Strathardle today. Back Thursday or so. Has frost got the apple blossom? Did the salsola soda ever come up? Have caterpillars stripped the current bushes? Many an interesting question. This is the stretch of the year during which it feels a bit frustrating, after all one’s hard work, not to have anything to eat as the result of it. But there’ll be more rhubarb and another sorrel soup and perhaps even an exiguous salad. We shall see.

Knitting

The compulsiveness of the Green Granite Blocks is something akin to the border of the Princess shawl. Despite the vast expanse of the task ahead, it is exciting – not too strong a word – to accomplish each row because it is unique and it carries the story forward, by however small a step.

In this case (unlike the Princess border) the overall pattern repeats – but the colours are constantly changing.

I’m getting on nicely with the second rank of blocks, and can hardly keep my hands off it. And to think that I felt I was running out of steam, only a couple of weeks ago. There’s much to be said for digging in the stash cupboard.

To move on: the Faculty Meeting Knitter is full of enthusiasm (June 2) for the new Pine-and-Ivy shawl. She says it has created a great stir on Ravelry; I’ll have to have a look.

At Theo and Jenni’s rehearsal dinner last summer, my sister wore the shawl I had knit for her 70th birthday – Amedro’s Cobweb Lace Wrap, with patterns substituted from “Heirloom Lace”. Greek Helen said she’d like such a shawl.



The one aspect of my stash which hasn’t even been touched upon yet, is my vast assemblage of lace yarns. I hope when Helen is here soon to choose a yarn and a pattern. Amedro’s shape is eminently wearable; I’ve knit it several times, with different lace patterns. But Pine-and-Ivy is similar, and might be worth the venture.

It looks difficult.

The Faculty Meeting Knitter has done a Princess. I feel our names ought to be inscribed on a roll of honour somewhere. It is surely the largest and most elaborate lace pattern ever published in English.

Non-knit

To finish off the account of our happy weekend in Argyll: the problem with pig-keeping (in case you’ve ever wondered) is that they are affectionate and intelligent animals to an extent that eventually makes eating them unbearable. So I am told. I am a bit suspicious of them, myself.

Alexander thinks he has solved this problem. The Pig Man on the other side of the loch is raising a litter. Alexander has bought one of them – but he doesn’t know which. Every so often they go over and feed their pig, along with the others which aren’t theirs. This is supposed to make it easier at the end.



So on Sunday we did that, and then Rachel and Ed and my husband and I went on to Inverary to Mass while the others went back and cooked a delicious lunch. This is the scene that met us when we got back – champagne left over from Alexander’s recent 50th birthday. That's Ed with the little boys.