Sea Legs.

Couldn't concentrate on lace for a while. Or knitting. Or putting one foot in front of the other, exhaling after inhaling, etc. Had to put aside the pretty but kind of complex 12 row repeat pattern I was working, as was tinking back more rows than was knitting forward.



Here's the start of my Glasgow Lace pullover, anyway. Can't tell from the rather old picture, but I'm about 1/2 way through with the back panel. Am planning on making the body longer, giving it some shape and shortening the sleeves. The yarn's some seriously vintage wool (possibly as old as me) I picked up at the Salvation Army in Leominster not quite 10 years ago.

At some point a few weeks back, maybe when the Frenchie was here, got seriously tired of not knitting. Needed to do get the hands moving and it needed to be simple. Since I'd gotten enough grief about the state of my worn-out but much-loved quilt, so decided on a new bedcover.



Here's the start of my "Sediment Scraps" blanket/throw thing. The working name for it is Puddingstone.



A close-up view of the latest rows added. I'm just a little short of 1/2 way done with what looks like either a 60" square coverlet or even rug, it's so heavy.

There's no rhyme or reason to the color scheme; am just picking the colors as I go along. Don't know that the transition from greens to purples in the early stages is very successful, but am not too worried about it. It's kind of fun to see how this progresses. Also, a bit weird: each time I grab a new bit of yarn to tie onto a knitted end, I feel like that guy who got transported to his childhood home during teatime. (Sometimes pleasant, sometimes not.) If I had the gift of putting as inneresting a spin on my memories as he could his, I'd knock off a volume or two myself. Think I should just stick to knitting for now, though.

Anyway, while rooting around for another something to add to the above yarn stew, happened on a lovely, forgotten bit of silky stuff I'd received in a gift package some time ago. Now, I have the hardest time using yarn that friends give me because I don't think I can do justice to the gift (strange, I know). This, though, was kind of calling out to my hands to play with it, it's so soft. Seemed, too, to want to be something lacy, in spite of the fact that I don't normally like to use variegated yarns for that (often distracts from the stitch work).



Pam Allen's Little Arrowhead Lace Shawl, available here for free. Why not give it a try? Seriously, it's a good beginning exercise in chart-reading. The yarn's Noro's Silk Garden in a beautiful scale of sandy tones.

Since Karen's birthday was a couple days ago (same as Grandma Double-Vey's), figured I would send this out to her. She normally likes really bold colors, but I think that this could hold its own against her. For some reason, too, she was the first person who came to mind when I started the project.

***

Don't know if I'm regaining the Sea Legs; hope so. I really do hate it when I lose the taste for doing stuff that normally makes me so happy.

OLD.

A Happy Birthday

This evening, I sat by an open window
and read till the light was gone and the book
was no more than a part of the darkness.
I could easily have switched on a lamp,
but I wanted to ride this day down into night,
to sit alone and smooth the unreadable page
with the pale gray ghost of my hand.

-Ted Kooser

Early Birthday Present and a Nice Memory From a Past Life.



Sorry for the bad posture. I'm hunching because it's cold! Should have dressed warmer.

I've been bitten by the Lace Bug, which has sort of caused me to rearrange my knitting goals for this year. Made the above shawl from a pattern on Ravelry called 198 Yds. of Heaven. I didn't use anything luxurious, just a bit of my favorite workhorse wool. Am really pleased with the results; was so fun to watch the triangle form itself on the circulars.

As I did stretch myself a bit to learn a new skill, the yarn's color reminds me of the North Atlantic and I *did* buy the yarn near a reach, decided to name this first, happy attempt simply 'reach.'

Sometime this week, my blog turns six and my cranky medicated cat turns 16. Funny how time flies.

Got another letter from my little brother. When I receive one, it's usually the highlight of the day (if not the week). The sense of humor is shining out more; his writing is improving dramatically. He assured me that he did indeed quit smoking, though that's because it's not allowed at his facility.

Was kind of funny to get his letter, as I'd just gotten back from posting a special dispatch to him:

"Little Bro: Had to drop some stuff off at the post office. Got to thinking of you, so picked up some nifty-looking moose envelopes. Silly question: you don't have moose (not you personally - more of a general question) in the mountains nearby, do you? It's more elks in your neck of the woods, isn't it. Please correct me if I'm wrong. Anyway - the best thing about the (outdated) envelopes is the color scheme - green and black. Very evocative of nature. Love, too, how this is enhanced by the turquoise + silver of the 2 cent stamps the nice postal lady had me affix.

Am sending along some koi cards as well.



(These are what I normally write my weekly dispatches on.)

Don't know if they'd be handy. Are awful pretty, though.

Bought my first pint of local strawberries today. They're tiny compared to the California ones, but very red and with so much more flavor. Kind of expensive, but they're a treat one doesn't have to feel guilty indulging in. Besides, their season is so short (6 weeks tops) that you can't really break the bank too badly gorging on them. Also got a quart of whole milk from a local dairy to serve with them (why the heck not?).

Am still slogging through the book I picked up about Eleanor of Aquitaine and the four kings in her life: Philip Capet (her first husband - King of France), Henry Plantagenet (second husband), Richard Coeur-de-Lion (second son) and "Bad King John" (aka Lackland John) - her youngest son + the one about whom the Robin Hood Legend arose. **Richard had an older brother - Henry - who was the heir to the throne, but he died before he could actually take over the throne from his father. Anyway - am right at the end of things - Richard is taken hostage by the Holy Roman Emperor while returning from his crusade. Eleanor's (now in her late 60s - early 70s) running herself ragged trying to come up w/ransom and hostages to free him. All I can think is that she must have been one heck of a force of nature. (Outlived her two husbands + two of her sons as well.) Am trying to figure out what to read next: Thucydides's History of the Peloponnesian War, Tacitus's "On Germany," or something on the period between Napoleon I's reign and WWI. (You might say that I'm on a bit of a history kick.)

Nothing much else is new aside from home repair stuff, some bird watching and some knitting. Would like for the weather to get better so I could spend more time in the garden. Maybe hike more and even go to the beach, too. Too rainy to do any of that, though. Oh well.



Really, it's the thought that counts.

Okay, onward. You keep taking care."

***

His Birthday's coming up soon. Found that I could have a book or two sent directly from Amazon. Am giving that some thought.

(He asked for Debbie Reynolds in a cake.)



Happy Birthday, Pavel!