Sunday, February 25, 2018

It has been a busy and happy day. I have retrieved from the archives my record of the sweater I knit for Ketki ten years ago:


which includes the chart for the cup and the date. If it was ten years, of course I’ve already got an “eight”:



I find I have kept in the archives a picture cut out from the newspaper of our happy captain holding the cup. I’ll do that again – perhaps this one:



I have discovered to my horror, however, that the cup in that picture is a fake. The real Calcutta Cup is now deemed too fragile to be used for public displays of  joy. It resides -- at least, it has for the past decade -- in the Rugby Museum at Twickenham (English rugby headquarters). Presumably, now, it’ll move north.

I have also discovered that Scottish Rugby now offers tours of the premises – the dressing rooms, the television studio, and the fake (or real) Calcutta Cup. Once I’m sure I can see the real one, I’ll book myself in for that.

I started watching Meg’s “Fair Isle Vest” video. It’s good, and begins with calm, useful, Meg-like advice about charting one’s design. The OXO patterns I will be using are a full 36 stitches across, which makes it difficult to fine-tune the size. One could, of course, centre the design and have it start and stop at the imaginary side seams. I’d rather have a number of stitches perfectly divisible by 36. I won’t commit myself on that question until I have had a chance to run a tape measure around Alexander.

The Calcutta Cup chart, above, is exactly the same size. Providential! one thinks – and then remembers that a “1” will have to be substituted for “0” which will spoil the whole thing.  

I’ve also retrieved the yarns from stash. I’ll need more of some of them – I can stock up at the EYF. Jamieson & Smith are going to be there themselves this year, as well as Jamieson’s of Shetland.


As for actual knitting, I forged ahead with the Soutache. It continues to be peppered with small errors. I’ve got to get this right before I go to my class with Nancy Marchant.

8 comments:

  1. Jean, maybe you could work with the chart to keep it at 36 stitches. The first couple of things that come to mind are to "broaden" the 1 by adding a "wing' at the top and a base at the bottom. You could also move the cup and the date a little farther apart. Just a thought.

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  2. Congratulations to Scotland!

    And I am in awe of the shawl, it's definitely in the heirloom category.

    Jean, perhaps there are other books you own (or patterns online) which have differently sized OXO patterns?

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  3. I will watch your progress and comments with respect to OXO with interest. I am teaching a class about such things later in the year and anything I can learn from you will be useful.

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  4. Anonymous10:30 PM

    First, love the shawl!

    Second, congrats on the win. I'm not really a sports fan much less a rugby fan, but I'm glad you are happy & have a great new project to look forward to.

    Third, to solve the stitch count problem created by the "1", I would adjust the rugby ball. It could be moved a bit further from the "8" and/or possibly enlarged a bit.

    Fourth, why does the Soutache need to be perfected before you take your class? Isn't that exactly why you are taking the class?

    In any case, can't wait to see both Soutache and vest!

    Beverly in NJ

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  5. Perhaps a shot of your knitting in front of the cup?

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  6. I came up with the same answer as carolyn, to broaden the base of the 1 and to have a diagonal line coming down for 2 rows from the top.

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  7. Apparently last time Scotland won the Calcutta Cup they took it out on a pub crawl the night after the match and...broke it a bit. So my husband tells me anyway!

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    1. It wasn’ last time — longer ago than that. Sometime in the previous millenium. Scotland and England went out together on a pub crawl after the match and kocked the cup along Rose Street. Google Images has pictures of the damage.

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