Pretty feeble again today. I didn’t go out. I think I’m
picking up strength, however. My trainer will be here tomorrow – she’ll get me
out.
Helen is safely back from Thessaloniki. She says her husband
David is fine, and will be here at the weekend.
I knit peacefully on. I think my Dathan hap (2) now has
about 300 stitches. (200 are marked off, in 50-stitch batches. That leaves some
loose stitches at either end and in the middle, on either side of the central
spine – the four points at which increases take place. So if there is nothing
else to think about, one can count those stitches and add them to 200 and see
how things are going.)
Here’s a question for you: when Joe & Becca’s wedding
was in the planning stages, earlier this year, I thought of knitting her a
pretty shoulder shawl which – I am sure – is on the Brooklyn Tweed website. So
that she would have a shawl of her own. That never happened, as she preferred
to wear the larger one I had knit for Joe’s sister Hellie. Which she did, with
great success.
But the other day I tried to find that Brooklyn Tweed
shoulder shawl, and failed. Can anyone help?
Reading
Little to report here, either. I continue with The Last
Chronicle of Barset, with great pleasure. There is a bit of padding – those tedious
people in London whom John Eames has introduced us to. But not much. Thank you
for your comment about Victorian diet, Shandy. That book sounds good.
I think I’ll go on next to Clara Parkes’ yarn book, “Vanishing
Fleece”. I inspected both it and “The Golden Fleece” on Amazon today. British
history is much involved with wool, no doubt – but Parkes’ book sounds the more
interesting one.
I don't knit other people's patterns (too lazy) but have you tried googling "Brooklyn Tweed shoulder shawls" and looking at the "images" to see if you can find it that way?
ReplyDeleteCat
Thank you, Cat! I think that worked. It’s “Rock Island” I was looking for.
ReplyDeleteI am thoroughly enjoying The Vanishing Fleece. I think you will like it too, as the text moves quickly with good clear explanations of how wool is spun into yarn. And it is so much more than just explanation; Clara introduces you to the mill owners and how they came to be yarn producers.
ReplyDeleteRock Island! That is one beautiful lacy shawl!
ReplyDeleteThe Victorian book is interesting, but not as surprising as "How to live like a Tudor" by the same author. I think this is because so many of the day to day practices in the Victorian book were in fact just how it was when I was a child. Eg having a daily stand-up wash rather than a shower, doing the laundry with a dolly tub and mangle … and so on. But the restricted diet of the working-classes would be unthinkable to us.
ReplyDeleteI do hope you got out, Jean. The trainer sounds like just the ticket. I am really enjoying Vanishing Fleece. Clara creates portraits of the humans involved, family tensions in businesses, the financial burdens. "How to Live Like a Tudor" sounds worth looking into, Shandy. I heard an interview with someone discussing that time period and how they tried out regular bathing vs. regular washing of clothes in order to determine the smelliness of the era. Clothes washing won out, I believe!
ReplyDeleteI downloaded a sample of 'The Vanishing Fleece' and found it extremely readable - I shall definitely be wanting the book! I had a crazy idea of knitting little beaded Christmas Trees to make Advent calendars for my self and some friends. Then I did the maths. I might manage 24 little trees before December, but 48? 72? I don't think so, even though I find I can complete a whole tree while my husband is driving us to visit my godmother, a trip we are doing several times a week now.
ReplyDelete