I've just finished paying the income tax on-line. When I filed the return last week, or whenever, they said we owed a modest sum. I waited a bit to see if they would condescend to explain why, but they haven't done so, so I've paid it. The nervous strain of typing in all those passwords, searching the website for the precise sum owed, and establishing my identity yet again on the payment pages, has left me prostrate. But it's done.

Knitting news:

I had an email from Hellie's lovely fiance Mat last nightt, asking if I could knit “pocket squares” for himself and the groomsmen – eight in all – to wear at the wedding. I am delighted. It's just the sort of commission I need to galvanize myself into joyful action. My friend's knitted dog may have to wait.

But what is a “pocket square”? Hellie sent this picture this morning:

and I will try googling and ravelring, but I would also greatly appreciate any advice you could give.

I wound another skein and joined it in to Archie's sleeve last night. I don't care if it's tangerine-coloured:one skein at a time, henceforth. Then I counted the stitches, and subtracted the number I still have to decrease according to the counter, and found to my astonishment that that will leave me with exactly the number of stitches required by the pattern. That doesn't often happen.

I listened to the radio program about Shetland knitting – link yesterday. It's wonderful. Don't miss. There was a nice anecdote about a meeting of the Guild. Someone had read somewhere what the world speed record was for knitting, so they tried it out and found that everyone in the room could knit faster than that. Hazel Tindall of course went on to win an official World's-Fastest-Kniter title in a public competition.

I mustn't forget, as I float out to sea on a raft of pocket squares and knitted dogs, that I mean to get out that knitting belt and Hazel Tindall's video and the wonderful Fair Isle colours I bought at Jamieson & Smith in Lerwick that happy day, and apply myself.