And here you have the completed item, pinned out to within an inch of its life. The calculated stitch gauge – 8 st/in and 15 rw/in – wasn’t achievable during blocking. As a result, the gansey is a couple of inches wider and an inch longer than the hoped-for measurements. But better baggy than tight, and shorter than longer. If the length were any greater, it would be a tunic. The extra-long gussets were sewn shut before blocking. On the outside, you might not notice the odd gussets, but on the inside, it’s lumpy. But even so, I am pleased with the result.
Umbellifer
This week, the Caithness Orchestra started its rehearsals for the coming season, and I decided to go back. Last year, I was away so frequently it didn’t seem fair to only occasionally attend. I managed to get some playing in at this first rehearsal, but it still sounds horrible. There were also lots of notes that were beyond my current sight-reading skills. Perhaps I should practice more.
Another umbellifer
The rehearsals are in the evening. Consequently, I need to drive home in the dark, or near dark. Although I used to regularly drive at night, now I avoid it when possible. Other cars’ headlights dazzle, especially modern LED lamps. The edges of the road are less distinguishable, particularly on country lanes. So I was curious to see how the car’s ‘auto headlights’ would perform as I’d not yet driven it at night. They worked brilliantly. The low beams jumped to high beams and back to low beams almost as if I’d done it myself.
The sewing of the new summer jacket continues. The photo shows some of the hand basting. The purple is the backing fabric for the blue embroidered fabric, which was too lightweight on its own and needed bolstering. The circular item is the padstitched collar. The padstitching gives it a curve and adds structure. Presently, I’m sewing the lining and outer together at the centre front.
We haven’t had words for a while, so here are a few: in 1975, ‘cling film’, ‘debit card’, ‘greenhouse gas’, ‘internet’, ‘lightsaber’, ‘psychobabble’, and ‘wide area network’ were added to the Oxford English Dictionary.
Still another umbellifer
I’ve been knitting on the next gansey too but haven’t included a photo – an inch of k2 p2 ribbing isn’t that interesting! I have chosen the pattern, and again it will be based on a Johnston Collection photo. The name on the plate is ‘John Nicolson’, and shows two fishermen, but there’s no way of knowing which sitter is Nicolson. One of the ganseys has a pattern of large diamonds and chevrons, and the other has narrow panels of chevrons. It is far, far simpler than the blue gansey just completed, and was chosen for this very reason. The hope is that it can be knit far quicker, too.
Earlier this week, a story in a radio news bulletin caught my attention. It should bolster the spirits of all those who hate going to the dentist. Researchers at King’s College London have discovered that toothpaste containing keratin can repair tooth enamel:
“The King’s College London team of scientists discovered that keratin produces a protective coating that mimics the structure and function of natural enamel when it comes into contact with minerals in saliva.”
While this is amazing of itself, I also wonder how they made the leap from protein fibres to applying them to teeth to repair enamel.
Study in Black & White
These past few weeks, I’ve also been concentrating on a sewing project. It’s a sleeveless coat using a costume pattern based on a man’s coat from the mid 18th C. Think ‘Outlander’. While the pattern itself is straightforward, I’m making changes. The most significant are to add pockets, lots of them – four in the lining and two ‘hand-warmer’ ones on the exterior. The pattern only has two large, flapped pockets at hip level on the exterior.
Swirl of Michaelmas Daisies
A heavily pocketed sleeveless vest is a garment I’ve made repeatedly over the past 25 years. They are perfect for wearing in the warmer months. All your stuff can go into pockets meaning you needn’t lug a handbag. I first got the idea after seeing a pattern on the internet – the ‘Shoppers’ Vest’ (https://saf-t-pockets.com/shoppers-vest-9500/). The first was reversible. When it was time to make the second, I realised that I’d never used the reversibility, and since then they’ve all been unreversible. I varied the second by making it knee length. The third had an appliquéd design. The fourth was made using a different pattern entirely, although I used the original pattern as a guide to pocket placement. I’d also planned to make detachable sleeves for the fourth, to extend its use into spring and autumn, but never did.
Dancing Stem
Every seven or eight years, the current one wears out and is retired, and after 8 years of faithful service the fourth is due for replacement. It will indeed be very different from the first inspiration, with fewer pockets, detachable sleeves, a stand collar, and sturdier, more tailored construction. It’s been taking a long time because of the amount of hand sewing involved. But I reason that it’ll be worn for years to come, and the better it’s made now, the longer it will last.
Ripening Fruit
And at long last, the gansey is done, and it can be seen above in all its unblocked glory. I put in an extra spurt on Sunday morning and finished it in time for the weekly progress pics. There’s still some problem solving to do – the extra long gussets will need to be taken care of. But I’m pleased that it’s completed at last. I even have a full ball of yarn plus a few yards left over – there was no need to panic buy extra all those months ago. As for the next, I’ve chosen the colour – Frangipani Greystone – but not the pattern. I can get started on the ribbing while I make up my mind.
It was a bit breezy last week, even for Caithness. Ferries to and from Orkney were cancelled. Storm Floris blew through Scotland on Monday and Tuesday, ripping countless leaves from the trees like sails in a gale. In Wick, one tree landed on a statue of Dr John Alexander, dislodging but not toppling it from its plinth. According to the John o’Groat Journal, “Dr John Alexander (1839-1901) was a highly respected medical officer of health for Caithness. The statue was erected a few years after his death.”
The high winds – Wick had the highest reported gust of 84 mph – also prompted a postponement of a trip to Edinburgh. I’d planned to travel on Monday or Tuesday, but decided that perhaps Wednesday would be better, allowing one day for the storm and one day for the clear-up. It was just as well, as two of the bridges on the route had been closed, causing a lengthy detour.
Storm-toss’d trees
The journey to Edinburgh was also to test the feasibility of a longer trip in an electric vehicle. It was unexpectedly doable. On the outward leg, I made one charging stop about 200 miles away. I made two stops on the way home, one at a Starbucks in Perth, where I’d charged on the outbound journey, and one at a garden centre outside Inverness. Both were preferable and far more pleasant for a break than a motorway service area.
The reason for the trip was an annual eye exam. The cataract they’d found the year before had become slightly worse, but didn’t need repair yet. I’m slightly more farsighted, and the frames I wear regularly need updated lenses. And then, still being tired from the long drive, I chose new frames. That’s one of the reasons I still go to the optometrists in Edinburgh – they have a fun, funky collection of frames.
Only during the Festival
Edinburgh is chock-a-block during August, packed to the gills with Festival and Fringe go-ers. There wasn’t anything I fancied in the Festival programme, and the Fringe programme . . . is so massive that it’s impossible to find anything. There are posters all over town as well, but few of them appealed. Thus, I didn’t attend any events.
I stayed with a friend as I usually do, just a few steps from a convenient bus stop. One of the trips into town was amusing. Soon after one stop, a young woman’s voice shouted from the back in an American accent, “Give a great big woo hoo if you love Eddinberg!” In the pin-drop silence that followed, everyone held their breath, waiting to see who had the temerity to woo hoo. I whispered to my seatmate, “Where is this Eddinberg?” She replied, slightly sourly, “I don’t know, but it’s not where I live.”
Welcome Home
As a consequence of the time away, there hasn’t been much progress on the gansey this week. It came with me to Edinburgh but wasn’t even taken out of the bag. When I wasn’t traipsing in town, I was chatting with my friend and her daughter. I’ll do my best to catch up this week.
I’ve been doing hours of work on my gansey database lately. Over the years, I haven’t been updating it systematically. It’s not a huge database – under 400 items – and only about 250 of these are gansey-related. The rest are other knitwear items in Johnston Collection photos – shawls, haps, jumpers, hats, scarves. The duplicate entries are now culled and the rest updated. In the process, I’ve found some photos that weren’t in the database, photos that haven’t been edited, and some that need re-editing. It’s back to square one – editing the photos first, then charting them when the editing phase is done. A long project made even longer. But it’ll be worth it in the end.
Colour on the cliffs
Town has been abuzz this week with the local Gala. Lasting for over a week, the Gala starts with a parade on one Saturday and ends the following Saturday with a huge bonfire and fireworks. The parade has floats by local businesses and groups, the pipe band, and the Gala Queen and her court. Up until the 1950s, it was the Herring Queen – her crown and throne are now in the Wick Heritage Museum collection. During the week, there are many events, mostly for younger folk – a youth highland games using foam cabers, for example. There was also a dog show, a roller disco, a fancy dress competition, and even a baby show. The crew of the Isabella Fortuna, the museum’s fishing boat, dressed up as pirates one day and welcomed all on board.
Treasure Hunt
The fireworks and bonfire caught me out. Led astray by the notices on FB which said ‘from 10 p.m.’, I was duly waiting at the window soon thereafter. The bonfire had been lit, its glow gleaming above the trees. I waited and waited. Around 1025, bored, I went off to brush my teeth. Of course, the display started while I was away, and I missed the first bursts.
Of a similar sparky nature, the chargepoint for the car was installed on Friday. It took two engineers most of the day. After checking the maximum load – when I scurried about turning on the dryer, kettle, microwave, oven, and electric heaters – and checking the earthing for the water intake and gas meter, the process began to install the necessary surge protection, relay boxes, cables, chargepoint, and cable holder. Near the end, the power was off for half an hour, and after this the installation was completed and tidied up. They gave me a run-through, and it shouldn’t be more complicated than plugging the car in and pressing ‘go’.
All being well, the gansey should be completed in the next week or so. With the rounds getting shorter, the knitting goes faster and faster. The cabled cuff will slow me down a bit. Then I’ll block it severely and solve the extra-long gusset puzzle. For the next gansey, I will choose something more straightforward, resisting the temptation to knit the gansey with completely patterned sleeves which I noticed recently in the database.
And here you have the completed item, pinned out to within an inch of its life. The calculated stitch gauge – 8 st/in and 15 rw/in – wasn’t achievable during blocking. As a result, the gansey is a couple of inches wider and an inch longer than the hoped-for measurements. But better baggy than tight, and shorter than longer. If the length were any greater, it would be a tunic. The extra-long gussets were sewn shut before blocking. On the outside, you might not notice the odd gussets, but on the inside, it’s lumpy. But even so, I am pleased with the result. 
The sewing of the new summer jacket continues. The photo shows some of the hand basting. The purple is the backing fabric for the blue embroidered fabric, which was too lightweight on its own and needed bolstering. The circular item is the padstitched collar. The padstitching gives it a curve and adds structure. Presently, I’m sewing the lining and outer together at the centre front.
