Wimbledon promises well – I should be able to finish the basic Northmavine Hap. I’m just about to start row 9 of the final 12, the pattern row. That will leave a garter stitch edging, a sewn bind off, many a loose end, and blocking still to come. But it will be a significant step forward.

We start off with Venus Williams. The BBC has been singularly uninterested in her. They have been fully occupied, on the women’s side, with two British hopefuls (the survivor of the pair not terribly British – she was Australian until recently) and a great many brilliant players with Eastern European names whom I can’t keep straight. But it turns out that Venus has quietly made it through. I’m a tr’ffic fan, being an elder sister myself.

Thank you for your message, Cat (comment yesterday).  Are you (or is anyone?) familiar with Sally Melville’s “Knitting Pattern Essentials” or with Deborah Newton’s books about design and finishing? I ask because you said yesterday that you prefer to design your own.

It becomes more and more striking, I think, how everyone is designing shawls these days and eschewing sweaters.

Yesterday I re-watched Fruity Knitting Episode 19, from the end of last year, when Newton was the interview-ee. She is most engaging. That was before poor Andrea was struck down with repetitive strain injury and forced to stop knitting, we hope for not too much longer. She really is brilliant -- meticulous and inventive. The podcast suffers while she can’t knit.

There should be a new episode this week.

I liked your comment, Chloe (and agree with your programme for an ideal Japanese knitting class). How lucky we all are that even with our betes noirs firmly in the cupboard – bobbles and beads, for starters, in my case – there is still so wonderfully much to do!