James has gone back to Sydenham.

I had a good day – I got a couple of things done, including unpinning the shawl. Perdita loves blocking – or rather, unblocking – lace. She rushes to the scene as soon as she contrives to get into the room – even when she could hardly have known that I was blocking lace – and starts pulling out the pins. I am anxious for the shawl, but far more anxious for her, and glad when the temptation can be removed.

I’m further on with the second sleeve of the half-brioche. I should finish it as far as the shoulder strap tomorrow or Tuesday. I’ll try to contrive a picture.

I got a little bit forward'er with the EYF – I’ve emailed Baa Ram Ewe (rather late in the day) to ask how much yarn the shorter Ancasta requires; and I’ve made a tidy list in my iPad of the yarn requirements of the various other possibilities.  Both Carol Sunday, “Nancy’s Vest”, and Jared, “Nila” list the yarn requirements on their websites, so I haven’t had to commit myself to buying a pattern yet.

And of course there will be gradient packs and I can always buy 100 grams of a good sock yarn or two.

There’s news of Susan Crawford: she has finished radiotherapy and is officially cancer-free. She will ease herself back into work next month, and hopes to let us know a publication date for the Vintage Shetland Project before the end of May. It might be of lugubrious interest to count the publication dates we’ve had so far, starting with November, 2015.

I’ve retrieved from my archives the Sweater-Wizard pattern for Alexander’s Calcutta Cup sweater of 2006, including the Stitch-and-Motif-Maker chart with the picture of the Cup. (I wonder if those useful programs will run on my present laptop?) Scotland also won in 2008. I knit a sweater for Ketki that time but have entirely forgotten its nature. Is it in the archives? If so, I went past it without noticing. 2010 was a draw – that was when I knit a hat for Alexander and Ketki’s son James, showing half the Cup. Alas, he lost it.

And I continue to watch Mucklestone’s interesting Craftsy class. We’ve had four or five lessons, and haven’t even started knitting. Yarn, colour, pattern.