Meanwhile, I have taken up my “Mary Tudor” sweater again, and it is a very satisfying and fulfilling project. \u00a0Alice Starmore really nails it every time with her designs. \u00a0They make so much sense, knitterly, that they practically knit themselves. If I understood why I’d be a prolific designer myself! \u00a0In spite of her reputation for complicated patterns, I find that I barely have to look at the charts…. well, I do look at the beginning of each row (I wouldn’t want to lead you astray on that!)…but really, her charted designs are so artistic while also being so logical, that myopic chart reading is really not required. \u00a0I’m above the armholes now, about halfway to the shoulder shaping. \u00a0I am loving every minute of it!<\/p>\n
On one of our recent walks on Long Island, Bob very nicely collected some Silver Queen palm spears for me. \u00a0Spears are what I am calling the new shoot of palm frond that rises out of the center of the plant. \u00a0I visited with basket maker Nancy on Trumpeter<\/em>, and she very generously guided me as I started 8 baskets. \u00a0When I explained to her that beginnings and endings are the crucial bits of learning any new technique, she was all about helping me learn the beginning at least! \u00a0She had a basket ready for ending so she showed me one ending. \u00a0I have now completed my first basket by myself, and it’s nothing to write home about. \u00a0In fact, I’m not even sure it’s worth keeping! \u00a0But for the moment, it is my vessel for holding all the chaff I cut off the fronds before weaving. \u00a0Maybe I’ll throw it overboard when I throw out all the chaff…<\/p>\n A few shots from our palm frond foraging!<\/p>\n There are wild and domestic goats everywhere!<\/p>\n And even on these desert islands, we find a few things in bloom.<\/p>\n My most recent cache of shells and sea glass drying in the cockpit. \u00a0Even when I’m looking for palm fronds, shells are always part of the foraging.<\/p>\n We up anchored today and headed north for Cat Island. \u00a0I did weave for a while before sea sickness overtook me. \u00a0Ugh. \u00a0My second basket shows a litte more promise. \u00a0I spent most of the trip sleeping after taking a half dose of Stugeron. \u00a0It was a long day of over 60 miles. At an average of 6 miles per hour sailing, it took us 10 hours<\/em> to get here! \u00a0A bit slower than travel by car! \u00a0After the beautiful aquamarine waters of the harbors, ocean sailing in the Atlantic with depths of 6,000 feet gave us deep indigo water with white foam on the wave crests.<\/p>\n Cat Island looks quite intriguing. \u00a0Father Jerome’s Hermitage is at the top of the highest hill here, called Mount Alvernia. \u00a0That hill of about 260 feet elevation is the highest spot in all the Bahamas! \u00a0On the summit he built a monastery called the Hermitage. \u00a0From the harbor it looks like it’s sitting atop a huge mountain. \u00a0I understand you can walk up to it in about 15 minutes, so that means something is very wrong with the perspective. \u00a0I think it’s a fairly well kept secret that it’s all smaller than it appears from the harbor. \u00a0I think no one wants to give away this little secret so the surprise isn’t spoiled. \u00a0But if you can walk up to it in 15 minutes, it can’t possibly be as imposing as it appears from here!<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.argoknot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/Mary-Tudor-Alice-Starmore.jpg\" "\\"Mary")
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