A mildly eventful day yesterday, in an old-folks sort of way. The upshot of which is, that we’re not going to Strathardle until next week. The snowdrops look very happy – I’ve put some water into their little polythene bag, and they’ve actually perked up, although they looked very well to begin with. I am less sanguine about the strawberries.

I pursued the raspberries which the Post Office tried not-very-hard to deliver yesterday. They are promised for today. Tamar, it’s all right, I know about raspberries. We’re in the middle of raspberry country, and they grow as weeds all around us. Mine are autumn-fruiting, recommended a year ago by the Fishwife. They are said not to need support. They fruit on this-year’s growth, so the only pruning necessary is to cut them down to the ground in February.

There was a fall of snow in the night. None in Edinburgh, of course, but the radio this morning mentioned Perth and Kinross. Next week’s forecast doesn’t sound very pleasant, but at least it’s snow-free. We don’t need pleasant.

The clincher, decision-wise, was that some old friends, our next door neighbours in Birmingham, are coming for the weekend. I’ll need to spend the rest of the week cleaning and sprucing-up.

I’ve found a dress in my wardrobe which will do as well for Theo and Jenni’s wedding as anything I could buy. That’ll free up money for my Kindle, if I get one, and for accessories. I try to avoid mirrors as much as possible, and was horrified last night, trying this thing on, at how shapeless I have become. That’s a euphemism. I’ve got a shape all right, and it is not a nice one.

Princess

I’ve finished row 9 of the 12th centre repeat. That’s the slowest row of all. The pesky initial motif finishes entirely at row 13. It’ll be good to have that done when we go off to our planting session. The possibility of finishing Repeat Twelve this month suddenly seems more likely.

I’ve looked out Piecework for May/June ’98 with Bridget Rorem’s daughter’s wedding veil. There is no pattern for it, although she published an altered reprise in Gathering of Lace. I was interested in the dimensions – it’s 76” square. The Princess is a triangle, 64” from top to tip and 108” across. The picture in Piecework of (presumably) Ingrid Rorem wearing the veil shows her in a really simple dress, as you suggest, Catriona.

If I sign and date it:
JMM
2009
AMDG

I’ll need about 34 rows. The lace letters are seven rows high, space will be needed in between the rows, and top and bottom, and the whole might as well be enclosed in a box of YO, k2tog with some vertical equivalent at the sides. That means I’ll have to start during the next repeat. I’m nearly finished!

[AMDG is ad maiorem Dei gloriam, "for the greater glory of God".]

Tamar, the pattern doesn’t actually say “fudge and block”, but Sharon does use the word “adjust” three times in the final instructions for the centre. Comes to the same thing.