I am knitting the last round of the border of the Mourning Shawl– k2tog, YO, all the way around. Tonight I should start the centre. “MCRM” is charted, and the maths, I hope, done – on every 5^th and 6^th row, I need to take two stitches instead of one from the edges right and left. Very exciting. I hope I will have enough done before we go back to Strathardle to show you how it’s working. The whole scheme of things should be much more visible once the four borders are on four separate lengths of waste yarn.

The new IK has turned up and been rather neglected in all the recent excitement. It’s a good ‘un – no danger of my dropping that subscription, or of going digital. A knitting magazine needs to be in a format which can be read in the bath.

I’m going to get – again, not in digital form – Mr. Post-Quinn’s book on double knitting when it comes out, although, as with the recent brioche book, I probably won’t knit from it. I’m tempted by “Knitting Around the World” (on the books page) and by “My Grandmother’s Knitting”, although less so, for the latter.

There are some nice patterns. The Dahlia cardigan attracts – I’m keen on asymmetrical droop these days and in fact bought myself some yesterday at Marks and Spencer’s. Games Day is the third point in the year when one tries to spruce oneself up a bit, the others being Christmas and Easter.

And those Hex Mex stockings! Would they really stay up?

This is the card Helen and her boys gave me for my birthday:

(The answer is, when it’s lace, you count.)