Our niece phoned last night, in distress, to warn us that we would see a further marked decline in her mother when we visit today. The one thing that can be said for the day is that I finished it without cider, despite the disappointment of the match and the sadness of the evening. Lent is truly engaged.

I wonder if we will get to London this week.

Our niece has done so much – fought through the night when C. contracted a lung infection a few days after the operation; been her constant carer through the three months at home, sleeping in her mother’s house, changing stoma bags, trying to tempt appetite. Now she hopes only that death will come quietly and soon.

No Victory sweaters to knit, and perhaps just as well, as the next project must be the shawl or stole for our niece. I’m still swithering. The trouble with the rectangular shape – as I’ve said, I’m sure – is that it gets scrunched up as a scarf instead of spread out over the shoulders like a fabric stole. At the moment I’m inclining towards a traditionally-shaped Shetland shawl in Margaret Stove’s new book (can’t find it this morning; had it yesterday). Some form of triangle is a possibility, too.

I must have a look today at my lace yarn collection. Not black. I am toying with the idea of sending for some Madeleine Tosh Pure Silk lace, and to hell with the VAT. But could I knit it? I tried to knit the Princess in silk. The result was very like Franklin’s attempt to knit with DMC crochet cotton. I failed in a brief attempt just now to find someone on Ravelry with experience of the Tosh yarn. It's "tussah silk". Does that make a difference?

Thanks for help on the droopy sweater problem. Just because Scotland didn’t win the Calcutta Cup in 2011 doesn’t mean I can never knit the Effortless. I bought and printed the pattern. I don’t care for Fettig’s other patterns half as much. I do like the Kiama, Lisa. (Link to the pattern in yesterday’s comment.) And I like your Slouchy, Dawn, except for the idea of alpaca.

I knit a sweater in alpaca once – bliss! in the doing of it – which turned into a mini-dress on the first wearing. That was a long time ago. Maybe alpaca has firmed itself up since then, but I am wary of it. What yarn are you using?

Meanwhile, RtB. I had the expected trouble with the button loops. Even stopping the DVD and stepping Meg through the relevant passage doesn’t help. I thought I had cracked it in the watches of the night, but when I tried to apply my insight this morning, it still didn’t work. I am pretty well resigned to taking out half the periferal i-cord and doing simpler buttonholes.

I moved on to i-cording the cuffs, and that’s going fine.