30th July 2002
The two black jacket sleeves are now joined together in glorious harmony, patterns and number of stitches and rows matching exactly (a first!) on one needle. Am now decreasing for the cap. Can see the end in sight and would like to finish before we set off for the cricket tournament at Ampleforth.

Ampleforth is a catholic boarding college in the very north of England (North Yorkshire) where the weather is good for growing mushrooms and not much is eaten in the way of fresh leaf vegetables or fruit. (Accompanying parents are sent out by the girls on daily forays into nearby towns and villages to gather what they can in really fresh fruit and greens). It's our fourth year for the women's Under 15s cricket championships, Sussex having won last year (runners up the year before). We sally forth to defend our title against the deadly Yorkshire lasses and another six counties or so. I am not boarding with the girls this year (would like some sleep) and have left it to other mums. I consider three years as being duty absolved.

What do I take up with me to knit??? Dare I be seen clicking on the boundary?????? I forgot, I am meant to be scoring. That solves that problem.

I wonder if I might get to some yarn shops in the area... Yorkshire is reputed to be a hub of the knitting arts - and that must mean pure yarns. You don't see much other than acrylic and nylon worn (yes, I'm one of those who recognise handknitting and will stand in a queue for something I don't need, just to inspect the knitwear in front of me), but there must be a centre for fine yarns. I'm thinking wool, pure wool, wool off a sheep's back, wool off a Yorkshire sheep's back, I'm salivating...

28th July 2002
2nd black jacket sleeve started. Am in the swing of it. Am also feeling more and more the need to grab the bamboos at any given moment. This shows re-entry into the state of knitting addiction. I can think of worse things to be hooked on. Wonder whether it will help with the chocolate problem? Have scoured the net today for more blogspots by knitters. Spent hours reading and reading. Shall be uploading links asap. Have a little more work to do and a Monday morning deadline until I can allow myself to get sidetracked by really interesting stuff.

Landing is cleared, some resources have been kept, but tons and tons of paperwork has been given the recycle boot. I cannot believe how much rubbish teachers are supposed to churn out in the way of utterly useless admin, targets for kids we have not met yet, targets for exmination results for classes that have no students in them yet, and files and files of of papers strobed with boxes that have to be ticked to gain more pieces of paper to file away. Where are my needles...

19th July 2002
Am now an ex-teacher... YIPPEEEE! Must clear the landing of all the boxes and files that club together during termtime and have planning parties for new schemes of work and department meetings when I'm not there.

Black jacket sleeves underway. Will do the first up to the armhole, then follow with the second, finishing both together on one needle. It's getting a tad complicated, but I see light at the end of the tunnel.

Have been looking at some other bloggers' knitting progress. It's amazing what you folks get done! ('Folks' - or even 'folk' - is not a word I have ever used before, I am just under the influence of trans-pond language. Now I've used it twice in one day...) My sock wool stash is looking at me mournfully, but I am going to be strong and finish black jacket. Then red stripes. Actually, I might take down what I have done on red stripes and go again. For a start, I can't remember how often I decreased for going into the waist, and then I am not sure whether I can be bothered to keep the stripes the same back and front - or whether stash will cooperate. So I think I will knit in the round for the body, then decreases and stripes will sort themselves out without the need for exact repeats for the other side. Then from armholes up (I will do sleeves separately) it won't matter about stripes. I may do back and front at the same time, though, 2 rows front, 2 rows back, just to keep it even and not have to write down the decreases, or measure how far to go to the neckline and shoulders.

14th July 2002
Am in need of some therapeutic knitting. Black jacket where are you? Fat Boy Slim Concert almost attended, but went home from Upledger Course knackered and watched FBS on TV for a while. Looked very Brighton and deliciously familiar.

10th July 2002
I knit and knit but black jacket does not seem to grow. This is an illusion, it must be, of course it's growing. Clickety click. Somewhere along the line, I lost enjoyment of the process and now am on a 'finishing' trip. It's 'coz it's black and I have to feel rather than see the pattern. Makes me almost want to do another Kaffe Fassett type thing again... no. I can't face any more of those. They were lovely while they lasted, and the kids looked amazing in them, but I just can't face another. Maybe just a couple of rows of the red stripes...

5th July 2002
Ye gods above and below! Have new contact lenses and am only just over £200 out of pocket. At least I can see again... And I have knitted a few rows on what I reidentified as the first sleeve of black jacket. Am also teetering dangerously close to the abyss of 'no regular income' as am about to become an ex-teacher. Joy tinged with just a hint of panic. Anyway, the business is growing and in a few months time, with the wind in the right direction, I won't be missing the end of month safety net. I *should* have more time to knit, as I promised myself. So I need to wool around a bit more and stop feeling guilty that I am not doing something to generate income. Guilt is, of course, a ridiculous way of carrying on, and will pass. In the meantime it would be sheer folly not to reap the benefits of a little rhythmical clicking.

A couple of baby jumpers I knitted to get myself back in - for the son of the Sussex County Cricket Club Youth Development Officer, hence the VYC on the front of the cricket sweater, and the absolutely authentic cables. Took me unbelievable amounts of time to work out the pattern, so that a) it fits a six month old babe and b) the cables are Sussex cables. The chicken (martlet) was a doddle in comparison. It's knitted in Rowan wool and cotton which is delicious to work with and feels even better in fairly tight cables / texture than loose stocking stitch.

Am off to feel my way through another couple of black jacket sleeve rows. In the meantime, can someone tell me why big companies like the Guardian don't find it necessary to pay their authors on time? I have only been 8 years on a salary but all my self-employed street wisdom seems to have turned into bunny rabbit fluff naiveté. Chocolate calls...