Butter Lambs, Books, and Measuring Length

Dear Mandella,

I hope you had a nice Easter Sunday.  We went over to my mom’s house.  My DH cooked up a pork roast stuffed with Italian sausage and rubbed with spices.  He also picked up a poppyseed cake and some rolls to go with it.  My sister MT cooked up scalloped potatoes and mixed veggies; she also made a cheesecake-type of pie (from a prepared mix).  Oh, and the topper was the butter in the shape of a lamb.  Honestly!  They pour it into a mould of some kind and when it’s set they put in cloves for the eyes and then put a red ribbon around his neck.  They package him on that silly bright green Easter grass and put him in a clear container.  I’m close to having a crisis of faith over this:  If Easter is the celebration of the risen Christ, why are we hacking up the Paschal Lamb for our dinner rolls?

As you know, I’m developing a new pattern knit from King Tut cotton that incorporates the Flight of the Bumblebee stitch.  I’m calling it Sweet Honey.  It’s a woman’s short-sleeved (or no-sleeved if you opt for that) pullover.  I’ve knit up the back of it, but I’m not sure I’ve knit enough.  If I measure the garment flat I get 6” from the start of the armhole bind-off to the top of the garment.  If I hold it up so that gravity can have its lawful effect, I get 7”.  I think I should go for the latter, don’t you?  After all, the garment hangs from the shoulders.

Fortunately, I am not knitting this for myself.  I’m knitting it in size 36 which means it goes faster and I’ll find my errors more quickly.  This small size fits a lovely woman at my LYS so I will have her try it on tomorrow when I stop by there on my way to the stationery shop.

So, as I am giving that project a brief rest I have been working on a short cardigan for my sister MA.  The Opera Shrug that I’d knit for her was too tight in the shoulders, and she’d wanted something that came around to the front anyway.  Thus, I’m using Cascade Venezia (worsted weight) and I’m knitting up a simple cardigan and incorporating the same lace pattern used in the Summer Sunner pattern.  I am hopeful this will be pleasing for her.  Of course, I’ve also started in on another pair of socks (a kind of no-brainer for knitting – the waffle sock pattern).

Would you believe I also got some yarn prepared for dyeing?  After our noon meal at my mom’s I did a bit of mending (for my mom and for a friend) and then took some of my 8 oz cakes of Henry’s Attic Sport weight (washable merino) and reeled it off into 4 oz skeins.  I have 18 of them to dye now.

On top of that, I’m very near the end of my umpteenth reading of Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell (by Susanna Clarke), one of my favorite novels.  Her writing is so rich in detail that I discover something new each time.  Oh, yes, I know how it all comes out, but it’s the journey one takes in the reading of it that is the most fun.  I love her structure, I love her characters. (Plus, I learned a couple of years ago that the author knits.  I have great regard for anyone who knits and writes so well!)

Alas, it is a drizzling Easter Monday here.  I would rather be at home, reading and knitting.

Hugs and good knitting to you!

Judith