Wednesday, March 04, 2015

Well.

The yarn didn't turn up until after 2 – I had nearly despaired. I thought the postie would bring it mid-morning.

­I opened the box with avidity and pulled the plastic-wrapped packageof yarn out upside down. I had time to think, in rapid succession, before I turned it over: Oh, dear, there's no brown in that grey at all...The yarn looks awfully fine for DK...They've sent the wrong order; I'm going to have a struggle, sending it back.


The card – with a nice design of slightly abstract-looking southwestern sheep – says “A gift from all your very loyal followers. Please enjoy!” The shop it comes from is not Webs at all, of course (who are sending me the madelinetosh order), but Tutto in Santa Fe. I wouldn't mind browsing there.

It may be from all of you as it claims, but some one individual must have thought of the idea and executed it. Thanks are inadequate. The yarn is more precious to me than spun gold. I will knit it in alternate sessions with the Sous Sous and wrap it around myself in all the winters left to me.

I rather dislike descending to the mundane, after that.

Nothing came from Loop except an email to say they had dispatched my order. Maybe they're not open on Monday. It will require a signature but if our usual postie is on duty she will sign for me while I enjoy the supermarket.

And as for knitting, I have now done everything else on Archie's sweater, and am approaching with trepidation the infamous neck edging. Beverly, I did email Bruce Weinstein, on your excellent suggestion. No response yet. And, Judith, I looked at the Ravelry discussion you referred me to, and I agree that Bruce's own Henley looks as if the edging goes all the way across the top of the placket.

So I started off that way, and have picked up 20 stitches from the placket edge to the first false raglan seam. If I go on at about the present rate, I will have 70 stitches by the time I reach the back-neck mid-point. The instruction says to pick up 112 in all. I would allow myself a certain latitude on that – say, perhaps, 110 to 120, but 140 is too many in a pattern so carefully written.

So I'll start again, this time omitting the placket. The top of the placket, after all, looks finished. What follows is not finished at all – I was adding stitches at the beginning or end, or both, of many rows and the result looks ragged. From the raglan seam on there's a chain, representing the 76-stitch original cast-on.

I'm thinking aloud here. A little mental arithmetic based on the figure in the last paragraph suggests that I should pick up 23 stitches on each front. Perhaps I'll do a bit more counting, after all, before I take out what I've done already.

We didn't go out yesterday, as hoped. The snow melted, but it stayed very cold. I got a bit done, other than cooking and knitting and making the bed, for the first time in quite a while. I repotted my cactuses (I have three) and sowed some chilli seeds and paced about the house with a tape measure looking for a spot six feet x six feet, unimpeded by furniture and not part of a major traffic avenue, where I could block the Unst Bridal Shawl.


Not easy. And the spot had to allow room at the edges for the blocker to crawl about. I have decided to try pushing the two single beds in the spare room together and doing it there. If it works, it will eliminate crawling. That's good. I must get it done before the end-of-month travel, so that my husband and Alexander can take it to London.

All that, and a new follower! the first for many a day. Welcome!

23 comments:

  1. Anonymous12:52 PM

    Very sincere thanks to the person who organized the Tokyo shawl gift! That sounds like a terrific way to put an end to winter.
    (Pls contact me on Ravelry so I can contribute too.)
    snowed again in Toronto yesterday (plus freezing rain)
    LisaRR

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    1. Ellen1:42 PM

      Me,too. You can contact me on ravelry as miniknits

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    2. I would like to contribute--mnance1948 on ravelry

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    3. Anonymous4:32 PM

      I would like to contribute as well. Thank you, Someone, for thinking of this! I look forward to my
      "visit" with Jean every morning. It would be a joy to be able to participate in this gift!

      djk528 on Ravelry


      Deborah, near Seattle

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    4. Anonymous7:11 PM

      I too would love to contribute!
      -- stashdragon (my Ravelry name)

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  2. Yes indeed; great job whoever you are and can't wait to see the shawl in progress. And, I would be a follower if I could but figure out how. As it is, this blog is the first thing I read each day; gets me off to a good start.

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    1. Anonymous4:06 PM

      I am the same, kayT! First thing every morning is a visit with Jean ... but I don't know how to be a "follower" and was just about to email with the same question!
      Bookboxer on Ravelry

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  3. My thanks too to the mystery gifted. I too would like to contribute. Sogalitno at Ravelry.

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    Replies
    1. Gifter. Blame typo on my new mini iPad case. Which is not as sturdy as I hoped

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    2. I wish I had thought of it! I'd like to help, too.
      I'm pattieknits on Ravelry.

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    3. And me, bookbinderhat on Rav.

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  4. Add me (GranDonna on Ravelry) to the list of contributors, please! Lovely thought.

    Donna

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  5. Anonymous2:27 PM

    I too would like to contribute - not a follower because that's a mystery to me, but an almost daily reader. Wintryfaith on Ravelry.
    - Beth in Ontario

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  6. Likewise! plex on ravelry.

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  7. What lovely knitting lies ahead for you! The beds sound like a good idea - is it possible to get a sheet of foam insulation board to lay over them? (Hard to manage unless you can get it delivered, I suppose.)

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    Replies
    1. Anonymous2:53 PM

      I have, in the past, blocked large shawls one half at a time.
      Liza

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    2. =Tamar7:55 PM

      A sheet of stiff foam that large would be tricky to maneuver through the rooms, wouldn't it? I suppose two smaller ones could be bridged together with a strip underneath (pinned to both) once they were in place. Then they could be separated and stored. It never before occurred to me to wonder how the 19th century knitters strung their delicate shawls onto those tall outdoor frames. Did they lay the frame down on short posts and then stand it upright afterward? How did they keep the not-yet-attached part of the shawl from catching on (or dangling into) other things?
      How did they keep sheep from nibbling on it?

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  8. I read this first thing every morning. Just figured out how to be a follower!

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    Replies
    1. Rebecca9:12 PM

      And can you share the solution?

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  9. I know who was responsible (and no, it was not me) and all I can say is "Very well done - yes, the right choice of colourway asl well."

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  10. Jean, I love your blog and look forward to reading it every day. It's warm and friendly and the knitting is fun too!

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  11. I kept up with your blog through Zite in the past, but am now officially a follower! Do please add photos. I just finished the back of the SousSous and would love to see how you get along with yours. I modified my version heavily. There was way too much positive ease for my test. Also, I am not doing the dip in the front.

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