Today

Once upon a time, not very long ago, there was a knitter.  And as the knitter sat on the shores of Ullswater watching her husband sketch mountains, she did a little casting on.



The knitting fates were kind to her that day so she didn't make any mistakes, but the weather fates were playing silly whatnots and as our happy duo sat, sketching and knitting and eating their lunch, the sun that had bloomed during their morning walk, scooted away behind gusty clouds as the wind whipped up across the water and swirled across their promontory, careless for the sunbathing walkers, now hurriedly putting on all their extra coats and jackets.

A little further down the lake, they stopped again for tea and sketching, and this time, the knitter was able to make a little more progress, interrupted only to pass her husband fizzy pink sweets or an escaping putty rubber as they perched on a rock, high about the track.


And so Ishbel was started.

Sadly the knitter didn't get to stay on the lakeshore for long enough to complete a whole shawl (must remedy that some day!) but a little knitting later and we have:


a very happy birthday girl!  Because this Ishbel is not for me but for Mum, whose birthday is today.  When I phoned at the unseasonably early hour of 7.30, having been prodded into wakefulness by a certain little bear, she was already up, had already opened it, and was already very happy!

The yarn is Handmaiden Mini-Maiden in Topaz.  Although other projects on Ravelry have suggested knitting a small/large combination to be sure of the yarn, I went for it and this is the whole large, with 7g of yarn leftover.  Either I have tighter tension than Ysolda, and most of Ravelry, or I'm making a mistake in the pattern (consistently), or I'm just really lucky.  I'll go for lucky.


I don't have any modelled shots as the birthday girl is several hundred miles away, but as she is off on an expedition of great style I'm very hopeful that Dad might take some pretty pictures and send them to me - pretty please?  That's a hint by the way.  Of the not subtle variety.

Meanwhile, it is also my aunt's birthday and H's brother's birthday and, and this is the most important part, it is wonderfully, gloriously hot and sunny, and we're out to make the most of it.

TTFN!