A Fast As My Fingers Will Let Me

I'm continuing work on the incomplete Irish Fisher Gansey which was one of PH's Christmas gifts. It appears it will now be his Valentine's present (along with a really neat red plate from a pottery artist friend of a friend). I will finish the body tonight, and will start the sleeves forthwith. If it isn't his Valentine's present, it will be his Father's Day present, or maybe his Labor Day present...I do promise to post a picture of it when and if it's done. I have a lovely pattern for a lace branches and leaves scarf that could be used as a stole over an alb if I were feeling that creative. It's next in the knitting project queue before I start in on the Norse sweater for DSIL. As Songbird ( http://revsongbird.typepad.com/ ) says, knit without ceasing! Two pair of socks to be knit in there somewhere, too...and I should start something for impending grandbaby #3, who is due sometime in April.

Next week is our church's Women's Retreat, so I should get some good knitting time then, out overlooking the Patuxent River. A good time is had by all at this event, even though we usually are there at the same time as another group's silent retreat and we have to decamp to the furthest basement room so we can party with our wine and cheese without disturbing anyone. Silence is not something our group can do with much success. We usually try to do one meal silently and can't even quite manage that. Nothing like reinforcing the stereotype.

After several days of weather up into the 60's, we are shivering and watching the trees shake in a cold wind. Feels like it's down to the 30's right about now, which we're definitely not used to. We lost electricity at the church during icon writing class today, probably due to the wind. My vision is not really sharp enough to do the work in natural light. Ah, well, we were close to the end of class anyway. The Baptism of Jesus by John is going slowly, slowly, slowly. These works go at their own pace - at God's time, not ours.

In this sense, it's rather unlike the knitting, which only goes as fast as my fingers will let me.