List-making is clearly the Secret of Life. I had another productive day yesterday and have reached the stage where there are only a couple of things to be tweaked – as ever – on the main job, and the cards to be written. The dust and the ironing are accumulating at a dispiriting rate, but you can’t have everything.

I got the Little Brownstone blocked (it was on the list). I’m pleased with it, perhaps more than with the big one.

Here it is with the target shirt from Strachur Primary School superimposed. I’ve done pretty well.

I figured out how to suppress the flash on my camera when we were talking about colour before, but yesterday, despite much button-pressing, I couldn’t do it. In fact, however, the top picture isn't too bad.

I spoke to Rachel on the phone at the weekend. She took the big Brownstone to London after my husband’s birthday, and I had been mildly worried about not having heard from her son Thomas-the-Elder about it. Was it so ill-fitting that he could find no words? But barristers are surely highly trained in suppressio veri & suggestio falsi. It turns out that he has been in the Maldives, wherever they may be, and hasn’t seen it yet.

The hat is coming on well. Hats are fun. I bought “Weekend Hats”, another pretty unnecessary book. The world is full of free hat patterns. I like Jared’s “Wanderer Cap”, however, and may try to adapt it to madelinetosh gauge for the next hat. I think I’ve got plenty to time to finish two before The Day.

And I might mention that I’m sort of proud of myself for using up the excess madelinetosh so thoroughly, instead of stashing five skeins for the moths when I finished the big Brownstone.

Well, it’s time to get on with today’s list. Here is a picture of my sister on her recent birthday, wearing the shawl I knit for her 70^th. 

It’s Amedro’s cobweb lace wrap, with lace patterns from Heirloom Knitting substituted. It occurred to me yesterday that I have knit that shawl for all three Helens. I knit it first for Rachel, for her 40^th birthday. Then her daughter Hellie asked for one. Then my sister Helen. Finally, last year, my daughter Greek Helen.

Who will be here tomorrow, I think.