Sunday, September 01, 2019


Here begins an interesting week in British politics. Commentators are recalling the Civil War, when Charles I prorogued parliament (if I’ve got it right) – and look what happened to him.

The radio made much this morning, too, of the fact that today is the 80th anniversary of the beginning of the war. But in fact war wasn’t actually declared until Sunday September 3 – that was the date of Chamberlin’s famous broadcast. And that must be the day I am remembering, if the memory is to be trusted, when we all went swimming in the Great Salt Lake and my father told me to remember the day, because of the war. I remember it because of the swimming, too – they had told me how buoyantly I would float, but hadn’t mentioned the fact that there was no guarantee of floating face upwards.

And look what happened to me! During Mass this morning I thought of three simple things I would do today. I have forgotten one of them, and one of them I haven’t done. The third was to water my cactuses which have been sadly neglected of late. None of them even got re-potted this spring. And look what I found:



It has long been an ambition of mine to see one of my cactuses in flower. My husband’s sister could do it. It has never happened to me before.

I have progressed well with the Spring Shawl. I have one more row to do, of the final motif. It is time to stop increasing at the beginning of every row. I have been doing it Gudrun Johnston’s way, with a YO to make a loop though which a needle will soon be slipped to pick up the border stitches. That is not how Sharon Miller does it. So from here on out I must continue making the loops but must at the same time insert a compensating k2tog. That shouldn’t be beyond the wit of man.

The Hoxbro book about Danish night shirts is very interesting and needless to say, very well done. Their history apparently goes back to 1800 – which is a couple of decades earlier, I think, than our first firm knowledge of Shetland knitting – although obviously it must have been going on before our records begin. The Danish shirts were knit for personal use; our early records of Shetland knitting are about knitting for sale.

I’m saying all this without looking anything up. I must spend some more time with the subject.

4 comments:

  1. Were these night shirts knit to sleep in, or, why were they called night shirts? I tried to look up my question, but just kept being referred to the book, which I'm not ready to buy.

    ReplyDelete
  2. =Tamar5:24 PM

    just a guess - Possibly because they were worn under the coat/dress, and most people slept in their shirts/shifts?

    ReplyDelete
  3. Happy to see you are back, I remembered to check and you've been back ages! I think Beth Brown Reinsel had some Danish nightshirt someplace. A book, a magazine?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Very glad to have you back — I was getting worried.

      Delete