All went well yesterday. The paint on the dining room woodwork is now definitely grey (as wanted), not blue. It’s lighter than the old paint, but appears to be the same shade (if I’ve got my terms right). Today we should see some paper on the walls. Is the end in sight?

Our flat, at some point in the past, expanded to take in two rooms and a bathroom from next door. One end of our present dining room was partitioned off, to make a way through. (That's the door to the dining room, on the left, half-way along.) The one time we voluntarily embarked on decoration for that room, we treated the passage as part of the room, as I think one must. So the old paint and the old wallpaper are still there. I have no memory at all of the horrors which must have been involved in moving those books.

This picture is wholly misleading, except for the layout. The old paint, to the right, is in real life appreciably darker than the new paint, to the left. Goodness, how lucky we are to live in this house.

Strathardle

Thank you for your comments. Greenmtngirl, yours in particular crystallised thought. Of course we must keep on going there, as long as we physically can. Energetic and resourceful Helen will be here soon. She can think of stratagems. What we lack (and once had, until death intervened) is a close and reliable friend nearby who can be summoned in a real emergency. Our house is out of sight of any other, although not all that remote. The footpath along the burn past our garden seems to be less and less used.

Knitting

Here is the first of the current pair of socks. Is it not truly zauberlich, the way the yarn arranges the dark bits to coincide with toe, heel, and ribbing? Needless to say, the same thing isn’t happening on the second sock, and probably wouldn’t have even if I had wound on to a dark bit to start with (since Zauberballs don’t repeat).

Thank you for your help with the Magic Cast-On. I am particularly interested by your comment, Pamela, and will certainly make my next attempt sitting at a table. But not moving the left hand? We shall see. The videos all go on and on about top-needle-bottom-yarn, and vice versa. Again and again I thought I was doing that, with great style – only to find that the top and bottom needles were completely unconnected with each other.

My problem was (is) a failure to understand how the yarns lock together.

Catmum, I think what I did this time – when I had finally succeeded in casting on – was to knit into the back of the stitches on the first needle. That’s a small problem, compared to the basic one. I’ll crack it eventually.

FiberQat, I will remember – how could I forgot? – your offer that I skype with Judy Becker. Me? That will remain the ultimate threat, and promise.

Next, however, I’m going to turn to Candace Strick and “Strick-ly Socks”. Perhaps the Italian flag, yarn-wise, for Hellie Ogden, Rachel’s daughter?

The decorators are here.