We’ve got a postal strike – no more mail until the end of next week. I know Natalie at The Yarn Yard is anxious and distressed, and there must be thousands and thousands of small business like hers, depending on the post office. But I feel chipper – no guilt about the Earth Stripe Stole since I haven’t got the yarn. No guilt about the Yarn Yard, indeed – I think I’ll have to drop my Sock Club membership once the October package arrives, because it’s piling up. But each is more beautiful than the last, and I love looking forward to my blue package. So that’s going to be a tough call, now mercifully postponed.

And meanwhile I should finish the gansey. Blogger is having picture-problems this morning, unfortunately. The illustration, and my comments on it, will have to wait.

The only sewn cast off I could find in EZ, at a quick look, was for garter stitch. I found one for k2 p2 rib in Vogue Knitting, and set merrily at it, with the thought that if I can graft ribbing (Sam the Ram’s tummy) I can do anything. I was wrong. It’s very awkward, and I think there is a mistake in the instructions, and I gave up after about six stitches, unpicked it – you’re right, Mary Lou, not easy – and retreated to a variation of the Icelandic bindoff which Helen and others recommended. I’m not sure I got the rhythm of it quite right, but I am pleased enough with the result.

I should finish the other cuff today – and then the neck. That will be fun. It involves more gussets.

I also progressed with LibraryThing. I think the idea with Ravelry is that eventually it will harmonise completely with LibraryThing. For the moment, Ravelry’s book feature isn’t much use to me, since their database is so incomplete, whereas LibraryThing is wonderful. I came to Kaffe’s “California Patches” yesterday, not much more than a glossy pamphlet, no date, no ISBN, and thought for a moment that I’d leave it out.

Then I thought, no, it needs to go in. I’ve knit from it. So I entered title and author by hand, and LibraryThing not only accepted it happily, but told me of other members who have it.

My one grumble with LibraryThing is that sometimes it seems to list things in random order, other times they are alphabetical which I prefer, and I can’t figure out how to force the latter.