Alexander phoned last night, proposing that we go west at the weekend to help celebrate his half-century. He also told me an unrelated State Secret which you will read more about here in about a month’s time, if it proves to be true.

The current socks should be somewhat advanced today, when we have a routine diabetic appt at the Royal Infirmary. Diabetic appts are made for knitting – blood is drawn early on, and then you sit and wait until the results are on the dr’s desk. And if we go to Glasgow at the weekend, the two train rides and related sitting-about may well see the current sock finished.

After Alexander phoned, I had a moment of wondering if I could finish the Grandson Sweater and take it along – Alexander and Ketki will probably see Joe at Easter. I’d be much happier to trust it to them than to the Post Office. It might just be possible. But a moment’s reflection was enough to crush the idea.

a) Nothing is more dangerous than haste at a delicate moment like this; and
b) I might finish the knitting, but there wouldn’t be time to block it.

Last night I got the first sleeve-hole prepared. Chose the spot, decided the depth, and machine-stitched around the area by hand twice. I can’t remember now who suggested doing the stitching by hand – if you’re there this morning, thank you again. It was still agonizing, but much less agonizing than struggling with the machine. And the result, for all its clumsiness, is dead straight and precisely where I was trying to put it..

I did the tough one first – the hole that will have to be cut in the middle of unmapped acres of knitting. The other one, where the central line is already visible because rounds ended and began there, should be easier this evening. And then…

The whole process was sufficiently nerve-wracking that I spent some time peacefully knitting the ear-flap hat, just to calm down and compose myself for sleep. I’ve reached the crown shaping.

I think the neck-hole is going to be much easier. The distances to be machine-stitched are shorter, because a lot of stitches have been left live, both front and back, at the bottom of the neck-hole. And the lines where the stitching is to go look obvious.

EZ in Knitting Workshop mentions doing a garter stitch band to cover the raw seam. I may try that. The sleeve seams will be covered by the facings at the top of the sleeves. It might be nice to neaten the inside of the neck as well.

I keep thinking about Koigu. Current top mental favourite involves ribbon-stripes, somewhat on the lines of KF’s Simple Stripe side-to-side shape from Glorious Knitting. But probably as a jacket.

Jeanfromcornwall, I followed the link to Lene’s blog in your recent post, thence to her Ravelry store, thence to her Minni pattern (Ravelry link). That’s another striped-side-to-sider, and it is a jacket, and it uses fingering-weight yarn. I think I’ll probably buy it, for guidance. I doubt if I’d use the ridged stitch, but you never know.