Monday, December 14, 2015

I've had what counts with me as a brilliant idea.

a) It has been hard, lately, to think of things for my beloved Polish cleaning woman to do, as my husband's carers take care of the ironing and kitchen cleaning. As a result, we have made great strides with kitchen shelves and cupboards further afield (including the stash cupboard), but we are running out of material in that line. And b) I hate wrapping presents.

So: tomorrow Gosia and I will wrap the Christmas presents!

That means I must ensure today that I've got the fixings, and I must finish off the possum hat. Maybe even the Awesome – I'm shaping the crown. Amazon, despite being very seriously inconvenienced by the closing of the Forth Road Bridge, has delivered the things I have ordered with their usual ruthless efficiency. They have a major depot near Dunfirmline, not far north of the Bridge, and it must be tough.

(Alexander says that the whole country should now realise how difficult it is for them when the Rest and Be Thankful is closed.)

I had been wondering about squeezing in another hat between now and the 25th, and sort of looking at patterns. Then I thought, two-birds-with-one-stone, what about a Koigu hat? And then, browsing Mary Lou's offerings on Ravelry, I found the Coquille scarf/shawlette, and I don't know if I can resist it.

I couldn't finish it in time, but it wouldn't be the first Christmas present in the history of the universe to come in a bit late. It would be a wonderful midwinter palate-cleanser, all that cheerful colour.

Otherwise, there is little to report. No more sewing has been done. The Awesome advances, as mentioned above. My husband has returned to working at his computer, a great morale-lifter for him but it means I have to stay close. My big mistake in life was not making him learn the rudiments of computing 30 years ago, when it might have been possible. Might. We were fairly early on the scene back then in the days of the IBM-PC. (Ours was an Olivetti M24.)

But knitting is perfectly compatible with staying close.

Mary Lou, duplicate stitch won't work for the Calcutta Cup. The thing, whatever it is, must be knit in the year of the victory. This started with the Christening shawl for James' and Cathy's youngest child, in 2000. To my shame, I cannot remember which one of you it was who told me that if you type “Calcutta Cup” into Google Images, and go on and on and on and on looking, you'll eventually come to my knitting.


Scotland also won in '06 (Fair Isle sweater for Alexander, now rather tight) and '08 (sweater for Ketki). There was a draw in '10 – I knit a hat with half the cup on it, for the elder of the Little Boys, but he soon lost it.

8 comments:

  1. I once knit a Koigu hat over one weekend, but it left me with very sore hands and wrists. Just too many small, densely knit stitches in a short time. The shawl, with some leeway on delivery date, may be more fun.

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  2. Anonymous1:32 PM

    Thank goodness for the relaxing powers of knitting!
    Best wishes for a good week.
    It's feeling very dark in Toronto these days.
    LisaRR

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  3. I think being an early adapter to personal computing helps you, so it might indeed have been possible. Glad he is at least back on the machine. The Coquille is fun and mindless. I'm pleased you like it! I hate wrapping,too. One Christmas I wrapped in a store and have loathed it ever since.

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  4. Anonymous3:31 PM

    If there is a LOT of koigu - you could always use two strands. I do that fairly frequently for grandchildren-hats, and two strands of sock or fingering yarn will make a very nice hat. I am not adventurous, and they are mostly just ribbed to the top!
    Beverly near Yosemite CA

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  5. There is NO losing of granny-knitted hats! Didn't you tell him? Just kidding, but truthfully I can't stand it when people lose things. I am so glad that your hubby can compute now. It will entertain him and I bet you are thankful that he can see because many 90 year olds cannot. Will you listen to carols as you wrap? God be with you, Jean. You are strong.

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  6. Flipbook (the app which engulfed the much-missed Zite) showed me this blanket which would make a great Koigu stash-buster:
    http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/ten-stitch-blanket
    The designer has a series of "Ten Stitch" patterns, as well as lots of tiny Christmas-themed tchotchkes, and askes nothing for her patterns except a charitable donation.

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  7. Could Gosia help you with the tree and decorations too?

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  8. =Tamar8:54 PM

    If you use Google Images and put in "Jean Miles Calcutta Cup sweater" in that order, the pictures come up immediately. Even the (lost) hat came up.

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