Well, that’s January 1 pretty well disposed of. I kept asking myself, do I feel better without cider? But answer came there none.

 

Still no walk. Helen had a jolly evening with friends yesterday – most unusual for her – and spent the morning in bed with tea and paracetamol. It’s still very cold here, but the sun shone brightly. It was a shame not to get out. I’ll make a real effort tomorrow.

 

What I did do was open the Kindle on my lap, increase the type-size, and knit and read. I’ve finished “Rachel Ray” – all ends well – and advanced the central square of the hap considerably. I’ve got fewer than 100 stitches now (144 at the max) and it’s beginning to go a bit faster.

 

And I’ve actually got something to say. The new issue of “Knitting” has turned up (the British monthly magazine, not terribly good) with an issue devoted to Japanese knitting. At first I was disappointed because they didn’t have an article walking one through the thickets of a Japanese knitting pattern. I’ve still got “Knitter’s” for Spring ’97 (in the time of Nancy Thomas’ editorship – those were the days) – and, more surprisingly, I can still find it – in which Gayle Roehm does exactly that.

 

But what “Knitting” does have is a pattern by Yoko Hatta which they offer as a Japanese-style pattern, only in English; and also as an English-language pattern. It goes on for pages. But by the time you had toiled through it, you’d have grasped the elements of the Japanese system.

 

I had a Japanese phase, some years ago. I went to a lesson somewhere – I can visualise the scene, but can’t remember what or where the LYS was. And I’ve got a collection of Japanese pattern books and symbol dictionaries. I even knit an ear-flap hat from a Japanese pattern, back in those days. If I were to take it up again, I think the thing to do would be to get the general idea from the photograph and then use that and the charted stitch pattern or patterns to construct an over-all pattern for oneself. Swatching would be essential. Japanese patterns tend to the petite, anyway, and usually don’t offer much of a range of sizes. Many of the symbols in a charted stitch pattern are the same as the ones we use; that wouldn’t be too difficult to decipher.

 

Reading

 

I don’t know quite where to turn. I’ve still got that unread Barbara Pym. And I thought maybe Willa Cather. I learned today that the Duchess of Cornwall (=Camilla) is about the start a book club on Instagram. I’ve signed up, rather dubiously.