Feb 6 - so now it seems possible that b1 may actually (gasp) tolerate this pully, having seen the real thing close to completion. I have of course become commensurately attached to it. We shall see.

Jan 2011: Poor dear B1. I happened to be looking at him when his eye fell on the computer screen which was showing my ravelry projects (children always want to know what you’re doing, incredibly nosy creatures) and he realised that I was making him a sweater for Christmas. The look of mingled horror and some sort of nausea instantly told me it was never going to be worn. The 70s style couple on the pattern front which was the illustration at the time probably didn’t help. He said nothing, but later gave me a long and oh-so-casual lecture about how only socks were acceptable as hand-knitted garments without, of course, letting on that he’d been spying on my computer screen. My heart rather went out of the project. But in the interests of cutting down on the plethora of unfinished projects I’m now grimly seeing it through to the end. It will be useful - it’ll fit me and keep me warm, but will be about as flattering as a fat-suit. Sigh. I might force him to model it though.

I first made this sweater in about 1980 (lovely knitting shop near Camden Road tube which sold Lopi yarns and patterns). That one got lot and lots of wear despite the fact that I forgot to change needles from the rib on one of the sleeves so it was a bit shorter than the other. It ended up being “given” (aka surrendered) to a friend in Yorkshire with no central heating in about 1989/90.

I’m hoping this will make a garment B1 will actually wear. If he doesn’t, I’ll have it. Hah! Finally, an advantage to the offspring’s increasing size. The plan is to hold the magpie tweed double and hope the gauge is about right.

Audiobooks - Lindsey Davis’ Falco series number 11 “One Virgin Too Many”. Much fascinating detail about religious rituals and observance but pretty obvious who did it from early on.