Next sister
Thursday November 29th 2007, 1:38 pm
Filed under: Knit

I once casually asked my older sister if she ever read my blog, the context being that I didn’t want to repeat myself if she already knew about (fill in the blank).

Yes or no was no big deal to me. What surprised me was her answering, with a note of faint disapproval in her voice, “I don’t read blogs.”

I did not know I was a member of such an unsavory bunch. I can just picture us bloggers plotting away how to force the world to read, day after day, the equivalent of the much-mocked World’s Worst Christmas Letters. Year round! Stephanie Pearl-McPhee once cracked me up by saying how she’d had to avoid the word “blog” with someone and told them, “I have a website. I update it daily.” Oh, well, then!

But it means, either my sister has since changed her mind, or, I can get away with anything. Heh. So, since I’m breaking the rules and giving to two sisters this year, I can give to her too and round things out. (My sister-in-law already picked out a circular shawl in person a few months ago; I feel like I’ve got her covered.)  Can’t leave just one person out!  I posted Anne’s yesterday because it’s not officially for Christmas, right? So it doesn’t have to be a surprise, right?

Years ago, when I did a lot of spinning but was very new at trying lace, I offered that older sister some handspun yarn of her choice made into–something, anyway. She looked at the skeins I was offering and picked the angora. I knitted it up into a lace vest which, um, is still sitting in a drawer because frogging handspun angora when it didn’t turn out just right was just not doable.   It melts into its felted self just from the heat of your hands, it seems like.  I gave up, knitted her a perfectly nice kid mohair afghan for Christmas, and wanted to go hide under a rock on the subject of that angora. She never said anything but a very gracious thank you for the blanket.

So. I’ve felt ever since like I owe her angora–and I do. I had a large bag full of 70% angora roving, but after that failed vest it sat carefully closed up in its bag; it made me sneeze like crazy to work with it. I finally gave it away to Robert, for those who remember the weaver of my much-loved Medicine Blanket that I use as the near-black background on a lot of the photos here. I knew he would spin it and use it to make more warm blankets and that he would give generously with it. Um, I do mean blankets, plural. I had had about eight pounds of the stuff. Somebody had been closing it out for less than the price of most wools.

I stumbled across a cone of pure angora on Ebay. Oh, okay; that wouldn’t have flying feathery bits flinging from the wheel to inhale. I got it.  I knitted it up into my Marnie’s Scarf pattern. It’s not handspun, but it is her color, and it is angora. It’s not a circular shawl, but I only had so much, and, can you imagine how warm one of those would be in that fiber? A thick warm scarf, on the other hand, she can use every day when it’s cold out.

Marnie’s Scarf in pure angoraAnd Carolyn if you read this before the package arrives I am just going to laugh. You had it coming. Besides, little sisters are for teasing, always will be.


5 Comments so far
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Alison, it’s gorgeous; I’m sure she’ll be pleased. I’m sure she’ll also be glad to know “the rest of the story.” 🙂
-Abby

Comment by Abby Baker 11.29.07 @ 5:58 pm

It’s beautiful. What a wonderful gift. (I love to tease my little sister too.)

Comment by Lisa 11.29.07 @ 7:58 pm

She will love it I am sure! It is beautiful! yummy angora, it will be so lovely to wear.

Comment by Vicki 11.30.07 @ 2:44 pm

The scarf is beautiful, and I can only imagine how soft it is.

Comment by Amanda 11.30.07 @ 8:07 pm

Oh my, the scarf is just lovely! Hi Carolyn 🙂

Comment by Toni 12.01.07 @ 5:16 am



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