Archie was here this morning, and you were quite right, Mary Lou, he solved the photography problem without much difficulty. Here is the current state of the EPS:

 

And here, just to catch up, the completely-knit but unfinished Stillness shawl:

 

I think I’m slightly warming to it.

 You are also right, of course, Mary Lou, that those raglan decreases will soon make themselves felt. And even now, I think, I whiz around the course in anticipation of greater speed to come.

 

The stripes at the very beginning are 7 rows wide; those at the beginning of the sleeves, 5 rows. I argued with myself a bit about how wide to make the yoke stripes – an even number would have the advantage that every stripe could begin with a decrease row. Then I decided that I could do without that small convenience, for heaven’s sake. Then I wondered whether I had enough left of the gradient yarn to do 6 – or even 7 – rounds. Then I decided that it doesn’t matter. If the yarn gives out, I can join in the next gradient ball at any point and do the rest of the stripes to match. Obviously, this first one will require a bit more yarn than any of those to follow.

 

With such thoughts do I occupy myself. I’m currently knitting the 6^th round of the first gradient stripe and may well simply carry on until the yarn gives out. There isn’t much more.

 

Reading

 

I’ve finished “Incarnations”, with pleasure to the end. I then went briefly back to my short history of India and found it, still, intolerable. A lot of people like the Parthians (that may or may not be true) keep crashing through the Himalayas and being unpleasant to the Indians, but they are as boring (except for Alexander the Great) as they were in classical history. So I have switched to a book called “India: an Introduction” by Khushwant Singh, recommended by my son Alexander. It’s very readable. It’s interesting how much time he is devoting, in the early pages, to religion. But I think I’m ready for Dalrymple and the East India Company.