Today is my sister Helen’s birthday. She is 75, which seems absurd – far more absurd than my own even greater age. Happy Birthday Helen, anyway.

Today is also the day of the Beijing St Andrew's Night Ball. 

Yesterday was a little bit better around here, progress-wise. I advanced the Christmas cards slightly, and finished the short-rowing at the back of the neck of the shawl collar on the Little Brownstone and began knitting back and forth around the whole collar. There’s lots of that to do, but I think I can now say that the further shore is in sight.

The thing about Christmas knitting, apart from stress, is that it makes you feel you are getting-on-with-Christmas when all you are doing is knitting and ignoring more urgent chores..

There will be enough scarlet yarn, and enough time, to turn out a hat for one of those obstinately empty squares on my Christmas-list spreadsheet. (I am not organised in many ways, but I find that that helps a lot, once one’s total of grandchildren moves into double figures. It is useful to be reminded what one gave each of one’s loved ones last year and the year before – and sometimes one spots a good present idea which can be transferred from the past into a different branch of the family. If nothing else, just sitting there and staring at the list is often productive of thought. You’ve got to “hide” the rows when people die.)

A watchcap? A beanie would be quicker. I’ll have a wander round Ravelry. I’m thinking boy, so nothing too fancy. There might even be time and yarn for a second hat, with stripes to eke out the remaining scarlet if necessary. Or even if not.

Woolly Bits, I don’t know the magazine “Knit” (and don’t like the sound of what Vivienne says about it). Maybe I ought to look, just once.  I think IK started out to be the magazine you are looking for – “Beyond the Basics!” was the slogan. But they soon abandoned that approach. (Do follow the link to Vivienne’s blog – lovely baby, lovely sweater.)

Kristie, my subscription to the Knitter is not Zinio, but an app of its own. If I ever find anything there that I Must Knit Right Now, I’ll get back to you to work out a strategy to get it on paper. At the moment, my immediate mental project list is at least six months long (finish Christmas; have a sock-blitz to fill up my husband’s drawer a bit; knit him a v-necked vest; my Effortless; a gardening sweater for Rachel’s husband Ed). It would have to be a pretty good magazine pattern to insinuate itself into that plan.

And then of course Scotland will win the Calcutta Cup in 2012, how could they not? and I will want to knit a sweater to commemorate that. And it will have to be done in '12 -- that's the rule.

I am going to meet our niece this morning in the newly-reopened Portrait Gallery for coffee and maybe some art and maybe some Christmas shopping, so I had better press on now with my porridge.