Handmade socks as stocking-fillers, Lynne? What a lucky family! I recently bestowed a pair as a 21st-birthday-present, and the recipient was delighted. I only knit socks for grown-ups. It seemed appropriate.

Well, I bit the bullet and started the Communion Veil yesterday. I'm using Sharon's merino lace, left over from the first attempt at the Princess Shawl, before I switched to gossamer. I'll need more, but I can afford to knit for a while before I start guessing how much more. It feels a bit loose: maybe I'll try going down a needle size. Sharon says the yarn is slightly finer than Shetland cobweb, for which the pattern was designed. It's knit from the top down, starting with a relatively narrow headpiece and soon widening at the shoulders.

I've got my temporary crown. It was quite a lengthy procedure, and as it was going on, I tried to remember the pattern for the Princess Shawl edging, with which, some may remember, I comforted myself while my 2nd cataract was being dealt with. I couldn't even do the first row, yesterday.

Walking home -- it's not far, to the dentist -- it occurred to me to wonder whether my difficulty with the twirly scarf (excessive tightness, when I got to the third increase row) lay in the fact that I was using a yarn which was half silk. Silk is notoriously unyielding stuff. I may have another shot, with wool. More likely, though, I'll switch to the pattern I mentioned yesterday from the Scarf Style book. Slower but easier, and it looks fun.

The baby who got the latest Surprise was born on Tuesday, and his parents seem delighted with him. I've only seen pictures taken on his father's mobile telephone, so far, but I am promised one eventually, wearing the jacket. The cleft palate of course wasn't a shock, having been seen on the scan, and doesn't seem as bad as feared. Zak, for that is his name, is able to feed, with a syringe, and will be allowed home in about a week if all continues well. He'll have his first operation when he's about three months old. For some reason his father had feared that the left eye was affected but as soon as he was born he was given to his father to hold, and opened both eyes wide and said, in effect, Hello, Daddy.