A day of good news. My husband came through his dental ordeal in good order, and we found a home at last for a little sofa which has been surplus to requirements for months, but the reeely good news is that the gansey has arrived safely in Denver -- just in time for a six-inch snow fall. It’s too cosy for normal social wear, I think, but should be perfect for ski-ing. Theo promises pictures soon.

So we’ll attempt Strathardle today. The weather forecast isn’t entirely good, “showers” and even “snow”. But I ought to be able to get something done, although clearly not seed-sowing. Blogging should resume next Thursday. The dentist said that my husband’s mouth will continue to improve now that the locus of infection is gone. That ought to mean that he may soon feel as well as he did before all this started, and that in turn probably means that we will go to London before the end of the month.

Socks

I got a fair amount done yesterday, with the dentist’s waiting room thrown in. I’m going to carry on sock-knitting in Strathardle, contrary to my usual practice.

Thank you for the remark about ribbing, Mel. I think I am going to try it. It is time, anyway, that I knit a pair of socks for Thomas-the-Elder, whose request precipitated the current sock-a-thon. Gents are so boring compared to KF stripes and Yarn Yard colour, but it must be done. I’ve found a couple of balls of an episcopal purple which should minimise the tedium.

I’ll try knitting the initial rib as usual, and then switching to k6, p2 for the rest of the leg. That is essentially how the gansey was knit, and it wasn’t too painful. I remembered while thinking about all this that I wouldn’t dream of knitting kilt hose without ribbing the legs. (How are you getting on with yours, Mel? Hmmm?)

As for that gusset hole, Else’s solution (comment yesterday) of knitting that horizontal thread together with the last (or first) heel-flap stitch sounds simple and elegant. My way involves, however, getting hold of two or even three horizontal threads and making a stitch in them. I usually twist them, too, by knitting into the back.

I don’t understand your question, Callie. You go down the heel-flap picking up one stitch in each stitch of the edge. In my memorised pattern, that will be ¼ of the original number. Then there you are at the point where a hole is likely, and, as always, there are horizontal threads to be seen between the last-stitch-knit and the next-to-be-knit. That’s where I slip a needle under two or even three of them, front-to-back, and then knit a stitch tbl-fashion.

(Callie's blog, as per the link just given, is in French!)

Why is it that the second hole, when you have knit across the instep and are ready to start back up the far side of the heel flap, is always harder to eliminate than the first one?