Non-knit

Safely home, just in time to escape the World Leaders. My husband is old enough – so am I – that weeks in London are really getting to be pretty tough. But it went well. Rachel did a tremendous amount to smooth our path. We saw a lot of art.

The big news is that the Amsterdam-Hartford CT flight which granddaughter Lizzie and I have booked and paid for, to go to Theo’s wedding in July, won’t be flying this year. So today’s job is to ring the travel agent (Trailfinders, in whom I have much confidence) and see what my options are. Will they insist that I fly to Hartford, via Minneapolis if need be?

Greek Helen was briefly in London while we were, providing a useful opportunity to talk things through. She is flying from Edinburgh (of all places) to Newark NJ and my object today will be to get Lizzie and me onto that flight.

Knitting

The big event on this front was meeting Judith and Jean and Christine at I Knit last Thursday. Not exactly to be compared to Franklin’s appearance, when the place was packed out, but we had a grand time -- at least I did. The shop itself is an Aladdin’s cave for knitters (to coin a cliché) – no Rowan or Paton’s or Sirdar in sight, just wonderful yarn and interesting books and magazines in an abundance which seems impossible in so small a space. It’s easy to get to, too, just around the corner from Waterloo Station.

They had some very tempting Habu yarn in a gossamer-fine mohair-and-silk in gentle and subtle colours. The Queen Ring shawl? But I think maybe when I renounced Kidsilk Haze for what remains of life after knitting that Rowan stole (very successful) in Kidsilk Haze a year or so ago, I was really renouncing mohair. I bought some sock yarn, and a skein of red Noro Silk Garden for the Adult Surprise…

…which I cast on last Monday on the train south. After weeks of my dear Princess, it was delightful to knit something on which progress was actually detectable.

The two shades of Fyberspares “Scrumptious”, however, used together, seemed to me either muddy or sophisticated, depending on the charitable inclinations of the critic – but not very appropriate for a Child’s Cardigan (which I am supposed to be knitting as my ’09 Games entry). I like the way the red looks – it will reappear in the binding and the cuffs, and it helps relieve the gloom, I think. Garter stitch is tough, and there are imperfections. I haven’t much hope of winning, but quite a bit of hope to producing a useful jacket for a granddaughter.

And the Adult Surprise is a lot of fun. Maybe I will dig through the stash and make myself a kit or two.

When I saw the Princess last night I thought, I am too tired, I can’t possibly do that, but in fact I knit nearly two whole rows.

There's more, but that's enough for now.