Ishbel MacDonald

I had an Auntie Ish. I have vague memories of this lady, my Popeye's sister. The lady who gave my parents the piano which I learned to play on (with the guilt of "we promised Auntie Ish you would take lessons"). The lady who was well-educated for someone of her generation and status. A lady who, for some reason, I remember having a lot of blankets (I'm not sure if this is true, or some crazy memory I've constructed from nothing). The lady who drew lovely pictures, but also some scary ones (there's a charcoal cat one that always freaked me out).

When I saw the pattern Ishbel, not only did I love the pattern, I had to knit it because of the name. That name I always thought was so pretty that I'd used it as a middle name if I ever had a daughter (it was promptly vetoed by my husband, and our never-to-be-born daughter will remain Mariska Rebecca Joan).

I've named my shawl Ishbel MacDonald, not because that was my aunt's real name (it wasn't) but because MacDonald makes me think of the Scottish side of my family. And reminds me of my Popeye (my grandfather). And it is the middle name of one of my boys.

And with those thoughts and memories and this erractic post, what is the take home message?

Pretty name. Pretty shawl.