The last hour or so on Wall Street yesterday seemed a bit more cheerful, at least on the broke-even-I-needed-the-money level. For once, I’m glad to welcome a weekend. Normally I hate them: TGIM is my motto, just as I prefer the green Sundays-After-Pentecost to Lent and Advent and Easter and Christmas and all that stuff.

Robert Peston is still very worried. It’s not the stock exchange, it’s the banking system.

And – to revert to the election – Justin Webb says that “some Republicans despise Obama in a way few Democrats despise McCain.” So now they know what it feels like. It’s worse, despising an actual president. Republicans suffered in the 30’s – “that man in the White House” – and their time may be coming again.

Anyway, knitting.

I’m at row 35 of the 8th centre repeat, still on target for finishing it tomorrow.

I had another offset scare yesterday. The pattern of the entire centre is a very easy 12-stitch repeat, in two bars: that is, there are pretty strong vertical lines every six stitches. There are several places during the 46-row repeats when it is all too easy to offset the pattern. I wonder how much muddle I’ve already created.

At least I’m now fully seized of the problem. The solution is easy: the partial chart marks the centre stitch. At the beginning of each row, one should not only determine what to do next, but also look to see where the centre stitch falls in the pattern. Each marker – I’ve put them in every 24 stitches, two repeats – will come at the same place.

I didn’t send for any yarn yesterday, but I worked on it. Knititch, your comment yesterday almost sent me back to Shetland jumper weight. Araucania comes in good colours, and quite a nice range, but of course nothing like the choice in Shetland. But I do love Araucania for colour and feel and washability, and I’m going to press ahead with this strange attempt.