plausible.

Our friends left at the crack of dawn this morning without even orange juice, to take their son to a bicycle event of some sort, so I am all set for Fyberspates to be followed by the Farmer’s Market. My pattern idea for a child’s cardigan was one of those triangle affairs. A kind woman gave me this pattern when I was at Camp Stitches on Lake George in ’99. I knit it for Helen, here seen with me in Strathardle when I was the shape to which I now aspire to return.



I devised a triangle pattern of my own (not a cardigan, though) – here it is on Alistair Miles of Beijing. There are a couple of such patterns in the Jamieson books.



But I decided that that’s too much trouble, and currently fancy an Aran. A nice pattern by Melinda Goodfellow comes up if you search Ravelry for “child’s cardigan”. Yankee Knitter #19. But there’s no hint of how to buy it (LYS, perhaps?) and I could perfectly well devise an Aran for myself, as the Curmudgeon is doing for her sweetie. (Her blog is down this morning. I hope it comes back.) (It has.)

8 comments:

  1. It's certainly true that some of the most interesting bloggers have moved on in their lives, abandoning their regular posting. I really miss Blogdogblog, My Fashionable Life and Eunny. Mossy Cottage has gone very quiet recently, too. Therefore a regular daily blog such as yours, Jean, is a reliable event. I don't know anyone else who interacts with their readers in quite the way you do, either. Please don't go.
    nb "Foundation garment" is a useful term, which I never understood when I was younger and slimmer.

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  2. Anonymous2:07 PM

    Another wish for you to continue with your blog writing. It has been such a pleasure to read about your knitting, gardening and family life. (And to feel a kindred spirit in the seasonal gloominess which comes with diminished light.)
    Yankee Knitter # 19 is available at Webs.
    Erin in PA

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  3. I regularly read your blog but rarely comment. I enjoy the knitting and the trips.

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  4. Yankee Knitter Designs has a website:
    http://yankeeknitterdesigns.com/

    That won't get you the pattern since they don't seem to sell retail, but they do include a page of retailers that carry their line (including WEBS).

    Like many others have already said, I would hate to have my morning coffee without you. I have virtually abandoned many, many blogs that I just don't have time or inclination to keep up with. Yours is not (and never will be) one of the abandoned.

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  5. I didn't have a chance to reply yesterday, but I too am someone who checks your blog daily.
    I used to hear that the Canadian national broadcaster thought of every phonecall/letter as representing 100 people for radio and 1000 for television, so maybe a similar concept (but different ratio) can be used for knitting blogs.
    As long as you feel like posting, people will be reading.
    Have a nice weekend!

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  6. Anonymous1:40 AM

    I don't comment very often, but wanted to say that I look forward every morning to checking in and reading your blog. A comment left yesterday said your blog is like reading a favorite columnist in the newspaper, and I think that is a very good description. You have a much bigger fan base than I think you realize! I am curious though, how do you know how many people are reading your blog?

    kristieinbc

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  7. Jean - Work prevented me from my usual blog reading the last couple of days. I was happy to read all the encouraging comments you received - and I echo their sentiments. What a lovely way to phrase it, too - we'd fill your sitting room. That is how it feels, isn't it? Many of us have never met you in person, yet, we virtually visit each other daily or weekly. It really is a small world.

    And for new blog ideas, I just discovered one you may enjoy - it's not a knitting blog, but they make me laugh. http://margaretandhelen.wordpress.com/

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  8. Hey Jean, I'm still here LOL -- I read every word you write, and always check out the links you mention, too. And also am "gob-smacked" at your perseverance with the Princess - every project I start, I say, I'll see this one through but then always seem to start something else....
    also just laughed at Shandy's comments here as I always say after 45 you need: good grooming, a good haircut and good underwear!! sorry, I'm being silly here this evening!

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