Sunday, September 17, 2017

If I can find any television to keep me awake for an hour, I should easily finish the first of Miss Rachel’s sleeves tonight. The Soutache is supposed to arrive tomorrow, released from the clutches of the Royal Mail. I think I may start it, to alternate with Miss Rachel, as soon as I have finished those troublesome coloured stripes for the second sleeve.

That’s about it, for news. Andrew and Andrea have again put up a little video for patrons about the forthcoming podcast, due on Tuesday. The guest this time is Gudrun Johnston, which should be pretty wonderful. Then they’re all off to Shetland Wool Week. It sounds as if Gudrun will be staying at Burrastow, where Kristie and Kath and I stayed. With luck, there will be a glimpse of it when A&A do their Shetland Wool Week episode. They have never been to Shetland – they’ll love it.

There was a titbit in this morning’s paper to say that the RAF station on Unst, at the most northerly point of the British Isles, is to be re-opened. When K&K&I were there, we went on up, after marvelling at lace in the Unst Heritage Museum, to see Muckle Flugga, as K&K are keen lighthouse fans.

I wasn’t all that enthusiastic, but Kath, a non-knitter, had been very patient about the lace. It turned out to be a thrilling sight, even for me; a highpoint of the weekend. The lighthouse is built on an inhospitable rock, slightly north even of Unst. How on earth did they do it?

To get to our vantage point, we had to walk past the disused RAF station, past rusted signs that said (effectively) “Take another step and you will be shot”. K&K were a bit anxious, but the place was so obviously deserted that I urged them on.

I do hope that the reinstatement of the RAF (very good news for the island) doesn’t mean that earnest knitters won’t be able to see Muckle Flugga in future.

Cats 

Thank you for your help and advice. I will certainly leave Perdita here when I go away (with a friend, or Helen, or a professional cat-sitter). I won’t get a grown-up cat. I’ll go on thinking about the possibility of a kitten – and watching Gumtree. I’d be sort of jealous if Perdita became so attached to another cat that she was less dependent on me – but I can’t have it both ways.


It sounds from Gumtree as if kittens are even more expensive now than they were two years ago. I paid sixty pounds for Perdita, which still seems outrageous. I might have to go up to a hundred, this time.

7 comments:

  1. Here I am in Slovenia with Kath on another adventure. We were just talking about Shetland today, saying what a great time we had. I'll read her your blog post in the morning.

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    1. Slovenia! Have been there twice to visit family. My stepson says it's the perfect small country to visit - mountains, rolling farmland with orchards & vineyards, a bit of the Mediterranean, and an interesting historic capital city. Enjoy it.

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  2. Cats are seasonal breeders, aren't they? You might find there are more kittens available (and therefore perhaps cheaper) around May or June. Your local pet shelters don't seem to have any kittens available, yes I checked ;)

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    1. I thought they were seasonal, but Perdita (born in April) went into heat for the first time at Christmas. Thanks for your concern!

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  3. Just had to say hi to Kristie. We are currently in Vienna,so that's as close as we are likely to be!

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  4. Anonymous12:52 PM

    I really did not think I was going to like two-colour brioche. In August a friend asked me to work on a scarf pattern along with her to have someone to work through it with her. I admit despite my prejudice I fell right down the rabbit hole. It fell in the "just one more row" category. And any mistakes are certainly obvious and so far seem relatively easy to correct. So enjoy Soutache!
    LisaRR

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  5. I've been away for a week in the Pacific Northwest and just catching up. I spent a few minutes chatting in French with a security guard from Congo, so I understand your fun with the Italian. Brava!

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