Jennifer’s Iona Shawl Finished

It’s the Evening of the Seventh Day of Christmas, new Year’s Eve, and Jennifer’s Iona Shawl has just been finished.  Here it is modeled by Glyn, fresh off my loom!

(Don’t worry, Jen – she just had it on for a moment for these pictures!) 

The weft is Windsor Homespun 98% acrylic, from Lion Brand Yarns.  The warp is Mineral Blue Mercerized Cotton from Halcyon Yarns.  The colors – blue, green, gray, and beige, with just a hint of heather, recall the rocky coasts of Iona.

Hope it keeps you warm and comfy, Jennifer, on your next trip to Iona, and this winter in Mississippi as you prepare and dream!

Love,
Dad

Coming Home

I had not thought
until I saw the heathered slopes
descending to the bay,
and felt the windblown rain
upon my face,
and breathed the seasalt air,
that I had been so long away
or journeyed quite so far
from home.
I had forgot my longing
for the gray sea,
and the sight of seals,
and the low, rolling clouds
across the headlands.
So it was the sorrow held me first,
for one brief moment. Then,
as if it were the flowing tide,
the joyous, crashing wave
of coming home.

(C) May, 2003