Friday, July 31, 2009

Last Sunday may have been the last full day I’ll ever spend in my native land. If so -- or if not, indeed -- it was a good one.

It began with a delicious, relaxed, informal brunch at somebody's large and beautiful home. I met my host only briefly, and never learned how he fitted in to the scheme of things but it was a splendid, generous gesture. When I first heard of the idea I thought enough, already, isn’t it time they went somewhere and had a honeymoon or something? But I was wrong – brunch was the perfect coda, where we all met each other again and lounged around and talked about what a good time we’d had last night.

Bride and bridegroom left for Bermuda the next morning.

Cindersall and Seaglass (Cynthia and Sue), Princess knitters both, picked me up at the brunch. We went to the Florence Griswold Museum in Old Lyme. The house had faintly the flavour of my grandmothers’ houses: not entirely a preposterous comparison, as I am remembering grandmothers I visited in the 40’s, and both of them lived in houses where they had been for a while. Miss Griswold ran a boarding house for American Impressionists in the first decade of the 20th century.

On the first page of the Griswold Museum website you can see pictures of Patrick Dougherty’s new sculpture there. Here is a picture of Cynthia and Sue in it:


and here am I:

Both had brought their Princesses along. Here’s Cynthia, wearing Sue’s:
And here’s Cynthia’s:

(While we’re at it, here’s mine. You can’t really see much.)


Before we parted, they gave me Jackie Erickson-Schweitzer’s “Scotch Thistle Lace Stole” pattern, some incredibly beautiful Fiesta Ballerina yarn in thistle-y colours to knit it in and enough Bristol Yarn Gallery “Buckingham” in a sort of camel-by-moonlight shade, to knit it again. It was an unexpected and deeply touching gift.

To think how few days before that happy Sunday Greek Helen and I had been ruthlessly eliminating Scotch thistles from the paddock in Strathardle!

Greek Helen peeled off later that day and went to visit old friends. I think we’ll have her back this morning, perhaps any moment now, if I’ve got things straight.

O dulces comitum valete coetus,
Longe quos simul a domo profectos
Diversae varie vias reportant.

Sorry. It’s Catullus 46 and means, roughly, that we all left home together but are coming back by different routes.

7 comments:

  1. I have made the Scotch Thistle Lace Stole in "thistle-y" colors and had it with me when we toured Scotland in 07. Found the perect pin in Gretna Green. I've yet to wear it (for me its more the process) but it brings back fond memories of your country when ever I bring it out.

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  2. Yay, Princesses! I should get myself to Old Lyme sometime - the Florence Griswold Museum looks a lot like the Shelburne Museum in Vermont.

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  3. Gerri3:12 PM

    Hooray for your blocking Princess!

    I loved reading about all the generous gestures-brunch, meet-up, gifts. Nice way to get the morning going.

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  4. Yay you're back and Yay Princesses! Missed you!

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  5. Anonymous5:01 PM

    We had a lovely time seeing you as well!

    But you gave me credit for Sue's lovely and very large Princess. I knit the turquoise one in cashmere, and she knit the white one in yarn from Heirloom.

    Same pattern, same needles, different yarn, different knitters. Look at the difference in size. Can't wait to see how yours looks on you.

    Cynthia

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  6. GrannyPurple8:39 PM

    Maybe they'll form a new chaos theory based on the juxtaposition of Princess shawls and excitement arising therefrom!

    We went to a wedding in California a few years ago, and on the grounds of the wedding venue was a Patrick Dougherty house sculpture--providing much enjoyment to everyone who experienced it.

    The Wedding looks wonderful!

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  7. Seeing that Princess blocking gives us all hope LOL -- what a fabulous project and blog topic for all of us to enjoy!

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