Droning about what Pipers wear

Bagpipes are the only instrument I can think of that have a specific dress code. Of course we wear ordinary clothing when we practice, but for all performances or gigs most pipers wear a kilt. Our band uniform is composed of pieces of traditional Scottish dress.

Our band tartan is "The Flower of Scotland". There is a tune by that name which is considered by many to be the unofficial national anthem of Scotland. With its medley of blues and greens and hint of orange/red, I believe The Flower of Scotland tartan is indeed one of the loveliest tartans. It is a new tartan, not associated with a clan/family. Our woolen kilt hose are in a color called "Blue Lovat" and we wear Ancient Red flashes at the top of the hose. (I knitted a pair of kilt hose in cream wool but I only wear them when I am playing solo.) We wear a purse-like bag in the front which is called a sporran. It is secured with a chain that wraps behind us like a belt. The sporran is very handy for carrying bits and bobs we might need for our pipes, cash, and car keys. Our cap/bonnet is called a Glengarry and the lace up shoes are ghillie brogues. Ghillie brogues have no tongue and were designed so that water could drain out while the wearer tramped through the bogs. I'm not sure that actually works but it sounds logical. (The word "ghillie" comes from a word meaning "lad" or "servant".) The ghillies have special shoestrings that lace around the ankles, cross in back, twist and are tied on the front or side of the calf. Other uniform components are a white shirt, band tie, and belt. This dress is fairly typical of modern day pipers and I, for one, am glad that most pipe bands do not wear the military dress with tall fur hats and spats. I really believe the tall bonnet would cause me to topple over!

Heather and I traveled to Scotland a few years ago to play a wedding at Dundonald Castle. It isn't that they couldn't find pipers in Scotland, though. My Scottish friend was helping an American who was getting married in Scotland. They wanted a piper for their September castle wedding and we volunteered to do the job for free. How many American pipers have the opportunity to play a REAL wedding in a castle? It was an amazing trip. In the first photo we are practicing at the castle a day or two before the wedding. Our pipes sounded fantastic. It was as if the pipes knew they had come home.

At this time our band wore white hose with lovat blue flashes.

In the second photo we are inside the castle on the day of the wedding. That is Heather on the left and me, leaning for some weird reason, on the right.

The photographer asked us to climb up on a narrow stone wall that was part of the castle ruin. In my leather soled ghillies this was not an easy task! (I don't think he realized that I was over 50 at the time!) I named this photo "Mountain Goats" because we felt like goats climbing up a mountainside, only not as surefooted.

Then the photographer asked "the lassies" to play a tune! I really thought getting up on the wall was sufficient effort but I wasn't going to stand there idle while Heather played. In the last photo we are striking in our pipes to play a tune for the lovely bride and her groom. He is English but wore the kilt for the wedding. Her gown was a medieval style.

Two Pipers and Their Knittin'

This photo was taken by Kevin as we waited to tune for A Grace Family Christmas last week. Heather is starting a pair of mittens for her wee boy. I am about half way finished with a Fisherman's sweater for my youngest son. (Unfortunately I have used more than half the wool! )We have downtime at the performances, between stints of warming up and tuning our pipes.

I frogged the body of the sweater, which was nearly to the armpits. There was about 2 inches extra ease that could be eliminated and since I am cutting it close on yardage, that could make a difference. It only took me 3 days to get back to where I was.

Product review: A few months ago I bought the Knit Picks nickle Plated Options Set. These are sets where you get the needles tips and cords/wires/cables with various lengths. The tips screw into the cables. I wanted to have this set of needles for the occasions when I suddenly need a needle size that I don't commonly use. My usual sizes are #1, #2, #3, and #5. On this sweater I am using #7 so I used the Knit Picks Options for the body of the sweater. The first cable I used had a rough spot in it near where it joined the metal screw piece. On top of that I kept unscrewing the tip as I knit. I used the tiny tool to screw it in but the way I knit must have an effect on the torque, if that is the right word. Stopping quite frequently to screw the tip back in slowed me down considerably. I decided to use the second long cable that came with the kit. After knitting just a few rounds it broke out of the screw end. Sigh. So back to the faulty, rough cable. That one broke last night. My husband used epoxy to glue it in the hole so we will see how that goes. I cannot endorse this product. Apart from needles I bought in Denmark eons ago, Knit Picks are my favorite needles. So while I heartedly recommend their needles, I do not recommend the options sets.

Aye, Caledonia!

I have a yearning for Scotland. Perhaps that is obvious since I play the pipes. The last time I was in Scotland was in August 2005 when our band competed in the World Pipe Band Championship Games. I would love to go back soon but I don't think that will happen in the near future. Watching this short clip makes me want to book a flight right now! Scotland is celebrating the 250th anniversary of the birth of Robert Burns.

These photos were taken on the west coast of Scotland in Ayrshire when we visited in 2005. The land formation on the horizon is called "The Sleeping Warrior".

"Caledonia" is an ancient term, used by the Roman Empire for the northern part of Great Britain. It is used today as a poetic name for Scotland. You will hear it in songs about Scotland where it conjures up images of those misty mountains and shady glens.

It is a busy, busy week. The band is playing in a concert at Grace Presbyterian Church in Peoria. They ask us to play about every other year. It is a huge commitment. We have dress rehearsal tonight (Wednesday) and evening performances on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday and a Sunday afternoon performance. The good news is that when we aren't tuning our pipes I can knit! Isn't it wonderful that knitting is so portable? On Sunday night we have our Small Group from church. On Saturday I'm having my annual Holiday Open House for my business. Time to get back to the rock pile.

The Bainbridge Scarf

The Bainbridge Scarf is now one of my favorite quick gift ideas. It can be worn as an accessory either indoors or out. I gave one to my son's girlfriend when they arrived for Thanksgiving. Isn't she adorable, with or without the scarf?

The yarn is Cascade Indulgence and it took less than one ball. This is a wonderful project for trying out those luxury fibers without spending too much. The pattern is free, too!

The Pinwheel Blankie

Ah-h-h-h-, The Pinwheel Blankie was such a fun project that I feel like casting on for another one already. It was so much like knitting yoga (unlike the Lacy Ribbon Skirt) that I half expected to fall asleep and wake up with my hands still knitting rhythmically. Talk about the chi flowing! I made it in 8 days. The knitting just flew by as the segments became larger. Like Elizabeth Zimmerman's Pi shawl, the design is very organic. A mathematician could probably tell us why the design is so pleasing to the eye. Perhaps the whorls follow the Golden Mean. From a knitter's perspective, it is easy, quick, fun, and satisfying. I will be sending this blanket off to Iowa soon. The baby is of unknown gender (although they know it is either a boy or a girl, thanks to the marvels of modern medicine) hence the buttercup color. This is my new favorite baby gift, after the pumpkin hats, of course.

I was very pleased with the seed stitch border I chose. I then cast off in i-cord.

To cast off in i-cord: Knit 2, slip one, knit one, psso. Slip the 3 remaining stitches back onto left needle. Repeat 500 times.

That's right. I had over 500 stitches on the needle by the time I reached the width I wanted, which is about 32" in diameter. A little less than 3 feet in diameter seemed to be a good size to me. Those young mamas have enough weight to carry with those mammoth arm-breaking baby carriers so I wanted it to be big enough but not too big.

I started a 4th skein of yarn just before I started the seed stitch border, thinking that would be a generous estimate. I was sweating it out at the end when I realized the i-cord was sucking up the yarn. There was just a little bit left in the skein. I believe the i-cord border is the icing on the cake, don't you?

Contest Announcement and Weekend Highlight

The winner of my drawing for the Mitred Hanging Towel is jgerst on Ravelry! Congratulations! I hope you like chocolate, too! I will be contacting you through Ravelry for your address. The yellow button won by a landslide!

The weekend was great. On Friday I baked cookies for the Consecration Service for the new Sanctuary and addition to our church. I had actually made the dough on Thursday and I finished them up on Saturday morning. The cookie recipe was not one I chose myself, nor will I make it again. I was asked to recruit a team of 5 people to make 3 dozen cookies each. Other teams, about 8 of them, were making other recipes. The original recipe had not been tested and when one of my friends tried it out she said that (1) it was very labor intensive, and (2) the recipe only made 20 cookies. She found an alternative recipe that looked similar but did not entail cutting the rolled dough out by hand with a template. Instead the small balls of dough were rolled and pressed with a glass dipped in sugar. After baking they were made into sandwich cookies with a filling made of heavy cream and chocolate. The final step was dipping the ends in melted chocolate. I made over 6 doz of these little darlings and I sure hope people enjoyed them.

The consecration service on Sunday evening was amazing and I will never forget it. Everyone was waiting in the large foyer and the doors to the sanctuary were closed. We all began singing "Lord, prepare me" as the doors opened and everyone filed in. Our praise band, Acts 29, was playing and singing in front. Among us were children and older persons. Some folks we have known for over 25 years and others are new to us. The stained glass window behind the cross was so beautiful, too! You can see a photo of it here but it was more beautiful that night. Perhaps that was due to the faces of everyone there. During the service a dozen or so people spoke briefly. Each one blessed a particular part of the sanctuary. They all did a fantastic job. Afterwards we had a reception with the cookies, punch, and coffee. Our first Sunday in the new sanctuary is November 23.

I am finishing up a few knitting projects and will write about them soon.

I read a quote yesterday that I find helpful when a task seems overwhelming and I want to procrastinate...

We cannot do everything at once, but we can do something at once.

--Calvin Coolidge

Back to Normalcy

Thanks to everyone for your kind thoughts and prayers. It was a very rough several days. Our boys are going to miss their friend so much. I am very proud of my sons for the sacrifices they made to come to the funeral. They both had to take several vacation days from work, which are precious to both. It was definitely important for their healing process, to be with their peers and grieve together. They are going to try to spend time with the deceased boy's older brother when they come home. Those brothers were very close also and I think my sons empathize with him particularly.

Our youngest son decided to drive straight through to NM instead of staying the night Wed at his brother's place in KC. That worries me but I am trusting they are almost home by now--and safe.



I'm grateful that I work at home with my own business and can take time off when needed. Even though my sons are grown I wanted to be here with them. I had a productive morning here in the office so I'm taking a break with my blog.



On the knitting front, I'm zipping right through the Pinwheel Blanket. It will be done in less than a week. That is a quick baby gift! I have an idea for a small project to go with it. The baby is due around Dec 1.



Sneaky, sneaky me. While the kids were here I washed some clothing, including a pair of corduroy trousers for L, the future recipient of the Lacy Ribbon Skirt. When I took the trousers out of the dryer I tip-toed back to our bedroom where I had hidden the skirt. I laid the trousers on top of the skirt and it looks like a perfect fit! So I'm going to sew it up and start seriously looking for that special ribbon.
If you don't like fringe you can stop reading this right now. (I am not a big fan myself but many in my prayer shawl group are.) When I wrote about Nicky Epstein's Knitted Garter Fringe I forgot to mention something I did to refine it a bit. You have 16 Stitches on your needle. If you twist the 8th stitch every other row then you get a tidier result when you drop the stitches for the fringe. That 8th stitch will be the last stitch in the binding off process.